Cheap(er), Tasty & Filling Meals

 Like so many people lately, my neighbors and I have been talking about groceries. My neighbors are mostly 75 and up and I am in my mid 60s. We know something about stretching meals & eating cheaply. I want to share this with anyone trying to eat filling meals for as cheap as possible. I give thanks to my mother and my neighbors for sharing their wisdom.

There are some staple ingredients to keep around - like a barebones set for hard times. I will talk about those later. For now, here are some of the simple meals to think about.

A meal of beans and rice is so filling. (When I say "beans", unless I say otherwise, I am talking about pinto beans) 1 cup of beans and 1 cup of rice will feed 2 people for a day - maybe more, depending. You can season the beans with pizza sauce, onions, garlic, and spices. Serving the beans on top of the rice makes a warm and savory dish. This also works with navy beans and black-eyed peas.)

Rice by itself is versatile. You can eat it sweet or savory. You can have some of it with salt and pepper and some with butter and brown sugar. Cold rice can be served with sweet milk or heated up to eat with savory broth.

Cornbread is great to make and keep around. Regular cornbread (or pan cornbread) is simple to make with basic staple ingredients (see below). Once you have cornbread you can eat it with simple soups/stews or just a bowl of beans or rice. It is filling. You can also add bits of canned corn or bacon bits to cornbread. To keep leftovers, put the cornbread in a baggie or sealable dish and put in the fridge. Basic cornbread will keep overnight sealed on a counter but lasts better in the fridge.

Hot water cornbread is simpler but tastes best eaten warm or heated up the same day. It literally is just cornmeal "cooked" to a mush with boiling water. You add a little salt and pepper and a drop of oil if you like before frying the patties of mush. It's very tasty with soups, beans or stews. I like to just nibble on pieces of it while I'm cooking other things.

Frozen mixed veggies can be doctored up to taste really good. You don't have to eat them steamed or boiled; you can sauté them with onions and garlic and bits of potato. One of my brothers likes to steam his and mix them in with scrambled eggs (ew!). You can also combine mixed veggies with beans or with rice.

Hoe Cakes (also called patty cakes or flat bread). This is the poor man's bread. It's basically flour, water and salt kneaded and flattened into patties before frying in shallow oil. We ate it all the time as kids when my dad was TDY. Mama would serve it as breakfast with butter and syrup or jelly/jam and at dinner with fried potatoes and onions. It goes well with meat or soups/stews. Mainly it is cheap and filling. 

Cabbage can be steamed, boiled, baked and fried. It is not always cheap, but raw cabbage keeps really well in the fridge if you wrap it in foil.  It goes well with pan cornbread or hot water cornbread. You can add bits of meat or other veggies with it. It's healthy and can be filling.

Using leftovers:

Potatoes skins - not the fancy stuff restaurants serve - I'm talking the skin we normally toss out. First off, if you are frying your potatoes, just leave the skin on (after washing the potatoes!). Always wash and scrub the potatoes so that, if you save the peeled skin, you can oil and season then and fry them up to nibble on. My mom used to purposely leave a little potato on sometimes to let snack on the fried skins.

Onion skins - I won't go into how onion water is supposed to be good for a cough... But save your skins to add to your rice, beans, and soups/stews. It adds flavor and my mom used to say, "the skin is where the vitamins are" and she would use them in her stocks. You will want to strain out. 

Cornbread - like regular bread this makes for yummy croutons. Season and bake/air fry and do your thing. This won't work with hot water cornbread.

(Cornbread and buttermilk - I don't cosign on this one, but it was a favorite of my daddy's. Heat the leftover cornbread and, ugh! pour some cold buttermilk over it. Daddy liked it with fresh cornbread, but we are talking broke meals here.)

