The recent increases in gas prices are affecting up all. Not only is it expensive to get from point A to point B, but the prices on all of our necessities have increased as well. It's understandable, someone has to pay for the gas needed to fill the large trucks that deliver all the goods to the stores. Frankly I'd rather it not be me, but I do understand.

What I don't understand is how some of our chain stores have calculated their price increases. I was at a large craft store last week (*cough*ACMOORE*cough) purchasing small funnels for a hedgehog shipping cage I was helping make. The funnels were marked at 39 cents each. Even though I thought that was a little much for a funnel, I needed them for the cage so I went ahead and took them to the register. Well, the darn things rang up at 59 cents each! Needless to say, I was a bit miffed. I told the cashier that the funnels were 39 cents, and she informed me that prices had just gone up. I informed her that the funnels were still marked 39 cents. So we walked back to the funnels, they were 39 cents, and she rang my already over-priced funnels up at 39 cents. *grumble*

I get that prices are going up to pay for the trucks, really I do get it. I can't even begrudge it too much (well, I can, but it won't do any of us any good). But adding an extra 20 cents to a 39 cent product? Really A C More? Really? That's a bit greedy by any standard.... or will these new, more expensive funnels be spun from pure gold? Because then I get the price increase. But your current little plastic funnels are both light weight and ity bitty. You can fit a bazillion of them in a 2' X 2' box and it would still barely weigh a pound. They don't take up that much space on the truck. A 5 cent increase on each funnel will more then cover it. But 20 cents? DANG! Can you say "price gouging"? Hey, I knew you could!

That's just something I wanted to get off my chest and not the real reason for this post. The real reason I am posting this is so that everyone understands that my costs are going up too. Bedding has gone up $1/ bale (I use pine shavings), all my foods have gone up between $2 and $5/ bag, and postage (for sending food) has increased yet again. I am doing everything I can to absorb the cost and not raise my prices. I am going to have to raise the cost of shipping food, because I just can't do it and lose money. All other prices are going to stay the same for as long as I can manage. I can't predict what the economy will do and how long I can hold out on my current prices. My suggestion is to get in while the getting is still good.

I do have one request. I need everyone to stop trying to guilt me over how much it costs to get here and pick up a hedgehog. I know. I am aware of the current price of gas,. Mostly because I'm driving to the next town 2-3 times per week to get food and bedding. I've had a talk with the hedgehogs and I've asked them to stop eating and soiling their cage. They aren't obliging me, and when I checked on them this morning their food was replaced with some rather large stinky poop (ask me about the $700 air purifier I use in the hedgehog room... go ahead). Apparently I have to keep feeding and changing them. And I'm not complaining about it.

I wouldn't be breeding hedgehogs if I didn't love doing it. It's just that it's an expensive and sometimes thankless job. So the guilt trips have to stop. Because the next person who tries to guilt me over prices or the cost of their gas to get here is going to listen to my hour long gripe about my costs and the hours I work to get the hedgehogs that we all love. Then I'm going to show up at their job and ask then if they would be willing to take a pay cut.

 Kelly