April 2026 Wrap-Up

 

April was...something. There were some really high highs and at least one very low low. Getting the depressing part out of the way, my birthday was...not great. One could argue quite terrible and possibly the worst birthday yet. It has nothing to do with getting older because that doesn't bother me, something I've often written about on here. There were just a series of events that ruined it and the fact that one is "supposed" to have a "good" birthday made it worse. Aside from that, I had a lot going on in all aspects of my life in April and had some really great experiences that made up for how poorly "my" day went.

We started the month with a nice trip back to Syracuse for Easter to visit family. The day after we got back was the bad day, but then a couple days later Christine and I saw Alton Brown's live show at The Grand in Wilmington after going back to Farmer & the Cow for dinner. It was an amazing night that I could just go on and on about but I'll just leave it at the show being one of the best events I've ever attended. Just a few days later, we all went to Philadelphia for Ben's early birthday experience to meet Dav Pilkey, author of the Captain Underpants and Dog Man series, the latter of which Ben loves. Towards the end of the month, James performed at his Spanish Immersion night and Grace performed in her school's drama club production of the Disney musical, Dare to Dream Jr. We couldn't be more proud of the both of them and it's amazing to see how far they've come.

On top of all of that I tabled at three events for work, including two college and career fairs at Smyrna and Lake Forest High Schools. I also attended an all day conference centered around maternal and infant care and the annual meeting for the state's public health association. I'll have more events and conferences in May and early June, so I'm already really looking forward to the two family vacations we have planned in July.

Blah Blog Log

Just the one post in April as I had a lot going on.

• March 2026 Wrap-Up - some gaming, a new sitcom, and a couple of good food experiences.

Bored Board Games

April saw an increase in plays with a total of 109 across 23 games. The 100 Games 100 Plays List did not have any new additions and it will likely be a few months before any get close. Currently there are a few in the low 80s and 70s before a large drop of in plays. 

Didn't have any luck selling games but I also didn't add any new ones either. It might be time for a trip up north to Days of Knights to do a large trade in just to make some space. Maybe while I'm there I'll  get enough to buy this month's highlighted game: Puerto Rico 1897: Special Edition

Puerto Rico originally came out 2002 and has been in the top 100 on BGG since then. Over the years there have been reprints, anniversary editions, and the new version that takes place the year after Puerto Rico achieved political autonomy and separated itself from the colonial Spanish government. This new version keeps the gameplay mechanics the same but changes the problematic colonial and slavery implications to players being independent Puerto Rican farmers/rivals hiring free workers.

Puerto Rico 1897 is played over several rounds where the starting player chooses one of the available roles (such as Planter, Builder, Recruiter, Craftsman, Trader, or Captain), triggering that action for all players in turn order with the player who selected the role gets a special bonus or privilege. On your player board, you develop your island by claiming estate tiles to plant crops, hiring free workers to staff your plantations and buildings, constructing production or commercial buildings with money earned from trading, producing goods, selling them in the trading house for cash, and shipping goods on cargo ships for victory points. The game ends when the victory point pool or certain resources run out, and the player with the most victory points wins. The clever twist is that choosing a powerful role often helps your opponents too, so careful timing and strategy around role selection are key to building an efficient engine of farms, buildings, and goods.

I never thought Puerto Rico looked all that interesting and haven't had any one that I play with have a copy until recently when the beautifully produced special edition with premium components hit the table at a meetup. I loved the game play and really enjoy the pick an action and everyone follows mechanic. Like most Euro-style games, there's a lot of resource balancing and engine building that when done right can lead to victory. I built a money generating and building engine that rushed the end game and secured me a win in my first ever play. I look forward to many more plays of this game in the future.

Enjoyable Eats

We didn't go out to eat anywhere I haven't already covered or want to highlight in this space but I did get to try some items from two businesses through Goldbelly. This was thanks to a gift certificate for my birthday from my sister-in-law. I've ordered a few other items from the site before but the bagels from Ess-a-Bagel and the pies from House of Pies are really good. 

I ordered two dozen bagels in 6 flavors to stock up our freezer so we always have them as an option for breakfast or a lazy dinner. Unlike our favorite bagel place, Bruegger's, these bagels are big and dense with a wonderful chew. I couldn't pass on getting a pie for my birthday since it's superior to cake and what's better than one pie? Well, four of course. The mini pies are perfect to split into a couple servings and the peach one I've had so far was really good. There's are an apple, pecan, and chocolate pecan waiting in the freezer for future desserts.

I'm Watching 👀

The Testaments is a Hulu Original show based on the 2019 novel The Testaments by Margaret Atwood. It's a narrative continuation of The Handmaid's Tale, a show that we loved so we were vert excited to watch more story set in the same universe. The show is set four years after the end of The Handmaid's Tale, unlike the book which starts 15 years after. We're six episodes in and it's like the original show is still going on only from a different perspective. You're brought inside the lives of  "Agnes and Daisy, two teens in Gilead who must navigate an elite preparatory school where obedience is brutally enforced. Their bond becomes the catalyst that will transform their lives. -IMDB" I really hope we get at least 3 or 4 seasons of this already great show.

Whatcha Snackin?

Easter time means we're usually buying at least a couple bags of jelly beans. Christine and I both love the Starburst ones, but this year I also found Trolli Sour Brite Jelly Beans. Each bean has two of the Trolli gummy worm flavors mixed together, so it's as if you're eating one of the whole gummy worms. Some of the flavor combinations are better than other and I wished they were a little more sour, but that didn't stop us from going through two 12oz bags of them. Assuming we'll see these on the shelves next year, I could definitely see us adding them to our yearly haul.

Wrap It Up

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