Employee Shortages... Walgreens... Shortages... Virus... Inflation...

My doctor called in some prescriptions for me last Wednesday to Walgreens. They were not filled until yesterday. It took seven days to get my prescriptions filled . I started to wonder what was going on , so I tried calling Walgreens a couple of times and I was told that the pharmacy was closed and was given no other information by the automated voice on the other end of the phone.

I finally received notice via text that my prescriptions were ready for pick up yesterday. I really needed to pick them up before our next snowstorm came through, so Number One called to make sure that the drive-thru would be open. He was told that it was open by a call center employee. We didn't think that it would be a good idea to go into a pharmacy under the circumstances. When I got there the drive-thru was closed and I was forced to go inside. Luckily,  I was able to get in and out in record time. 

Apparently, Walgreens closed last Tuesday without notice according to the news story due to employee shortages. The story continued by saying that you could go to another Walgreens to pick up prescriptions, but that wasn't the case. A pharmacist at the closed Walgreens has to okay the transfer and since they weren't there to okay it people were not able to get their prescriptions transferred by any means. 

This is a potentially deadly scenario for many people who rely on drugs to stabilize or prevent fatal events like heart attacks or strokes. I'm sure people had to call their doctor to get another prescription called in to another pharmacy to prevent such tragedies from occurring. 

Some industries like banking are regulated and are not allowed to be closed over three days. Is money more important than life saving drugs? I'm afraid that we are going to see more disruptions like this in the near future. 

I did notice that McDonalds had their lobby open when I drove by. Last time it was closed. I'm not even sure if the drive-thru was open since there were no cars lined up.  

I wanted to also share my last grocery order pick-up. I couldn't get most of my order filled at Sam's, so I opted for a smaller grocery store. When I picked up my order there was no chicken, so I masked up and went inside. They had three whole chickens and two packs of drumsticks. That's it. I wanted split chicken breasts. I noticed that they had a large area of marked down meats. I guess people are not buying meat due to the higher prices. They did have three packs of split chicken breasts marked down, so I was able to get them. They were enormous. Turkey sized breasts. I froze them as soon as I got home until I am ready to use them. We like them grilled, but we are under a fire ban. I'm not sure what I will do with them other than stretch them as far as I can across several meals. 

I also could not get our turkey breakfast sausage and the turkey links were up $4 a package. Now, lets due the math. There are 12 small links in each package divide that by $5.99 that equals .50 a link. I think that it is a 6 oz package. That's about $15 a pound. Ouch! They proudly profess a new lower price on the sign. I guess that they cannot do the math or think that we won't. 

I was able to find onions and potatoes for a decent price. They substituted smaller bags of potatoes for the larger bags. I read a news article last week that stated that we would start to see shortages in produce in the coming weeks. 

Since we are seeing a massive increase in virus cases I can only assume that we will start seeing factories shut their doors once again leading to more shortages at the grocery store. There is absolutely nothing we can do about this situation except take every precaution to stay safe. 

I am deeply saddened by the pain and suffering that people are having to endure. I pray that you all will be safe, healthy and comforted in the days to come. I don't think that there is one person that has not experience the loss of a friend or family member during this global pandemic. 

Mrs. Smith

      

 

The Sky Is Falling... Or Is It?

 

I find myself constantly looking for evidence that the sky is falling. I don't know if it is because of the pandemic or that I have just not gotten use to this crazy new world. 

Everyday brings more news to make me feel like it is actually falling. The constant bombardment of cataclysmic events has me on edge. People are suffering. We are all missing, well, "normal".

As I look outside and see the barren snowless landscape, where there should be five foot snow drifts by now, I wonder what the fire season will bring? Fire season seems to have already started. It is so dry and warm that we are under a fire ban in our county. It is almost January! Number One is making plans to cut down more grass to extend out our imaginary fire line. 

I don't know how to ignore these huge flashing warning signs. I also do not know how to navigate through them. It is a frustrating time.

As I sit here and drink my hot tea I am reminded that I am so very blessed. I am going to turn my anxious thoughts into thanksgiving. 

The only thing that I know for certain is that we must press through these trying times. We must finish the race. It's how we run the race that counts. 

Mrs. Smith

Shortages - Out Of Stock - Inflation

We can't always see what is coming around the corner, but we can proceed with caution.

I'm trying to place a pick-up order at Sam's Club. They are out of five of the seven items that I need. I can make substitutions for two of the items, but not the rest. They are everyday items like carrots and potatoes. Onions are .70 lb. I have never paid that much for onions. We are definitely living in strange times. 

I decided to look around a bit more and found that they are out of some items that we purchase regularly. I will try to pick up the out of stock items at a smaller grocery store that has curbside pick-up. I will have to pay more, but at least it's on the way. 

