As it gets worse and worse, there is no end in sight.
I had to swing across the bridge into Portland yesterday after work and then circle all the way back to the far side of Vancouver to a Wally World before coming home.
I had a couple of things catch my eyes as they popped out of my head.
Right at the I-5 bridge at Jantzen beach there is a shopping center on both sides of the freeway. There is a gas station on the East side I had to drive by.
Regular Unleaded was $4.99 a gallon.
I drove past that as I glanced at the gas gauge which was telling me I had just under a half a tank.
Nope.
Last week it cost me $90 for 20 gallons of gas and that isn’t even a full tank. I figure it’s going to cost me $150 to fill it if I let it go to 1/8th of a tank.
Stopped at a liquor store to get a carton of smokes. I was in there a week or so ago and found the ones I like for $65 a carton. Far and away cheaper than anywhere else.
Not today.
They don’t have them, or anything like them in King size and don’t plan on getting anymore. A carton of Marlboro menthols in King size was $95 fucking dollars.
Newports were $104!!
Are you fucking kidding me?!
I bent over and snagged some smokes because rush hour was just getting started and there was no way in Hell that I was going to drive around in that shit looking for something cheaper. I would have been stuck in bumper to bumper traffic.
Drove clear across Vancouver to pick up the Safety Glasses my new job says I gotta have.
Another $270.
Progressive BiFocal lenses don’tcha know.
That was an expensive hour or so.
I didn’t go grocery shopping with the Wifely Unit last Saturday and I’m probably better off because of it. Week before, one cart of groceries was $300.
The bastards are slowly choking us all to death.
All of us are getting price shocks every time we turn around.
I spend a lot of time keeping up with what is going on.
Everywhere I went on the tubes last night was someone else saying it is going to get much, much worse.
As in 10% inflation, PER MONTH.
We are looking at $10 a gallon milk and everything else is going to go through the roof also.
IF, you can find it.
The ripple effects of the Supply Chain fiasco, the Truckers strikes, the failing Farm production, we are in for a scenario that hasn’t been seen since WWII and the Rationing.
Quit putting it off people, get you a pantry going.
From what I am seeing, there isn’t any relief in sight until AFTER next year.
If we make it that long.
God help us.
“New job”?
I missed that news.
Is this a new new job, or just an internal transfer?
I had to have prescription safety glasses (no-line bifocals) when I worked at the Camas mill, but they paid for them.
A big bag of pipe tobacco and enough tubes (ryo tubes they called here) for 2 cartons of smokes around here are about $30. Well, was a.month ago when I bought em. Probably gone up by now but… The contraption to stuff the tubes was $40… 10 years ago. That much lasts me about 2 months. Just making time to roll em A pain but worth it.
I get mine online from Tobacco General or Windy City Cigars. Costs me less than $15/carton for my preferred tobacco and tubes. I do Zen menthol tubes and Gambler menthol tobacco. Naturally, I call my smokes Zen Gamblers……
I get my bi-focal saftey glasses at MSCDirect
Type in on their searchbar: safety glasses/bi-focal/2.5
The last #s are the magnify power, just change them as required.
I’m gonna just come right out and say it, Phil:
NOW would be an excellent time to quit smoking.
Just saying, bud. I know it’ll be difficult but you have our encouragement. Well, mine, anyway.
And mine, but if Phil wanted to quit, he would have already.
I started rolling my own back when the state here raised taxes on the 2 buck per pack, just because they could. and then the city added a buck to help them out.
windy city is the spot to go, buy the bag, get some tubes and a good machine
electric or power ones work great for a while, until they don’t. go with a hand
power one. it would be best to start your garden here soon, as this is only going to get worse. check out johnny’s select seeds, or any good heirloom seed store.
canning is something I need to work on, got the ball blue book and a couple of flats of jars and extra lids, need a better canner next.
dave in pa, stuck up a post about PB lids for canning jars in your honor…
Dave, I have my tubes, tobacco, & machine ready to, & may break them out again. Been buying cartons, but it may be time.
Going this weekend to buy a shitload of seeds; some for planting, some just in case.
I’ve always bought heirloom or received some from friends with good plants, but will seeds labelled ‘Organic’ yield seeds that will grow? Seems like they would, but I don’t know. I’ve always avoided hybrids, as I don’t want to buy seeds every year.
Thanks!
I meant to say “plants from seeds labelled ‘organic'”.
buying and saving seeds is just as important as getting the right seeds. got the book on saving seeds as dad not around anymore to tell me about it. kind of trial and error really.
but I have found that if the seeds in question grow for me here and now, save the seeds from the best ones that I grew and they seem to work for me, so far anyway.
back when I was still working and had money, I tried to buy the best rated seeds I could. vac packed and stored them in the freezer just in case.
I bought seed taters and also used cut offs from store bought ones for eating, they both grow. damn shame mine kidneys are trashed from years of OTC pain meds and I need to eat less spuds , but they are easy to grow.
the tower method works well and is easy to do.