Beans - when heating up leftover beans add a little water first. N

TIPS: 

1. When making beans, always add more water than needed. It will be soupier than you want, but if you mix a little cornstarch in cold water and stir into the bean water, it will make it thicken. That extra bean broth is good for eating with rice, bread, cornbread or hoecake. I always make a lot of broth and it's even good warmed up and just sipped on its own between meals. Also
2. I like adding a little sugar to my beans - preferably dark brown. To bulk it up I also like to add a sauce (tomato or tomato paste, cheap spaghetti or pizza is fine or even a thick bbq sauce) to give it more flavor.
3. Liquid smoke adds lots of flavor the beans and meat dishes. It's cheaper than buying pieces of smoked meat for flavoring dishes. It's super expensive in the little bottles.
4. Buying jars of garlic granules and making your own powder or using in place of fresh garlic is cheaper. Dried garlic lasts longer than trying to buy fresh.
5. Buying larger amounts of anything - especially staples - is cheaper in the long run if you can afford it. I can buy a jug of liquid smoke online for what a tiny jar costs at Walmart.
6. If you get ground meat on sale, put in in freezer baggies and flatten them so save space.

Basic Grocery List:

From reading about the meals, you get an idea of what you need. This is a very basic list for when you get to the grocery store. It won't cover everything, but it will get you started:

• A/P Flour
• Sugar (white and brown)
• Cornstarch (you need this more than you think in the kitchen & elsewhere)
• Salt and pepper
• Dried Beans
• Rice (I prefer long grain)
• Cornmeal 
• Oil (I use Lard, olive, saved bacon grease)
• Butter (I always get unsalted b/c I can add salt if needed)
• Eggs (freeze eggs for up to one year)
• Milk (get powdered milk if you don't use a lot to save on waste)
• Evaporated milk (even if you have reg. milk or dried)
• Syrup
• Good sealable baggies or a cheap vac sealer and bags. Vac sealers aren't expensive; it is the bags...

If you just start with a basic pantry of staples, you can at least have meals of beans, rice, and some kind of bread.

When you find sales - especially of dried or frozen goods - stock up. 

I find that one thing that helps on saving with food is getting used to either meal prepping - which I am not good at - or eating the same thing a few times a week. If food is tasty, I don't mind eating it for a few days on end.

My mind can be scattered so if I remember anything, I will come back and update this post. In the meantime, I really hope this helps someone in stretching the dollars.

Peace

--Free

**A Quick Tip** Boost Existing Moisturizers

Put a little bit of snail mucin into your:

• skin moisturizers 
• hair leave-ins (this is mainly for afro-naturals who use daily moisturizers on their hair)
• anything of a cream or lotion-like texture that you use to hydrate skin or hair.

I don't use a lot of snail mucin solo. I got a bottle of a good brand for Christmas and I have some face masks using mucin. I'm not crazy about the texture, but I have to admit that it is very hydrating. 

Since I will not let a gift go to waste, I needed to use this stuff. So happens I also have a jar of face cream that I cannot return. It's an okay cream but I find that it doesn't do a good job moisturizing my face. So... I doctored it with a few drops of that disgusting mucin. Child.

That mucin was the best thing to happen to the face cream. It really boosted it to max levels. And you know me, I had to see what else I could doctor.

I have now been adding the mucin to every hair moisturizing cream I have. I find that all of my leave-in products are so much better. 

A couple of warnings:

• You might not want to add this to anything that is meant to be watery-textured.
• I make sure to test everything before I end up ruining whole bottles of products.
• The mucin does transfer the "slimy" texture to some products.

Of course, I'm no chemist or pro of any kind so... do your own testing and take your own chances. I'm just telling you that I've loved doctoring some products. I actually have managed to use that whole bottle of mucin instead of letting it go to waste. I also am glad that I've been able to "boost up" some products that were not working out solo.

I think what I like most about this tip is that the mucin doesn't create any more buildup on my hair when I add it to products.

Another bonus is that, while I like the mucin face masks (kind of), I am able to use the "juice" remaining in the containers. I either save them in a bottle for later or add them right away to another product.

Remember - do your own testing and research.

Peace

--Free

**CROSSPOST** The Biggest Distraction

Everyone is aware that the world seems to be more in turmoil lately. Maybe because the worst turmoil is in a place that was once the icon of Western stability - the USA. Initially, I wanted to blame politics and its bad actors, but now I'm thinking we are all to blame. Everything has become so performative. That was only mildly annoying when it was to do with social media - you know, with everyone become an 'influencer' of some sort. I thought it was just another social/cultural phase when people went from simple YouTubing - being serious, being too sharing, being outrageous, being silly, etc. - to making it a lifestyle. Everyone was suddenly a 'content creator'. There were parents putting their family life (for better or for worse) on display. Every day it seemed there was a new family of some specific number in a house, van, or on the road. It wasn't enough to showcase details of the latest mystery or gossip or story, but some people decided to do it all while applying makeup or doing their hair.

