We left Madison at 7:30 on Friday night, arrived at my sister's in SW Kansas before noon on Saturday, loaded up what she wanted to take with her without incident (left behind a lot), and arrived back in Madison at 7:30 on Sunday night.

We stayed in Topeka on Saturday night for a much-needed rest, otherwise we were just drivin'. I can't believe we made that trip -- about 1700 miles -- in 48 hours.

It was a rescue mission. Plain and simple. Thank you all so much for your well wishes and good thoughts. I don't want to hang out laundry that isn't my own, but I'm comfortable saying that my sister is in a better place, but now she has to realize it, too. It's going to take a long time for her to heal and become whole again, overcome uncertainty and find her way.

She has -- and is finally accepting -- the love and support of the many people who love her and care for her. All of my sister's belongings are in storage in my youngest sister's garage in Madison. Due to the frenzy of unloading, my bag is also temporarily in storage in Madison!

I brought very little with me on the trip, but among the things I packed was my knitting! And not just Cromarty, but the Tasha bag, too! Argh. I didn't really think I'd be able to knit during the trip -- and I didn't expect to work on Cromarty at all (which is why I brought Tasha) -- but both of these sisters are knitters, and I wanted to share my work. My sis (formerly of Kansas) brought her basket of knitting needles and pattern books/magazines with her, as well as her tub o' yarn, and I think she'd really like to get back to knitting. A simple project to occupy her mind and her time and her hands. I guess I was hoping to inspire and encourage her by bringing my own.

And guess what she had in her basket of books? The Celtic Collection, the very book in which the pattern for Cromarty can be found! I'm looking forward to going through her stash with her, perhaps helping her to choose a project. Anyway, there has been no knitting and there will be no new knitting for at least a few days. This might be a good time to focus on and finish Summer Sonata!

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Later. I wanted to share... My sister didn't have ready internet access in Kansas, so I printed out information and sent it to her. I think it helped her to realize her situation (especially descriptions of serial bully and signs to look for in a battering personality) and understand that her own feelings are not unusual. I'm sure there are thousands of sites out there...

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And one more thing... I was just admitted to the Knit Bloggers web ring! Yay!