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Well I note fuel and food
are certainly getting much more expensive these days. Gas has gone up to
over $2.00 which is very expensive and almost double what it was.
I've commented on the
Canadian Government not doing more to encourage building more oil
refineries and getting pipe lines built to take our oil to the coast.
Seems to me that this is the reason we're not benefitting despite Canada
having the third highest reserves of oil in the world.
I note also that thanks
to COVID many more shops are doing home deliveries these days.
Using Instacart I can now purchase online from grocers such as Walmart,
Canadian Superstore, M & M, Giant Tiger and other outlets such as
Shoppers Drugmart, Staples and also the LCBO, Dollarama and
I have pointed out that in Scotland I
could order groceries online for home delivery over 20 years ago now. So
at least something has improved due to COVID.
Like every country in the world we're
still having issues with COVID but we're now no longer required to wear
masks and a lot of the other restrictions have eased. Still
required to wear masks when visiting hospitals and on doctors
appointments. I have had the two vaccine shots and one booster but
still to get my second booster shot and I've also had the flue shot.
On the food front the war between
Russia and Ukraine is having an affect on food supplies as they are both
major exporters of grains, fertiliser and cooking oils.
Also I
note that China is cutting supplies of rare earth minerals which are
needed to make processors for computers, smart phones and other devices
so that might be an issue. Canada does have large stocks of rare earth
but currently doesn't process much of it. Canada has some of the
largest known reserves and resources (measured and indicated) of rare
earths in the world, estimated at over 14 million tonnes of rare earth
oxides in 2021. See
https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/our-natural-resources/minerals-mining/minerals-metals-facts/rare-earth-elements-facts/20522
for more information.
I tried using an air fryer and it's
good for some things but I confess I prefer cooking with oil.
Tried doing fries but they just don't come out very well in my opinion.
When it come to watching TV I hardly
ever watch it these days apart from the news programs. I much
prefer to watch YouTube and while I have Netflix I am not watching it
that much these days and am considering cancelling my subscription.
I'm a lot more into watching
documentaries and real life series such as off grid living and farming
and YouTube offers me lots of choice.
I have created a page on my web site
to list the programs I enjoy watching and you can get to this at:
https://electricscotland.com/lifestyle/youtube.htm
House prices are very high in Chatham
right now. If you remember I paid $75,000 for my detached home
with another $15,000 in renovation work and they tell me it is worth
over $500,000 now. Rents are also well up with a one bedroom flat at
around $900 a month. My neighbours across the road paid around $650 a
month for a 4 bedroom house but as his landlord sold the house he had to
move and is now paying around $2,300 a month for a similar sized home.
Mind you he had lived there for some 25 years so some correction was
bound to happen but that's a big increase in times when food and fuel
and inflation are all heading up quite a bit.
I note also that getting trades people is
more difficult and very expensive. Like in a recent storm a major
branch of one of my trees came down and did other damage to it.
It's costing me $850 + tax to put it right and that's just for 1 hours
work and no heavy equipment being used.
In my opinion the trades in Chatham are no
longer fit for purpose. They are expensive, dishonest and poor
quality on the whole. Numerous times after getting a quote and agreeing
a price they simply don't turn up and often when they do they don't do
the job to the standard you expect and leave bits unfinished. It's also
rife in Canada to be asked to pay in cash thus saving on the tax.
I do wonder how much money is lost to Canada in taxation as a result.
I might add that Canada should do much
more to promote apprenticeship training rather than put more people
through University. It's a lot cheaper for students and most of
them are likely to earn a lot more than many get with university
degrees.
Having said that weather wise Chatham is
probably the best city to live in as we do avoid almost all the extremes
of weather. While we do get snow it's never very much.
Windsor (on the Canada/US border) and London, 1 hour each side of us get
much more snow.
While I am no longer in the Knights
Templar's I thought I'd check to see how they are doing since I left.
Since my friend Nola stepped down from being Grand Prior of Canada it
seems they have done nothing at all. I have been unable to find
any communication from the new Grand Prior and not a single newsletter
over the past 2 years. Seems to me that they should have allowed Nola to
serve for another 3 year term.
Nola is doing a regular "Thoughts on a
Sunday Morning" each Sunday on YouTube.
Had my visit to my Doctor on 15th June and she said she
was exhausted. She was not a fan of Booster shots and was quite
dismissive of them. She made a point of saying I should be
drinking at least 1 litre of water each day and that she personally
drinks 2 litres. So I pass this on for what it's worth. I was
telling her how the lab had difficulty in taking blood from me the other
day and the person that took my blood said I needed to drink more water.
In actual fact I generally only have a couple of drinks a day, a coffee
in the morning and then either another coffee or tea or diet pop with my
dinner and that's it. She also said that lack of water was likely
why I had the odd dizzy spells.
So that's a bit of an update for you. |