I was only annoyed when all the creating and influencing and showboating was to do with meaningless media, but then the shift came for the news. Not that I ever fully trusted the news to be unbiased or untainted by hidden manipulation, but when it became so obviously and purposefully performative...

Every newsperson (I don't know what else to call them) became their own media character. You had your left-wingers, right-wingers, and swing-wingers. There was the highly educated and the questionably educated and so on. I am pretty sure that whoever it is that does manipulate society has a casting department. When the networks need a Rachel Maddow, Greg Gutfeld, or Don Lemon, I imagine a meeting of shadowy people who send out a request to other shadowy people. Suddenly, *we the people/viewers* have a new face to focus on; someone relatable to represent all our frustrations and energy.

What I wonder is if there really are any significant numbers of people left who know their way around the information minefield that is the "news". Does anyone still think critically enough to know that there is really no longer "news" but instead just "approved propaganda"?

The thing is, that this is happening doesn't bother me in the way someone might think. I know that this is what it was all coming down to. Man has been playing to his own destruction since Adam and Eve messed up in the Garden. 

Everything - from the beginning - has been a war. "We the people" have always been the prize. We were never in control of society or culture. The only control we've ever had is over our personal choices.  Everything outside of that is part of the many battles in this war. The only way to win - and we can only win or lose for ourselves - is the make the right choice.

Every struggle and triumph in a person's life are just cobblestones in their whole walk, and everyone will influence that all-important choice. In the end of it all, it's not going to matter how wealthy or poor, healthy or not; no matter what you look like or what talent you have or don't have; what friends and connections you do or don't have. All that is going to matter is the choices you made that led to the most important choice.

There won't be anyone counting their money in Heaven or Hell. No one is going to care that you did or didn't achieve whatever success in your mortal life. Your mortal self won't matter in your immortal eternity. 

So, all this worldly, human STUFF is just distraction to keep your eye from seeing what the shadowy manipulators are doing. They don't want you to see your way to Jesus. They know that if you see the Messiah, he will be your way to God. 

Don't be distracted. Don't let the good or the bad of this world keep you away from eternal salvation.

Peace

--Free

"The more I study science, the more I believe in God." — Albert Einstein

**A Quick Tip** Slow Cooking in the Ninja FD400 series

 Making some collards today, I decided to go old-school and slow cook them instead of being in a hurry. You can see here what inspired me!

I ran into a problem as soon as I finished sautéing my onions and garlic. There is a Sauté button that I use quite a bit, but I couldn't figure out how to set up a slow cook without landing on the Yogurt setting. Thank goodness for this lady (who gets to the point better than I!):

Bless that woman.

Even with her help, I had to toggle a bit to find the 8hr slow (hers landed me on Hi). If I ever meet her, I'll offer to make her some greens and hot water cornbread.

BTW, Now that I'm kind of getting over a month-long vira-crud (that's what I'm calling it), I was inspired to make greens. While I was shopping them, I got some beef bones to make some homemade broth. (Reading this was a comfort of memories.) Between that and the pot "likker", I might feel decent by the time our cold spell thaws a bit.

Anyway, I do hope this helped someone.

Peace

--Free

**UPDATE** The Best Sunscreen. EVER.

A while back, I was reminding/encouraging people to wear sunscreen. I am convinced that wearing sun protection is one the best things one can do for skin health. I have talked about why some sunscreen products are better (or, rather, more effective in certain ways) than others. The past month that fact came to bear in real life.

Some reminder posts... One, Two, and Three. You're welcome!

After using a certain sunscreen for a while, I ran out and wasn't able to replace it right away. I had been using that product consistently for about 2 months when I ran out. I wasn't too bothered at first because I had a backup product that I do like. However, I got a little bothered when I noticed some changes in my skin...

A couple of weeks into using a different product, my skin was drier and kind of irritated, also, I had to re-moisturizer more often. My skin just didn't feel as good as it had been feeling for a while.

