I have never been to Oklahoma. I wonder how long it takes to get to Arkansas from here, where I have also never been.

I never have the impulse to run away, because I already ran to the one place I want to stay.

I do, periodically, have the impulse to hunker down and not leave San Francisco though.

Just talked to our Realtor and he squeezed $15k out of the seller to deal with the undocumented HVAC issues. We're about two weeks from the close of Escrow and we've been warned the lenders will want ridiculous amounts of documentation about every little thing and there will be so many things to sign.

But we are still on glide path for landing [knock wood] so far.

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Am I remembering right that you are in Houston, Dana? That doesn't seem terribly far to either OK or AR, although driving 5 miles to get lunch DOES seem pretty far right now so I am no judge of distance

Dallas now. Many hours closer to both OK and AR.

I've been through Oklahoma and Arkansas during cross country drives as a kid.

I cannot recommend them, though I do remember Arkansas as being hilly/mountainous and pretty. Which you cannot say about OK.

Emmett is going to be in Oklahoma in April for Maggie the Girl's wedding!

I lived in the Texas Panhandle for a number of years and visited Oklahoma several times. Parts are quite pretty, actually, if it rains. Not stunning like the mountains in Colorado or the Big Sur area of California, but still pretty. And it has some interesting historical places to visit. Mind you, I'd never want to live there - the politics there are about as bad as Texas, alas.

I've never been to Arkansas.

I (who feel like I have never been anywhere) have been to Oklahoma. I was there for my aunt's 70th, so I didn't see a great deal of the state, though. Seemed nice while visiting. Enjoyed the Cowboy Hall of Fame (which kinda surprised me). Downtown OKC - "Bricktown" - was pretty cool.

Site leadership at work (who are apparently irony-impaired) have decided to do a pancake breakfast for "Employee Appreciation Day" - announced the same day as the widespread insulting annual reviews. The woman who is stuck organizing it (who is amazing, yet got a review even more insulting than mine), doesn't know anything about gluten-free pancake mixes. So I said I would ask my friends. Steph, any other gluten-avoidant types - do you have a pancake mix you can recommend? Thanks ever so.

Go to Oklahoma, Dana! Why not? Find a restaurant or a park or a sight and go there and see if there’s anything else to stop at on the way! I went to Idaho for the first time because I was nearby and hadn’t been!

I often have the impulse to sell my house and get rid of all my stuff and….do something/go somewhere. But now I not only have the house and the stuff I have a dog, so it feels more complicated than ever and less possible. Also probably not a good plan.

Steph, any other gluten-avoidant types - do you have a pancake mix you can recommend?

Bisquick brand and Krusteaz brand have GF pancake mixes, and they both make pretty good pancakes. Those probably hit the sweet spot of easy to find and not overly expensive (and avoids the problem known as This Is A Good GF Product But Why Is This Package So BIG All I Want To Do Is Make Like 4 Pancakes But This Will Make 400 Pancakes). Like, *I* buy the big-ass bag of stuff, but I know I'm going to bake a lot of shit and use it up. Someone who's just making pancakes one time, for a handful of people, should get the smallest package possible, and that's going to be Bisquick or Krusteaz.