[Hoot Gibson]

This lockdown has got me interested in doing more cooking at home, including using my smoker more. I have also become interested in baking fresh bread to go with the meat from the smoker.

Panic buying and the fact that more people are wanting to reduce trips to grocery stores have driven prices on bread makers sky high and it is almost impossible to find the better models in stock at any price. So, I have ordered a 650 watt stand mixer. I really wanted a much more expensive Swedish mixer, but I just could not justify the extra cost. I have a feeling that it will soon become difficult to find mixers capable of making large batches of bread dough.

I would never dreamed that people would be stripping the shelves of yeast, bread makers, and chickpeas (garbanzo beans).

Freezer prices have also risen to unreal levels. I bought a small freezer a few weeks before the lockdown began and I paid less then than one with less than half the capacity costs now.

I highly recommend stocking up on some vegetarian sources of protein in case supplies of meat and poultry become scarce or prices reach ridiculous levels. Chickpeas and quinoa are great sources of protein and have a shelf life of at least 2 or 3 years.

Because the barber shops were forced to close and I was way overdue a haircut, I ordered some Wahl barber clippers and guides. After I received them, everything that I had ordered and most of the clippers that I had considered buying were out of stock. This lockdown is destroying small businesses like barbershops.