Christmas in Leavenworth

We drove to Leavenworth after meeting the kids up at the cabin Saturday morning. The drive was beautiful going over Stevens Pass and down the east slopes of the Cascade Mountains into Leavenworth. Although the skies were gray and there was rain in the forcast for that afternoon, the town of Leavenworth was packed full of holiday shoppers and holiday gawkers. After taking a drive out to look at the orchards, the wineries and the awesome veiw on North Road we headed back to town. There were dozens of buses parked at the park and ride........our usual preference.....and we eventually managed to find a free parking spot two blocks off of main street. After walking into town, dodging people and dogs and cars and horse drawn carriages we headed for the cheese shop. I bought a lovely bottle of ice wine which I'm going to open for dessert after Christmas supper. Nico bought cheese and the guys stayed outside with Neeka the dog and did some people watching. We'd arrived late in the afternoon, and were thirsty so we ended up at the Muchin House where we found roaringly happy crowds, warm fires and that great Alpine Ale. We sat and drank and talked to strangers and participated in the joyous comraderie we always find there. 4:30 was drawing near and it was time to get back out to main street for the traditional tree and town lighting. There were speeches given and carols sung and Santa even came. At the thundering of the cannon and the countdown from five one by one the trees, buildings and street lamps of Leavenworth lit up. Everyone was so merry and our surroundings so festive, this was a perfect way to welcome in the Christmas holiday. We had a long drive ahead of us and a turkey and stuffing dinner awaiting us at the cabin, so along with most of the rest of the crowd we slowly made our way back to the car and settled in for the long drive over the pass. We got the car warmed up, and played Christmas songs on the radio. We sang songs and talked about the holidays and before we knew it we were back to Index and our cozy little cabin.

 

The Pinks (Humpys) are Runny Hard

The river was just chock full of Pink Salmon last weekend. We spent much time down on the bank watching the show. We saw a huge and strikingly beautiful King Salmon muscle his way up river through the hoards and hoards of Pinks. We hope he got very far up stream and found a suitable mate.

I did a Wiki search and found this:

Reproduction
Male at spawning time

Pink salmon in their native range have a strict two year life cycle, thus odd and even-year populations do not interbreed. Adult pink salmon enter spawning streams from the ocean, usually returning to the water course, or race, where they originated. Spawning occurs between late June and mid-October. Pink salmon spawn in coastal streams and some longer rivers, and may spawn in the intertidal zone or at the mouth of streams if hyporheic freshwater is available. Using her tail, the female digs a trough-shaped nest, called a redd (Scandinavian word for "nest"), in the gravel of the stream bed, wherein she deposits her eggs. As she expresses the eggs, she is approached by one or more males who fertilize them as they fall into the redd. Subsequently, the female covers the newly-deposited zygotes, again with thrusts of her tail against the gravel at the top of the redd. The female lays from 1000 to 2000 eggs in several clutches within the redd, often fertilized by different males. Females guard their redds until death, which comes within days of spawning. In dense populations, a major source of mortality for embryos is superposition of redds by later-spawning fish. The eggs hatch from December to February, depending on water temperature, and the juveniles emerge from the gravel during March and April and quickly migrate downstream to estuaries at about one-quarter gram. The fish achieve sexual maturity in their second year of life. They return to freshwater in the summer or autumn as two year old adults. Pink and chum salmon sometimes interbreed in nature to form the hybrid known as the miko salmon; the hybrids are reproductively sterile.

 
 
 

We tried to get a few good pictures, but It is difficult as the salmon don't stay still very long + they meld in with the coloring of the background. If you look hard at these pictures, you will see the fish.

Once they are through with their reproductive cycle, the Salmon die. The air was getting rather pungent, and I imagine it is even worse now. Fortunately for us (but not the Salmon) they decay rapidly. It will all be over in a few short weeks.

Ever heard of the Equiux?

Hat tip to DmAa on the "Bear Stories" thread at Siliconinvestor.com


Notice I said that day and night will be approximately equal on the fall equinox. The equinox is a specific point in time when the sun is at a specific point in the sky. Since sunrise and sunset times vary greatly across the planet depending on location, true equality of day and night -- called the equilux (EE-qwill-lux) -- occurs on slightly different dates depending on where you live. Equilux for Duluth, Minn. is on September 25 when the sun rises at 7 a.m. and sets at 7 p.m. To find your equilux date, go to the U.S. Naval Observatory website http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.php and type in your location to get the day's sunrise/sunset information. Are there exactly twelve hours separating them? If not, then go back, change the date a couple days ahead (or back) and look again. You may have to do this a couple times to find out when they're equal.

