Now that #1 son is a proud possessor of that wonderous thing, a learner’s permit, he naturally wants to drive everywhere. And I want him to learn. Really. And I have to admit he’s doing pretty well. There are a few things he needs to practice: Turning is still a little shakey. He sometimes forgets to look both ways before entering traffic. And he has a propensity to drift far to the right that makes traveling on streets that have no right shoulder interesting. Other things, like pulling into the garage, he’s surprisingly good at. All in all, for a brand new driver he’s doing well.

Last night I let him drive a few blocks to a friends house. And this afternoon, figuring that the traffic would be pretty light, I handed him the keys and he drove all the way over to his girlfriend’s house in NE Portland. I know that I can be a bad passenger sometimes, so I took along my knitting to keep my hands busy with something other than clutching the door.

You can see from the picture (click to embiggen) that, after a few false starts, I’ve managed to get a sock going pretty well. It even fits me. I’m working a 2×2 traveling rib over the instep and up the ankle. I messed the pattern up in a couple of places, but the colors in the yarn keep it from being too noticeable. The heel could be better (it was worked in the car), but the toe came out pretty well.

The yarn is called Moda Dea Sassy Stripes. It has a lot of random colors that make stripes and interesting patterns as you knit or crochet with it. Unfortunately it’s acrylic, but it does have a nice soft hand. I’m thinking that these will make good bed socks or wear-around-the-house socks, and at least they will be washable.

Tonight we went to a movie and #1 son drove home. I live down what’s been described as “a really scary road.” I don’t know that I’d go that far, but there are no lights, and there is a stream running through a culvert on the north side, and it does go up and down and around some curves. And #1 Son does have that tendency to want to drift right while driving, and the stream was on that side…

It was too dark to see, but it probably would have been a good thing if I’d had my knitting with me.