Now the reason I wasn't able to replace that better sunscreen was twofold: I was worried about the price and couldn't find a sale. I was really trying to save a Christmas gift card (thank you, lovely family!) for something special but decided that sunscreen was special enough! But it was out of stock everywhere, it seemed. Of course...

That sunscreen is La Roche Posay's Anthelios UVMune 400 Invisible Fluid SPF50+. I'd always been able to score some from a seller I like on eBay, but he was out of stock. I don't trust any other eBay sellers for this particular product (and I don't recommend anyone). The only other site I trust is French Pharmacy, but they are out of stock. 

This particular sunscreen is the Euro version so... not that easy to find. You can't even get it on the US LRP site. And why the heck had my skin become so addicted to it???

Anyway.

Turns, out that there may be a reason or two why my skin loves this stuff. I think it has to do with the key (and proprietary) UVMune ingredient: Mexoryl 400 aka “Methoxypropylamino Cyclohexenylidene Ethoxyethylcyanoacetate”. Say that even once fast or slow! That is owned by L'Oreal and they developed it with a chemical producer. That's why I couldn't find it in any other products brands.

The backup product was not working out for me because, of course... My skin wasn't happy, so I tried to hunt down the UVMune elsewhere (and maybe on sale). I found it a Le French Skincare - what a name, right? I had never heard of the place. Thankfully, I was able to put my gift card on PayPal (because it was more expensive than French Pharmacy - and being a site new to me, it was best to be careful). I then used one of my own cards via PayPal, so I'd have some purchase protection.  Being broke means you have to be more woke about your spending! By the time I post this, you will know how that transaction turned out!

The good thing is that, even though I didn't get a sale price and had to pay over $38, I know from experience that a single bottle of UVMune will last me at least the next 2 1/2 months (or more of I'm not outside. Also, I will be using a lot less of my regular daily moisturizer. 

For sunscreen this good, I will forgo a little food to keep some on hand. I have enough problems without getting skin cancer...

Anyway, this Mexo400, as I call it, happens to be great for aging and sensitive skin. In addition to working on (don't quote me here) "ultra long UV rays", it kind of protects the skin collagen, pigmentation, and a lot of other stuff I can't explain. 

I suggest these links if you really want to dig in:

• On Wikipedia
• A Reddit "Master post" on UVMune
• And this copy/paste from ChatGPT:

Anyway.

Some folks love saying, "Black don't crack", but I happen to know that it does if you don't take care of it. Anyone can get skin cancer. Don't be arrogant about your health in any way. Get all the exams recommended for prevention, eat better foods if you can find them, love you neighbor, and wear good sunscreen.

Peace

--Free

UPDATE on the purchase:

I have received the item from Le French Skincare and... I'm a little shocked (and very happy) to say that my transaction was completely legit. The name of the site worried me because it is too on-the-nose. However, my item arrived on time and well-packaged. The price is higher (almost $9 more) than at French Pharmacy, but they had it in stock, so... Of course, I will repurchase at FP whenever I can, but it is nice to have a backup site in case of emergencies.

BTW - don't buy LRP sunscreen on eBay unless you have had past transactions with a trusted seller. There are not many out there. Some dead giveaways that your LRP UVMune is fake: 

• The texture & color. The real stuff has a slight color tinge and is a bit watery-thin.
• The bottom of a fake bottle is usually absent some of the info/markings. There are also deviations in some printing and some other bottle features.
• Go here to check yours to see if you got a fake. (Thank you, Reddit!)

It's best to be safe & just order from authorized sellers. Or maybe get a pilot/flight crew friend to shop for you when they travel. I have to find more friends that travel!

So Hard to Do the Right Thing…

 Although I no longer do resolutions at the beginning of the year, for the past few months, I have been trying to continue doing better for my all-around health and well-being.  It should not be so difficult!

For a long while there, I thought I was using better products on my hair, skin and body Turns out most of the shampoos, conditioner, and body washes are just full of the wrong stuff. In some cases, the ingredients are just fake and unnecessary, but in other cases, they could have been causing the problems I was trying to solve.

