What I Did Yesterday—because it all made me happy

First, my English class had scheduled a baby shower for a woman who was due to give birth next week. Her baby, Ceylee, arrived last week instead, so we decided to have the shower with the little peanut actually present. I knitted a hat and bought a tiny pair of suede boots (they're like finger puppets) as my gift. Before the party, the class sat around the table and read a story about the Octomom, which disturbed the readers to no end. They all have babies, and the idea of having eight was too much for them to comprehend. If nothing else, we got to talk about the prefix "oct" and its similarity to ocho and how octopus is not much different from octuplets or octomom.

The mother decided the teacher's cupcakes would not be enough for her baby shower, so she brought a feast from home. We had black beans, seasoned beef, roasted green onions, handmade corn tortillas, and rice with this crazy-good salsa. One of the Guatemalan women explained how they make the salsa so I can make it at home—you grill roma tomatoes and toss them in the blender with a little water, chopped onion, cilantro, some salt, some lime and maybe some jalepeño. Then we played bingo, and I won a little picture frame. It's so rare for me to win any game, so I was pleased.

Back home, I worked for a little bit on a catalog project as a favor to a non-profit group that sells books in Africa. That job is easy and quick, so I have sailed through it. I sent it off for review and hopped back in the car.

I had a winery to visit about 30 minutes from here, and I wasn't exactly sure where it was. As usual, mapquest was slightly misinformed, so I ended up going five miles out of my way but eventually got to the place. It's in a lovely old barn that the vineyard owner bought and renovated. He has lots of exposed stone inside with fireplaces and tables and rustic old floors. The winery specializes is dry wines and only has about 10 varieties. With 14 acres of vineyard all around the barn, they make a good bit of wine there start to finish, but for the varieties that don't grow well in Ohio, they bring in juice from grapes grown in California. I had a lovely chat with the manager, had a couple of tastes of wine, bought two bottles, and went outside to take pictures. That's when I saw these guys. They came right to me when I stood by the fence, but the fence didn't look like it could hold them back should they decide to keep walking, so I high-tailed it back to my car.

It was a sunny day yesterday, which helped to make it so good, but the country drive, the tasty and unexpected lunch, and meeting new people in a town I had never bothered to acknowledge before combined to make a very happy day.

I wonder what today will hold. More cows perhaps? I'll let you know.

Update: I've learned these cows are pets, Scottish Highlanders named Steve and Harriet. Does this mean they won't be eaten? I hope so.