It’s been a hot minute since I did one of these, so this one is going to be different. I’m not really going to comment much on the Big Picture. I’m mostly sticking to local stuff.
Prices. Good googly moogly, prices. “Inflation last month was only 0.2%!” So effing what? The inflated prices aren’t coming down. Am I supposed to be happy that the $5/doz eggs only went up by a penny last month? Yeah, it’s a penny but it’s my penny and I’m pinching the thing as hard as I can. Poor Abe is singing soprano. Speaking of pennies, you won’t be pinching them for long. Get ready to pinch nickels.
Some prices, such as gas, are yo-yoing up and down. The range can be as much as 30¢/gallon in a single day. I can see no reason why this is happening. I’ve signed up for every gas company affiliate plan I can find, and those can save me as much as 13¢/gallon, although it’s normally 5-10¢. I’ll take what I can get.
Restaurant prices have more-or-less stabilized, although we are going out much less than we used to and therefore see them less often. A few fast food joints are even lowering prices, so you can pay less for their crappy food.
About a year and a half ago, we signed up with an in-home food delivery service, Passanante’s Home Food Service. Not inexpensive, but the quality of their meats are generally better than anything I can get locally, they’re already portioned and packaged, and their delivery guy brings it in and stocks the freezer. Oh, and they guarantee my freezer that I owned when I signed up. If it dies, they replace the freezer and the food. By the time we account for our time and effort we feel we’re close to or at break-even on the deal. They also have some pre-cooked and ready-to-cook selections, although that isn’t their main focus.
I tell you that to tell you this–going to the grocery store may soon be a sporting event. In the event of the EBT cards not being refilled, I expect that some areas will see difficulties. Stock up this evening if you need anything. Figure out where the less-dangerous grocery stores are and plan how you’ll visit in case this drags out, because the longer it goes the greater the chance things spiral. Hopefully the idiots in DC solve this one soon. This would be one lousy reason to watch things go into a death spiral.
Related but not exactly is your Christmas gift giving shopping. I’ve traditionally started accumulating gifts in July. Not anything big, but stocking stuffers and things that I know someone wants, that won’t go on sale, and that they won’t buy for themselves. For example, a few years ago the kids and I joined forces to buy Mrs. Freeholder an iPad. Best Christmas gift ever, BTW. Should the federal shutdown continue into late November, Christmas shopping might get sporty too.
I wonder if/when we’ll see Amazon, UPS and FedEx trucks with someone riding shotgun?
Restaurants in the area seem to be surviving, although some have cut hours. No restaurant I’ve been to in the last few months has been full. Prices are also up. We paid $33 yesterday for lunch–two burgers with fries and two drinks. Yeah, that was a shock. We won’t be visiting there again. I know two places, one within eyeshot of the place, with better burgers for less.
We spent this past weekend RVing at the Denton Farmpark for their “Fall Festival”. They had food and trinket vendors, bouncy things for the kids, hayrides, train rides and trick-or-treaters going from camper to camper. It’s a lot of fun and gives the kids a taste of what Halloween was when I was growing up in a small city. There were fewer vendors, fewer campers, and fewer kids than last year, which was somewhat disappointing. However, last year the weather was sunny and about 80 and this year it was cloudy, windy, and in the 50s. That makes a difference. Plus there’s competition from the local churches doing “trunk or treat” *gag* and various other themed events.
I suppose that on the real Halloween eve we’ll stay home, turn on the porch light and hope in vain for some costumed visitors. We rarely get any, just because of how our subdivision is laid out. The houses are at least 200′ from door to door, and some are a lot more. But we’ll see. Several new families have moved in and there are at least two babies who have been born in the past year.
Housing is getting interesting. Due to a couple of large employers moving to the county lately, mid-range housing is at a premium. Houses roughly like ours are selling well. No, we’re not selling. I think we’re dug in here, at least for the foreseeable future. Smaller houses are hard to find. Few builders are building them, and existing ones get snapped up fast. High-end housing sales have slowed. Housing of all sorts seems crazy expensive to me, but neither that nor higher interest rates seem to be slowing sales much.
