The Sleeping Hat is Missing.

Ah, November.
At Cowfeathers, it means fires in the fireplaces, piles of sweet potatoes from the garden, the blankets get strapped on the horses, I start making things like "Irish Soda Bread" and "Spiced Pumpkin Soup". The tea pot gets a tea cozy, and I start using smaller cups. Baking once again becomes appealing...pretty much anything that keeps the kitchen warm because the oven is hot. And November means time to don the sleeping hat.
Only, this November I find myself in mild panic because I cannot find the sleeping hat. I believe I last wore it whilst tent camping in June, but that has not borne fruit of discovery.
My sleeping hat is a necessity to Cowfeathers comfort. I have not yet found anyone else who sleeps in a hat, but I highly recommend it if'n you're comin' for a visit!
According to the expert in everything, Wikipedia, " Nightcaps are not often worn in modern times. They are often featured in animation and other media as part of a character's pajamas." This is accompanied by the following illustration:


So, this is me.
Wikipedia also says " They were common in northern Europe before central heating was available, when homes were cold at night." Which explains a lot, as although we do have central heating, it is a little less than the word "heating" would imply.
I started wearing The Sleeping Hat several years ago. It came about after Christmas in 2006? when I said to my nearly slumbering Huz; "My head is just so cold" as I attempted to join him in sleep with a hand on my crown for warmth. He sensibly suggested "Why don't you wear a hat?"
It just so happened that for Christmas that year , Huz's Mom, who is a sensational seamstress, had gifted me a hat she had sewn out of soft polar tech fleece. The hat was on a pile of my new presents next to the bed. I reached over and snatched it up under the warming covers. When pulled into place, my head became instantly warm, also, it became instantly dark. This is because I have a head that is deceivingly small.  My noggin is about the same size as a child. It helps when teaching riding lessons, because if I need to get on a kid's horse to ride it, I can usually borrow their little helmet. Also, hats usually look good on me, probably because they balance my head, and it looks normally sized?

I guess I choose big sunglasses too.
Anyway, it was dark in my new hat because the brim settled down to about the middle of my nose. Warm, and cozy and dark. I fell asleep that night with a warm head.
Happily, the new sleeping hat also fixed another issue I had been battling. Every winter for a few years, I had lost my voice for weeks at a time. This was not a sad thing for my family, but what they called "Vacation". Still, it was a frustration for me, and most difficult at work. Have you ever had a whispering doctor? Pretty weird. Not to mention the hardship of making phone calls. This added a burden to my staff, as I would have to snag someone to call, they would dial, relay the problem to the answering party, then proceed play interpreter for the client."She said; 'It looks like Jonesy is having liver problems.' "  Dreadful.
But after donning the sleeping hat, I've not lost my voice once.
Which may be a clue to why my sleeping hat is now missing.

Even so, I am now in the market for a new sleeping hat. My search has turned up three populations to which sleeping hats are marketed.

• Newborn infants
• Cancer patients who have lost their hair to chemotherapy
• African-Americans, I think for protecting the style of their afro?

I'll tell you who does not buy sleeping hats. Middle aged white women who still have hair. I haven't given up on you, Etsy. I know somewhere in your vast resources my sleeping hat awaits. In the mean time I found these two contenders:

 Option one: Possible because of peanut-sized head (see paragraph above), also, gives the illusion that I have really long eyelashes. It looks warm.

 Option two: talk about warm! And, hard to lose that one. Plenty dark in there for happy sleeping, probably even in daytime. The very unusual shape would deter me from sleeping any way but on my back. Huz could use my hat as an additional pillow. For that matter, I wouldn't need a pillow. Think of the possiblity on car trips! You could lean against the window without getting a crick in the neck. Plus, the odd holes in the sides could store things. Like, snacks, or magazines?

I am currently using a wonderful hat knit by my dear friend, Lee Lee. It is green, and pretty, one of my favorite "day hats". See, I wear a hat all winter, pretty much everywhere but at work. Work has heat. But it isn't the sleeping hat. It fits, so doesn't keep my nose warm. Plus it tends to slide off when I'm sleeping and then I wake up several times a night to grope around the bed and floor to find it and re-apply.
Maybe Santa will bring me one of his for Christmas. He's got a big head, and I'll bet that sucker is toasty warm!