No pictures today... we got back into Chicago around midnight last night. Trust me, tomorrow I will make up for that in spades. Hold on to your bandwidth!

Thank you to everyone who sent their sympathy or wished me a safe trip. Even though the weekend started with a funeral, it did turn out to be a really nice weekend. While I wish that more of my family could be collected together without such an unhappy event, it was really nice to see all my cousins and their children and my aunts and uncles on my Dad's side. I don't see my cousins very much any more, but I used to see them a lot during the summers when I was growing up.

When I was still living with my parents, the whole big connected family thing seemed so effortless. We got in a car several times during the summer and at holidays and drove to Ludington to see everyone. Now I am old enough to appreciate that it wasn't effortless. Mom and dad had to put a lot of effort into packing us up, making the drive, finding a place to stay and making the rounds once they were up there. Fourth of July never meant a calm weekend around the house taking care of something that they needed to do. It was a time to go and make sure that the family ties stayed strong.

And all their efforts paid off for me this weekend. It's so strange to see people that you haven't seen in 4 or 5 years and feel like you never stopped seeing them on a regular basis. Strange and wonderful. Made me realize that it's time for me to start putting some effort into maintaining the bond. We're all spread out now. My cousin Julie is still in Ludington teaching, but her younger brother, who is my age, now has a hunting lodge in Manitoba! Some of my younger cousins are in southern Michigan. My brother is in Houston. I have my work cut out for me.

On the knitting side... I wore my Eros scarf on Friday to the funeral and luncheon. I had one lady come up to admire it. She was wearing an intarsia sweater, so I just explained to her how the scarf was made. She smiled at me. Sometimes you just know when you meet another knitter. My felted daypack also got a few nice comments. And the wife of the cousin in Manitoba said she was trying to learn how to knit -- but that it was hard for her to learn from a book. Apparently they get to Chicago every now and again for hunting conventions, so I am hoping that next time I will get to teach her some basics.

After the funeral I wandered around Ludington a bit with my mom (took in a yarn shop and a handmade goods store...these were the first stops on my over the top consumerism trip this weekend) before we headed back to Ann Arbor. Lots of good things found their way into my car, there too. I got a few small things finished, but suffice it to say I need to stop shopping and start knitting.

Good Monday to you!