Time to start saving nickels and pennies

http://www.coinflation.com/coin_calculators.html

On March 2, 2011  I went on that site and looked up the melt value of every single U.S. coin.

Pennies (1909-1982)  are worth .029 cents.  That means if you buy a roll of 50 pennies, for 50 cents, you are actually getting $1.48 of metal.

(1982-2011 pennies in a roll of 50 pennies are a loss, the metal in them is only worth .33)

Jefferson nickels from 1946-2011:  If you buy a roll of 40 nickels, for $2.00, you are actually getting $2.91 of metal.


More losses:
1965-2011 Roosevelt dimes have metal value of .026 each.

1965-2011 Washington Quarters have metal value of .064 each.

Kennedy half-dollars have metal value of .12 each.

Eisenhower dollars have metal value of .25 each.

The good thing about nickels is that you don't have to sort them.  Pretty much every nickel you get will be from 1946-2011.  So they are easy to collect.


For pennies, you need to sort every one of them to make sure to save the ones from 1909-1982.  (The 1982-2011 are worth less than a penny.)  And I don't know how to tell the difference between a good one or a bad one from 1982.


Now that I know this, I am going to get some nickels and pennies as a means of exchange when the bad times come.  And I think we had better watch out, it won't be too long before everyone has this figured out and the older pennies and the nickels quit circulating or get recalled by the government.


Plus:  A good article by Kellene Bishop:
 http://www.preparednesspro.com/blog/food-shortage-series-part-4/

More steps to end the U.S. Dollar's reign as world's reserve currency

I watched a video a few months ago that made me fear for the future, and today I saw two news stories that show that Porter Stansberry's predictions are coming true.

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/117991/20110302/china-yuan-trade-reserve-currency.htm
"China to allow all trades to settle in yuan, encourages use as reserve currency"
International Business Times,  March 2, 2011

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/02/china-economy-yuan-idUSBJA00246420110302
"China aims to settle nationwide trade in yuan by 2011"
Reuters, March 2, 2011


The following story happened Nov. 24, 2010:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-11/24/content_11599087.htm
"China, Russia quit dollar"  
China Daily, Nov. 24, 2010

In case these headlines make you say, "So what?", you need to listen to this YouTube by Porter Stansberry research.  He tells you why our economy is going to collapse when the U.S. dollar is no longer the world's reserve currency.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI-BIVWlc7A
I already put this link on my blog on 1-16-2011, but I think the video was made in December 2010.

Here are some of my notes from the video:

This video is 1 hour 16 minutes long.  You can start at 6:00 if you want to skip a bunch of boring parts.

At 8:50, he tells about “the one thing that has saved us so far”: our dollar’s unique position as the world’s reserve currency.

Since everything in the world is bought and sold in U.S. dollars, this enables us to print more dollars anytime we want to buy anything overseas.

13:27- “In order for prices to start skyrocketing, all that has to happen is that other countries start preferring payments in something besides U.S. dollars.”

Most Americans have no clue what will happen when our money is no longer the reserve currency.

He tells about the fall of the British currency (it was the previous reserve currency of the world.)

17:27 "Maybe you don’t think something similar can happen here...but I’m telling you, its already happening."

18:59  There are other disastrous consequences to the U.S. dollar losing status as the world’s currency...

20:00 Massive inflation can happen.  It happened in Yugoslavia, Greece, Iceland

In the U.S., states are going bankrupt.

Our federal government would be bankrupt, too, except it keeps printing money.

29:06 What most people don’t realize, is that the U.S. can only continue printing dollars as long as the U.S. remains the world’s reserve currency.

30:09  Meeting of countries to plan to end dollar dealings for oil.

32:21 U.S. Dollars days are numbered.

35:07  Bloomberg News recently reported that China and Russia plan to start trading in each other’s currencies to diminish the dollar’s role in global trade. (See Nov. 24, 2010 news story link at top of this blogpost.)

57:00 to end:  He ends by saying have at least 6 months of food and supplies, after that he tries to sell his book and services.

1:09:04  He has a booklet you can order "The World's Most Valuable Asset in a Time of Crisis".  (Someone told me they ordered his information, and found out this asset suggestion was "Farm Land.")

