Last week I had some sort of awful flu-type thing that made me feel as though a truck had run over me several times.

On Friday, my cousin died after a years-long and hard-fought illness.

Sunday morning, bright and early, I met my brother at his house and we drove together to Lewiston, ID for the funeral.

If one drives like my brother does (fast, with few or no stops), it takes about 6 hours from Portland to Lewiston. And 6 hours back. I figured on 12 good hours of knitting. I didn’t think that the sock scarf had 12 hours of work left in it, so I decided to start another project. I’ve been wanting to try knitting two socks at once on circular needles. I had the two skeins of Wildfoote handpainted yarn in the “Brown Sugar” colorway and the pair of US # 2 Crystal Palace needles picked up on my last pilgrimage to Woodland Woolworks, so now seemed like the time.

Saturday night I spent a couple of frustrating, but eventually successful hours figuring out how to do two separate figure-8 cast-ons on one pair of circular needles. By the time I went to bed on Saturday, I had the first several rounds knit on each toe, and I was off to a great start. I have to admit that getting started wasn’t easy, and I’m glad I had that finished so my brother didn’t have to listen to me swear a blue streak in his car.

I don’t see my brother all that often, so Sunday we did a lot of talking and I didn’t get much knitting accomplished. But I did do several rounds somewhere between The Dalles and Pasco. I’m not really very happy with the Crystal Palace needles. There’s a groove on the metal part that catches the yarn.

Sunday evening there was a vigil service at a church — actually more of a roast, where people shared stories — followed by a cheese and wine gathering in the church social hall. By the time I got back to the motel, I was exhausted. I stayed awake just long enough to touch bases with #1 Son in Portland and make sure he was settled for the night, and then I was out like a light.

Monday morning we joined the rest of the family for breakfast. The funeral was held at my cousin’s church and was one of the best attended funerals I have ever seen. Even though it was at a larger church than the vigil service, every seat was taken, an overflow room was also full, and people were standing in the back. After the service there was a luncheon back at the first church in the school gym. I think that almost everyone who attended the funeral also attended the luncheon.

When I die, I will be happy if a couple of people get together and lift a glass and say “she was a good sort.” That about 1/2 the town of Lewiston showed up for my cousin’s funeral is indicative of the exemplary life he led. He will be missed.

And I’m not fond of funerals, but I saw people there that I haven’t seen since I was a child. And it was fun to see all of the scattered family that I usually see once every 5 or 6 years. I wish we could get together for happier reasons.

My brother and I left right after the luncheon to start the long drive back to Portland. And I decided I would get knitting! I got about 3 or 4 rounds completed and was in the middle of the next round when the metal cap holding the cable fell off one of the needles. I pressed on to complete the round, but it was a real pain because I kept dropping stitches off the end of the needle. Now I’m really not happy with the Crystal Palace needles. 😡

I wish that Clover made needles in US # 2, but their smallest size is US # 3. I think that addi Natura needles come that small, though, and I’d like to try a pair of those. In the meantime, when I arrived home I super-glued the cap back on the needle and it has stayed put. But the yarn still catches and the needles don’t seem “fast” enough.

I’ll post a pic when I get past the toe increases.