Things are getting sparse and more expensive.......

[cpaharley2008]

Everywhere, there are shortages and long wait times. In addition prices have increased at least 10% over past 6 months.......if in stock!

[JeffreyG]

Yeah, the economy is very hot it seems. I believe I saw a report that GDP growth for 2021 was something like 5.5%. We have not seen an economy like this since 1984.

I'm in the truck business, and my freight moving customers have more demand than they can meet. We're sold out through 2022 already.

And labor is tight (the basis reason for inflation). Everyone is looking for workers, which is going to lead to increasing pay.

I take it as some bumps here and there, but basically things are good right now.

[Iowa Dave]

We needed a couple boxes of regular soda crackers along with some other groceries. We try to stay out of grocery stores these days. So we order the groceries on line and go in and pick them up. No additional charge. Like Jim said, prices have gone up , some a lot more than 10 %. So they were out of saltines but their site said they would ship them to us. Rita ordered them. Same price as if they were bought in the store. They came in a cardboard box, via a delivery truck, with air bag protection, in perfect condition. And I made a large ham and 13 bean soup. Amish recipe.

No real reason to wonder why things cost more. $6 for the crackers, cardboard box, packing, labor to pick, pack, deliver. Gasoline, truck time to drive 30 miles round trip etc etc. it’s a world I never thought I’d see. Soup was excellent.

Today I’m just fartin’ around building a birdhouse and powder painting some jig heads I cast a while back. It’s -14F this morning outside but warming up.
Iowa Dave

[cpaharley2008]

Too cold for me to be outside. I'm waiting until it warms a little.....

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Too cold for me to be outside. I'm waiting until it warms a little.....

I’m usually out every day with our dog Jake but when it gets real cold, I don’t keep him out very long. The hair on his underside is real fine and running him in the brush in the fall wears most of it off. He doesn’t like wearing a skid plate.
We don't have a lot of snow on the ground right now.
Maybe 4 or 5 inches average.

There’s a power stroke but not a diesel. Rita took this the other day in Fayette County near West Union. Have a great day and stay warm Jim and Noelia
Iowa Dave

[Donna D.]

Yep, free delivery is not free. The cost just went to someplace else that raised the price. I like grocery shopping at 5am for myself. It gets me out of the house and I feel fairly safe as the store just opened and it's about as clean as the air will be inside the store for the day.

[emers382]

Visited two Fry’s yesterday in Mesa neither one had any distilled water. Today will go looking in Apache Junction but hate having to go into multiple stores but need it for the CPAP

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Yep, free delivery is not free. The cost just went to someplace else that raised the price. I like grocery shopping at 5am for myself. It gets me out of the house and I feel fairly safe as the store just opened and it's about as clean as the air will be inside the store for the day.

Very smart there, Donna....

[Chasing Trials]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Everywhere, there are shortages and long wait times. In addition prices have increased at least 10% over past 6 months.......if in stock!

The other day I went to buy a loaf of the Artisan store baked type bread. They had stickers over the day before's, raised a whole dollar!! Went to another store......bought there at the day's before prices. 2 loaves & frozen one. Maybe time to go back to baking my own!?

[dfandrews]

Originally Posted by emers382

Visited two Fry’s yesterday in Mesa neither one had any distilled water. Today will go looking in Apache Junction but hate having to go into multiple stores but need it for the CPAP

You might try the Dollar Tree at Apache Trail(Main St) and Ellsworth Rd (just E of the 202 loop)-(E Mesa/W.end of Apache Jct). Dollar tree and 99cent stores are sometimes a surprise as to what they have, when the bigger brand-name stores are out.

[emers382]

Originally Posted by dfandrews

You might try the Dollar Tree at Apache Trail(Main St) and Ellsworth Rd (just E of the 202 loop)-(E Mesa/W.end of Apache Jct). Dollar tree and 99cent stores are sometimes a surprise as to what they have, when the bigger brand-name stores are out.

Thanks Don. I went seven places today and none anywhere. Dollar Tree was one. Apparently people are using them according to Google to clean N95 masks. I also suspect since there’s a lot of retirees around here many no doubt use CPAP machines. Also can’t find Club Soda

On another note there were five Escapes here at Lost Dutchman last night

[emers382]

Lost Dutchman SP

[Mike G]

Wish I were there at Lost Dutchman (fond memories of hiking with my dad before he passed) eating some of Iowa Dave's bean soup (via delivery of course). Oh well. Do they still have that problem there with critters eating the vehicle wiring at night? If so, keep the hoods up and lights underneath.

