In With the New by mary elizabeth

Today is the last day of twenty ten and I just can’t help but feel a bit reflective. I think I’ve had enough coffee not to get too sentimental – but I’m definitely looking back a little nostalgically. I went through a lot of changes in 2010, some outward and some internal and I’m ready for a year of maybe a little less upheaval. I have moved twice this year. Not the fun kind of “hey the new house is finally done!” moving, just the boring old “we have to drag all our stuff to another house” kind. Hopefully I don’t have to do any of that in 2011. And, I’ve had to do some growing and some letting go. I’ve had to make myself vulnerable (my very least favorite) and I’ve had to accept all sorts of things I don’t like. The good news is that all this moving has finally brought me to a wonderful cozy home and all the growing and accepting and vulnerability has made me better able to appreciate and love everyone in it.

How was your year? For a lot of you, 2010 was the year you graduated as a certified raw food chef from Living Light. For some of you it was the year you came back to Living Light to take Pastry Arts – Unbaked! Some of you completed our brand new advanced Science of Raw Food Nutrition series and are ready to be science instructors yourselves. Those are some big, fabulous accomplishments. Congratulations, Living Light Class of 2010. I’m super proud of you! Are you ready to greet a new year? I am.

Cosmic Calm by mary elizabeth

Okay – seriously? I just dumped green juice all over my lap. Very annoying. But – the good news is that I wore my baggy, stained old jeans today so as to be dressed appropriately for decorating the Living Light Inn for this weekend’s candlelight tour. So – I guess the universe, in all its magnificent wisdom, aligned the days upon which I needed to both spill green juice on myself and hang Christmas lights.  That’s comforting. I suppose stuff like that’s happening all the time but I only notice it when I actually get covered in green slime.  As 2010 winds down it’s hard not to feel a little anxious about 2011. I like little cosmic reminders that I don’t need to personally fret and worry about every detail of my life. And I’m pretty proud of myself for calling a big messy spill a “little cosmic reminder”. 2011’s going to be just fine.

If you’re waiting for stuff to align itself for the new year and you’re an Associate Chef and Instructor grad, maybe you should come back to Living Light in February and complete your Gourmet Raw Food Chef certification. Ethnic Flavors actually begins on the last day of January and runs through February 4^th. It’s followed by a week of Raw Fusion and then a week of Raw Event Catering. What a fun, productive and delicious way to start your year! Give me a call and register yourself for the next level of raw vegan culinary excellence today. Super yay!

Waiting, Wine and Work by hilloah

We have been waiting for the Walla Walla onions to come in since October: you are supposed to plant them in the first part of November. Finally we went to the nursery from which we had ordered them, only to be told that their supplier had gone out of business. Arrgh! We went to another nursery that still had some. Yeah! We bought two bunches of 50 at $3.00 a piece. Joe, of course, got one bunch and three hours after he got them he called us and said to get busy and plant ours! What a pain!!  

It was wine country time again this Thanksgiving weekend. Joe, his wife Sandi, Archie and I went to the Anderson Valley to pick up our wine shipments. Since we live so close we choose to pick up our wine rather than have them send it to us. And that way we get to taste their new wines along with our old favorites. It was such a beautiful day! Afterwards we went to dinner at one place in Mendocino Village only to be told they were sold out. Arrgh! However, we were happy to see that our town was busy in this economy. We then went to Patterson’s Pub: a nice place for locals – it’s dark, yet friendly.

We are gearing up for next year’s classes; a full schedule in January, a new workshop in February, and then another full schedule in March. Swoosh! A full schedule includes Associate Chef and Instructor Certification, Gourmet of Raw Food Chef Certification, and The Benefits of Raw Food Nutrition Educator Certification. The February courses include Photographing Food, Food Styling for Photography, Recipe Production, Styling, and Photography, Recipe Book Writing, Recipe Book Production Workshop, and Culinary Demo Video Production for the Media. Yes! We are going to be very busy!

Harvest by hilloah

This weekend we harvested as many veggies as possible: pumpkins, green and yellow zucchinis, tomatoes, red bell peppers, jalapeños, and our dahlias. We still have lots of winter squash growing, garlic, green onions, chard, Red Russian Kale, lettuce, and cabbage. Though the pretty green worms got to the cabbages first, so we have decided to let them have a feast!

 This year’s garden was not as good as we had hoped, due mostly to the extra rain we had. Usually the rain ends by mid April; this year it was the end of June. Even our greenhouse veggies did not do as well. That is all right, however, as each year brings different challenges and we learn from them.

