• My hubby picked up some Taharka Brothers ice cream over the weekend, including pistachio. It was the best pistachio ice cream I’ve ever had. Super creamy, strong pistachio flavor, and lots of little pistachio bits.
• My flower share started this week! It works like a CSA. I paid ahead of time this winter to get four bouquets in May (and June and September) and then each week I pick it up off of a neighbor’s porch. This first bouquet had a cheerful mix of colors and lots of movement in how it was composed.
• We went to the Nats game on Wednesday. Apparently we bought ourselves seats that were 3 rows back from the third base line, right in line with the pitcher. Very cool!
• Made rhubarb crumble for dessert! And some green garlic pasta for dinner.
• Got another gorgeous bouquet of poppies at the farmer’s market.

Monday, April 29

The irises in the little strip between the walk to our porch and the neighbor’s porch are blooming! I didn’t plant these but every year I think about separating them and planting some of the rhizomes in the back. (Don’t worry, it won’t happen this year, either.)

Tuesday, April 30

Finished a delightful audiobook, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries. The title character is a curmudgeonly professor who is laser-focused on her research. I enjoyed being in a universe where faeries are real and are a specific area of study.

Wednesday, May 1

While physical therapy in and of itself is not a delight, seeing the admin at the physical therapy office again was definitely a delight. She’s very friendly and chatty and recognized me from my last round of PT a couple of years ago.

Thursday, May 2

My delightful in-laws arrived for a visit!

Friday, May 3

We took my in-laws to dinner at Pennyroyal Tavern and sat outside, where I enjoyed their beautiful mural.

Saturday, May 4

First farmers’ market of the year! It was a little rainy but all my usual favorite vendors were there. Plus a woman who pops up to sell peonies during peony season! This is the time of year where I’m buying lots of flowers at the market and it makes me so happy.

Sunday, May 5

We went out for dinner again tonight at Motorkat and my hubby and I split a chocolate cookie sundae for dessert. At first I was a little disappointed because there wasn’t a cookie, just a dusting of fine oreo crumbles on the top. But then we discovered that underneath the ice cream was a stash of more oreo crumbles, and I think some crumbles of another kind of cookie as well. The crumbles were really crunchy despite how fine they were. All in all a very clever dessert.

Monday, April 22

My bestie and I went downtown to have lunch with another local friend, who took us to the delightful Piccolina. I had a delicious salad, a filled-to-order cannoli with chocolate hazlenut filling and pistachios on the ends, and a great time with the two of them. Afterward we wandered around downtown and popped into the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and zipped by a few specific exhibits.

Tuesday, April 23

My bestie left today, which is not delightful but I suppose is necessary. But the weather was beautiful and I had windows open around the house for most of the day.

Wednesday, April 24

There’s also not much to delight in on a day when my back pain flares up, but I did finish today’s Strands (a new NYT word game that’s in beta) without needing any hints. Thanks to Danielle for alerting me to this game! It’s a little bit tricky to get started but I’m enjoying learning how to think about playing this game.

Thursday, April 25

My hubby had to swing by the grocery store on his way home to get something for dinner, and he picked up some gelato while he was there. So, we got to enjoy a bowl of gelato as a dessert / after dinner snack.

Friday, April 26

Today’s delight is my heating pad.

Saturday, April 27

My hubby made pizza for dinner! And he helped me get started with today’s Strands.

Sunday, April 28

Today I went up to Baltimore for lunch and a play with a friend. We sat outside to eat and it was a beautiful day for it.

Monday, April 15

Took a long walk after dinner with my hubby. We took a different route than usual and I got to enjoy some front gardens I hadn’t gotten a good look at yet this spring. There’s tons of phlox blooming right now and it’s so pretty and springy.

Tuesday, April 16

It’s my birthday! My hubby sent me donuts (apparently because my actual gift hasn’t arrived yet), and we went out for an early dinner at spot we loved near our first apartment, The Pub & The People.

And then, we saw a wonderful performance of Macbeth with Ralph Fiennes and Indira Varma in the lead roles. It was staged in the old BET studios, which was a really interesting venue and it allowed them to set the mood from the moment you arrived. We had excellent seats right in the middle of the stage, thanks to a friend with a season membership who had early access to tickets. I liked everything about the show, and am so glad we were able to see this.

Wednesday, April 17

Walked to the library to pick up a couple of holds at lunch. The weather was pretty perfect.

Thursday, April 18

I started working with a personal trainer in late February, focusing on strength training. We missed the last couple of weeks due to each of us being out of town, so today was my first session in a while and it felt great.

Friday, April 19

Pizza for dinner!

Saturday, April 20

My bestie arrived for a visit! After we got back from the airport, we enjoyed a fun afternoon having lunch and hitting up my neighborhood bookstore, Loyalty Bookstores.

Sunday, April 21

I met my bestie in grad school, and a few other mutual friends from our grad school days live in the region. Today one of them came into town and we went to the Smithsonian American Art Museum to see Pattern and Paradox: The Quilts of Amish Women. The exhibit was gorgeous; I was surprised by how colorful some of the quilts were. And the craftsmanship! I’ve made one quilt, it’s small and has a simple pattern, and that was still finicky work. The level of skill and artistry that it took to make these is incredible.

We wandered around the rest of the museum and took in a couple of other exhibits, including Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas. Another gorgeous exhibit, and to me it’s in conversation with the quilts in some ways.