Trilobite

Christine moved out today. It was a bit sad. Celine and I will stay in the house until next weekend because the apartment isn’t quite ready yet. Steve has been very busy fixing and renovating everything, and installing the new sinks, counters, cabinets, ceiling fans, and everything else they bought for the apartment. Tomorrow Celine and I are going over there to help finish up the painting.

I haven’t had too much time to blog this month with all the excitement of packing and moving, but we still did manage to go out and have a few adventures. At the beginning of February we went hiking along the shore near Cartwright Point. The snow was very deep and it was quite a workout to walk even short distances. It was fun, though. We wanted to go to the tip of the point and have a look at Cedar Island a couple of hundred meters from the shore, but the road was marked with several very large “private property, no trespassing” signs.

We also went hiking on the hills around Fort Henry a few times, and found a very nice wood carving travel bug. We went to Wolfe Island to place it in a different cache, and on the way over we really enjoyed watching the ferry crash its way through the ice. A passenger on the ferry was nice enough to take our picture.

We are moving in two weeks. Christine has already taken most of her things to Doug’s house. Celine and I are not so ready. At least I still have most of my things still in boxes from my last move. Rheni bought loads of new stuff at Ikea and Steve has been very busy renovating the apartment. Celine’s parents were in town last week to help paint. I think we will have a very nice place to live.

A week and a half ago Celine went on a girls-night-out with a bunch of friends and I attended the corresponding boys-night-in. The girls saw Calendar Girls at the theatre and then went to a tapas bar for a drink. The boys played Settlers of Catan and rented The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. We all had lots of fun. I had a headache the next day. Too much Clint Eastwood, I think.

Last weekend we had Mexican Night at the house to bring back the memories of Christine’s and Celine’s vacation on the Mayan Riviera a year ago. We invited our friends Duncan and Renai over and cooked quesadillas and many other Mexican dishes. The jalapeno infused hot chocolate was especially good.

Today is Valentine’s Day so Celine and I are planning to go on the Lantern Snowshoe Hike at a nearby conservation area. The description of the event says, “It will start off with an evening journey through marsh, field and forests and end with a warm drink by the fireside. Come out with your sweetheart or bring the family for a lovely Valentine’s evening of either skating or snowshoeing or both.” I wonder if they will really give us lanterns to light our way.

Photos: rabbit highway, taste testers

Celine’s Amazing Ginger Cookies

3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp powdered cloves
1 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup peeled and chopped ginger
1/3 cup granulated sugar

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg and molasses. Mix the flour, salt, cinnamon, cloves, powdered ginger, and baking soda and stir them into the batter. Stir in the chopped ginger. Form the dough into 1-inch balls, dip them in the granulated sugar, and place sugar-side up on a greased and floured cookie sheet. They will flatten out in the oven. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 350�F and cool on wire racks. Keep the dough refrigerated between batches. Makes about 30 cookies.

The other day Celine and I went shopping downtown and were reminded of just how small a town Kingston really is. One shopkeeper asked Celine if the house had been torn down yet, and a bit further down the road another shopkeeper asked me where I will live when I move to Toronto. We don’t even know these people’s names, but they sure know a lot about us!

We went to look at our new apartment yesterday. It seems pretty nice, but needs to be painted. It’s a two bedroom on the second floor, downstairs from Rheni and Steve. We’re moving in next month.

Tonight Christine, Celine, and I went through our closets looking for clothes for the cerebral palsy clothing drive. It was a good way to get started on the sorting and packing. I threw out a bunch of old shoes.