[emers382]

Originally Posted by Mike G

Wish I were there at Lost Dutchman (fond memories of hiking with my dad before he passed) eating some of Iowa Dave's bean soup (via delivery of course). Oh well. Do they still have that problem there with critters eating the vehicle wiring at night? If so, keep the hoods up and lights underneath.

Most people have lights under the engine area of tow, toad, or mhome. We bought the rid-a-rat as soon as we hit AZ knowing we’re here for 13 nights and other desert camgrounds. Worked out to nearly $70Cdn but figure it’s good insurance

[MrLynn]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

I’m usually out every day with our dog Jake but when it gets real cold, I don’t keep him out very long. The hair on his underside is real fine and running him in the brush in the fall wears most of it off. He doesn’t like wearing a skid plate.
We don't have a lot of snow on the ground right now.
Maybe 4 or 5 inches average.

There’s a power stroke but not a diesel. Rita took this the other day in Fayette County near West Union. Have a great day and stay warm Jim and Noelia
Iowa Dave

Neat photograph! Birds in flight are the hardest.

[MyronL]

We got all our shots - survived a scare after we visited friends who then told us their visiting daughter tested positive. (Recently got tested negative).

Learned our ex-housekeeper, 10 years younger than us, who refused to get vaccinated so we stopped using her, died in December, my brother (NJ) was just released from a 4 day hospital stay after he tested positive – he’s recovering ok –as are the rest of his family, and --a scheduled office visit with my primary just got switched to a telephone call because the VA hospital has minimized all entry -- Our UPS delivery guy here and I are on very friendly terms. All optional purchases I need to make are currently now delivered via Amazon, eBay and, Costco online.

Recovered somehow from a scary pinched nerve in lower back, had to stop my late afternoon walks with Josie. --So with all that we here are kinda walking on egg shells. and, keeping the faith.

[mcdonner]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

We needed a couple boxes of regular soda crackers along with some other groceries. We try to stay out of grocery stores these days. So we order the groceries on line and go in and pick them up. No additional charge. Like Jim said, prices have gone up , some a lot more than 10 %. So they were out of saltines but their site said they would ship them to us. Rita ordered them. Same price as if they were bought in the store. They came in a cardboard box, via a delivery truck, with air bag protection, in perfect condition. And I made a large ham and 13 bean soup. Amish recipe.

No real reason to wonder why things cost more. $6 for the crackers, cardboard box, packing, labor to pick, pack, deliver. Gasoline, truck time to drive 30 miles round trip etc etc. it’s a world I never thought I’d see. Soup was excellent.

Today I’m just fartin’ around building a birdhouse and powder painting some jig heads I cast a while back. It’s -14F this morning outside but warming up.
Iowa Dave

Hey Dave, Haven't been on the Forum in quite a while but I wanted to say that soup sounds DELICIOUS. I'm a soup person, Linda not so much. Hard to beat a hearty bowl on a cold winter day. Hope you and Rita are doing great. Here's to better days ahead.

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by emers382

Lost Dutchman SP

Nice photos Adrian. I’m a sucker for those sunsets.
Iowa Dave

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by mcdonner

Hey Dave, Haven't been on the Forum in quite a while but I wanted to say that soup sounds DELICIOUS. I'm a soup person, Linda not so much. Hard to beat a hearty bowl on a cold winter day. Hope you and Rita are doing great. Here's to better days ahead.

Hi Ralph
This week it’s a chicken noodle soup. Used 6 drumsticks and 3 thighs for stock in a big stainless pot, celery and carrots etc.. Then once boiled down, we take the bones out, let it get cold so the fat congeals on the top of the poured off liquid and use a spoon to take the fat off.
Then warm everything back up and add the egg noodles.

The final rotation in the soup cycle will be next week with a chili using some ground venison of mine and a pound that Peter Steyer gave me when he stopt by last spring. I’ve had a lot of soup in my day and I never get tired of it. Several good church cookbook recipes will get a person through winter.
Have a good rest of the winter.
Iowa Dave

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by MrLynn

Neat photograph! Birds in flight are the hardest.

I remember the first Bald Eagle I ever saw in the wild. It was 50 years ago and I was on the Upper Mississippi River that day on a barge pusher. Today an eagle was perched in our neighbors tree about 600 feet away. The population comeback has been amazing. There’s about 25 at our local lowhead dam right now and they are feeding on gizzard shad .
I spend time every day looking at birds.