February 2026 Wrap-Up

 

The shortest month of the year had quite a bit going on including Ben's first band concert, 2 snowstorms that granted me days off, a game day with the kids, and seeing Kansas in concert. All in all it was a pretty good month overall, but it felt almost too busy with drama practices and various doctor's appointments sprinkled on top of everything else each week. Sticking with the shortest month, this might be the shortest opening to a wrap-up post all year.

Blah Blog Log

Didn't find time to write anything outside of the monthly Wrap-Up post.

• January 2026 Wrap-Up - A trip to Disney, a new Ryan Murphy show, and some board gaming.
  

Bored Board Games

Between a full afternoon of games with the kids that had 9 total plays and a lot of BGA time, February had 26 games played a total of 144 times. Snow storms forced a cancellation of an in person meetup but I rescheduled it to yesterday, so March will end up having 3 in person meetups. I also have started selling some games from my For Trade pile that had crested 40 titles. It's the start of actually curating my collection down (and making room because the shelves are full with the For Trade games removed). There were no additions to the 100 Games 100 Plays List, but 20 plays of 7 Wonders: Architects brought it up to 98, so I think it will be added to the list sometime in March. This month's highlighted game is The White Castle.

The White Castle "is a Euro type game with mechanics of resource management, worker placement and dice placement to carry out actions. During the game, over three rounds, players will send members of their clan to tend the gardens, defend the castle or progress up the social ladder of the nobility." This is all done through clever dice drafting and worker placement mechanics to collect resources.

This is the "sequel" to another great game by the same design duo, The Red Catherdal, that was also published by DEVIR as they continue their big games in a small box line. The game play is so smart and tight, leaving you wanting to be able to do just a little bit more in your very limited 9 turns. Maximizing each turn by activating more than card on a space and/or placing workers on multiple spaces in a single turn is key to victory. I thoroughly enjoyed my first play and greatly regret not getting this to the table sooner. I definitely plan on brining it to meetups more often to try at various player counts and can't wait to try the solo variant.

Enjoyable Eats

Farmer & the Cow is a bar and restaurant in downtown Wilmington, DE that serves Burger, Bourbon, and Shakes. It was once featured on an episode of Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, one of my favorite food related tv shows. We don't make it up to Wilmington often, especially to eat dinner. However, we had tickets to see Kansas at the The Grand, so for our date night we needed a place to eat before the show. We tried to eat somewhere else originally, but without a reservation on a Friday night that wasn't going to happen apparently. I was shocked that the first place didn't even offer to put us on a waitlist, especially since it was fairly early when we arrived...their loss. 

After finally finding parking, we decided on Farmer & the Cow, which I was hesitant about initially because I'm not a burger guy. What I didn't know is their definition of "burger" is not just ground beef. You can pick one of 5 different protein options that pair with their different creations. We had to sit at the bar because again, no reservation, but it was kind of cool being shoulder to shoulder while watching the bartenders do their thing. If I was a bourbon drinker, this would have been my mecca because their selection is unbelievable. I was very happy with my "burger" (I got grilled chicken) and deliciously seasoned fries. We even shared what was essentially a smores milkshake for dessert which was to die for. I cannot wait to go back the next time we're seeing a show.

I'm Watching 👀

The 'Burbs is American comedy television series adaptation of the 1989 film of the same name that starred Tom Hanks. The show is about a "young couple moves back to the husband's childhood home, only to face threats from new neighbors and uncover dark secrets of their cul-de-sac." It's a little bit goofy and has some suspenseful moments, but I do find myself laughing out loud fairly often. We're four or five episodes in at this point and we're really enjoying the twists and turns that we've encountered so far.

Reading Ramble

I haven't started a new book from my nightstand yet, but I've been all over the release of the mostly unredacted Epstein files. Due to to my position in State Government, I'm not going to share my opinions of what has been shared or the news of some of those involved being arrested and/or resigning from their positions. I will say that it's refreshing to see that some people have been held accountable for their alleged actions based on what has been released. 

I found the situation around Jeffrey Epstein's death both mind-boggling and fascinating. There are so many unknowns and questions that need answers. It will be interesting to see what else comes from any futures releases, depositions, and committee hearings. I worry that other events like the attacks on Iran will serve as a distraction and move the necessary attention needed away to fully investigate this. 

Whatcha Snackin?

I'm nearly finished eating through the exotic meat jerky and meat sticks that my brother got me for Christmas. Recently I shared the kangaroo meat stick with James since he was interested. Most of the meat sticks have some beef in them, so I bought the Simms Original Grass Fed Beef Sticks from Aldi for us to share. He had mentioned his friends eating Slim Jims so I also bought the Aldi version of them, but they're not nearly as good as the beef sticks. What I really like about the grass fed beef sticks is that they're about $4 cheaper than the Chomps brand that they're based off of and just as good. At 100 calories and 10 grams of protein per stick, they're a great snack in between meals.

Wrap It Up

Please comment below with any thoughts or comments on anything I've covered. Thanks for reading!