A truck driver's nightmare

[Clipper]

Our local prices have been falling also. Gas is always cheaper in Kingsport and we are going there for dinner with friends. I bought gas there last week for $3.35. I have enough gas points on my Kroger card to get 15 cents off. They say gas is going to drop for the holiday weekend. THAT will be something new and different. It usually goes up doesn't it?

[clarencebunsen]

Gas has dropped a bit which I do appreciate. How many will be surprised if NY decides to increase gas tax at the next legislative session?

[clarencebunsen]

Crude oil prices peaked about 60 days ago so those effects along with the normal seasonal trends are showing up now. Crude oil is still about double what it was 2 years ago. The EPA modified the rules this summer to allow the less expensive winter blends to be used during the summer in some areas. That was easier on the wallets but worse for the lungs. Life is always a game of tradeoffs, especially during an election year.

[Clipper]

Some stations sell gas that is cheaper because it is simply the basic gasoline product before any additional additives are added. It meets the government standard but I would not recommend it long term if you care at all about engine life. There is more to be concerned about than octane rating. Using cheap gas long term that is sans any engine cleaning additives in today's fuel injected engines can lead to build up that can seriously affect performance and can potentially damage the fuel injection system components. I wish I could remember and link the article that I read several months ago that was written by a purported expert who was either a chemist or an automotive engineer.

[clarencebunsen]

Gas has dropped to about $4.00/gallon but shopping today Heidelberg bread is now more than $5.00/loaf. We like it and it's baked in Frankfort but decided to get a less expensive brand.

[Clipper]

Grocery stores are robbing us blind. I went to stock up on salad ingredients and was shocked by the differences since last week. Last week English seedless cucumbers were 2 for $3 and were probably at least a foot long. Today they are still 2 for $3 but they look like a string bean. They were scrawny and only about 8 inches long. Lettuce? Last week $1.99 for a decent size and fairly firm head. Today? About the size of a softball, and far from firm.

I used to love Heidelberg's breads years ago when they were in the little building on Rt 28 going North out of Herkimer. Did they move to a larger facility, possibly in the Frankfort industrial park?

I would have to draw the line also when the price rose to $5. I like a wide pan Private Selection brand Jewish rye from Kroger. Nice large loaf and nice thick slices and it is only $2.50. They also make a wide pan sour dough that we love for morning toast. Same price as the rye.


www.kroger.com/search?query=Private%20Selection%20Light%20Rye%20Bread&searchType=default_search

[BHU]

I don't care for Heidelberg's rye. It's too heavy & the last couple times we bought it the crust taste burnt. And it ain' worth $5 imho. We like rye bread but it's hard to find a good one. The other day I wanted some Ritz crackers. What used to be $2.50 for a box is now close to $5.00. They can keep 'em. Yep, they're robbing us blind. I suggested to the wife to buy a btead machine but she's not too keen on the idea & I know nothing about them. But I do know that the price of bread is outrageous.

[Clipper]

We have a bread machine and seldom use it. The bread comes out very heavy and dense in most cases. Kathy prefers to make bread from scratch, let it proof, punch it down and bake it in loaf pans in the conventional oven. They seem to have fallen from grace in this area. You can't find the boxed bread machine mixes on the shelves of any of our grocery stores any more. Somewhere over the 20 yrs we have been here the selection dwindled to a very limited selection and now, none. Kathy used to always make loaf of an herbed bread that we would eat when we had spaghetti. Now we buy what is a reasonable facsimile of "Italian" bread that is baked fresh everyday at 4pm at Kroger's and put out hot in waxed paper bags.

I was thrilled to find Private Selection Light Rye bread at Kroger's. I seldom eat regular white bread, other than for toast or in the form of a sandwich roll for burgers, dogs, or BBQ. I used to buy my rye at the bakery on Lenox near the Pulaski Meat Market or at Star bakery in East Utica. When we moved here all I could find was Pepperidge Farms rye and it was thinly sliced and tasteless. Hemstrought's had good rye bread years ago. Have they returned to carrying a full line of baked goods and breads or is the selection limited?

[clarencebunsen]

We had a bread machine. I think I used it more than Barb did. She would just make the standard loafs. I liked to experiment with the recipes that came with the machine. It worked OK. The biggest problem was that the little beater would bake itself into the bottom of the loaf. Had to dig it out and was a pain to clean.

A long time ago I had sour dough starter I kept in the fridge and used regularly. That was a lot of work. I don't think I could knead a loaf of bread today and if I did it would taste like Aspercreme.

[Clipper]

"and if I did it would taste like Aspercreme."

LOL. Kathy and I both have arthritic hands but mine are much less painful than hers so I occasionally will knead her bread dough if I happen to be around when she is making bread. Kneading bread dough is not for the feint at heart. It is pretty strenuous labor.

Thus far I have been lucky. Seldom do I need to put Theragesic on my hands. Sometimes if I have done a lot of work that required rather strenuous use of my hands such as the day after bowling, or occasionally when the weather is changing or damp and cold. Simple osteoarthritis. My dad had Rheumatoid arthritis in his hands that gnarled his fingers and left his joints grotesque looking and painfully sore. I hope that I never get to that point.