Is this ever going to end or is this the way it's going to be for now on? I guess it could get a lot worse, all my items could be out of stock. Since I'm not in the store all the time I think that sticker shock hits me a bit harder. I know my purchasing power is greatly diminished. 

Carrots - Out of Stock. They don't even show out of stock. They are just not there.

Potatoes - Out of stock. They only have two kinds, jumbo and red. I have not had any luck with the jumbo. They are rotten inside and out and I have purchased them twice. I will buy the red potatoes. They are a suitable substitution, but more expensive.

Celery -Out of stock. They only have the celery sticks available. It is a suitable substitution.

Whole Chickens -Out of stock. They only have the frozen breasts or the expensive kind of breasts in fresh. Nothing else is available except thighs and they are as expensive as the breasts. No whole chickens are available.

Maple Syrup - Out of stock.

Turkey -  Out of stock. They do not have turkeys available. Ground turkey is over $5 a pound up by $2 a pound and is not a substitution for a whole turkey.

Beans - Dry beans have doubled in price.

Parmesan Cheese - Up by $2

We have been learning how to go around these barriers.  It is frustrating and concerning, but necessary. We can't just give up. Keep on trying and share the ways you have had to go around barriers with others. Knowledge and understanding are key to getting through this unprecedented time that we are living in. 

It looks like things may be getting worse again with the pandemic which has an impact on our ability to purchase food and everyday items. I'm pretty sure that the reason that we can't get carrots is because of the drought we are experiencing. 

Be safe out there and proceed with caution,

Mrs. Smith

 

Updates...

We did not have any damage from the wind. We did not get the extreme wind gusts that the forecast was calling for. We did get sustained winds around 40-50 mph. Lots of blowing dirt and plant material. 

Not everyone was so lucky. Please pray for those who were affected by all these crazy storms. A lot of people don't have electricity and it's cold out there. The world can't seem to catch a break from all the crazy.

I mentioned in a previous blog post that some produce from Misfits Market in my last box was very small. I sent off an email to them and they gave me credit for it towards my next box. 

Mrs. Smith

Wind, Weather And Warnings

We had a 10 minute gust last night that woke me up. It was crazy. I heard things crashing and bumping all around us. It is still dark, so I have no idea what it was. It was a strong wind, but not as strong as what we have in store for us today. 

I always got a giggle out of the weather forecast for calling the wind out here breezy. On rare occasions they use the word "windy". For the first time, that I have seen, they are using the words "very windy". This makes me stand up and take notice because it is breezy here most of the time. Windy is off the charts. I have no idea what "very windy" is going to look like. 

The adjacent county has a forecast for hurricane force winds. We are just below that with wind gusts up to 60-80 mph. We are in the middle of a mountain range with large open spaces. We could see the higher gusts. 

As soon as it is light, we will batten down the hatches and see what all the racket was last night. It probably was debris blowing from elsewhere. We only have lawn and porch chairs that need to be put up along with making sure that the chicken yard is secure. 

* WHAT...West winds 30 to 50 mph with gusts reaching 60 to 80 mph.
  Wind prone areas in and near the foothills may see gusts near 100
  mph.

* WHEN...From 8 AM this morning to 5 PM MST this afternoon.

* IMPACTS...Damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines.
  Widespread power outages are expected. Travel will be difficult,
  especially for high profile vehicles. Gusty winds will blow around
  unsecured objects and a few power outages may result. Blowing dust
  will reduce visibility to less than a quarter mile in places.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Strong winds and low humidity will create
  critical fire weather conditions on the plains.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Remain in the lower levels of your home during the windstorm, and
avoid windows. Watch for falling debris and tree limbs. Use caution
if you must drive.

Persons with respiratory problems should make preparations to stay
indoors until the storm passes. Be ready for a sudden drop in
visibility to near zero. If you encounter blowing dust or blowing
sand on the roadway or see it approaching, pull off the road as far
as possible and put your vehicle in park. Turn the lights all the
way off and keep foot off the brake pedal. Remember, `Pull Aside,
Stay Alive`.

• Overnight
  
  

  

  Chance Snow
  Showers and
  Breezy

  Low: 31 °F

• Wednesday
  
  

  

  Very Windy.
  Chance Snow
  Showers then
  Sunny

  High: 29 °F⇓

• Wednesday
  Night

  

  Mostly Clear
  and Breezy

  Low: 8 °F

• Thursday
  
  

  

  Sunny and
  Breezy

  High: 38 °F

• 
  

  
  

• 
  

Ramblings, Book Reviews And Updates

 

Sorry for the blog silence lately. I have posts planned and in the works, but I have not been very inspired...