I have completely changed the hair wash and conditioner I use, and I am working on finding better body wash. The problem is that the safest and best products are tricky to find and also usually pricier. If the cost is because of testing and obtaining quality products fine. Although, I almost choked when I checked out one recommended hair care line. It's the Caviar Anti-Aging Replenishing Moisture Shampoo/Conditioner from Alterna. I will not be washing my hair with something for which I need to set up installment payments. (Just thinking about it has me using my best grammar!)

What a did settle is something from a brand that has never (yet) let me down: Taliah Waajid. I am going to be trying her Total Body Black Earth Shampoo & Herbal Conditioner. I have been using and just love, love, loving her Black Earth Products African Healing Oyl. I use it mostly on my face but I will probably be using it on my hair a lot more when I shampoo out all this silicone buildup... (And, my ladies of all races, don't shy away from the "African" in the name. This stuff is the truth!)

I had to look for a while to find a few shampoo/conditioner brands that have ingredients I feel better about. You have no idea what kind of hissy fit I had after I saw a video on spices! Oh, my goodness. I have probably been dusting my foods with all kinds of sawdust and who knows what else. I was actually feeling smug because I have been getting most of my spices from Frontier Coop for at least 7 years or so. Then, all of a sudden, that brand popped up. It's one of those "been bought out" situations. (Lord, please don't let Taliah Waajid sell out - or at least not to some evil corporation...)

Back to the food situation. I pulled some Italian sausages out of the freezer last week to thaw. I was going to mix boil then and mix them in with some steamed veggies. Because I was trying to see the date I'd bought them, I was looking closely at the packaging. The front makes bold claims about having no artificial flavors, colors, nitrates, etc. - which is why I chosen them over the cheaper Walmart brand I used to buy. Walmart straight up says on the front that their sausage has BHA and propyl gallate. The Johnsonville meat that I had hid that detail in smaller print higher up on the front. Wow.

By the way, I encourage you to check out Eat This Not That. This page really made me feel some kind of way.

The worst thing about the BHA and friends is that I can't find any sausages without them. I'm going to be going to the local butcher. They don't deliver, but I won't have to worry about what is or isn't in the meat.

You'd think I'd be done crying and whining, right? Nope. We have to talk about beverages. 

• I cannot find any kind of water enhancer drops that does not contain stevia, sucralose, sucra-anything, aspartame, etc.
• there are no decently rated canned or bottled beverage without any of the above ingredients or with allulose or tagatose as a sweetener
• Torani comes closest as a flavor additive but... it is either high in calories or uses one of those dreadful sweeteners

Also, I am really upset that Stevia gets to be listed as "natural". That makes it hard to avoid when you are searching for anything without "artificial" sweeteners. On my tastebuds, it comes off as too sweet - just before it becomes slightly metallic. I hate how popular it is. It's the same thing as with Starbucks - everybody raves about it, and I have no idea why.

source

What I finally found to try out is the Soda Stream drops. I plan to use them in the cheap sparkling water I've been getting since Topo Chico has gotten out range of my budget. I don't know how it will work, but...

When I get to try the drops in the water, I will probably blog about it. The thing is, I had to really hunt around for a Soda Stream flavor that had none of the sweeteners. At least there were a couple, including this one. I wanted the peach or peach/mango, but they had added sweeteners (aka grossness). 

Okay, now, I'm done with my wailing and whining. 

Peace

--Free

P.S.: I will be looking for sites that lists information about foods, beverages, and various consumer goods. I'm looking for directories. I'll work on it as health allows.

Aye Yo 2026 - Already?!?!

 Ain't time a funny thing? It seems to have sped up for me, the older I get. For younger people, it seems to stretch out longer than it is.

Talking with one of the younger family members a while back, they made an observation about "old folks" always talking about "slavery time things". The conversation was about food. I was explaining about "hoe cakes" coming about when slaves (and other poor people) would cook the flour or cornmeal "cake" in a hoe held over hot coals or a fire.

I wasn't mad about the remark because we joke around like that in my family. I was struck (as I sometimes am) by young people thinking of "slavery times" as ancient history.

I asked if the young person remembered us older relatives talk about Grandpa Bud. They did. Did they remember that he was a veteran and lived to be just over 100 years old? They did. Well, did they know that my Grandpa Bud was the child of slaves? See, that's time being funny, I told that "young 'un".