Washington Post article on Mormon values

http://onfaith.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/john_mark_reynolds/2011/02/an_american_trumpet.html

Feb. 9, 2011

The Christian case for Mormon values

With former Utah governor Jon Huntsman and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney both believed to be gearing up for a run for the presidency, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has again found itself answering questions about what these two prominent members believe. 
Post reporter Sandhya Somashekhar wrote in a story published Tuesday that Mormon leaders see the ascendancy of these and other Mormons (such as convert Glenn Beck) as a sign "that the community has finally 'arrived,'" but added "researchers say there remains a deep mistrust of Mormons and that little has changed in public opinion to suggest that voters will be more open this year than they were in 2007."

If conservative Christian and Mormons share a political agenda, why do suspicions still plague Mormon politicians? Do media personalities such as Glenn Beck help or hurt the cause?

McConkie: "What Think Ye of the Book of Mormon?" Nov. 1983

http://lds.org/ensign/1983/11/what-think-ye-of-the-book-of-mormon?lang=eng

This is a great test of the truthfulness and scriptural worth of the Book of Mormon:

May I be so bold as to propose a test and issue a challenge. It is hoped that all who take this test will have a knowledge of the Holy Bible, because the more people know about the Bible, the greater their appreciation will be of the Book of Mormon.

This test is for saint and sinner alike; it is for Jew and Gentile, for bond and free, for black and white, for all of our Father’s children. We have all been commanded to search the scriptures, to treasure up the Lord’s word, to live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God. (See D&C 84:44.) This, then, is the test:

Let every person make a list of from one hundred to two hundred doctrinal subjects, making a conscious effort to cover the whole field of gospel knowledge. The number of subjects chosen will depend on personal inclination and upon how broad the spectrum will be under each subject.

Then write each subject on a blank piece of paper. Divide the paper into two columns; at the top of one, write “Book of Mormon,” and at the top of the other, “Bible.”

Then start with the first verse and phrase of the Book of Mormon, and continuing verse by verse and thought by thought, put the substance of each verse under its proper heading. Find the same doctrine in the Old and New Testaments, and place it in the parallel columns.

Ponder the truths you learn, and it will not be long before you know that Lehi and Jacob excel Paul in teaching the Atonement; that Alma’s sermons on faith and on being born again surpass anything in the Bible; that Nephi makes a better exposition of the scattering and gathering of Israel than do Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel combined; that Mormon’s words about faith, hope, and charity have a clarity, a breadth, and a power of expression that even Paul did not attain; and so on and so on.

There is another and simpler test that all who seek to know the truth might well take. It calls for us simply to read, ponder, and pray—all in the spirit of faith and with an open mind. To keep ourselves alert to the issues at hand—as we do read, ponder, and pray—we should ask ourselves a thousand times, “Could any man have written this book?”

And it is absolutely guaranteed that sometime between the first and thousandth time this question is asked, every sincere and genuine truth seeker will come to know by the power of the Spirit that the Book of Mormon is true, that it is the mind and will and voice of the Lord to the whole world in our day.

I don't believe a word of it.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Oil-prices-climb-as-Iran-apf-1296176780.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=2&asset=&ccode=

from "Oil Prices Rise on Middle East, Bernanke Comments"



Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Tuesday that a prolonged rise in oil prices would hurt the U.S. economy. But he said runaway inflation is unlikely. "The most likely outcome is that the recent rise in commodity prices will lead to, at most, a temporary and relatively modest increase in U.S. consumer price inflation," Bernanke said.




"Unlikely"


"Temporary"


"Relatively modest"




And if you believe that, I have a bridge I want to sell to you.

Our stake's food drive for NC Food Bank

http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/02/28/1018747/mormons-join-ncssm-for-food-drive.html

Here is the article Yonat Shimron wrote for the Raleigh News and Observer.  I was helping out there while she was interviewing the people.

Here are some pictures I took:

The first picture shows people carrying food from a trailer to the sorting tables.

Here are the sorting tables.  We took donations and then sorted all the food by cans, boxes, bottles, bags, and checked all the expiration dates.

This is inside the truck.  The kids carried the canned goods in there and put them inside the big boxes.  The food inside more fragile containers (glass, bags, etc.)  were boxed separately.

Elizabeth's First Quilt

On 1-27-2010 I posted "Little Seamstress", which was about my granddaughter Elizabeth wanting to sew a quilt.  She was 3 1/2.

Soon after that, I let her pick out little squares, and she helped me sew them together on the sewing machine.

She wanted to sew her name with pink embroidery floss, so I picked out black fabric so the letters would show up.  (Now I regret using black because it is too dark, but oh well, can't change it now.)

For a whole year we have been working on this.  Almost every time we get together she hand sewed another inch or two on one of the letters of her name, until she got the last bit embroidered a couple of weeks ago.