"http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/RS_OneDay.php"

Fall Chanterelles

We look forward to this time of year because of the bounty of the garden and the bounty of the woods. While I was making applesauce from my favorite apples today my husband Bob took a walk in what we call "Our Chanterelle Woods." He's been going down to the woods every other day to see if these succulent and tasty mushrooms are showing yet. Up until now he's not found many (it takes a good rain to really bring them out), but today was different. He found bunches of them growing here and there, and brought home the nice bounty you see in the picture. There are way too many to eat at one sitting, so we lightly saute them in a small amount of butter, and then pack them in freezer bags. During late Fall and Winter, we pull a bag out and enjoy them with our meal.

The lovely weather we've been experiencing is something we expect in our area this time of year. We spend as much time as we can up at the cabin knowing full well by November the days are shorter and Fall projects at home are part of our routine. We don't go up to the cabin for any over night forays until the snow flies in December or January. It is very nice to have a place to stay close to the mountain after an exhilarating day on the slopes.

The Power of the Poor

First I want to apologize for not blogging more this summer. I have been tied up with some work issues that have needed my attention, and I've also been spending as much time as I can at the river. If you read this blog from the beginning you would know I don't have Internet capabilities at the river, and so haven't had the option of blogging from there. I am giving up the idea of Summer reluctantly and have a few other forays away from home planned before the big chill descends and forces me inside where I can concentrate more on blogging, among other things.

I wanted to post this link because I think this documentary will be interesting and informative. I have only watched the trailer, so I can't comment on it's entire message, but I thought others would be interested in knowing about it before it airs in October.

I'll be seeing more of you when the rains come.

;) Maureen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The Power of the Poor: Blog Contest

By Alex Tabarrok on Television

On October 8, PBS will be showing, The Power of the Poor, a new documentary featuring the great Hernando de Soto and from the team that brought you Free to Choose. You can see a preview below. To increase awareness, Free to Choose Media is sponsoring a blog contest on the question:

What institutions can enable the world's poor to realize their power and achieve prosperity?

The best blog post--under 500 words--on this theme will receive $250 and a DVD of the show. See the rules for more information. Yours truly will be one of the judges.

Extrodinary Images from the WW1 Era

British photographer's extraordinary images of American icons... using up to 30,000 U.S. troops

These are the extraordinary pictures of the Statue of Liberty and icons of U.S. history captured on camera by an ingenious British photographer - using up to 30,000 soldiers.

Englishman Arthur S. Mole took the pictures of soldiers returning to America after World War I.

Now the unique collection of the remarkable pictures has been brought together for the first time at the Carl Hammer Gallery, in Chicago, USA.
Arthur S. Mole

STATUE OF LIBERTY: Using 18,000 troops at Camp Dodge, Iowa, this is one of the many photographs taken by British photographer Arthur S. Mole in army camps across the U.S. in 1918

Mole's work was the first to use a unique technique to beat the problem of perspective after he devised a clever way of getting so many soldiers in the pictures.

Taken in 1918, photographers Arthur S. Mole and his American colleague John D. Thomas took the photographs in camps across the U.S.

UNCLE SAM: 19,000 troops, Camp Lee, Virginia and (R) THE LIBERTY BELL: 25,000 men, Camp Dix, New Jersey

Arthur's great nephew Joseph Mole, 70, said the photographer was unique in the way he captured so many people on film.

He said: 'In the picture of the Statue of Liberty there are 12,000 men in the torch alone, but just 17 at the base.

'The men at the top of the picture are actually half a mile away from the men at the bottom.

'Arthur was able to get the image by actually drawing an outline on the lens, he then had the troops place flags in certain positions while he looked through the camera.
Arthur S. Mole

MACHINE GUN INSIGNIA: 22,500 officers and men at Camp Hancock in Augusta. A special 70-foot tower was built at each site especially for the shots

'It worked so well because these men were used to following orders and the flags were a well known way of communicating.

'When it came to the day of the photograph Arthur would then be able to put all the pieces together, he could say to 157 men 'move there and you can be Woodrow Wilson's ear'.

'It would take a week to get all the outlines right, but just 30 minutes to move all the men into position to take the shot, it must have been amazing to watch.'