Archie in the Greenhouse

 Winter is a great time to dream about next year’s garden. We get out catalogs; look over the seeds we have left over; even look at recipes to see if we should grow certain kinds of veggies: will we really use that much chard? I love the dreaming part, but by February we start the seedlings and by March are ready to plant! 

Another thing I am looking forward to is Pastry Arts – Unbaked! 2. This is a recipe development class and it will be so much fun to see what the students create. One year a student in RawFusion Spa Cuisine created a banana slug: it was beautiful, but not enticing to eat! Pastry Arts will be different!

Banana Slug

Creativity, Survival, and Reality by kristin

Listening to Billy Holiday while I write this blog…the song playing right now is “Until the Real Thing Comes Along,” which makes me wonder about the nature of reality. What’s real? In my last blog entry I had a quote from Abraham Hicks about finding that “happy place” so that you are vibrating at the resonance of your desire. Sounds like heady stuff, but is it, really? I think almost every one of us has had the experience that when we are feeling good, the Universe seems to smile on us, making  it seem as though everything is just naturally falling into place.

One of our graduates, Brenda Hinton, who now teaches FUNdamentals of Raw Living Foods and Essentials of Raw Culinary Arts at Living Light, (as well as doing a host of other fantastic things), is a great example of this principle. A breast cancer survivor, she prefers to focus on the fact that she thrives, rather than just survives -check out her license plate! A week or two ago she completed a half marathon race. You just never know what she’ll do next! And she’s just one example of what our students can do. If you are not yet subscribed to our newsletter, I suggest that you sign up. You’ll be amazed!

I’m a host on Womens Voices on a local public broadcasting station, KZYX, and I’m always encountering extraordinary women. The resiliency of the human spirit never ceases to amaze me – just last week I interviewed Deborah J Swiss who wrote a book about convict women transported from the British Isles who helped create one of the most democratic societies in the world in Australia.  Next week I’ll be honored to speak with Jean Shinoda Bolen, author, Jungian analyst, and activist. These thoughts on her webpage inspire me, and remind me of what we see every day in the students who arrive at Living Light:

“Activism and individuation (to find a meaningful, inner directed, chosen life-path) come together when the choices we make express who we are. There is a soul purpose to life. Be centered, and archetypes, dreams, and synchronicities provide depth and direction. As one phase of life shifts into the next, energy becomes free to take on something that is personally meaningful, fun, creative, and motivated by love.”

Logs, Garlic, and Students by hilloah

This last weekend was the last one to split wood and put it in the wood shed. I sat and knit on the latest grandchild’s afghan while Archie split the wood. We covered the logs to let it air out but not have the dew get to it. It is getting colder and darker now a little at a time. Fall is my favorite time of year: family holidays, pretty lights, fall colors of the trees.

 On Sunday we planted the garlic that we got from Mary Jane’s Farm Magazine. We planted two rows of our garlic from last year, and two rows from Mary Jane in a raised bed and also in the ground. Which will be better: ours or Mary Jane’s? Raised bed or ground?

MaryJanesFarm Magazine

This coming Friday the students will be arriving for the last culinary session of this year. Our new receptionist, Chris Nepper is being put to the test: trying to get ready for over thirty people and manage the copier at the same time. Arrgh! He and Mary Elizabeth decided to go get us some Kangen water to make it through the week. Aren’t they cute?

Chris & Mary Elizabeth in the Office

The last thing I see in the yard before I leave for work and the first thing I see when I return are the hollyhocks and cosmos. Aren’t they beautiful?

“Thank you again for a great learning experience….” – by hilloah

 You do a job, and sometimes without your knowing, you have helped change another’s perception of who they are. I get a lot of these types of emails from Angels and students alike:

Debbie

“Dear Hilloah.  Thank you for the very positive experience serving as a “kitchen angel”.  Linas, Joe, Gina, BarbaRaw, Tyler and Brenda were a joy to work with.  I was unsure on how I wanted to use my knowledge and skills as a career and I feel that I’ve gained a better perspective on my career goals.  I found out that I really enjoy catering.  Participating and planning the morning breakfasts and lunches made me see why my catering events have been unorganized and unprofitable.  I’ve returned home motivated and organized.

Again, I had a wonderful experience.  I just may take the catering class again in November.”

There’s nothing like knowing that your job reaches beyond your desk. The appreciation for what we do here, from our students, our angels and our graduates makes it all worth while.

