Mind

Mental wellness thoughts

MYO Vegetable Broth

by ladypbwiggins

Okay vegans, vegetarians, plant-based, clean whatever your label this is a definite budget booster. Standing in the grocery store or online  trying to decide which is the healthiest vegetable broth to buy could be overwhelming. Like the good determined to be clean eating people you are, time is spent reading and comparing ingredients. Even after choosing the one with the least ingredients, you think about the preservatives added so this little box can sit safely on the shelf.

Make Your Own is the solution. It is very easy. I must admit I used the recipe with a few changes. I added a jalapeno. Wasn’t very spicy because it was diluted by 10 cups of water and the water from the vegetables. Also, I did not use a pot to simmer on the stove. I used my 10 cup pressure cooker on the soup setting. I had more than a 10 cup yield. Less liquid is lost with the pressure cooker.

My yield was 4 cups in 3 ziplocked bags.

3 bags x 4 cups = 12 cups bagged and

1  1 quart mason jar= 4 cups

So I had 16 cups of vegetable broth.

But wait that’s not all. What about the cooked veggies? I juiced them. From that process i got another 16 cups The result was thicker so I think it would be great for soup or chili bases.(The darker jars contain the veggie juice). So I had a total of 32 cups of vegetable broth.

And then there’s the pulp from the juiced veggies. I’m thinking about dehydrating to make a veggie boullion. Don’t know if that will work but I shall see.

For the Budget

It cost at my local market $2.60 for a 32oz box of organic vegetable broth. 32oz = 4 cups

I made 32 cups. 8 oz  =1 cup

32 cupsx8oz = 256 oz

256oz equals how many 32 oz boxes.  I made the equivalent of 8 boxes of organic veggie broth with no preservatives. I froze most of it. The cost was under $10. The mushrooms were the expensive part. If you make it without mushrooms and use other veggies it might be even less.

To be fare; If I had purchased 8 boxes the cost would have been $2.60×8= $20.80. I know for some the $10+ dollar difference isn’t much but don’t forget about preservatives and sitting on shelves.

It only took the time to wash 1 carrot, 2 celery stalks , 1 onion 1 leek, 4 garlic cloves and 8 oz of mushrooms. Put in pressure cooker. Bottle after it cools. That’s it. I juiced the cooked veggies so that took about another 5 minutes to put them in my Nama J2 and bottle the juice.

Just a little Wisdom

by ladypbwiggins

Where there is no WISE guidance, the nation Falls, but in the multitude of counselors there is victory. Proverbs 11:14

Most certainly, the evil man will NOT be unpunished, the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.  Proverbs 11:21

Think about it.

Note: Capitalization is mine for emphasis.

The Best Piece of Advice

by ladypbwiggins

The best piece of advice I’ve received came from my maternal grandmother. I wished I had heeded it more often when I was younger but like most young people I didn’t pay attention.  So what did Modear say? 

Don’t start nothing you can’t stop.

Simple? Think about it. It is not as simple as you think.

Not Forgotten

by ladypbwiggins

When you feel people have forgotten your acts of kindness;

When you feel unseen or unheard;

When you feel no one cares about you;

REMEMBER

The Father in Heaven sees, hears, cares and remembers.

You are NOT forgotten.

Airport Blessings

by ladypbwiggins

Airports are rarely where you expect to receive blessings. Tuesday I arrived at Hobby Airport in Houston expecting long lines and chaos. I was faced with minimal line lengths. There was only one person in front of me in the wheelchair registration.  But the real blessing came in the form of a young man whose job was to get me through the TSA madness and to my boarding gate. He was very personable. We laughed through the whole process. Blessing number one. 

It was early, so I wanted something to eat. We stopped at Starbucks: Lots of people. When it was my turn to order and pay, a young lady reached around me and paid for me. My look was surprised and asked the question, why? She simply said my mom’s name is Pat. Blessing number two.

My daughter and I had a conversation on the way to the airport about talkative seat mates. I hoped the person sitting next to me was nice and quiet. My whole row was nice and quiet.  Blessing number three.

When I arrived at LAX, I received another wheelchair attendant that took good care of me. She made sure I got my baggage quickly and safely. Blessing number 4.

Finally, an efficient and helpful flight crew. I especially enjoyed the landing. It was the softest landing I have ever experienced.  Blessing number five.

I know these are small things to many but to me they are blessings that made for a stress-free  flight. In this stress-filled environment in which we live they are huge.

My soil was greatly enriched.

Woke, Wisdom or Fear?

by ladypbwiggins

Just read an article that asked the question, When did woke become a four-letter word? I have that same question.  You see I was a child in the late 50’s and 60’s. I grew up in the Jim Crow south and the Civil Rights Movement. I remember that word being used and it was used to mean what it meant; be alert, aware

Considering I grew up in the town where KKK grand wizard lived it was imperative that every black person had to be woke, i.e. aware, alert. The training we children received about staying alert was necessary for survival but our parents had the wisdom to do it so we could enjoy our childhood. I learned how to observe my surroundings and know when I needed to prevent unintended offense to the white people and still be me.

