WOW - I’m so excited to announce the launch of Rawcovery, a project that I have been working on with the amazing Runi and Anand from Raw Power!

To quote from the website:

An inspirational website is being created - 1,000 stories of recovery told by people who have eaten predominantly raw foods and had a significant improvement or total recovery from a physical or emotional condition. The aims of the website are to provide inspiration and hope for people in recovery, provide an opportunity for people who have benefited from raw food nutrition to contribute to the wellbeing of others, to raise awareness in the general community to the incredible healing powers of raw food nutrition and create wellbeing, and longevity in our communities. We are seeking authors, editors, web designers, graphic designers, team leaders, PR people and sponsors. For more information visit www.rawcovery.org.

Check it out and if you want to share your story or help out, then contact us.

It’s been fantastic working with Runi and others in the Rawcovery team (particularly Lisa - thanks for your feedback and proof reading!). My role has been to do the web design, graphics and hosting - let me know what you think of the site, I’m quite pleased at how something so simple can be so nice to look at :)

Working on this project really has been the shining light for me these last two weeks, especially with the sad stuff that has been happening with my family lately. I’ll be back to my happy, blogging - and high raw - self very soon!

Following the conversation on Twitter today, I found out that the Wii Fit had finally been released! Having anticipated this Nintendo Wii console game for a long time, I was very excited and headed off to the shops after work to track one down - for the best possible price too. In the two stores I looked at, it was $149 and $139 ($AUD) but I had read on twitter that one had been bought for $109. Chris said that I’d need guts to try and knock it down in the store selling it for $149 - well I do, and they agreed instantly! So the moral is: don’t fear bargaining a price, particularly on the first day of sales, on a busy shopping night and in the same week that GTA4 has been released!

I’m loving going to the gym, and I love bushwalking or strolling through a park when I get the chance but quite often I’m home in the evenings too late to go out. I also like playing games, and I’m particularly fond of the Wii, especially Wii Sports. So, I was very open to and excited about the Wii Fit. It certainly doesn’t disappoint.

Out of the box you receive the Wii Fit platform, which is quite similar to a set of bathroom scales, a set of batteries (thanks!) and the game disk. To begin, you need to sync the platform to the Wii console, which is very similar to syncing a Wii Remote.

When the game starts you are greeted by an animated Wii platform with an oddly high pitched voice, who tells you all about health and fitness. It then leads you to identify a Mii, and give basic details of yourself such as height and the weight of your clothing and calculating your weight and Body Mass Index (BMI). Note that the largest weight supported by the platform is 150kgs (so a year ago I was almost to large to go on this! Scary!). Of course, I was off the charts recording over 40 BMI. What I didn’t expect was it to transfrom my little Mii into a Fat Little Mii! I’ll have to try get a screen shot of it - damn funny!

Photo from Flickr user Gamesweasel

After this, you then do a balance test to work out your center of gravity. This is surprisingly hard, and I found that I mostly stand with the full weight on my heels instead of supported in a more balanced way. You then get a Wii Age, which is based on your agility but doesn’t represent your body’s age - it’s more determining your success and progress with the game.

The animated Wii Platform then encourages you to set goals, such as a weight loss goal, and specify a period in which to achieve this. You can also add a channel to the Wii’s menu which means you don’t have to start the actual game to check in daily, measure your BMI and weight and I think take a balance test also.

Once you’re past this, it is onto the games! They sound fun and easy, but believe me they’re not! Organised into 4 categories: Aerobics, Muscle Building, Balance, and Yoga. There are apparently over 40 activities for you to do. As you spend time using the system, more activities are opened to you.

I tried a few activities, but found the Aerobics best for me. There’s a hula hoop game, which is very fun (and funny to watch if you’re standing behind the player!) and a dance game where you step on and off the platform in time with the dancing Mii’s, music and the guide displayed on-screen.

Photo from Flickr user Gamesweasel

Another one I particularly liked is the Ski Jump, where you have to semi-squat and keep a center of balance then at the precisely right moment you stand up straight and “jump” off the ski jump. If you do this in the correct time, you will soar through the air and make a good landing - the further the better. If you stuff up, you roll down the hill as a snowball!

When you do Yoga and Muscle building, you can select one of two “personal trainers” - both very fit looking, but rather pasty and lacking facial expressions (I say that with a sense of humor, they *are* just animations!). The Australian version of the game has the trainers with an English accent, which isn’t too bad but I could see myself getting annoyed with it a bit. It would be great to be able to download differently accented voice tracks. The trainers walk you through the exercises, with thorough tutorials and explanations of what you should be doing.

Photo from Flickr user Gamesweasel

On this first impression, I can’t find any negatives with the game. It has a fantastic interface, is fun to play especially with multiple people and if you can handle being laughed at. The friendly competition would be great for kids and adults alike, and the Wii is very much a turning point in the perception of console gaming. If you’re into games, want to get fit and are interested in trying something different, then I thoroughly recommend buying a Wii and the Wii Fit game!

Photo credits to Flickr user Gamesweasel.  I’ll get my own screenshots soon!

The seasons have changed and Perth has now been relieved of the hot summer, with the long sunny days turning into short overcast ones. It’s appropriate for the feelings of loss surrounding myself and my family at the moment, not only for the tragic loss of my Uncle less than a week ago but also for the metaphorical leaves I’m shedding as part of my personal transformation.

