Inflation

In recent years, there has been a lot of emphasis on a minimalist lifestyle and, of course, shopping and collecting are out of the question. Older people, like perhaps my best friend's parents, save up everything they can to have something in the house, for emergencies and 'if war breaks out. That last sentence, by the way, is a remark I also know from grandparents and partly parents and elderly people around me. Well, these older people appear to have been right. War has broken out and Europe is being sacrificed, because, as everyone knows by now, that is the part of the world where certain superpowers place their armoury, keep their biological laboratories and build their data centres. The Netherlands has several of these by Google and Microsoft. Microsoft's data centre alone consumes as much energy as 360,000 households! Yes, you read it correctly. All 180 windmills paid for by the Dutch citizens provide Microsoft with power for next to nothing. By the way, that data centre does not store Dutch data but African data. Just so you know.

So it is nonsense that the Netherlands does not have enough power. The lack of gas in the Netherlands is not so bad either. Only 10% of our gas comes from Russia. We drill for gas ourselves and supply it to Italy for next to nothing and also Germany is supplied by us. The Netherlands is even crazy enough to buy Scandinavian gas and process it so that the Germans can use it. In Germany, people were given money to switch to gas. In the Netherlands, the government wants to ban the use of gas. Thanks to inflation (read: the government and the Dutchman spend millions, millions that have to be borrowed and then borrowed, and for this, the euro is cheerfully printed and it is money that is worthless) everything becomes more expensive. Not only gas but also electricity, petrol (that biofuel made out of flowers doesn't do so well), food, animal feed and now we also get the meat tax because everyone has to eat soy or meat from the printer.

Personally, I am not so fond of imported soya that has to be felled and transported all the way here. Let's face it: the rainforest is not next door. We hardly have any trees left, they are being felled and what remains are wind farms with data centres (you know where to go if you want to delete your data).

The average Dutchman feels well cheated by now. No clean energy, no doing good for the environment, investing in this and reaping the benefits. The Dutchman and his fellow countrymen get nothing at all!

Is everyone having a bad time because of inflation?

Of course not. Those who have a top income will be able to sing it out for a while. Those who are hoarding will also survive in times of war. After all, in times of scarcity, everything is interesting, worth money and if no money then at least a return service.

The current situation reminds me of an old acquaintance of my grandmother.

The elderly lady lived alone, and although the washing machine had long since been installed, she still washed her white laundry in a cooking pot on the cooker (indeed, the pants included). She exchanged her medicines with my grandmother (indeed, it's nonsense that medicines can no longer be used after their expiry date. So keep them, because 'he who keeps what has what') and regularly complained that she had been stolen again (from soap to...).

This very elderly 'aunt' occasionally went shopping but was also frugal. There was no shop on the corner and a walk to the shop could easily take 1-2 hours if not longer (and then shopping and returning home, take a day for that).

How do I know she was frugal apart from the fact that she was single (presumably a widow, she always wore black)? When she died and the house was cleared out, all the stolen items were found (indeed, breaking into and raping very elderly ladies was not yet a trend at the time). Items that she had even purchased long before the war. Good enough to still be used (indeed, there was no expiry date in those days to force the consumer to buy something new) and who knows, some of it may even have filled a local museum.

Although I find a minimalist lifestyle very calming, my house, thanks to my children, is always cluttered. A good reason for me not to enter certain rooms (don't worry, I don't have to fight my way through piles of rubbish and it's not crawling with vermin), although (thank you, Biden) I have since changed my mind about the expression "he who keeps what has what". Being frugal, having the ability to repair and reuse is also invaluable and for that, besides the will and the right attitude, you also need certain skills and, of course, parts. So I'm going to make the most of what I have instead of buying because everything that is bought only makes the same people richer, the small group of people who have absolutely nothing to fear from any kind of inflation.

Do you already know what you are going to eat when wheat, rye, oatmeal and corn are no longer available and soya and all those other seeds (indeed the touted superfoods) have to be imported and thus become unaffordable (which vegetables and fruits already are)?

I am going to get some potatoes today (indeed, the ones that are already coming out in the shops) and I am going to plant a potato field with them. Just because potatoes can grow anywhere, can suffer from potato rot but a natural vegetable garden (mulch, mulch, mulch) does offer prospects (indeed it is not so labour intensive so worth a try).

Once called a potato eater always a potato eater?

I watched an interesting video about growing rice in a bucket (grown out of bought rice which you can do with peas, corn etc too). Some say growing rice is easy. Is it?

#kittywu #freewrite #inflation #life