4 by 4 foot print, keep adding boards as the plants grow,
I use a lot of mulch for this, there are fucking trees everywhere around here= lots of leaf mulch.
if you have or know of someone with a wood stove, save the wood ash ! mixed with urine, it damn near the same as miracle grow ! back in the 1980’s dept of state gave a lot of money to some big school in the midwest, anyway.
after all the fuss, seems like slash and burn farming is how most 3rd world farming is done, so by saving the wood ash from cooking fires and pissing on it. they where able to grow the same crops again on the ground. instead of moving to a new plot and starting all over again.
if there is a local feed store near you, check there FIRST.
big box store seeds are the worst, buy from a seed seller.
if you don’t act like a asshole, the locals will help you out from what I seen just about everywhere I gone in life.
you going to need to start saving small jars and the like to store your seeds as well.
and if the shit hit the fan, you are going to need to protect your garden as others will help themselves if they can.
beans will be a important part of it as well. try and grow both bush and pole beans. there a reason why grandma spent so much time with beans , snapping them and canning them, drying some. poor man meat they are called. if you can try growing peanuts as well. if it wasn’t for peanuts , over half of the south would have starved to death during the civil war. and they grow under ground and most people have no idea what the plant looks like.
got to stop. hands are starting to cramp up
sorry about the ramble here.
It’s all part of the plan. Remember, the criminals in power hate us and want most of us dead. The pain of inflation doesn’t hurt people who can vote themselves a pay raise whenever they wish.
My first heart cath and stent cost 85K about 12 years ago…..Pay 20% of that a time or two. I now have 5 of them. Don’t get sick. Unfortunately I agree with the above advice. Quit now. They are giving Russia crap. Russia says no trade with you. Now they are giving China crap about those Ugars or WTF they are called. China will soon say no trade with you. That will kill the dollar into toilet paper and they will then come to the rescue with that digital money crap. Then they will make you quit because they won’t let you buy what you want. It’s gonna get ugly.
10% inflation per month means prices will almost triple in a year.
Sounds like it’s time to grow tobacco at home again. Here’s a search link: https://www.dogpile.com/serp?q=where+to+buy+tobacco+seeds&sc=1FvmMOFL1LYy11
wait until diesel runs out…no trucks to deliver your food, smokes, booze…not going to get worse, it’s going to be every man, woman, child for themselves worse…
Consider RYO tobacco. I’ve been doing it since 2015 for both Me and my wife.
About a buck a pack and no chemical additives. Just grown leaf.
Smokers Outlet online. Machine Powermatic III is about $300. Pound of “pipe tobacoo” 14 bucks. Carton of tubes under 3 bucks. No FED taxes. I make about 10 smokes in the time my Kurieg takes to brew one cup.
It will change your life.
I really enjoy your blog. Mostly the projects.
Phil: Missed the “new job” posting/description…… whip it on us….
I been keeping that under my hat.
Basically me and a buddy got fired. Railroaded. Two days after my 62nd birthday at the end of January.
Thrown under the bus by someone covering their own ass basically.
I started the new job something like the 7th of this month. Bastards denied my Unemployment and I didn’t feel like fucking with them
Buddy did and won.
Me and the wife were fine with me taking some time off in between.
It was a mess. I had a job offer from a year ago and it was still open so I took it.
Started at fifty cents less. Way better working conditions and so far 80% less bullshit and assholes to put up with.
Working at a steel wholesaler/ fab plant as maintenance. The place is huge. Same commute times, I’m just going the opposite way.
Hold on tight to the new one.
At least until you can’t afford the commute.
-rightwingterrorist
I once worked at a place that hired a new supervisor. Evidently, he had a pal who needed a job, and finagled a way to fire the guy below him and moved his pal into that spot.
If your situation was anything like that, I’ll bet the opening you left was filled the following week.
You’ve gone to a better place.
Stopped at a Home Depot today, and as always I check the prices on 7/16″OSB. Used to buy the stuff a few years ago at $8 to $10 a sheet. With the KungFlu frenzy the last couple years, it bounced all over the place from $16 to $26. Today it was $51!!!!! That’s what marine grade plywood used to cost. I didn’t have time to look further at lumber prices; it probably would have just made me ill.
I can’t believe anyone is buying it at that price, and it was piled high to the ceiling. All Canadian import of course.
I went shopping earlier in the week, and for once stuck to my list, which was mostly veggies, and a few odds and ends like cat litter.
$103. That trip would’ve been like $50 a few months ago.
I had big plans to clean out the garage of all the scrap lumber and metal. Now, no f-ing way. I sorted it and stacked it. There’s a lot of construction and remodeling around here so next time I see some fool throwing out old 2x4s from a demo I’mma pounce.
I’m lucky in that the wife realized during the COVID shortage that I wasn’t a berserk hoarder, that there was a method to my madness. It would’ve been smart to start years ago (when I did) but even now, it’s worth it and it’s easy. Stock up – you can still buy bulk dry foods relatively cheap. When you use something put it back. Simple.
It’s just as bad down here in The Peoples’ Republic of New Zealand. The Government decided 11 years ago that the country would be “smoke free” by 2025. So each year the cost of smokes and tobacco was increased. Used to buy a pack of 25 smokes for $9.00 back then. Now it’s over $40.
With the chinky wu flu here, the Government spent God knows how much (borrowed) money, so now as everywhere else we have high inflation, getting higher than Hunter Biden. Supply chain issues etc all add fuel to the fire.
Both my wife and myself are disabled and barely surviving on welfare, grocery bill has sky rocketed with everything else. Still, we have a roof over our heads and each other so we carry on as best we can. Best wishes to all 🙂
Fuck that government and my government and all the government. I don’t smoke, but don’t give a shit if you do, only ask you don’t smoke in my truck, my house and blow smoke in my face or up my arse. Other then that it ain’t nobodies beeswax. The actual cost of that pack is negligible, it’s the fuucking tax and fees government hit it with.
Yes, down here in Ardenistan we productives are getting royally thieved from because, Communism has not been tried properly but The Princess of the Pestilence is, By Marx, gonna Do It Right This Time.