Day 103 - Oakville - 16th November 2004

What's happening?

We are consolidating our travel arrangements for moving on. We have booked to fly to Texas on December 21st. This is 4 days after the boys break up from school. It's going to be a big wrench, I can tell. Haven't we only just arrived?

It hasn't snowed again although we have had some sub zero temperatures. There has been lots of sunshine and it's dry, dry, dry. We have been raking the leaves for the last few days. And what a joy it is. The ground is dry and the leaves are as crispy as cornflakes (?). There is no mud on your shoes. The leaves are almost magnetically attracted to the rake and in no time at all you have a four foot high pile. We have been raking the back garden ones straight into the lake and the front garden ones are piled up in the street for the "leaf sucker upper" to come and suck up.

We've been skating a few more times but I have to report a rather bad accident. Julie fell and cracked her head very badly on the ice. I didn't see it happen but quite a few people heard it. Not nice at all. She was in severe pain for some time and we drove her to a "walk in" medical centre where a doctor pronounced her without serious injury. All the same, they suggested I wake her up during the night to ensure no delayed effects. The next morning she was in quite a bad way. No only did she crack her head but she must also have jarred her back as she had a very stiff neck. Two days later her headache is still present.

She still wants to go skating next week.