In total they took a total of 10 photos where thousands of soldiers were posed to form giant living symbols of the USA, including a portrait of president Woodrow Wilson, the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty, the Marine Corps emblem, and more.
Arthur S Mole

THE HUMAN U.S. SHIELD: 30,000 officers assembled in Camp Custer, Battle Creek, Michigan. It would take the photographer weeks to get all the outlines right but just 30 minutes to move all the men into position

The photographs were taken as part of a U.S. government bid to raise public morale.

Carl Hammer, from the Chicago gallery of the same name, said Mole and Thomas were unique for their time.

He said: 'I see modern photographers with all the technology we have these days trying to do the same as these two guys did almost 100 years ago, and I still think they did it best and they did it first.

'It really is very clever how they managed to get so many soldiers in the shots, they realised using the same amount of soldiers for each row they would lose the image in the background.
Arthur S Mole

British photographer Mole, along with his American colleague John D. Thomas, were commissioned to take the photographs by the U.S. government to raise morale among the troops

'If you look at the Statue of Liberty formation there are just a handful of men at the front, but the back row is made of thousands.

'Mole and Thomas were commissioned by the U.S. government to take the pictures as a way to raise morale among the troops and raise money by selling the shots to the public.

'It must have been incredible for the soldiers to be part of these photos and to be part of this slice of history.'

Read more:

EXTRODINARY IMAGES

Did You Know 5 - April 2009 - Update

Did You Know?

The Patio that finally is!

It took just under 40 hours for our oldest son to install this beautiful patio in our back yard. He sand set it right over the old broken and crumbling cement we put there 32 years ago. It is made of Pennsylvania Blue Stone and is just lovely.

I have been wanting this project to begin for over 4 years and was told over and over again "we'll do it." I guess I finally decided to take the bull by the horns and make it happen. My youngest son and I went to the stone yard to pick up the already ordered stone, and after much planning on how to deliver it to our back yard, finally had it brought out and moved into place.

The stone came on two huge pallets each weighing approximately 3000 lbs. Getting it off of the delivery truck and placed close enough to the patio for ease of access was a challenge. We finally opted for renting a fork lift from a nearby rental store, but wondered how we'd get it to the back yard? The man who delivered the fork lift said to go ahead and run it on the lawn, but expect a few tire tracks. We didn't know whether the side yard would support so much weight, and the fork lift did get stuck at one point, so we hooked a line up to it and attached the other end to the Van and pulled it out. After all was said and done, the fork lift did very little damage to the lawn.

Once the stone was in place, there really was no choice but to get the details worked out and install it. Because our oldest said he'd get the job done by Father's Day, he worked around his day time schedule and made it happen.

We'll be planting some plugs from the already established Pinks, and Ajuga we have scattered in our landscaping around the edge. We think the combination of silver blue foliage and pink flowers of the "Pinks" and the blue flowers and dark foliage of the Ajuga will really look nice together against the backdrop of the stone.

We will be using the patio a lot more..........no one wanted to even get near the old one it was so disgusting......to eat our meals on the table and to rest on our new patio loungers. We may even move our portable fire place to the patio so we can sit at night and be comfy and cozy while we watch the stars above.

Thank you Bobby, Dale, and Mike.

I can't tell you all how pretty it is other than to say it is such a pleasure to walk out the back door onto the deck and see this patio.

Thank you for making Mom happy!

Happy Spring!

Spring brings much opportunity and much work. We're fortunate that we have what is called an "established landscape", but that doesn't mean it doesn't take a lot of work to maintain.

I find myself outside more and more enjoying the beauty of what we've planted. From tremendous Rhododendron and Azaleas (all of which have some sort of significance attached......a birth, a death, a marriage) to Poppy, Chamelia, Rose and Iris. All of the plants in our bountiful yard have been put there with loving care in hopes that they will thrive. And although I get sore muscles, an aching back and sunburned feet making sure that they do, it is all worth it just so we can enjoy the color these plants bring to our world.

Life and death and lessons learned!

I just can't get enough of birds this time of year.

I have 5 nest web cams opened on my computer at once on a normal day and I love watching the babies being born and cared for by their parents. There is much joy in watching these fine adult birds nurture and care for their babies.

Along with the joy comes a bit of sorrow once in awhile. Two weeks ago one of the two eaglets at the Hornby Island nest became "attached" to his mother's underside. The mother Eagle did just about every thing she could do to dislodge "Echo." She bounced and hopped but she could not get him loose. She even took off and flew away for a few minutes, only to return with Echo still attached........a miracle in itself. Out of exhaustion, she dug a deeper hole in the nest and laid down to rest for awhile, when suddenly she got up and took off.

