I just got back from the grocery store and I swear you have to be deaf, dumb and blind to think "everything's normal."

No, I was not at Wal-Mart. And I'm not talking about the STOOOPID "mask mandatory" rule. I try to stay out of Wal-Mart just for that very reason. Unfortunately, we live in a very small town, and there aren't a lot of options for some items, so you find yourself, by necessity, going into there. And even so, THEY are out of a lot of things, too. I tried to buy a cheap laptop there....need one for Zoom for my work, as my microphone doesn't work on my old faithful. THEY WERE OUT. She tried to switch me to a more expensive one with a smaller screen. Nope. I just didn't buy one. I'll just borrow one from a friend to make my Zoom lessons on, and then if my students want to consult with me, I'll have to do it one-on-one by phone.

So this was groceries, and I went to my usual grocery store. I dunno, maybe it's just because I hadn't been there in quite a while, but there sure were a LOT of empty spaces on the shelves. Many, many items just MISSING. Lots of open shelving. They were not even trying to "fill in" with other items. Just BLANK.

People, if you're not stocking (STOCKED) up, you'd better get to it! There was a shortage on silly things that I like to keep in stock, like cans and jars of beef gravy and powdered mixes for sauces, etc.

But they were short on staples too, like canned veggies, some dairy items, lunch meat, bread (still!), TP and Paper towels.

Some things are available, but the prices seemed to have DOUBLED since I bought them last (maybe 2 months ago?). Weird, tho, the price of bacon seems to have dropped by HALF! I think the threads lately that have talked about "supply chain" and "Distribution managers" telling everyone that they are NOT getting items in as they order them better be taken seriously.

Something is happening.

And it's happening SOOO incredibly incrementally that we're JUST like the frog in the water on the stove, and we aren't even realizing how hot it's going to get yet. And by the time we do, it'll be too late to stock up.

I, for one, will be going back to top off my freezers and pantry. I know many here will come on and BRAG you've got venison and canned vegs in the cellar....blah, blah. I believe only a small FRACTION of those on here saying they're all set really are.

Even the "impulse items" by the register, where they put all the candy bars and shit you're supposed to buy while you wait to check out. GONE!! EMPTY!!! Just my take away from my first trip "to town" to shop in a month or two, and I was blown away by what I saw.

Took pictures, too!