Rest In Peace, Mrs. Ivy

I wanted to take a moment to pay my digital respects, as it were, to Christina's grandmother, who passed away last week at the age of 88. In May, the family will be traveling to Mississippi to lay her to rest.

Christina has written a beautiful "unofficial" obituary on her web site.

Pop Tart Day

For those of us lucky enough to live in the Maryland suburbs of DC, today is Pop Tart Day at California Tortilla. To quote their newsletter,

" All you have to do to get your free Pop Tart is go to any California Tortilla in the land on Wednesday, March 23rd and the spunky cashier will give you one FOR FREE, just for being you. And if you?re lucky, there may just be a toasting option. But please, heed the warning on the package: Remove the wrapper before toasting! I can?t tell you how many I've forgotten and had to buy a new house."

So stop by. I know I will!

Carcassonne

Yesterday was board gaming day. Turnout was a bit low, although we did get in a four-player game of Seafarers of Catan, a four-player game of San Juan, and a three-player game of San Juan.

After that, I introduced Ben to BrettSpielWelt, a German site for playing board games on-line. It was a lot of fun, especially since we tried out a few new games. I didn't want to try them out with unsuspecting strangers who wouldn't want to deal with someone who didn't know how to play the game.

One game we played was Carcassonne with the Inns & Cathedrals Expansion. We've played Carcassonne before (Martin owns it), but not with the Expansion. I liked the added gameplay. There's a couple of cathedral tiles that make cities worth more if completed, but nothing if uncompleted. Ben and I fought over a big city with the cathedrals, and I ended up completing it, which was the difference in the game.

Here's a screenshot from late in the game. I think that's particularly nice city there.

Anybody But Duke

"Every year on Selection Sunday, I make my own choice: Anyone but Duke.

I am not alone in this growing anti-Duke sentiment. In fact, more Americans root against Duke in the NCAA tournament than rooted against the Soviet Union in the Cuban missile crisis.

Some might figure this is just a reaction to the Blue Devils' remarkable pattern of success. Actually, no. We just don't like the cut of their jib."

This Norman Chad column eerily mimics my methodology for picking the NCAA tournament.

Also, apologies to readers who had trouble with yesterday's post giving my picks. I've fixed it. Not shown below is my pick for the final game -- Kentucky over Wake, 87-80.

NCAA picks

Read 'em and weep.

Wine Update

Only 4 wines to mention since our last update. We also had some enjoyable wine in Paree, although it was not always something we can get back home.

2002 Cousiño-Macul Cabernet Sauvingon

We definitely enjoy Chilean Cabs, and we loved the Cousiño-Macul Antiguas Reservas. We haven't found a Chilean Cab under $10 that we've fallen in love with, and this continued the trend. Enjoyable, and I'd consider buying it again, but I don't feel we have to pick up another bottle.

2002 Tyrell's Pinot Noir

We continue our search for an enjoyable Pinot Noir. This time we turned our attention down under, to Tyrell's. More disappointment. Not bad, not wonderful. I doubt I'd buy this one again. I'm beginning to think we'll have to spend a little bit more to find a Pinot we can really enjoy.

2003 Graham Peck Pinno Pinotage

On the other hand, maybe if Pinot doesn't float our boat, Pinotage will. Pinotage is a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault that is a South African specialty. It was very tasty, and on the lighter side, so maybe it's a good Pinot replacement for us.

2002 Charles Back Goat-Roti

After the success of the Goats Do Roam, we thought we'd try something a little bit pricier in the same family. It was very good (I have not met a South African wine I haven't liked), but I don't know that it was better than the Goats Do Roam, which was about half its price.

Robo Rally Cake

Earlier, I had promised more detail on my birthday celebration. Here's a little more...

Christina ordered a "Freeze Frame" cake from Baskin-Robbins. She copied an image of a board from Robo Rally onto the cake. The cake looked like this (picture courtesy of Ben)...