I'm a pretty laid-back passenger, not much of a back seat driver.  It was (and will be) me who drove around with the girls when they had their learner's permits.  I didn't get too flustered when Katie hit the gas instead of the brake and got really, really close to the house.  I didn't have a fit when Ali hit the gas instead of the brake and made a big dent in the garage door.  I calmly explained the intricacies of the Y-turn as we climbed out of the ditch.  I have been known to grab a handle, put my hand on the dash, draw a sharp breath.

Last night, Katie was at the wheel.  She was down-shifting, slowing to stop at an intersection, when I drew a sharp breath.

"WHAT?!!"  Annoyed.

"YOU'RE WEARING MY MITTENS!!"  Smiling ear-to-ear, getting out the camera -- it was like running into a really, really good friend after a long time apart.

She had to take them off after a while -- it was cold, but not North Star cold -- I tried them on, admired my work.  Oh yeah, they're a little short for me.  I recalled one of my many "learning opportunities" with these mittens.  Stephanie's advice to "block some sense into the thing" always makes me smile.  Oh, man, I love these mittens!

My sky is very pretty to the east this morning.  The soundtrack is Canada geese.  This morning, we'll be buttoning up the house -- putting away air conditioners, replacing screens with storm windows (ick, that means washing windows, too).  The furnace has been on for a little while now.