Scattered Thoughts . . .

We went to Lowes last night to purchase two car-loads of stuff. We haven't been to Lowes at all this entire calendar year due to being sick for four months and the pandemic. This first trip to Lowes did not go as well as we would have liked. First, as we attempted to pull out of our driveway, my car's battery was dead... no lights, no sounds, nothing. I dug out the jumper cables and jumped it rather quickly but, apparently, this was a sign of things to come for the evening. When we arrived at Lowes and entered the store, the first thing we noticed was there were no displays of outdoor furniture, awnings, patios, etc, like we usually see when we first enter the store. It was more like walking through a store in a third world country or like trying to get building supplies in New Orleans right after Katrina. It was pathetic. First, we needed a few plants. The selection looked nice and colorful from the parking lot but it really wasn't all that great. We quic

Just like everyone else in the country right now, we are having difficulty stocking our pantry and keeping it stocked.  This, of course, is what people would refer to as a "first world problem" and they would be correct.  This is just one reason (of many) why I say that the United States is no longer a first world country.  Supermarket supply chains have broken down.  Many critically necessary supply chains have broken down.   Sheila and I realized in recent weeks that getting simple things like meat is difficult so we need to place orders of only meat that range from $200 to $300...  and that is just for two of us!  I don't know how families with children in the household are managing.   When it comes to purchasing meat, we can't seem to get much from Shaw's using InstaCart (I should point out that there is nothing 'instant' about InstaCart either...  it requires up to five days to get an order).  Schwann's has a two week wait for delivery.  And,