Approximately 100' from the nest, Echo fell.

This nest is 120' up in some kind of coniferous tree on Hornby Island B.C. Needless to say the viewers......myself included.....were stunned, shocked and extremely worried. The owner of the cams lives nearby and was also watching. When he saw what had happened, he rushed to the base of the tree. Echo was lying peacefully and was, as we all feared, dead.

This was a tragic loss of a beautiful eaglet. It took me days and days to overcome my sorrow.

After examination, there is still no explanation as to why Echo was stuck to the underside of his mother. The biologist at the Hancock Wildlife Foundation posted a short note and explained that he had seen a chick become stuck to a nest from a combination of feces and pine pitch, but had never seen it happen in the wild and said he found nothing unusual about this bird. No markings or residue of any kind.

I watched Echo hatch and then struggle to survive his first two weeks on this Earth. He would push his way forward to get his share of food provided when Mom or Dad arrived with one of their tasty offerings of fish, rat, possum or duck. He would peep and make a joyful trilling sound like no other eaglet I'd ever heard. He was tenacious and would do everything a baby Eagle should do. He'd push his tiny little self in closer to a parent when the skies overhead opened up with rain and gusting wind, competing for a warm spot with his sister.

I still mourn for Echo, and I'm so sorry his first and only "flight" was to his death.

Echo is buried in a shallow grave in the garden of a very special man.......Doug Hancock. He was lain to rest between a rhododendron and an azalea in view of the waters of the Straight of Georgia.

A fitting place!

We take risks when watching nature in the raw via web cams, and Echo proved that sometimes things don't go the way we wish they would. He had everything going for him until that tragic and mysterious event unfolded.

Another person on one of the Eagle cam threads posted this video, and I found it to be quite special, so I thought I'd share it with you.

In memory of Echo.

Eagles

I have been watching Eagle cams for 3 years. Thanks to the people at the Hancock Wildlife Foundation thousands of people all over the world are getting the opportunity to view the raising of Bald Eagles. This site is viewed by school children in class, residents in Nursing Homes and just about anyone else who ends up finding the link on line.

I thought I'd post the url here for the enjoyment of everyone who visits my blog.

Just click on "Eagles" below and then on one of the three links at the site and start following the progress of these magnificent animals.

It is especially instructive for little children and big people who still have the imagination they had as a child.

Eagles

Solitude

I've been busy with all sort of chores and projects this Spring. One of my favorite things to do is get away with friends that I rarely get to see. I recently went to a lovely place in Sequim with a very dear friend for a few days so that we could catch up.

Cindy and I try to get away once a year together. She to get away from the hustle and bustle of a full house and a full time job. I for the pleasure of going somewhere new with a dear friend.

This year we really studied hard and used the Internet to scope out our destination. We chose Sequim because it is close, and we wanted to be near salt water. After doing quite a bit of research we finally decided on Sunset Marine Resort. Our choice of cabins was The Boat House. It was the view out the windows that really clinched the deal.

From every window in the cabin.........which was very beachy, full of antiques, retro eBay purchases, extremely comfortable furniture and a wonderful ambiance was a view of the water. When the tide came in, the water was literally under our cabin because The Beach House has piers for a foundation.....right ON the beach. It was called the Boat House because it was the original boat house for the old Sunset Marine which was the very first marina on Sequim Bay.

We were lucky enough to be able to go mid-week so there were very few people and lots of peace and quiet.

We went to The Three Crabs for a great Captains Plate our first night there, and then chose to spend the rest of our visit at the resort exploring the beach. This beach had more marine life than any other inland beach I'd ever visited.

It was a wonderful experience.....one I'd gladly do again and again.

I highly recommend this wonderful little secret get away.

SunsetMarineResort

Follow up to Earth Hour

H/T Tim Fowler

Earth Hour, candles and carbon

There's one thing in particular that bothers me about Earth Hour - these people who electric lights and then go and light up candles, and think that they're helping do something about anthropogenic forcing of climate change.

The widespread practice of misguided eco-Luddites turning off their lights for Earth Hour and burning candles as a source of light is grossly misguided and actually contributes to increased carbon dioxide emissions.

Yes, I know candles are nice and romantic - but you're taking paraffin wax, in the form of a candle, and burning it, very inefficiently, at a low temperature. This stuff is pure hydrocarbon - it's a heavy alkane fraction distilled straight off crude oil. This stuff is getting so scarce that nations are prepared to go to war just to secure it, remember?