Their jaw dropped. I told them that Grandpa's parents were eventually freed, but they had lived as slaves. They didn't realize that Grandpa (who passed in 1986 or 87) had been born in just over 100 years before. I think I read once that the last known slave was still alive as late as 1970-something.

When my young person got over their shock, I introduced to some of the "old folks" stories about Grandpa Bud. They didn't realize that, unlike Alex Haley, I had not found a way to trace my grandfather's ancestry. His parents being born (or just taken) into slavery meant that their genealogy was a mystery to us.

But, still...

As it is with the beginning of every year, I start tallying anniversaries. How many years since loved ones have been gone, and who is celebrating which year of marriage, and how many years since I last saw talked to or heard about so-and-so.

When I first moved here over 8 years ago (9 years this coming summer), I had more than a few spry old neighbors who told me some stories about their youth. Some of them shared recipes and kitchen tips. One gentleman was the historian at the town library. He told me about some of the local homes and locations.

Just before the end of the years, two of those neighbors - very, very sweet women - were moved into nursing homes. It was no longer safe for them to live on their own and both had children that lived farther away than the ladies wanted to move. One of them, God willing, will be turning 99 this year. She's still mentally sharp, she just doesn't walk well and isn't able to cook and clean the way she did in her own place. I'm ashamed to say that she might have been in better shape a couple of years ago than I am now!

All in all, I tallied up 5 neighbors who have passed and at least that many who have gone into nursing care. And those are just the ones that I chatted with on a regular basis.

So yeah. I've been thinking a lot about time. When my sister was a young woman, Al Green was a favorite singer. Even though one of the tunes she loved most is a love song, the opening lines seems fitting for this post.

Sung by Al Green

Lyrics by Willy Nelson

I hope this a safe and happy year for us all.

Peace

--Free

P.S. Not sure how long the song will stay so here is a link.

Geezer Ranting, Trending & Groupthink

 While skimming Google News this morning, I ran across this "7 Perfume Trends to Smell Sophisticated and Rich This Winter".  

That headline hit on something in me. Why do we even want to smell "sophisticated and rich"? Why not just smell nice? And I do realize that headlines are written this way to pull a reader's attention to an article. Still, why not just " 7 Perfume Trends"? But I would find a problem with that because, lately, I'm having a problem with societies need for "trends" and "influencing" and anything labeled as "latest" or "game-changing". I think I'm just tired of all the follower-like behavior in our culture. 

Is this my old age talking? Is this the geezer coming out in me? Maybe. But there is truth to getting wiser as you age - or rather, as you mature.

Why can't we all just be our best - at our jobs, in our behavior, in life? Why do we always have to be something other than what we are? Of course, we want to improve and grow - to mature in everything, but why do any of that unless for ourselves?

I think I'm on to something here. Think about it. No one - or at least not enough of us - thinks for themselves anymore. We have fallen into the predicted trap of groupthink. Of course, being in some kind of harmony with the rest of society - as far as laws and general behavior -for the sake of peace is good. I'm talking about losing the desire (and maybe even the ability) to think for ourselves.

In high school, I always admired the kids who didn't mind being a little different. There would be the kid who could have been more popular if - they wore her hair a certain way or dressed like the other kids or... Or, or, or, and if. I wanted to be that kid. Instead I wasted a lot of time trying to hard to be like the other kids. Sometimes, it worked (and when it did, it was exhausting), and sometimes it didn't (and I was left feeling anxious and depressed). As a G.I. brat, I changed schools a lot and, depending on the situation, became either a chameleon or a outsider.

That was high school. By the time I graduated, I found my own groove. I became an introvert who could be very social when I wanted. I'm still that way 45 years later. But every now and then, I have to remind myself not to slip into the world of the wanna-bes. 

The problem with kids who "wanna be" whatever it takes to be with the "in" crowd is that they grow up and become adults with the same mindset. This is why (all my opinion, of course) so many people fall into groupthink. 

Asking for a list of examples of groupthink disasters, ChatGPT (I know, I know!) responded:

When Obama was running the first time for president, so many black people (of all political parties) and white liberals and progressives voted for him simply because he is black. I can't deny that, although I strongly disagree with him on so many things, I wanted to see him elected. Grouphink.

