Guthrie, OK

This past weekend we took a trip up to my father-in-law's home town of Guthrie, Oklahoma.  I was a little nervous because although Oliver and I have been together for nine years, I had still never met these mythical Okie relatives of his.  Every year I hear all of these horrid drug-related, white-trashy-Jerry-Springer stories about them.  So I am delighted to be able to relate that we are 1. still alive, 2. drug-free, 3. still in possession of all of our belongings regardless of all the purported "sticky fingers" that flourish there.

I am pleased to be able to report that I liked everyone I met, and they seemed normal enough to me.  I also got to get some baby cuddles, which has been pretty rare to come by since my only niece is now five.  Guthrie itself was also pretty fascinating.  It was the original capital of Oklahoma until 1910 when the seal was moved to Oklahoma City.  The city is a genuine Victorian boom-town frozen in time.  It was the site of the famous land run of 1889 and hosted some of the worst western outlaws.  It has so many beautiful Victorian mansions (filled with ghosts, according to the father-in-law) that I wish I could have explored.  To me it is just so odd to consider that the "old west" was really not that long ago.  I can hardly imagine how the country I live in could have transformed from being wild and lawless into this place in which almost every piece of land is owned by someone and it seems so hard to escape from modern conveniences.

We had a good time.  One day we searched in the woods for morel mushrooms and found a scant few.  Supposedly they taste delicious.  We also visited a few antique shops, a yarn shop (oh, YEAH), too many restaurants, and quite a few relatives.  One highlight was our visit to a gen-u-wine Carnegie library and frontier museum.  Very cool. 

So now I am having a very hard time catching up on my homework assignments that I put off last weekend.  And that I am putting off right now by blogging about them instead of working on them. 

I really want to spin but have no fiber.  Need to finish the ripple baby blanket by Sunday.