Then on Saturday when her daddy and her Pappy were watching the basketball game, she and I put the last bit of stitching into the little quilt.  I made Isaac promise to hang it on her bedroom wall when he got home. (Did you do that, Isaac?)

Here is my sweet little granddaughter with the first quilt she ever helped to make:

Basketball game on tiny TV

On Saturday, Wayne and Isaac found out that the BYU-(San Diego?) basketball game was on TV, on a regular station which wasn't carried on satellite or cable.

All the TVs in both houses are old analog TVs, which don't get digital signals.  Luckily, Wayne and I recently bought a tiny little 7" TV for emergencies.  It gets digital signals and has an antenna.

So Wayne and Isaac watched the game on that microscopic TV.  And they seemed to have had an exceptionally good time.

I guess once we cancel satellite we are going to have to invest in a bit bigger TV, and buy some rabbit ears.  (I loved the way Narda D. always referred to her TV's rabbit ears as "Peasant Vision".)




And here are some very good articles:

The American Thinker.  "A Tipping Point is Nearing", written on Feb. 14, 2011.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/02/a_tipping_point_is_nearing.html


Food/Financial Crisis of 2011
Agriculture News, written by Mark Sircus, February 15, 2011
http://agriculture.imva.info/food-prices/foodfinancial-crisis-of-2011

The Pioneer Woman

Amelia just told me about this great cooking website:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/.

Amelia loves the Indian flatbread called "naan" and the restaurant style salsa.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/breads/homemade-naan-2/

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/?s=restaurant+style+salsa&submit=

Just for fun, I looked up gold prices

This is amazing, isn't it?  This is the price of gold from 2000 to 2011.  What this really means is that the value (purchasing power) of our dollar has gone down, down, down.

Map of Inflation, Riots and Protests

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=203015973545354677871.000499b16caba320e204a&z=3

Interesting to read the information on the left side of the map.

This is your future

Watching Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Wisconsin....

The TruGreen man just knocked on my door, I told him we didn't want our lawn TruGreen, we like it the way it is, TruBrown.  Sorry, thats just not a priority in my life right now.  (Has it ever been?)

We went to the cannery yesterday, I feel extremely happy we did that.  Every day that goes by, I am feeling more urgent about food storage and other preparations.  I have been stopping by Goodwill at least every week, buying kids shoes for all different sizes, kids coats, baby girl clothing for my two due-in-July granddaughters.  

  I can't keep from thinking about President Kimball's statement, 

"I remember when the sisters used to say, 'Well, but we could buy it at the store a lot cheaper than we can put it up.' But that isn't quite the answer, is it?....Because there will come a time when there isn't any store."  (April 1974 Welfare Session.)

So I have been making a list of things that we would really suffer without.  If there were no stores open, and maybe the electrical grid is down, we would already want to own things such as shoes, coats, zero-degree sleeping bags, sewing machine needles, lantern mantles, bug spray.  

It cost us $50 to drive our van to and from Greensboro yesterday, the gas price at the pump was $3.11.  Now oil has shot up for the past two days, so of course gasoline will be much more expensive.  What if some day we can't even afford to drive to the cannery?

I keep watching all the countries in the Middle East rioting and governments falling and the way that all the oil producing countries hate us, and the spread of protests in America.  And the many pundits who are predicting that the dollar is going into hyperinflation.  And the severe crop freezes a couple of weeks ago in Mexico and Texas and California (lettuce was $2.99 at Harris Teeter today).  You realize, don't you, that there are food riots going on all over the world, just Google it.  Just because we can still afford the food, doesn't mean other nations can. (This photo was named "food riot in Algeria".)

Here are just three of the articles I found when I googled "food riots 2011":

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-01-07/world-risks-food-riots-as-grains-climb-economist-chalmin-says.html

http://www.businessinsider.com/food-riots-worldwide-2011-1

http://www.eutimes.net/2011/01/obama-orders-military-to-prepare-for-spring-food-riots/

I know you all hate my gloom and doom, but I say its time to get our houses in order and buy the necessities of life and get them stocked up in all your closets.  There are ten different scenarios that could all go kaboom at the same time, imagine if the New Zealand earthquake had happened here.  There is no telling how this could all play out.

We are told "if ye are prepared ye shall not fear."  I want to be totally prepared, and I want all my friends and family to be totally prepared also.

