Back again . . .

I remember several years ago when I decided to visit the dentist after at least a couple of years not having regular checkups. "I'll come see him again if he promises not to holler at me," I remember telling my wife.
I did go back, no one hollered at me, my twice yearly checkup routine has been restored, and I haven't lost any teeth.
I feel sort of the same way about this diary. I'll start writing it again if no one hollers at me for skipping more than a month of posting. And if anyone will read it again. (I've always said I don't care if anyone reads it, but deep down, I like it when people comment.)
The only way to start over is just to jump in, without guilt for events not recorded or pictures not posted. I may be able to do some make-up, but I'm not going to take on that burden.
I will look back at least one weekend, though, to record that Evelyn's brother and his wife, Ken and Susan Aulen, came to visit last weekend. We had a great time. The Reds were in town, and we went to the game Friday night. Got there early enough to show Aulens the new park on the riverfront before the game. Ate supper in our seats at the game, and enjoyed a beautiful evening. The Reds lost, but it was still a great evening to be there, especially with Friday night fireworks and a first—the Cincinnati Pops was there to accompany the fireworks live! The fireworks were remarkably synchronized with the music, and our cheap seats were perfect to see them. It was fun!
Saturday we had a long time of chatting and coffee drinking at breakfast. Evelyn made a favorite we haven't enjoyed for a long time, Breakfast Dutch Babies. We went shopping in the afternoon and grabbed lunch at the food court at Kenwood Mall.
We went to Raja India for supper and then on to Mason Middle School where Mason Community Players were staging The King and I. My work colleague, Elise Kaplan, had the role of Anna, and I was eager to see her perform.
She has a beautiful voice, and we enjoyed the whole performance. I'm so glad we got to see it.

The sets and costumes were beautiful too.

Sunday we went to the 9:00 service and then on to Mimi's for brunch. Ken and Susan visited awhile longer after we got home, and then we relaxed (and I did a bit of work) in the afternoon and evening.
This weekend has been very good so far. Last night we grabbed supper at Chili's and then drove across the street to shop for an automatic dishwasher at Sears. When we moved into this house more than 11 years ago, Joy Norwood, our realtor, took one look at the dishwasher in the house and said, "You'll be getting rid of that."
Well, we haven't gotten rid of it, but now it's time. It's corroded in the bottom, and we suspect some small leaks. We found an excellent mid-priced model on sale, with a promotional discount on delivery and installation. The new one will be humming along (and I do hope humming instead of the roaring of our current model) Thursday evening.
This morning Evelyn went with me to the West Chester Farmer's Market, and we enjoyed some of our purchases for supper tonight--corn on the cob, lettuce greens with vinaigrette, fresh tomato, and breaded, fried zucchini. It was great.

Soon we'll adjourn to the family room to watch a live stream of the symphony's Lumenocity performance. We weren't lucky enough to get tickets for musical laser show, but at least we're not fighting the crowds to see it in person.