My. Wrists. Hurt.

A. Lot.

I have to save it for my students, so this'll be brief . . .

Tonight is Halloween, and Otto, our rather large, longhaired cat has spent the evening on the porch supervising the proceedings. If I had a piece of candy for every time I heard, "Wow! That's a big cat!" we could do Halloween all over again . . . (as it is, we had to close up shop 15 minutes early. I calculated just a little short on the candy.)

This is the first Michigan Halloween in my memory where the kids had to slather on the mosquito repellent before heading out. Not only was it warm today (63 degrees), we haven't really had much of a frost yet. The mosquitoes that are hatching are big and slow, and I'm hoping this means there will be fewer next summer . . .

But if it ever gets cold, I'm ready. I've knitted myself a new hat for under my helmet:




(The pattern is called Calorimetry and is available at knitty.com.) Also, it matches my gloves:





. . . which I've decided to frog because I really want them to be knit on larger needles - the yarn in the hat has a lot more sproing than the gloves. At least larger stitches means fewer stitches . . .

But the best news in the winter gear department is that I found the headphones K&R got me for Christmas a few years ago: They're encased within earmuffs. I had started to fear that they'd gone permanently missing during the move, and was very happy to see that they hadn't. I've been listening to audiobooks as I ride, and aside from the convenience of having headphones, the earmuffs by themselves are wonderful. It's not yet very cold here, but this is a windy town. 40 minutes a day of air whistling through my ears is sure to give me an ear infection or sinus upset before too long. Now, with the muffs and the hat, I'm all set . . .

Ok, off to rest my hands . . .