A candle flame burns at a low temperature - so it's a thermodynamically very inefficient source of energy - and most of the energy released in a candle is wasted as heat, anyway.

Even if 80% of your electricity comes from coal and fossil fuel fired power stations, as it does in Australia, burning candles is very polluting and certainly very greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide emissions intensive, even more so than electric lighting...

...Therefore, for every candle that is burned to replace electric lighting during Earth Hour, greenhouse gas emissions over the course of the one hour are increased by 9.6 g of carbon dioxide.

If the light output from a 40 W light bulb was to be completely replaced by candles, this will lead to the emission of an extra 295 grams of carbon dioxide per over simply using the electric lights - if the equivalent of one thousand 40 W bulbs are replaced by candles, that's an extra 295 kilograms of CO2 emitted.

In places where a greater proportion of the electricity supply is generated by nuclear energy or hydroelectricity, this increase in greenhouse gas emissions is even larger.

Link

Human Achievement Hour

The Competitive Enterprise Institute plans to recognize "Human Achievement Hour" between 8:30pm and 9:30pm on March 28, 2009 to coincide with Earth Hour, a period of time during which governments, individuals, and corporations have agreed to dim or shut off lights in an effort to draw attention to climate change. Anyone not foregoing the use of electricity in that hour is, by default, celebrating the achievements of human beings.

We salute the people who keep the lights on and produce the energy that helps make human achievement possible.

Green and private conservation are fine. We have no problem with an individual (or group) that wants to sit naked in the dark without heat, clothing, or light. Additionally, we would have no problem with the group holding a pro-green technology rally. That is their choice. But when this group stages a "global election" with the express purpose of influencing "government policies to take action against global warming," we have every right as individuals to express our vote for the opposite

If Human Achievement Hour is at all a dig against Earth Hour, it is so only by the fact that we are pointing out what Earth Hour truly is about: it isn't pro-earth, it is anti-man and anti-innovation. So, on March 28th, CEI plans to continue "voting" for humanity by enjoying the fruits of man's mind.




link

All My Favs

I found this on my favorite web site, and thought it was just great. Make shopping easy and fun by going there and start clicking away.

Faves

Being Gone

I love to ski, and because the season is drawing to a close and the conditions have been wonderful, I've been spending several days a week at our cabin in the mountains. It is convenient to stay there as it is so close to the ski area, and I find myself going there often after a long day on the slopes.

The cabin is small, but has everything we need. A living room with a fireplace. A very nice sized kitchen that is just perfect. A full bathroom, a smallish but cozy bedroom, electricity, running water, a septic system and a gorgeous view. (The picture of the Mountain [Merchant Peak] you see in the header of this blog was taken from there.)

Because it is a cabin, we have no phone, tv or Internet. I have to go out on the deck and place my cell phone in one particular spot on the railing in order to receive a signal. Otherwise I have to drive down to the little cafe on Hwy 2 to make a call or check my messages.

I do a lot of reading or watch movies when I'm there. I love not having the distractions that I have at home. I also love the solitude, and the peace and quiet of Index. Bob and I have both occasionally seen one or a pair of Bald Eagle, and last week I saw two Bobcat running up the dirt road in front of the cabin. Besides lots of spawning Salmon, we've seen Bear, Deer, Osprey, Heron, several varieties of Duck, Cedar Waxwing and lots of Kingfisher.

I go to the cabin when I want to get away.

Friends and family have an open invitation to come visit for a day or stay over night any time they'd like.

Oh Canada

We just spent the last 5 days in Whistler Canada. Skiing is one of our favorite winter time activities and Whistler is one of our favorite places to ski. We have been fortunate enough to get a room at the Cascade Lodge in Whistler Village for the third time. It is a resort comprised of all one bedroom condominiums and is just lovely. It has an outdoor heated pool and two giant hot tubs with breathtaking views of the two mountains. It is conveniently located one block from the center of the village, and two blocks from the lifts.

One of our favorite places to ski at Whistler is Seventh Heaven on Blackcomb Mountain:



The views from this area are spectacular:



Getting away once a year in February.......be it to ski or sun ourselves on a warm beach.......has become a tradition for us.

The American Form of Government

It's important all Americans understand our Nation's form of Government. I ran across this simple explanation. It is worth every moment of the approximately 8 minutes this video takes to view. I encourage everyone to watch it and think about how our form of Govt affects you.