We have been having the craziest weather. It is so dry. We have had snow one time in late November. It's Winter. It's been in the 70's until today. We have a small chance of snow in the forecast. We will be in a serious drought if this continues. A few fires have already started. 

Number One has been trimming the natural grasses around the house to create a barrier from snow drifts or fires. We are not sure if we will get either one of them, but better safe than sorry. 

I started a "Ginger Bug" this evening. It is a fermented starter for natural juice sodas. It will take a week or so for the ginger to ferment. I will create a post with the information if we like it. I have made homemade natural root beer, wine and vinegars, but I have not tried this technique. I would like to try to make water kefir someday. I have tasted a raspberry flavored water kefir that a friend made and it was delicious. 

We received our Misfits order today. It had a couple of things that were not up to their or our standards. I have let them know about the issues. We will see what they do about it. We have never experience this before. I will let you know the outcome.

I have pulled out some old books that I have read several times. These are books that have given me a lot of information over the years on how to set goals, save money, shopping, cooking, home repairs and more. Since inflation is out of control I have decided to pour over them again in hopes of gaining some more ideas to apply to our off grid life. I may need to implement new ideas or change the way I am currently doing things. The world has changed, the economy has changed and we all need to learn to adapt and overcome. We all need to live our best life.

This is more than a cookbook. It has ideas from people who have lived all over the world and experienced many cultures and circumstances. Their wisdom is invaluable. We don't have to re-invent the wheel. Sometimes we just need to learn from others who have gone before us. 

These books are from the 70's. They have great time saving recipes for mixes that are made from basic ingredients. With limited selections and shortages at the grocery store these books teach the reader how to use simple ingredients to make mixes at home. They are healthier and less expensive than the mixes at the store.

This is a fun book with lots of ideas from the author and subscribers to the Tightwad Gazette. 

This book is also a fun book with tales of country living, recipes and most everything in between. 

I am almost finished with my year long study of the entire Bible. I wanted to start a new study this Winter, so I have decided to do a study by Sylvia Gunter called "Prayer Essentials For Living In His Presence" It is a continuation of "Prayer Portions" which is a study, by the same author, that I have been through twice. 

This is a big book with over 300 pages. I do not write inside my books. I use a notebook in case I want to do the study again, teach the study, loan the book out or donate the book.

This is my new Winter Bible study. These are also large books with lots of pages. I'm not sure how long it will take me to complete two volumes. I have not even looked inside yet. I want to finish my other study first. I don't want to get distracted. 

Princess Abigail looks like a rabbit under the covers. 

It is bedtime for us. Goodnight...

 

Off Grid Laundry

There are many ways to do laundry when you live off grid. In our first off grid home we paid to have our laundry done for us by a laundromat. It was cheap enough and we both had jobs that required working 6 days a week plus we drove 3 hours a day to get to and from work. I have no idea how much that service would cost nowadays. 

We live and work differently now. Our solar system is a lot more advanced than our first system. There are more options now than there were back then. With that being said, we still have situations that cause us to use different options at different times for different reasons.

During really cold cold Winters everything freezes. Water lines and septic lines freeze. Nothing comes in and nothing goes out. This is the worse case scenario. We can be drifted in or out of our water source depending on how you look at it. This makes us step up our water conservation efforts. If this happens we utilize options 2 and 3. 

Option 1: We have a small front loading washer/dryer combo. We use this option most of the time. We do not use the dryer except on rare occasions. We hang our clothes on a clothesline and use a drying rack to dry our clothes. 

Option 2: We have a non-electric portable washing machine. It's called a WonderWash. This is a cool little machine that does a great job washing clothes. It does not wring out the clothes. I use the spin cycle on my washing machine to spin the clothes. 

Option 3: Washing laundry at the laundromat. We have used this option if there is too much laundry. We try to keep up on laundry. It's physically demanding and hard for me to do.

Option 4: Hand Washing. This is by far the hardest way to do laundry. On a small scale it's doable for items that require hand washing, but while doing all laundry by hand is doable it is not physically possible for me to attempt unless it was my only option. Number One would have to do it and I would help.

This is our Wonder Wash. You can use hot or cold water. If hot water is used the pressure builds up inside and gets the clothes mighty clean. 

For the most part, it is the cold brutal weather that keeps us from doing laundry in our washing machine. It does not happen all the time, but it has happened. We have had to get creative and resourceful. This year the lack of snow may be our enemy. Snow insulates the water and septic lines. It is December and we don't have any at all. What we had on Thanksgiving has melted. We were spared the effects of the drought throughout the Summer in our area, but we are feeling it now. Without the snowpack we will be in dire straits soon.

Mrs. Smith