Self defense or kill some wasps

Someone said a good thing to use for self defense was Raid Wasp spray.  It shoots 27 feet, and only costs about $6 per can.  Now I have a can beside me in my car, and one beside my bed.  It may be stupid, but its better than having nothing.

I also saw a self-defense TV show once that said if someone is threatening you right outside your car, you can spray them in the face with a fire extinguisher.

For what its worth....

My sources say.....

Here is something I just learned yesterday from a forum I am on.  A woman who owns a food storage business said:

Dear members of XXXXXXXXXXXX,
Last week I told you that there's been a fierce turn in the market,
and due to vast food shortages, food prices are about to triple.
This includes powdered dairy products, freeze dried fruits and
vegetables, baking goods, and so on. Anxiously I tried to gather
my resources to see what I could do to reach out to you and help
you make the most of this scary situation.
Here's just an example of what's about to come...
45lb. bucket of wheat.....now $16.95.....soon $53.95
3.5 lbs. powdered milk...now $13.99....soon $28.99
25 lb. bag of sugar...now $13.95.....soon $45.50 
(end)





I'm not putting this on my other food storage blog www.GottaWannaNeedaGettaPrepared.blogspot.com  because I don't know this person and I can't vouch for its truthfulness.   I don't like to put sensational things on there because I do it as part of my church calling and I want it to be all above-board.  But here, on SchoolofGoodEnough, I don't have a huge number of readers so I can do what I want.  You and me both are going to have to pay attention and see if this comes true.  It is a very serious warning.

"A Sobering Effect", Benson, 1988

Ensign » 1992 » November

Sin Will Not Prevail
President Gordon B. Hinckley
First Counselor in the First Presidency

http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=f5699209df38b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

Pres. Hinckley quoted from Pres. Benson's book during General Conference:

The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God on the earth will be combined together at Christ’s coming—and that time is not far distant. How I wish we could get the vision of this work, the genius of it, and realize the nearness of that great event. I am sure it would have a sobering effect upon us if we realized what is before us.” (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988, p. 19.)

How to fabricate an economic recovery out of thin air

Read the whole article by Giordano Bruno at:
http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/required-reading-how-to-fake-an-economic-recovery_02162011

"Here is a step by step guide to fabricating an economic recovery out of thin air….

Don’t Count The Unemployed, Discount Them: Jobless people are a real downer and a pesky nuisance because they represent living breathing proof that a recovery is not taking place. By most standards, a recovery in jobs markets can be claimed if meaningful evidence shows a return to unemployment standards (normal unemployment) set before the recession / depression was triggered. If you are a global banker today, however, this will not do. Instead, you simply change the definition of “normal unemployment”. Thus, the debilitating jobless rate which was originally thought of as “bad”, is now thought of as “natural”. You must then publish long-winded white papers using more subjective statistics devoid of common sense while feigning a logical pretense:
http://www.frbsf.org/publications/economics/letter/2011/el2011-05.html
This only satisfies a small portion of the populace, though. Next, you must rig the manner in which unemployment is calculated to always overlook certain subsections of jobless. Never count those people who have been unemployed so long that they no longer receive benefits. Always count people who are underemployed as fully employed, even if they are only able to scrape together ten hours a week through part time McSlavery. After this, change the manner in which raw data on unemployment is actually collected.....


As Long As Stocks Are Green, The World Is Golden: ....... A question arises here though that desperately begs to be answered; if the stock market’s meteoric rise from near destruction to the 12,000 point mark is “real”, and completely in tune with a legitimate recovery, then why is the Fed still keeping interest rates at near zero after almost three years, and why are they continuing quantitative easing measures? Could it be that without constant liquidity injections from the Fed, the stock market would once again collapse like a wet paper sack? We know that in 2009, it was revealed that bailout funds which were supposed to go towards muting the effects of toxic bank assets were actually being pumped into the equities of healthy banks instead, meaning,the money has not been allocated to the areas promised:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1436061/more_shocking_news_on_2009_bailout.html

We also know that top hedge fund managers have openly stated that stocks will remain bullish because QE funds are propping up the market:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tepper-tells-cnbc-fed-will-prop-up-market-2010-09-24.......


