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.

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.

Symphony Selfie

Tomorrow (Sunday) is my birthday, and Evelyn and I decided a few weeks ago to celebrate tonight by going out to eat and to the symphony.
We had a Groupon to use at Trio's Bistro, and bought the symphony tickets with a senior's discount. Ah, the life of two Queen City gadabouts.
The dinner was wonderful, and the symphony was nice. The artistry of the piano soloist was remarkable, although one of the works, Stumble to Grace by Steven Mackey, was a bit difficult to get into, and the Bernstein symphony (No. 2 The Age of Anxiety) was unfamiliar and largely unmelodic as well.
But the three dance episodes from On the Town reminded me of other works by Bernstein, and it was a treat to hear Barber's Adagio for Strings played by a live orchestra in an acoustically perfect hall.
This is only the second time this season we've been to Music Hall, and it was nice to be there and wonderful to be out and around on a beautiful spring evening.

Getting Ready for Christmas

Today was a Christmasey day.
Finished up a Sunday school lesson I'm leading tomorrow; was given carte blanche, so decided to look at three sections from Luke 1 and 2 that I've looked at before. But it was a blessing to study it again for the discussion tomorrow morning.
Then dug into the Christmas cards and got them almost all addressed. Plan to finish up tomorrow, stamping and sealing them.
Took some breaks to help Evelyn pull out the Christ decorations, put away enough everyday dishes to get out the Christmas dinnerware and Christmas mugs. Went to the grocery and to Graeter's to get some gift cards and take advantage of their ice cream pint sale (cinnamon, peppermint stick, and egg nog ice cream for Christmas and following!).
This evening the Cincinnati Symphony and May Festival Chorus performed the first section of Handel's Messiah (plus the "Hallelujah" chorus) at our church this evening. It was a real treat to be so close to the musicians and to hear that marvelous sound fill our auditorium. I enjoyed it even more than I thought I would--a real soul-restoring event.
We came home to drink decaf homemade "lattes" and watch the hour-long Christmas special of the Annie Moses Band on public television. (THAT would be a DVD or CD worth having, by the way!)
Tomorrow--the tree!

 I snapped this picture of the platform at our church as concert-goers were arriving for tonight's performance of Messiah, and the picture before as the musicians were taking the stage.