Missing a Living Light Student by hilloah

Marcella Ray

Marcella Ray left Living Light last Friday. She has been here since July 8^th – a total of 70 days. She has taken every class possible during this time and according to her they have been “completely worth every penny!” She has made it a habit to stop in at the office at least once a day to give and receive hugs. “Honey! Life is too short not to enjoy yourself!” Not only will we miss her hugs, her witticisms, but most of all her smiles. Even when she was concentrating on what she was learning, she always has a smile for you. We will miss you Marcella; now you go and RAWK your part of the world!

This last weekend Archie and I rushed to put the split wood away into the wood shed. Of course we did not make it as we have so much still yet to do. And though it rained all day on Sunday – ¾ inch of rain – it was not enough to hurt the wood. We will be doing it some more throughout this month.

Kingsolver's Book Cover

It was pleasant on Sunday to watch old movies such as Desk Set with Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn and a fairly newer one, 10,000 BC , while also knitting on our soon to be born granddaughter’s baby afghan. They choose white, tan, and pink stripes and some wonderful soft yarn. So yummy to knit!

We also read out loud from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, a Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver and her family. It was awesome reading about growing organic gardens: tomatoes, asparagus, cherries, and so much more. Yes, it was a nice weekend.

A Basket of Food and Flowers by hilloah

I missed a blog last week due to all the work we had to do to wrap up the Living Light Showcase and get ready for a new batch of students this past weekend. We are also participating in being licensed by the State of California which is adding to our paperwork. Fortunately all the students have been willing to initial, sign, and date each and every page that is necessary. Whew! It’s over – until October, our last session this year!

 Once I got home on Saturday after checking in the last bunch of students I just chilled by the pond and read my latest MaryJaneFarm Magazine. The main focus of this magazine is living close to the country – even if in your apartment in a city – and organic, organic, organic! There are crafts, many garden tips, and recipes. It is not a raw food or vegan magazine, but the recipes offered this time around were two vegan, a vegetarian, as well as two standard ways of fixing main dishes. There was an article on Café Gratitude as well. In fact the theme for this issue was gratitude.

One of the articles talked about the gratitude of eating a piece of pie with whipping cream and realizing it all came from the farm: from the neighbor’s milling of his wheat, to another neighbor’s cow who provided the cream (not vegan, sorry), the rhubarb grown by the baker herself. Reading this almost made me cry at the simplicity of food and the true gratitude one receives when eating fresh homegrown foods.

Sunday I picked basil from our yard and made fresh pesto. I also used the garlic that we had harvested earlier this year. We have two kinds of garlic: regular and elephant. I love the elephant garlic as it is a milder form, yet still delicious. Mary Jane had an article about how she grows and harvests her garlic. She also sells the seeds. Archie and I decided to order some – $18.00 per pound. It should come in a week or so, just in time to sow the seeds for next year’s harvest: yummm!!!

Appreciation and the Blues by mary elizabeth

Here at Living Light we honor a different department in the company the second week of each month. This month it’s the enrollment department. Super yay! This means we get lots of presents and notes of appreciation from our co-workers. It’s lots of fun and a wonderful way to express our admiration for all the different components that make up this complex company. 

 But despite all this special treatment, I’m feeling super bluesy today – melancholy – which isn’t a comfortable way to feel at all, unless you’re at home under the covers on a rainy day watching Brian’s Song. But as uncomfortable as it is I know I just have to feel it, you know, wait it out. And, of course, as uncomfortable as that is I know exactly what’s making me feel this way. It’s me!! I’ve been so busy; I forgot that feeling good and being happy only comes from the inside. When I get distracted from this wise and difficult to remember truth, I will look for anything at all outside of myself to make me feel better. And, as usual, because I’ve neglected the inner part of me from which real happiness comes, I can’t appreciate the outside things even if they did make me happy. Which they of course don’t, except for Meagan’s mudslide pie.  I need to meditate – and cry on Amanda’s shoulder – and put away my laundry. Oh – and drink some mila! Most importantly, I need to appreciate myself. I can allow myself to have the blues and at the same time start taking the steps to get over it.   Anyhow – enough about me. 

We are playing to a full house here at Living Light right now. We just had a new batch of students come in on Saturday and all the classes in this Associate Chef and Instructor Training series are sold out. It’s always so exciting to have new students come (and it helps with the sadness of having the recent graduates leave). Their enthusiasm for raw culinary arts is infectious. They are the hot raw chefs of the future. Oh – if you haven’t voted for your favorite in our Hot Raw Chef Video Recipe Contest, I have a deadline for you: July 21^st. So – go to www.hotrawchef.com, watch the videos (they’re super fun) and vote for your favorite. I’d totally appreciate it!