Inflation? What Inflation?: ......To mask inflation is nearly impossible, especially where commodities and base goods are concerned. That’s why our government and private central bank calculate the Consumer Price Index (CPI) without counting food or energy. Most grains and crude oil have doubled in price over the past year alone, and this does not reflect well on the safety of the dollar, or the effectiveness of liquidity measures by the Fed. China, whose inflation is but a prequel to our own, is also distancing food and energy price surges from its CPI numbers, giving the false impression of leveling markets:
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/china-lowers-weighting-surging-food-prices-cpi

Corporate retail chains have a tendency to absorb rising prices of base goods to avoid alienating their customer foundation, hoping that the increases are temporary. When retailers realize that prices are not going to drop back down, they eventually relent, and shelf costs skyrocket. The bottom line is clear; overall worldwide food averages were up over 28% in 2010:
http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/FoodPricesIndex/en/

Crude oil prices continue to hover near the $90 mark even though inventories are at a 20 year high:
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/gasoline-inventories-jump-20-year-high-gas-price-surges

The World Bank is now warning of possible disasters (which they helped create) in the wake of “dangerous price levels”:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/15/us-worldbank-food-idUSTRE71E5H720110215

Our government’s response? Complete denial that there is any significant threat of inflation. Denial that overprinting of the dollar and its subsequent devaluation has anything to do with rising prices. Scapegoating everything from weather, to speculators, to the fake “recovery” itself for price spikes. The longer they keep the terminology of inflation out of the mainstream, the less Americans are likely to prepare for an onslaught of the dollar.

Create Debt To Pay Off Debt: This is pretty self explanatory. If foreign investors want nothing to do with you, your explosive national debt, or your depreciating currency, where is your government going to get the money to continue spending like a drunken trophy wife at Macy’s? If you default, the jig is up, and no one will buy your recovery yarns. Instead, print even more fiat and use it to purchase your own Treasury bonds! This serves two purposes; first, it props up the federal bureaucracy which gives the impression of stability (at least for a time), and, it furthers your goal of squeezing the dollar like a grape.

Remove All Checks And Balances: If you plan on decimating an economy, you can’t very well have people pointing fingers at you while you do it. That would be inconvenient. It’s funny, but for years, ratings agencies like Moodys helped global banks facilitate the mortgage and derivatives crisis by categorizing worthless assets as AAA securities. Without them, no one would have invested in such garbage in the first place, and the banking fraud would have been immediately exposed. Now that ratings agencies are finally doing their job and downgrading the creditworthiness of banks and countries that possess extreme liabilities, the SEC is moving to marginalize them:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/09/us-financial-regulation-creditraters-idUSTRE7180OD20110209
Interesting that as the U.S. nears a possible credit downgrade, we suddenly no longer care what ratings agencies have to say....

I can't wait for the Wake County Library Book Sale!

Wake County Public Libraries’ booksale will be held at the NC State Fairgrounds' Exposition Center February 17–20, 2011. The site offers ample parking, easy access, and an in-house concession for food. The library plans to make the booksale a system celebration, featuring great books for sale in a festival atmosphere. More than 450,000 items will be available for sale to the public at great bargain prices.

Schedule: Thursday, February 17 5 p.m.–9 p.m. Opening Day Friday, February 18 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Leisurely shopping with musical entertainment until 7 p.m. 10–11 a.m. – Ernest McHenry, African Drumming Noon–1 p.m. – Los Galleros de Mexico, Mariachi band 3–4 p.m. – Adem Eker, Turkish Style Music 5–7 p.m. – Kudzu Ramblers, Blue Grass Band Saturday, February 19 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Family and children’s activities until 7 p.m. 10 a.m.–noon – Sandbox!! (Kids and Family band)  playing traditional children's music 12:30–2 p.m. – "Instrument Petting Zoo" – sponsored by the North Carolina  Symphony Noon–1 p.m – Special appearance by Muddy, mascot of The Carolina Mudcats Noon–4 p.m. – Digital Library staff will be available to demonstrate downloading audio and ebooks 2–3 p.m. – Black Belt World will demonstrate Tae Kwon Do 2–5 p.m. – Chris "Juggle Boy" Fowler, stiltwalking and juggling 3–4 p.m. – Irish dancing provided by Inis Cairde School of Irish Dance 4–5 p.m. – Children's movement dance provided by The Dance Center of Knightdale All day: Drop-in craft for kids, games with prizes, face painting, balloon art, magic tricks, book characters in costume, the WCPL Bookmobile and more!! Sunday, February 20 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Bargain Day!

Fairgrounds Map Directions - View Larger Map NC State Fairgrounds1205 Blue Ridge Road Raleigh, NC 27607

Prices: Thursday & Friday Hardbound books & media – $4 Paperbacks & children’s materials – $2 Saturday Half-Price Day!Hardbound books & media – $2 Paperbacks & children’s materials – $1 Sunday Bargain Day! Boxes of books – $5 Bags of books – $2 The library provides boxes and bags. Only cash and checks are accepted—no credit card purchases!

