A busy weekend!

First a run with the guys on Saturday (which was followed by my long run on Sunday). It is finally nice weather out, about 13 degrees C during the day...


Then Kevin and Lori came up to visit my grandma on Sunday (below is one of her plants that she says is over 55 years old - can you spot Lori in there?)




And finally, Jeff was digging my mom's garden and was almost done when we got there, so Kevin and I stepped in to help finish.

I think I have a problem....

I named my new hard drive "Hardy Harhar". Either I'm really tired or Jeff's sense of humor is catching up with me. But at least I can laugh at myself and keep myself amused while I toil at getting my computer set up.

Jeff the handy man

Jeff performed the first plumbing job in the house - replacing the tap in Emilio's suite (this is the view from above). Kristi was showing Jeff (and Emilio) how to be men. I wonder what significance a feminist anthropologist would find about gender identity in relation to that interaction?? (I think I need a break from school...)

Below is the final product:

A new hard drive = a sad Jo-Ann

Not backing up my hard drive was an oversight that I shall not repeat. The story begins almost 2 weeks ago. My computer would freeze, but I would be able to shut it down and bring it back to life. It was making an awful grinding sound. Friday the thirteen, that was. I made the comment to Melanie that I should back up my hard drive. I did not. One week and one day later, my compy died. Thankfully my documents were recovered (thanks to Jeremy, Jeff and Melanie). My photos and music weren't so lucky. Now that I have a new hard drive, I realize the time I had invested in my trusty iBook G4. Now I have the task of re-installing software and getting things back to how they were. Sigh. All while trying to finish the semester. Sigh. Oh well, I have forty hours of marking to take my mind off of it. So the lesson is, if you haven't backed up your hard drive lately, go do it RIGHT NOW!

Boys and the XBox

Things have been super busy around here. Along with trying to wrap things up for the semester, I have been busy doing stuff around the house. Most notably, last weekend mom, Emilio, Jeff and I got the yard ready for spring. But spring didn't come. We just got more snow :(

Oh well, you can't win them all.

Below is how the boys are entertaining themselves in the crappy weather:

Welcome to the Burr revolution!

The Marvin and Gagliardi household now has a burr grinder. Our coffee experience has been elevated by our new purchase. Who knew that a grinder could make such a difference in flavour. And it has come just in time for paper writing!

Vik was telling us of this wonderful technology on one of his visits, and we were sold. I wasn't ready to deal with the travel model, since it is intense work. We also weren't quite ready for the commitment of a $200 model, so we went for the cheaper one. Maybe when I am done with school our budget will afford the fancy one (if that ever happens!)

And here she is in greater detail:

Happy Birthday Vik!

I know I have been negligent with the blog, but life has been whizzing by. How did it get to be April? And why is there still snow on the ground? I think I have been in a funk because of the weather - and because of the impending doom of the end of the semester. Too many things to do in so little time. I had a good visit with the family last weekend; the Meyers did an early Easter. And it was also Vik's birthday, so I got to get some stress out of the system through dancing. This weekend will be filled with Marvins. And lots of writing. I am making the transition from reading to writing, so I will be disappeared in my office until the end of the month...