"...like my head against a board"

Today is officially my birthday, but we are saving festivities for tomorrow.

We wandered around wine country today, which is a nice, lazy way to spend a birthday. It might be a bit of a surprise to some that Ohio even has wine country. It happens to be mixed up with bits of Amish country too, but we were definitely in it for the wine. I had some ice wine at one very-dim-inside place. I can't figure out why it's so popular. It was like drinking really sugary syrup with alcohol in it. The bottle was pretty though - very thin and made of frosty glass. My favorite winery was the converted church. The pews were set up back to back, with tables in between sets of pews. I made friends with the owners' long-haired German shepard. She had rust-colored eyes and was quite at home with everyone. One of the wineries was actually in an office park, a temporary location until their more picturesque digs are ready.

At lunch, Karen surprised me with a birthday cake, which unfortunately I couldn't eat, owing to the gluten allergy, of which she was unaware. I felt bad about that. Everyone else seemed to enjoy the cake though.