Busy month and clearly I’ve been slacking in my informational duties. Gretchen started the month with a trip to the beach to visit Vince and Jan while I stayed behind and finally made sense of my office. Spring sort of sprung and we did a bunch of cleanup in the yard only to have a whole mess of branches blow down the next day! The city cleared out the alley quickly and cable and telephone service were restored in short order. There are still wires draped in the alley and the Rizza’s fence and natural tree barrier will take some time to repair though.
We took the boys to see the Harlem Globetrotters after a successful elementary school game that featured the staff vs. 5th graders. Both games were a lot of fun although Oskar was frustrated the Globetrotters spent so much time talking instead of playing the game. Xavier seemed to enjoy it… or at least he enjoyed the candy ;).
Gretchen had a birthday which Oskar and Xavier made a cake and pinata for. The effort spanned a few days but was enjoyed by all. The cake had a slightly deformed shape after sticking to the baking pan, but we shoved it back together and hid the seams with frosting and it tasted just fine!
Oskar also joined Cub Scouts and attended his first Den meeting this past Tuesday. He’ll be joining the Wolf Pack officially in mid May but will participate with the Tigers now. I’m not sure how much fun he’s having yet, but I’m having a blast. So much so that I started a little campfire with the boys in the back yard this evening. Next time we’ll have marshmallows.
Gretchen has also instituted Friday night Pizza night featuring some most excellent home made Pizza that she’s been making. Gretchen and Oskar have also been working hard at Montessori work. Oskar is working hard as a first time pupil for Gretchen as she masters the materials.
Both of the boys are recovering from cases of pink eye and everyone is being hit hard by the seasonal allergies.
Last but not least, I opened my homebrew that I made WAY WAY WAY back in January for the first time. Despite being heavily over carbonated it tastes pretty good. It takes a couple of minutes for the head to go back to liquid though 
Next time - I’ll move it to the lagering shelves much sooner.
After a 7 day fermentation in the basement, which was a few degrees too cold for the yeast, I moved it into the kitchen and it’s coming along nicely — definitely a good move. The 
I did some searching online this morning while Xavier played Nintendo and found that while there are a number of resources for homebrewers in Minnesota, there really wasn’t a full of homebrew supply shops that’s been vetted. So rather than create a list of cities that I’m unfamiliar with, I visualized it on this map using the data from a number of resources, including 
I’m finding my way around Rochester! I found a homebrew shop the other day and the boys went with me this morning to check it out. The 