When Trump first ran, the same thing happened. Many whites who felt represented for the first time in a long time (and other people for various reasons) wanted him in. Groupthink.

Getting away from politics, look at fashion trends. Afro-natural hair came back several years ago. Groupthink. Korean beauty became big in the past few years. Groupthink. Influencer marketing is big. Groupthink.

Groupthink is the reason we have trends, the reason things fall in and out of "fashion". Groupthink is the reason marketing works. 

As a Christian, I can't be a diligent groupthink citizen - not as far as larger issues. If I were, I'd believe that America is the center of prophecy and that we must be a "Christian" nation. I am a Bible-believing Christian so I know that people accept (or reject) Jesus as their Savior, not nations. 

We are where we are as a world because most of us have been programmed to be part of a "collective". In the Boiling Frog scenario, people who think for themselves will get out of the pot before it's too late.

Let me get a little deep here and say that since every journey starts with a single step, learn when it's better to walk your own way. 

I wear my hair afro-natural, and I love K-beauty, but I know when to get off the groupthink bus. I hope you do as well. Learn to think for yourself when it's most important.

Peace 

--Free

**Mini Post** Small Things = Big Improvements

 This is just a mention of how I made a couple of small changes that have made a big difference in my daily life. For one thing, I got a cheap pair of blue-blocking glass (seriously, I found some for $3!) and, it may be the placebo effect, but my eyes feel less strained throughout the days. The second thing was I got a couple of incandescent light bulbs. I'm excited to see if using the bulbs in the evening will help me sleep better.  (By the way, a while back, a tech YouTuber showed how to adjust my Android settings for more comfortable lighting.)

The reason for my trying this stuff is that I've struggled for a long time with insomnia and depression, the first is which seems to be getting worse, I wanted to try something other than more medicine.

There is a lot of confusing information out there about both these items. To be honest, I suspect my glass might be subpar (I mean, they were only $3), but until I can afford better, I'll take the relief - placebo or no. As far as the bulbs, I'm going to only be using them in the few hours before bed or on the days when I am sick.

I have read a lot of stuff about both those types of products. The Mayo Clinic advises other ways to protect your eyes (and sleep) from blue light. Also, I found this list of pros and cons of incandescent lighting. 

When I have had more time using both things, I will try to remember to do or more in-depth post.

Peace

--Free

Time Feels So Weird Now

 I have spoken here before about my depression. It's been a while since I have had a bad "episode", but those damn blues are back.

What I've wondered for the past couple of weeks is what triggered my depression this time. My brother mentioned how the daylight savings affected a lot of people this year. I can't be sure if that's the problem, but I know that the time change was worse for me this time. Normally, I barely notice the change after the first day. This year, it took a week before I got back into rhythm with the time change. And what is the point of DST these days? Arizona and Hawaii do fine without it.

The other thing I've noticed is how weird time feels to me lately. As I have aged, like a lot of people, time seems to move faster for me, but these days, it's gotten bizarre. I had a weird thing happen. Late yesterday, I was making some medical appointments and noting them on my calendar. For one of the appointments, I was thinking of calling the doctor's office with a question, but it was after hours. This morning when I got up, I called the office only to get the "closed" message. That's when I realized this is Saturday. I don't remember Friday at all. Does that make sense?

I live on a schedule because it's how I keep sane. I clean on a schedule, I pay bills on a schedule, and I have a certain day that I do laundry, check my appointments calendar, etc. Because I tend to be foggy-brained half the time, doing things on a schedule helps keep my life on track. I don't understand how I skipped an entire day. Is that something caused by my depression? Or is the time thing the cause of my depression? I don't even know how to ask my doctor about this because it sounds so crazy.

Time has felt weird or "off", in my opinion, for a while. It's as if too much is happening too fast all the time. Lately, I don't even like to read the news because it's almost over-stimulating. 

I remember hearing something like what is shown in the following meme, and I've never forgotten the explanation:

Hmmm... I wonder what means when you feel like you're skipping whole days.

Is this strangeness affecting only me, or are others feeling this way? My brother, when I asked him, agreed with me but he might be just saying that, so I don't feel crazy. 

Anyway, I'm going to start asking people if they are noticing this weirdness.

Peace

--Free