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! 

NCSU-CVM 20th Reunion- going Back.

You can't go Back. Back just won't have you. If you stay, the changes are subtle and gradual, and they are assimilated. But if you leave, going Back is a jolt to your system, connections are lost- place isn't quite the same.
Still, it is an exercise in memory and sense to try going Back. Some things will spark a memory, other things are just confusing. Huz and I attempted Back last weekend. Back to where we met- Raleigh, N.C. And, a few things looked familiar, a few things sounded familiar, but nothing felt familiar.

I moved to Raleigh, N.C. in 1988. I left the area after the birth of Eldest in 1995. They were busy years for me. Objectively, I obtained a career, a husband and started my family. But the reason I landed in Raleigh was the career. I wanted to go to Veterinary School. This I had decided at age 12. It was an unflagging certainty that never waned, and for that I am grateful. It is easier to get somewhere when you are driven. I had started my higher ed at University of Richmond, where I collected some of the greatest friends in the great, great world. But, not even leaving them could sway me from my vet school goal. So, I transferred to North Carolina State University, the home of the Veterinary School which I had set my sights upon. I was in Great Britain for the summer months, so returned to the states to a packed "U Haul" (my mother had been busy at summer garage sales in prep for me setting up my first home) and drove to the unknown in Raleigh. While I was "across the pond" a friend of my mother's had picked out an apartment for me, and there I went. To Ivy Commons. It had air conditioning- which I didn't use, because at $350/month the rent was a stretch! That year I found friends, Mereth and Shila in quick succession, and the Dean's List. Aiko the cat shared my apartment- perhaps illegally.
My life got bigger as I moved to Bloodworth St. in downtown with Shila, acquired a dog, Randleigh, and a job milking cows.
My 1st year Vet School class was a tidy one. We may not have been conflict-free ( I did get punched in the kisser by a classmate-betcha can't wait to hear that story) but for the most part we were a tight, friendly group. We supported one another, cheered each other on, and someone had your back. I didn't feel there was jockeying for top rank- but perhaps that's because I wasn't in that horse race. For the most part, my class was inhabited by 70ish people I genuinely liked. And, I loved some too!

You can't go back. Raleigh has changed. For one, Huz and I stayed at the Bed and Breakfast down the street from my old house on Bloodworth Street, and we walked around the neighborhood. At night.
But here's what hasn't changed; the bond. It only takes minutes, when back in the embrace of a friend, to be exactly where we left off- the passage of time erases, and I wonder why I don't see these friends more often. I have been so fortunate in my life to have found such wonderful friendships. I may have exceeded my quota. But, darn if I don't want to be greedy and enjoy each one regularly.
20 years was too long. 5 is too, but I'll take it. Here's to hoping for a 25th Vet School Reunion! 
See Y'all soon!

DDK and me...now. I had forgotten how little she was until I went to hug her and put my chest in her face. So...I crouched down for a picture!

DDK and me....then. With classmate Kim as "hear no evil". I love this picture for a few reasons. We "dressed" for a party. I had a fancy party. And, check out that fireplace! Not typical college digs. It may have not been the safest place to live, but it was a great house.

This is the house, now. I have to say, when Shila and I lived here, it looked a LOT more "homey". Shila always had an abundance of plants and flowers, hanging baskets and color. We had a porch swing full of pillows, and a garden blooming with perennials. The house, then, was painted a drab yellow, so this is an improvement, but when we lived there it looked loved.

Here are some of my vet school chums having supper on the front steps of Bloodworth Street. I love this picture for another whole set of reasons. Catfish is in it, and we all miss him. The girls are all in panty hose. And, even though we hosted this party for my entire class, and dates, we still had enough china, flatware and crystal. Not one paper plate or plastic fork. Never doubt my deep seated addiction to tableware.

This was 1991. Per usual, Spidey is buried in girls. 

 

Re-creation of the photo, 23 years later. How I have missed these friends! Ladue couldn't be here for the reunion, so Deanna took her place (less blonde, less tall, but it works!)

Oh boy.