We were very aware and alblacert when we were not in our own communities.  Neighborhoods were segregated then. Many of us are alive because we were woke. Yes, it was also used to reference awareness of social injustices and legal ramifications. But I never noticed people changing the word to be a negative thing like it has been in the last few years. In fact, I don’t remember that much attention being paid to the use of the word. More focus was on the actions in the Movement, Dr. King. More attention was paid to the word power. Power to the people.

The thought came to me why it was made to be a negative thing. When it was mainly used in the black community and as a slang, non-blacks didn’t really care. What we did and thought was dismissed. But now, our voices are heard and has weight .

The powers that be don’t want people to hear and understand.  So let’s make them fearful so they will think it means something more than being aware, alert. Basically, we don’t want you to pay attention to what I’m really doing. The weaponizing of the word did not deter us. We, most of us, became more aware , more alert. Standing over my stove I realized, therein lies the power they are afraid of. Our awareness is our power. Your awareness is your power. Every person who is paying attention and using their own mind to process what they see and here is the danger. Every thinking person holds the power. That’s the fear. Lets make woke mean something other than aware. Throw in fascism, Marxism, all of the trigger words that threaten democracy. Label those thinking people as anti-American if they are not extremely conservative. Label those thinking people anti-Christian because they dare to question actions that are not biblical, not really Christ-like. When you see, you see. That’s what they are afraid of. Loss of control and power because you see.

You are Woke.

Watch What They Do

by ladypbwiggins

He(she) who goes about as a tale bearer reveals secrets. Therefore do not associate with one who flatters with his(her) lips.  Proverbs 20:19

Remember when you get that call which purpose is to spill the tea about someone, those same lips will possibly spill the tea about you to them.

My restatement of the next part is, “Don’t get caught up with smooth, complimentary conversation. Watch what they do. Compare it to what they say.”

I wish I had listened to a version of this advice when I was younger. My grandmothers had their version. One in particular I remember.  Lips all the time flapping are probably lying. Your ears are not trash cans.

So hear me young’uns, 😉, Listen closely through the filter of honest and clear observation. Don’t be blindly swayed by gossip wrapped in flattering words.

Consequences

by ladypbwiggins

A false witness will not go unpunished and he who speaks lies will not escape.

Proverbs 19:5

Just going to let that sit right there.

Love, Hate  Indifference

by ladypbwiggins

I heard something today that made me say, Hmmm. Here it is.

We think the opposite of lov e is hate, but it’s not. It’s indifference. The reasoning is hate implies there is still some emotional tie. You have to care or feel something to hate. Indifference, you feel nothing. You don’t care.

I would love to hear your thoughts.  Comment, subscribe and share.

Unexpected, Simple and Powerful

by ladypbwiggins

My Soil was so enriched Sunday at Church. It came from fellow members who went beyond to show me care and love. You see our church greeters are warm and kind to everyone who enters the doors. But what i’m about to share was beyond that.

I walk with a cane most times because of lower back problems that affect my balance. All of the senior parking spaces were taken. The only one possibly open was reserved, so I had to park a little farther away. As I crossed the parking lot I heard someone behind me call my name. The person wanted to give me her parking spot that had been reserved for her because she had to unload some things so she had to be close. I told her, No but thanks. I walked on.

I must tell you it was a very cold morning. When the greeter saw me nearing the door he opened it. He asked me if there was anything I needed and that he could help with, I said, just to get inside. He smiled and said, May I hug you? It was like a son hugging his mother. I’m not old enough to be his grandmother 😀. It was purely kind affection. He’s kind to everyone but there seemed to be something different, something special, something tenderer than usual. A little later the same gentleman’s wife walked past me on her way to the sanctuary. She realized I was sitting there in the foyer, backed up and gave me a hug and a kiss. She interrupted her purpose to step back and hug me. ❤️.

I had only one student in my Bible study class. She and I had a good discussion. We had fun. We shared, laughed and learned together. I realized the fire I felt when teaching had been missing. It returned. Richness.

During the service, we had a consecration ceremony for all leaders; ministers, elders and ministry volunteers. We were prayed for and anointed with oil. At the end of the ceremony we were asked to tell the people around us that they were a gift. This is our theme for the year. We did. The person behind me leaned over and with emphasis said, I know you are a gift. I didn’t know who it was until I turned around but I still didn’t know why she said it like that. It didn’t matter. Yahweh had just dropped some more nutrients to my soil.

The final additive was made by another son-like relationship. I had gotten in my car and was looking for a phone number to order lunch. There was a knock on my window. I lowered the window and the person who was studying there said, I just wanted to share some love with you and leaned in to give me a hug. I didn’t know I needed that but I did. Yahweh knew. He sees. He walked out of his way to do that.

Now, alone each encounter may not seem like much but collectively, they meant more than gold. They were simple, unexpected and powerful. My soil darkened several shades of blackness. The blackness signaled the richness, the added nutrients, that which will nourish, and strengthen me for days.

Rich Black Soil. Healthy Growth. Blessed Life.