Just as the sun is about to set on Friday, I’m writing this column with a variety of musings on recent Suffolk happenings.

Covering the last day of school at Elephant’s Fork Elementary School was fun. My favorite part was when Sheriff E.C. Harris high-fived a girl, who looked like she was in about third grade, and asked how many books she planned to read this summer. He prompted, “Five?” Her response was delightful. “Five????” she asked, incredulous. “I’m going to read WAY more than that.” It brought back lovely memories of whiling away summer days reading books, or going to the library to get more books, or simply resting in the peace that libraries seem to bring to my soul.

The trashcans and planters recently painted by a variety of local artists are excellent. I want more. It’s not right to have five beautiful ones on North Main Street and see the same old dirty, disgusting-looking ones in other areas of downtown. I hope the city and SPARC (Suffolk’s Premier Art, Retail and Cultural Initiative) see the success of this project and put the steps in motion to do more of them very soon. The current ones done by the Suffolk Rocks group, Deb Munroe, Cynthia Gregory, Crystal Tiffany, Adam Stanton and JaQuay Copeland are excellent, and I’m certain more people would love to participate.

It looks like we might have a small chance of a day without a thunderstorm this week. Time for a grass-cutting marathon!

This week is Restaurant Week, a party for your palate to partake of new dishes or revisit longtime favorites. Baron’s Pub, Cedar Point Country Club, The General Public, Harper’s Table, The Plaid Turnip, Pourfavor Coffee Shop, Rajput Indian Cuisine, River Stone Chophouse, Suffolk BBQ Co., Suffolk BBQ Co. at the Airport, Sushi Aka and Vintage Tavern are participating. Stuffed jumbo shrimp with crab and a 28-day-aged ribeye — not to mention the ever-popular millennial fare, avocado toast — are among the things on offer. Three-course menus are available at the Deluxe level for $10 for breakfast and lunch and $20 for dinner; the Premier level for $15 for lunch and $30 for dinner; and the Ultimate level for $20 for lunch and $40 for dinner. You can’t go wrong. Well, except for that avocado toast. Anything with avocado is always wrong.