I am appreciating having the garden more everyday

[imafan26]

Inflation is hitting everyone and everything. Everything has gone up from transportation, gas, utilities, food, clothing, and even garden supplies.

Yesterday, the news announced the cost of rice was going up. I already anticipated that and bought an extra bag of rice ( It was 20 or 25 lbs), the last time I went to Costco. Around here rice is more important than bread or potatoes. Rice is the daily staple. Some people eat it at every meal. I don't eat rice everyday, but for some things, I gotta have rice.

More mom and pop restaurants are closing as well. They said they cannot keep up with the rise in the cost of the mandated recyclable paper goods (and they are hard to find), and the rising costs of food, rent, utilities, and fuel. Plate lunches now, are easily $12-$20. The mini bentos are also close to $10.
I haven't bought one in a while, it may be even more now.

Consumers bear the brunt of the increases. $20 more a month for utilities, gas over $5 a gallon now, increases in bus fares because of the increase in gas prices. My HOA increased their fees another $20 as well for 3 months. Then there is the sticker shock at the stores. I get less and less every time I go. I went to Walmart and got one big bag of groceries and that was $60. At the Asian market, I went to pick up some specialty condiments and sauces. Bean sauce, tom yum, five spice, white pepper, dark soy sauce. I skipped the things that I could find at any market like the cane vinegar and fish sauce. I got a couple of packages of chicken legs for $1.79/lb. A few months ago at another store that was $1.56/lb. Legs are the cheapest cuts of chicken I can usually get. The tab was another $60. My real estate taxes are also going up about 15% because of the rise of the assessment value and the city did not pass a resolution for tax relief because, they needed the revenue to run the city as well.

I don't drive my car that much and it does not use that much gas, so I can go 10 or more days between fill ups, so gas is almost always higher than the last time. At least I can still fill my half tank for less than $25, other people are paying $75-$125 to fill their gas guzzlers.

Even though it has cost me more for seeds, shipping, and garden supplies. I get a lot of produce from my garden and have some to share. Sometimes I have more eggplant than I can give away. Zucchini, not so much, I have gotten a few fruit, but it is attacked often by pests. I usually get most of my fresh vegetables and herbs from my garden. I only buy carrots, celery, round onions, on a regular basis. I buy garlic from Costco and one bag will last me nearly a year. I don't eat that much garlic. When I went to the grocery stores, whether they were the larger chain stores or the smaller local stores, I have been noticing the produce is in poor condition. Most have been sitting on the shelf awhile and are wilted and not fresh. The celery at Walmart was actually brown. It has been that way for weeks. I don't think because there is a shortage of produce. I think it is because the stores are not ordering as much produce because people are just buying less and they are keeping the older stuff on the shelves longer. I really appreciate now, having all that fresh produce just outside my door.

It is costing me more since my water bill went up $20-$30 a month. Most of that water is going in the yard. Most of the charges are sewer charges. I have more in the garden now than I usually have at this time of the year. I normally would not be planting much in the main garden and solarizing it. But, it is planted now and I have a lot more large container plantings of cucumbers, beans, tomatoes than I normally do. However, having the food security is also important. I either put it into my garden for quality fresh food or pay more at the grocery stores for wilted and less than fresh produce. I do shop at the farmer's market, but they pretty much have a lot of the same things I grow. I do get bread there, with no preservatives, so it does spoil fast, and some produce I don't grow. The farmer market prices are actually usually a little higher than the stores, but the produce is fresher.

We no longer have a local bakery for regular breads. There are smaller bakeries only. Now, most of the bread comes from the mainland frozen and the price is higher $4 a loaf, but they have so much preservatives, the texture is weird. It is a good thing I don't eat a lot of bread. I bought some more flour, since, I figure once the grain stores are used up and this years' harvest will be smaller, I may need it. I may try my hand again at making my own bread. I have stocked up on cat food. When I can find it, the price is higher every time. There wasn't any for a couple of months, even online. I am good for the rest of the year.

Yesterday, there was a piece on the news about a neighborhood that started a new idea. A "free store". They interviewed a woman who had a free store in front of her house. There were garage sale type items like housewares, some clothing, and a few boxes of plants she grew in her yard. She said people were free to take whatever they needed and some people left other items in exchange. She said these times are hard on everybody and we should take care of each other however we can.