Day One-hundred-and-nineteen: Running on empty

I like multiple meaning titles. The direct reference is to my Prius being on its last fuel gauge bar for the last week, but then I've only used it to drive locally, including going to Safeway twice today. The indirect reference is, at least today, not having a lot to write about. Oh well, a short entry every once in a while may not be such a bad thing. The only real problem is that it gives me fewer chances to weave in my tag line of Life after Layoff, at least more cleverly.

Yesterday I bought some Indian eggplant and used it to make some Gerson Ratatouille this morning. It was good to have some hot food, but I found out that Indian eggplant has a skin between the Japanese/Chinese eggplant and the more traditional eggplant. Now the traditional eggplant I know to peel before I cook it. I now know the same about Indian eggplant, but I ate it tough skin and all. Better, I just won't buy Indian eggplant again.

I also made some Food for Life gingerbread that tasted so good I ended up eating about half of it. This batch was too moist both because I used a measuring cup that didn't have a 1 3/4 cup line so I approximated. Then I probably undercooked it. Undercooking a cake-like food that doesn't have any fat or egg isn't dangerous, it could be messy though. It was cooked enough that the whole wheat pastry flour was done. I obviously liked it.

In case this blog has other readers than my direct family, I copying an email I wrote yesterday about things that have been occurring after I normally write my daily entry.

I've transferred my meditation guides to my iPod. This has given me new possibilities and I've been taking advantage of them. Tonight and Friday night I sat in the sky chair in the dark, well, as dark as it gets in a town. (Back in a canyon in Pacifica, it is darker than it ever got on a Fremont cul-de-sac but we never set up the sky chairs in Fremont.)

Last night it got so late, I did it directly in bed. It probably helped me sleep better.

But the reason I was inspired to write this email this late was the two very different night time sky chair meditations. Friday night the sky was very clear and I could see stars through the branches of the willow tree. It was meditative just to watch them. The only problem was that I left just one house light on. It wasn't distracting enough to get up and turn it off but I learned my lesson.

Tonight the fog had rolled in but with the street lights on Ranier, the "back of the" house lights on Glacier it was still quite bright even though I did turn off all the lights in my house. This meant that I wasn't stumbling around in the dark. When I finally came in, which has consistently been after about 50 minutes, I noticed how bright my supposedly dark house was. It is amazing how many LEDs I have telling me the time, telling me the temperature of the wine. I suppose all of the AC adaptors' lights are LEDs as well. Then there is my modem and router. I don't have any need for the night lights that I no longer have plugged in, even on moonless nights like this one appears to be.

At the end of my meditating, if that is really what it can be called, I thought of another series of topics for my Memories of Marilyn: "Company trips and trips on companies." We really did get a lot of travel in. I can't begin to imagine what we would be doing now. I'm falling behind in my travel.

Day Seventy-one: Cooking, mowing, and misc.

My son and soon to be daughter-in-law have left for Sacramento. I have an appointment to get my Prius serviced. I canceled my daughter's phone number without there being any additional cancelation fee. (I confirmed with her that she did not, in fact get a new phone.) I baked bread, chocolate cupcakes, and fixed my Gerson Ratatouille. (See recipe at the bottom of this post.) We ate at Cafe Gratitude for lunch, since they will not be able to join us after the wedding.

My son started his motorcycle, and mine. He then rode my bike to take back some shorts he bought at Nordstrom Rack. They cost 2/3 of the original price rather than the 1/3 the rest of the prices were. So, by taking them back he was able to get jeans, his fiancee a shirt, and some money back. He couldn't ride his. It doesn't have a current registration or insurance. As much as he likes New York, I think he is quite willing to return to his motorcycle. I did find out that he has received two tickets for speeding with one being so fast that he did not qualify for Traffic School. Maybe this 2 and 1/2 year stay in New York City is good for his driving record.

While the bread was baking, I mowed my dead yard. Even though it doesn't look green, it looks better. The deer are still enjoying one kind of my plants in the front yard. I have yet to get the Liquid Fence.

The TV that was in my room is now in the guest bedroom. I had a much better morning without a working TV in my bedroom this morning. But, with the TV in my Living Room, I don't know how much stereo listening I will do. Maybe it will pick up when I get my iPod and my TV to stereo connectivity established.

Tomorrow I have a long cleaning list. I've found that there is always more to do in my Life after Layoff.

"Gerson" Ratatouille: I started making this for Marilyn when she was able to do the Gerson Therapy to address her cancer. (I truly don't know what the therapy would have done for her cancer but certainly her health all except for the cancer was the best it had been in years.) The Gerson diet is largely no salt added vegan. This left us trying to find tasty ways to prepare vegetables and have a variety. The "Gerson" Ratatouille was just that kind of vegetable.

One medium/large yellow onion cut in one to one and one half inch length chunks.
Four to five garlic cloves, crushed.
One medium to large eggplant, peeled and diced into about one inch squares.
One can of diced tomatoes or three medium/large heirloom tomatoes, diced.

Cook on low until eggplant is done. If you put the onions on the bottom, you can turn the fire on low without burning anything. I've cooked green beans with that layer of onion without needing to add water. In this case, however, the tomatoes also supply a lot of moisture.