It’s Thursday. I’m not sure how it arrived already, because I’m pretty sure it ought to be Tuesday. However, as tomorrow definitely ought to be Friday, I’m not going to argue the point.

In the meantime, three beautiful things from the past week:

1. We head down to the West End Cinemas and catch the French film Le Havre, which is a feel-good (but not in a treacly way) movie about how a shoe-shiner and his down-and-out neighborhood is touched by an African boy who stowed away on and escaped from a container originally destined for London.

2. Craig Finn, who is the lead singer of Hold Steady, released a solo album this week, and it is fantastic. Clear Heart Full Eyes is filled with melodic stories about the sort of people you’d find at a bar late at night in a small town where life is passing them by. It’s not filled with only depressing songs, although he has enough of those to blow a hole cleanly through your heart if you’re teetering in the wrong direction or to score a film about lost twenty-somethings. But he also has a humorous way with words, which gives you some gems like “New Friend Jesus,” which features such lines as “It’s hard to suck when Jesus is in your band” and “People say we suck at sports, but they don’t understand it’s hard to catch with holes right through your hands.” You can stream the album for free at least through Saturday if you’d like to sample it. (I’m not sure when Spinner switches over to the next week’s new releases.)

3. The weather must be particularly mild this week, because in addition to the spring bulbs popping up suddenly (so wrong!), I’ve also been seeing droves of daycare providers out walking their waist-high charges. Some hold hands with adults. Some clutch a long rope. Some wear orange safety vests that are adorably wee. And I’ve seen an assortment of animal-themed headwear, but that, I’m sure, has nothing to do with the daycare centers themselves.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world this week?