The other night, I dreamed that our local Star Market was doing a promotion where they were giving away something like 100 free frozen turkeys. Everyone was so excited about it, and it was such a big deal, that there was even going to be a parade, led by the mayor of Somerville, where the turkeys would be driven through the streets on a float. Now, if that's not a dream about rising food prices, I don't know what is.
Anyone else out there starting to feel the pinch? I've noticed that we're definitely spending more on groceries and household goods these days. Granted, part of this is the fact that the girls are starting to eat more "real" food. Make that a LOT more. I feel like we're constantly running out of whole milk, bananas, bread and other staples. Meanwhile, we're going through more diaper wipes (a direct consequence of aforementioned real food) and dish soap (ibid), as well as tissues to wipe constantly running noses. (Maybe it's time to bring back the handkerchief?) Add to this the fact that we're using more water and energy (more laundry, more baths, more dishes to do) while simultaneously attempting to keep putting a bit of money into savings for retirement and the girls' college funds, and our checking account balance is definitely looking a little anemic these days. In fact, last week, for the first time in I don't know how long, we were overdrawn and had to dip into our savings for a cash infusion.
We're far from impoverishment, of course. But I do increasingly find myself looking for specials and sales, and doing a lot more price comparison. For the first time ever, I'm thinking of our little vegetable garden -- which we'll be planting soon -- not just as a nice addition to the yard, but as an actual, affordable food source. (What's up with the price of tomatoes these days??) We've also recently made the decision to try to eat less meat -- mainly for environmental reasons, but there's no denying the economic benefit. I've dusted off my favorite vegetarian cookbook and stocked up on legumes. Last night we had an eggplant-and-lentils-over-rice thing for dinner, and believe me, this is no small adjustment for my husband, who's of the "it's not really a meal if it doesn't contain meat" school.
But if all this belt tightening doesn't work, we may just have to take more extreme measures. Maybe we'll start renting the girls out to childless couples who want to "practice" being parents for a day. Or develop a way to convert all the food they fling off their highchair trays into fuel. On the other hand, maybe we'll just have to get going on our Von Moock Family Singers act and take it to the streets. Alastair sings and plays the guitar, I can sing harmony, Elsa can bang on things and shout into an empty toilet paper tube (it'll be a very avant-garde act), and Clio can be the go-go dancer. You'd throw a buck into our hat for that, right?
Elsa's already getting excited about being a star. Here she is working on her paparazzi-evasion skills.
