Price increases

 Blessings Darlings!

We had another hard freeze Sunday night.  It did a lot of damage to my sprouting Swiss Chard, which we were hoping to use for salad and cooking greens right quick.  Most of the plants survived, but there will be delays.
HOWEVER - the freeze didn't bother the wild spring greens.  Today on my 10 minute break at work I filled a gallon bag with some lovely dead nettle.  It will become a creamy green topping for pasta tomorrow night. 
This all matters because my job exists, but doesn't really pay a living wage.  And the price of food has jumped . . . and so has the price of propane.  We are down to the point that out propane tank has only about 12% of its capacity left, about 51 gallons.  So I ordered another 100 gallons.  Which is more than 3 times the price per gallon it was when we first moved in here, some 4 or 5 years ago.  I DID get a small discount for our first fill, I'm sure.  But with Covid induced price increases (due to workers missing work from illness and/or deaths, leading to supply problems) followed by supply pressure from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, added to the fact that the past month was 3 degrees F colder here than it had been one year before (and that year wasn't a warm one) - I'm going to be spending $500 to just get 100 gallons of propane.  100 gallons.  We usually use 400 gallons a year.  In November I spent $1400 on propane (we really were sucking fumes at that point, 4% left in the tank).  It looks as if I'll be spending at LEAST $2000 for propane this year.
I expect there will be a lot of weed - excuse me, wild crafted vegetable eating in our future. 
Frondly, Fern

Gas Prices

Blessings, Darlings!

You might not have noticed - but since y'all are brilliant enough to read my blog you almost certainly HAVE noticed - that gas prices have been going up incredibly.  As in the prices are up almost $1.00 over the past year.  As in a 33% increase in one year.  How's THAT for an inflation rate?

So, one of the people I follow shares an article about this on Facebook.  And someone - Gods, may it be a troll and not a supposedly thinking individual - responds "You know, if $6/gallon gas would make people decide to own fewer cars, drive less and give up the gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs, I think I could find a way to live with it."  It's the first time I've seen the bumper-sticker stereotype "Democrats think high gas prices are a good thing" actually from a supposed liberal.  Because, of course, it's not like high gas prices are actually going HURT anyone, ya know.  They aren't going to make anyone have to choose between travel to work and food.  They won't cause food prices to rise.  It's not like the people who have the least ability to HANDLE gas prices - and they aren't the stereotype SUV/Hummer drivers - are going to suffer.  No, no, the rise in prices will just affect people who can afford new cars.  And, of course, manufacturing new cars takes NO oil products, no fossil fuels at all, let alone more fossil fuels than using them saves.  Oh, wait, manufacturing them takes MORE Energy than they save, and MORE petroleum products than using up existing cars.  Who'd have thought that?  Not the writer, clearly.  Or she doesn't think that the poor suffering is too much for THEM to pay for HER goal of getting 'the rich SUV owners' to buy different cars.  The poor, especially the rural poor, are either invisible to her or don't matter to her.  Or both.


I hope, the everyone's sake, that the writer is a troll, not a fucking moron.


Fern

Most Food Costs WAY Up!

Blessings, Darlings!

Have you noticed what is happening with food costs? They have jumped incredibly over the past year or so for some items. Fruits and veggies have taken the largest jump - according to the government. But let me tell you, meat prices have soared ... but the govt doesn't acknowledge that, their food price formulas assume that you'll switch from filets to burgers so they don't really figure it in.

Last weekend we did a rare trip to a large-ish Oriental food store. The chain has some superstores, but this wasn't one of them (alas, I LOVE their superstores). We needed a few speciality items, and we looked at prices on items that are usually at great prices there.

Oh, the trauma!

The frozen sliced beef, traditionally $2.99/ lb, was $5.99/ lb. The galbi (thin sliced beef flanken short ribs) was also at $5.99/ pound. The whole beef tenderlois, which was $5.99/ pound last year, is $6.99/ lb now.

I was in shock. I left disappointed. And without the soy sauce I was after, for they were out of the brand I like.

Meanwhile, the price of grains has dropped. I've not been to the feed store to get any 50 pound sacks of wheat or corn lately, but two years ago wheat was way up near $20 for that sack. Since then the price of wheat on the Kansas Board of Trade has dropped by more than half.

So it looks like I'll be increasing my stores of grains this summer (I don't know what's up in beans yet), and seeing what happens with all other prices. Possibly meat prices will drop next year, following the drop in grain prices, but since I get most of my beef from private sales that won't affect me much. I AM glad I put in an extra 6 tomato plants, but I'll really have to start more green beans than I had planned.

And the deep snow over the winter seems to have reduced the bunny and chipmunk populations to the point that no one is eating my blueberry bushes, and the birds haven't hit them yet. We might actually get some blueberries this year!

How does your garden grow?

Frondly, Fern

Brown Gold

Holy Liquid of All Life - coffee prices have jumped while I wasn't looking!

The Spawn went to Costco for me yesterday, as Costco is near his college. Among the other things I had him pick up was coffee since we've gone thru' most of the beans I had in storage. I was shocked at the bill - the coffee alone had gone up almost 15% since we had last bought it.

Why Was I Surprised?
I suppose I shouldn't have been. Maybe I've been suckered by all the recent chatter about deflation due to recession and all. At the very least, I'd not been following comodity prices lately.

Oh, I'd noticed that gas prices were up about 10% lately. Really up 33% over the lows gas hit last year. I'd noticed the jump in the price of oil. But I've not been watching other comodities.

It's a Finite Planet, Folks
I'd forgotten that this is a finite planet. I had become complacent. This has got to change, I have to go back to my paranoid .... er .... prepared ways.

Time for me to finally get the garden in. Even tho' I'm going to have to do it in the pollen (and the pollen led to the sinus and ear infection that stripped my will to blog over the past 10+ days). Time for me to grind my own flour again. Time for me to tell y'all all about it in vivid detail.

I'll bet y'all can't wait [grin]


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