At the other end of housing, I’m seeing another round of RVs parked in side or back yards. More than a few seem to be set up for extended stays. I’m not sure what the rules are for such things in our county, but either it’s cool with TPTB, people are ignoring TPTB or TPTB are ignoring it for whatever reason. Unless they somehow cause problems, I’m continuing in live and let live mode.
Similar but different, we’re seeing more UTVs and golf carts on the roads. This can be done legally, though I’m not sure everyone is in full compliance with the various laws. As long as I don’t hit them and they don’t hit me, I’m going live and let live on this one as well.
Agriculturally, this was a good year for most crops. I saw corn that had to be over 7′ tall (unusual around here), lots of soybeans and a big increase in acreage devoted to cotton. Hayfields were mowed two or three times, and I think some might have eked out a fourth cutting. I’m also seeing an increase in the size of cattle herds. It’s all good, as I like to eat.
Our local ham club has added battery backups to our repeaters. One of our members is an EMS-type who was deployed to the mountains for Hurricane Helene relief work. His stories were the prime motivator in making this happen. The next step is to add solar panels to make the repeaters useable in a longer-term grid down situation. I’m not big on VHF/UHF, but I have the gear if I need it. I’m even considering build a “go box” in my copious spare time. I doubt my effort will be quite so snazzy, though.
In case you haven’t heard of it, I need to clue you in on Temu. Yes, it’s cheap Chinese crap. But it’s cheap Chinese crap cheap. I’m picking up stuff for about half the going rate on Amazon, sometimes even less. Mrs. Freeholder now has several of those long flowy dresses that are in style now. $40-50 on Amazon, $10-25 on Temu. I got a hand-held anemometer and an hand-held RF field meter for almost exactly half of Amazon’s prices for visually identical items. You’ll pay for shipping sometimes, but it’s usually reasonable. No, you won’t get it overnight or in two days. Returns aren’t quite a simple as Amazon, but they aren’t onerous.
Lastly, we recently had to send one of our beloved cats on ahead. Sam came to us while Daughter was home from university on Christmas break. He was the official greeter and Lap Cat Extrordinaire. We figure he was right at a year old when we got him, so allowing for error he was around 13 years old. He simply went off his food over a few days. The vets x-rayed him and found that his liver was misshapen. Blood work showed his liver enzymes were all out of whack, indicating liver damage. The suspicion was cancer. We could have had an MRI done for a more definitive diagnoses, but at $2-3000, we didn’t see knowing exactly why we had to do what we had to do was going to make a difference. He left with me holding him and talking him through.
Shit, it’s gotten dusty in here again. Out here.
Freeholder – Best comments on the passing scene from Bittyburg you have made in a good bit. Lots of good information and links to current topics with links and a personal twist in your posting. And your links list in the margin has grown offering something for everyone. Times are indeed getting interesting all over. Sorry to hear of your loss with Sam – the goal is to give your critters a good life and outlive them so you can say goodbye properly. You and the Mrs. take care and come see us. best, redclay 10/30
Glad to hear from you again. I like to hear a report from elsewhere, since I don’t travel and stay local.
We seldom eat out also. As I recall the last time in a restaurant, an appetizer, onion rings and 2 soft drinks cost us $35 to $40.
Grocery store prices remain high, as expected. Individual items don’t seem too outrageous, but the total is high considering how little is in the cart. Lactose free products are high, of course. Hamburger is creeping up, $4 / lb for 80%. Just bought a ham shank, almost a dollar more per pound than one I bought in the spring or last winter.
Housing here remains astronomically high. Average is $600K, most are much higher.
Sorry to hear of your Sam passing. Our old boy is fading too. Treatment is available for a couple thousand $ plus follow-up. At 17 y.o., we’re choosing to let him decline. He’s not in pain. The vigil is sad, not knowing how long he has. I expect it will be only a few more weeks.