A few days home after a week in middle of nowhere Pryor, Oklahoma

I knew that it wasn't going to be anything special, but after years of travel I've figured out that there is something to do at any place that you might find yourself. Sometimes, you are surprised to find something that you really like. But that was not to be the case this week, and that's okay.


Our first night was in Tulsa, at a place we have been before that we like. It doesn't have good cable, but it does have a hot tub and an indoor pool, and it is next to a Kmart in case I forget to pack something. We took a wrong turn and had to drive almost an extra hour, and we probably could have just skipped Tulsa and gone straight to Pryor. But by that time we were really looking forward to that hot tub. Our late arrival meant that we skipped a bit of shopping we had thought about, which is just as well since we're short on money this week. After yet another unexpected change in the schedule, and still bad sales, we don't have the money to do stuff we normally do and pay for motel rooms and gas and other expenses of going out of town.


Tulsa is not that far away, but we were so tired that we didn't want to do anything except eat dinner and swim for a bit and sit in the hot tub. We were really tired and decided that the best thing would be to sit in the hot tub for a bit, go back to the room and eat something from the car like peanut butter and crackers, and then go back to the hot tub. Except that we forgot to pack the peanut butter. So we went out for tacos instead and then spent some time in the hot tub afterwards.


The following morning I woke up my husband with the magic word--bacon.


So after eating bacon and the usual motel breakfast stuff we put our stuff back in the car. Since we were only there for one night, we didn't take much into the room. Not taking much into the room included my regular bag, one of my knitting things, a small Igloo, the work camera, the work computer, two pillows, and my husband's regular bag. So after two or three trips to the car, we headed to Pryor.


Pryor was only about an hour away, so there was no big hurry to leave early, but we stopped to look a big cement totem pole. We got there too early to be allowed in the gift shop. So no souvenir magnets or postcards, which is just as well as we are short on money. As we were leaving, I was attacked by a very friendly but wet black lab. Luckily, he was just wet and not muddy.


We had made reservations for a change, and our room was already cleaned and ready for us when we arrived. We bought a bit of groceries and Subway sandwiches at Walmart. While I had wondered if it was a good idea to go on the trip, my husband had almost asked me not to go cause he was worried we would spend too much extra money. We won't spend extra money on my account, except for a bit of yarn. Other than that, if it wasn't something that I would have bought at home I didn't need to be buying it in Pryor either.


So of course I felt queasy the next day and didn't want to eat any of the stuff we'd just bought. Okay, I bought a bit of soup and made myself eat most of the rest of the stuff. Still, soup is not an unreasonable expense, I just felt bad about wasting a bit of the other food I'd already bought.


My husband had to be restrained from buying Six Dollar Burgers a few times. Here, have a hotdog instead. And here, have some iced tea.


Friday we went to lunch with his co-workers. Since I had to decide whether or not we were going when I was still feeling a bit sick, I picked the local Chinese Buffet, which wasn't actually bad just not as good as I hoped. Still, any Chinese food that isn't actually bad does tend to make me feel better.


Everything always takes longer than what I picture in my mind. I had thought that I would get a certain knitting project done, but to be honest, I didn't even get started. I did a few test pieces, which took longer than I thought, and then some of them started to unravel when I took them off of the machine. But I learned what I needed to know from them, and I decided I wasn't quite ready for the planned project. I'll give it some more thought and then maybe try it again next week. So I started a less important project, for practice. The ribbing on the machine was taking so long I figured that I wouldn't even get that done, so I thought maybe I could do the ribbing after I took it off of the machine. But then I forgot and finished off the top. So now I have to undo the top part so that I get back to the part that was supposed to be ribbed.


Anyway, it wasn't my week for knitting. The weather was a lot cooler than it has been around here, and it was good to get away from the heat for a bit. Between my not feeling well for a couple of days, our being a bit short on money, and the fact that my husband had to get back here to work a rare Monday schedule, we didn't do anything. No animal rescue center, no antique malls, and no nature trails. Nothing. Just a week of watching cable and not thinking about the awful heat.


The trip home was mostly uneventful, and we did finally get one of those Six Dollar Burgers. There was, however, a last stop at a Goodwill near here to get out one last time to stretch our legs. We bought a couple of things, for which they accidentally overcharged us, and then it seems like the next half hour was spent with them trying to figure out how to get that all straightened out on the debit card. I would have rather just had some store credit or something so we could just leave.


The cool weather has decided to follow us home, and for the next three days it will stay in the 80s and rain a bit. So that is really nice, except that with it raining I can't go out and do any yard work. The yard really does need some work. If we don't at least get the grass cut we will get one of those threatening letters. Due to more changes in the schedule, my husband will not be able to cut the grass either this week or next week, so I will be the one stuck with that chore, which I can't do right now because of the on and off rain.


Then I have to decide if I want to go out of town again. There's been no travel at all for months, but now there's almost three weeks of travel. I won't go later this week, but maybe next week I'll go with him to Oklahoma City. Again, I don't think it would be anything special, just maybe a week away from the heat, some cable TV, some time to knit, a chance to swim a bit and possibly a hot tub. And, if they don't change the schedule again, a rare Saturday day off. So I think that I'll probably go, if I can get some work done and cut the grass first.


So my 400th post is coming soon, and I can't decide what to write about. I have started several things over the past month or so. Finding a new spouse, Christmas is canceled, a bit I started after hearing something about gun control, and something I started writing about business travel after a fellow blogger was complaining about it--are all things possibilities, but I can't make up my mind.