Link

Here's to Lucky!

Lucky the Hummingbird has been gone for over 5 days now. I have been corresponding with another Hummingbird enthusiast and his bird disappeared shortly before Christmas. I'm wondering if it is normal for Hummingbirds to migrate on in winter to better or more numerous feeders?

In any event........here's to a very entertaining and fun little creature.........Lucky.

I'm going to miss you!

 

Catching up!

We spent a peaceful week after Christmas cleaning up around here and relaxing after a whirlwind December 25th.

On Christmas Day, we got up early and headed up skiing. We had purchased Bobby's girlfriend Nico a gift of rental ski equipment and instructions. It was her very first time up, and we wanted to get there early. After we got Nico set up with her equipment and took her to her meeting place with the instructor, Bob and I took off for a few hours of skiing. Bobby joined us after a few runs and we were all off for some fun.

We had a very good time and met up with Nico around 11:30........right when her lesson was through. She said she enjoyed the lesson and wants to do it again. After returning Nico's gear and retrieving ours, we rushed down the mountain and joined the rest of the family at our house. As soon as we were all gathered, our Christmas began in earnest.

New Years Eve was spent together with our friends the Stroms of Goldbar, and some of their very nice neighbors. Because the roads were so very dangerous, we spent the night in their guest room with the intention of getting up the next morning and driving up to Stevens Pass to do some skiing. When we got up in the morning, and after donning our ski clothing and heading out the door, one of the family members told us they'd heard that Highway 2 was closed due to avalanche danger. It remained so for the next 4 days.

We ended up going to breakfast with the entire family and then heading home later that afternoon when it was decided we wouldn't be able to get our car into the driveway of our cabin and off of the street completely because of the huge amounts of snow. A good lesson for us........we had our driveway plowed that week.

We did manage to get up to the cabin to stay the next weekend, and I understand there is 18" of snow still on the ground.

I guess I'll just have to go up and see for myself later this week. I miss skiing and need to get up there before the season is gone.

 

Perspective

I found this very interesting post on my favorite information web site..........Silicon Investor............and thought I'd post it here so that people could get some positive perspective (as opposed to all of the negative perspective we're bombarded with on a daily basis by the MSM) on the economy as a whole.

I've pasted a direct link to CARPE DIEM under my favorite information site in the upper right hand corner of my blog.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Despite Current Economic Slowdown, Consumers Have Never Had It So Good. Ever. Anywhere.

I have been purchasing some old Sears and Montgomery Wards catalogs on Ebay to have accurate, historical retail price data on typical consumer goods in various years, and then be able to compare the prices consumers pay today for various household goods to prices in previous periods, measured in the number of minutes or hours worked at the average wage to earn enough money to purchase the items. Here is the first in a series of CD posts comparing today's prices to a previous year:

Pictured below is a 9.2 cubic foot Sears Coldspot Spacemaster Refrigerator, available on sale in the 1949 Sears catalog for $224.75:

..

The average hourly manufacturing wage in 1949 was $1.26, meaning that the average worker had to work for 178.4 hours (22.3 days or 4.5 weeks) in 1949 to earn enough money (before tax) to purchase the refrigerator.

Pictured below is a current Sears model 9.5 cubic feet refrigerator, available on sale for $339.99. At the current average hourly manufacturing wage of $18.03, the average worker would have to work today for only 18.9 hours (only 2.4 days) to purchase the refrigerator.

..

The difference in hours worked to purchase a 9 cu. foot (approx.) Sears refrigerator in the two years is displayed graphically below:




Bottom Line: We hear a lot of comparisons of today's economic conditions to the 1930s and the Great Depression, as if we're about to slip back to the living conditions of the 1930s and enter Great Depression II. Hopefully some of these comparisons will serve as an antidote to all of the daily gloom and doom.

A comparison of the price of a typical household appliance in 1949 (178.4 hours of work to purchase a refrigerator) to the price today (only 18.9 hours of work) is just one of hundreds of examples that demonstrate the significant increase in the average American's standard of living over time.

If consumers were paying the same price for a refrigerator today as consumers did in 1949 (178.4 hours of work at the average wage), the retail price today would be about $3,200 for a basic 9.5 cubic feet refrigerator (178.4 hours X $18.03 per hour). For a more deluxe Sears model refrigerator (retail price of $1,757 or 5.2 times more expensive than the basic model), the cost today would be about $17,000.

Despite the current economic slowdown, consumers have never had it so good. Ever. Anywhere.

LINK