Customers are encouraged to bring carts, wagons, etc., as we cannot guarantee the provision of these items this year in this venue. All proceeds from the sale are considered library revenue and are routed to the Wake County General fund which covers the operating costs for Wake County Public Libraries.

Hitler finds out about the Dept. of Homeland Security Emergency Alert System

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQRIpMND6pw&feature=player_embedded

Funny and depressing at the same time.

Thank Heaven for Little Girls

Janette and Seth are having a girl, due date July 6.

And yesterday we found out Rachel and Isaac are ALSO having a GIRL!!!!!

I hope they will be best cousins!

I love my valentine

I am totally in love, happy as can be,  head over heels, comfortably settled down forever, and living a completely satisfactory middle aged married life with my absolutely adorable husband WAYNE.  And I am counting on him looking exactly like this again when we get resurrected.

P.S.  Today is the 31st anniversary of our first kiss.

Sysco document was true, its in the news

I hate to say I told you so, but now it is in the news, not just on some wacko's YouTube video.  Food prices are going through the roof.


Sysco declares force majeure, raises grocery prices
Jack H Barnes's picture
Submitted by Jack H Barnes on 02/12/2011 13:37 -0500

Food inflation driven by freezing weather in Florida during December and in Mexico during February, is hitting the US supermarkets in the coming day’s. Sysco sent out an alert that announced an “Act of God”, to address their contracted supply issues.

The cold of the Superbowl weekend in Texas, has had a more lasting impact than on just the game plans for lots of travelers. The deep cold sank into the produce fields of northern Mexico, destroying fresh produce crops. This is the biggest page 16 story, about to hit a headline, that you have seen in a while. Your restaurants will be low on fresh produces for weeks. They will have to raise prices significantly or cut the produce out of the menu.

On Feb. 8, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported prices of $22.95-24.95 for two-layer cartons of 4×4, 5×5 and 5×6 vine-ripe field-grown tomatoes from Mexico, up from $6.95-9.95 the week before and $5.95-7.95 the year before.

This cold storm has brought to the food growing region the coldest temps in 50 years. This has caused damaged to most of the fresh produce available to US supermarkets in the winter spring season. This is going to impact the price you pay at the Supermarket anywhere in the North American continent.

This event will add to the worlds food supply issues already impacted by fires in Russia, rains in Australia, droughts in China, and now freezing temperatures in Florida & Mexico. Here are some quotes on the topic

“The last time there was a freeze of this severity was 1957,” said Jerry Wagner, director of sales and marketing for Nogales, Ariz.-based Farmer’s Best. “It’s still too early to tell, but there’s a lot of damage.”

“It’s been a rough day,” said Lee Anne Oxford, marketing director for Raleigh, N.C.-based grower-shipper L&M Cos. Inc. “Right now we have all of our growers out in various fields. We’re expecting to regroup over the weekend and hopefully know where we stand by Sunday.”

The Packer:

“The early reports are still coming in but most are showing losses of crops in the range of 80 to 100%. Even shade house product was hit by the extremely cold temps. It will take 7-10 days to have a clearer picture from growers and field supervisors, but these growing regions haven’t had cold like this in over half a century.”

“Florida normally is a major supplier for these items as well but they have already been struck with severe freeze damage in December and January and up until now have had to purchase product out of Mexico to fill their commitments, that is no longer an option.” Via Sysco Alert

“Supplies of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and other vegetables from Mexico will be severely limited until at least March following an early February freeze.”

Digital Journal:

This event will push up the price of produce in the US for the next few months. The bigger question is if the US wheat crop was damaged by the cold weather before the heavy snow fell to blanket it.

Vinnie's story: Rozilphia's death

I remember a particularly fascinating story my grandma Vinnie used to tell.

It seems that her grandmother, Rozilphia Stratton, lived in an old house that had once had a balcony on the second story.  For whatever reason, the balcony had been removed, but the door was still there.

Some relatives came to stay with Rozilphia, so she offered to stay in the bedroom upstairs and give them her ground-floor bedroom.  Rozilphia was an old woman, and maybe a little forgetful.  During the night, she had to use the outhouse, so she walked out the upstairs door and fell to her death.

There has been a lot of speculation about this story throughout my life.  How dumb was it to have a door that opened out to nothing?  It seems like someone could have nailed a board across it or something.  It really makes you wonder about people.