A Beautiful Weekend

Yesterday started off chilly and gray, but by about 2:00 the sun was out and before suppertime the temperature was almost 70 under a beautiful clear-blue sky. I had picked a good day to attend a beginning photography class at Ault Park.
I signed up for it on a whim, with a desire to understand the manual settings on my camera instead of always depending on the presets.
It was conducted by the owner of a photography business in town called ernestography, run by a likable young man named ernest worthing.
It was a beginner's class, and I did learn some stuff, and I'm going to try to practice it this week so I don't forget it!
One thing we learned was how to use manual settings to put a close-up object in sharp focus while making the background blurry. This picture plus a few others from my practice session are posted in a Facebook album.
I came home and cut grass for about an hour but didn't have time to finish before dark, so I finished Sunday after church, errands, and lunch.
Friday evening  Evelyn and I went to the symphony. I had seen a Groupon (or was it Living Social) coupon earlier in the week for discount tickets to hear Andre Watts in concert with the orchestra this weekend. We didn't subscribe to the Pops season this year, so I thought we'd enjoy a chance to go to Music Hall.
Before the concert we went for dinner to Taste of Belgium, a restaurant in the middle of a two-block area in Over the Rhine that is filled with trendy restaurants and other venues. Many of

our friends are Taste of Belgium fans, and I've been wanting to get there for some time. We had their signature chicken and waffle for dinner and enjoyed it. I really want to get there for brunch someday!
We parked in the new garage under Washington Park and walked a few blocks to Taste of Belgium and then walked back to Music Hall. The evening was cool but clear, and it was nice to be outside.
I was really glad we got to hear Watts. The coupon tickets were for seats on the main floor. We usually sit up high, but this time I was glad we were so close to the guest artist. We could see his face as he performed, and I must say I've never seen anything quite like the energy and animation he infused into every passage, every flowing arpeggio, every strong chord. He commanded the instrument, almost attacked it with energy and passion. He mouthed the rhythms, threw his left leg off to the side as he finished a challenging section. His was a marvelous performance.

Tonight was Evelyn's Basin group, something new created this fall by our church's women's ministry: small groups of women, hosted by an "older" woman to give "younger" women the chance to get to know other women in the church and have the influence of an older woman in the church.
Tonight they enjoyed a potluck of Mexican treats. Evelyn finished the chicken for the tacos and made an apple crisp this afternoon while I helped around the edges and wrote a draft of my column to be posted at christianstandard.com Tuesday.
I retreated to the family room and TV and Facebook while the ladies had their dinner, and I snuck upstairs to steal some supper after they'd been through the lines. It was a relaxing and yummy evening to end a fine weekend.