Saturday was a typical autumn day, the sun was up with few clouds in the sky and a gentle chilly wind reminding us of the winter to come. Having read about the Bickley-Carmel Harvest Festival, Chris and I decided to take some time out together to get closer to nature and experience our local environment.

On our way, we missed a turnoff and found ourselves on the wrong road, leading us to a new discovery - Organic Valley WA in East Cannington. Most organic retailers are around the western suburbs, Fremantle, North Perth and Bayswater however it’s rare to find one in southern suburbia, let alone one which stocks some of Alive Organics raw produce. Their produce looked absolutely fantastic (but by far the best organic produce I’ve found in a store is from Organic on Charles and Peaches) and I would thoroughly recommend checking them out.

I will certainly be adding them to my Raw Produce locality guide!

After buying some apples and a pumpkin, we headed back to the correct road and up to the hills. We had planned to visit a few different places, including nurseries, but ended up visiting two only. First up was High Vale BioDynamic Organic Orchard in Pickering Brook. The above picture is looking out over their orchard and up to the forest.

I am concerned about BioDynamics not being vegan, but general agriculture including Organic growing isn’t vegan either because blood and bone is nearly always used to build up the soil and it’s a slaughterhouse by-product. Veganics is the ultimate solution, however even then I think I would like to have chooks, cows and sheep roaming around not as working animals but simply living out their lives with protection from slaughter, foxes, etc - and I’d make sure they were rescued animals too. On a side, did you know that cows live to about 25 years old but most don’t make it past approx. 5 years old because they’re used for meat?

Anyway, until I can have my own self sufficient primarily veganic orchard, I will buy (in this order) organics, biodynamics and locally grown conventional produce. It’s my choice and please don’t flame me for it.

So, this orchard had some absolutely beautiful and delicious produce, pictured below:

The had absolutely delicious pomegranates decorating the shed, burst open in ripeness and showing the seeds.

There were massive tubs of limes and quinces! I bought a few of these limes and they were tasty, especially in Tomato and Lime Soup.

Best of all were these locally grown Persimmons! I’ve been on a total Persimmon high lately, but I have no idea what the origins are of the store bought ones and they’re damn expensive! These ones were $15 for a box of 18 - an absolute bargain. I plan on making Persimmon Pie with them (photos and recipe coming later).

We also bought some Apples and Pears, both of which are the sweetest I’ve tasted in a very long time - I’m disappointed we didn’t buy a box of them.

After this, we went up to the Kalamunda Markets…

It’s nearly 1 year since Chris and I went raw, and even though we have wavered from that path in the last two months we still consider ourselves raw vegans. To go raw, we went to a weekend workshop teaching us all about raw food and how to un-cook. Chris has a fantastic photo gallery of the weekend.

One of the weekend helpers brought along a Lute she had made herself - it was stunning, with a resonance that touches your soul. I’ll never forget the meditation we did on the last day, where she plucked the strings throughout randomly and the sound was so peaceful and always right even though she wasn’t playing a tune. The black and white photo to the left here is her lute, and the picture is taken by Chris.

So, at the Kalamunda Markets the very first stall we saw was the man who makes these lutes and runs the workshops. He described how you hold it with the top just touching your chin/cheek and held against your body, and the resonance flows through you. The feeling is so beautiful and grounding. The instruments are tuned to the pentatonic scale (Chris says the same scale that the solo from Stairway to Heaven is played in) for meditative, personal use but can have a regular tuning if you want to play songs. You could buy his Lutes, but I felt that it would be more right to make one yourself - he gives you the recycled wood, and then the instrument is hand carved into a pattern of your choosing. So I want to get myself along to one of these workshops soon!

After chatting to this fellow for a while, we had a walk around the markets then and intended to go to Soul Tree Cafe for dinner, however it was closed so they must not be doing Saturday night dinners anymore. Instead, we headed down from the hills and west to Fremantle where we stocked up on organic fruit and veg before visiting my Mum and going home.

In all it was a lovely autumn saturday, and I feel incredibly grateful for the beautiful city we live in and the abundance of produce that we are so lucky to have.

Any people in Perth want to buy a copy of the wonderful Raw Food, Real World? Planet Books on Beaufort Street, Mount Lawley has a copy and it’s only $55.

How do I know this? Well… I left work early on Friday afternoon because I was still upset about what’s happening in my family and my brain was too foggy to concentrate. As I was using public transport, I had some time before my bus arrived so I had a browse around Borders. They’ve got a fantastic collection of Vegetarian and Vegan cookbooks, but not too many Raw Food books - because they sell out too quickly! I have bought most of mine from there, and have seen some (eg. Juliano, Rawvolution) there one day but gone the next.

So, on Friday they had two copies of Raw Food, Real World and at $80 each it was a bit much for me but as I had a 20% off voucher, I bought it. From what I’ve read so far it’s a fantastic book, but I’m still to make some recipes from it. However, definitely one of the best out there - for raw vegans, or any kind of foodie.

Late Friday night Chris and I decided to pop around to Planet Books (open most nights until 11pm or so) and pick up some books I had ordered in. I knew I had ordered Vegan Freak and Making a Killing, but I had completely forgotten that I’d ordered Raw Food, Real World!

So, at a cheaper price than Borders, if any Perth raw foodies want a copy of the book, get down there now! I promised the store guy I’d blog this and get the book sold for them :) They’re also very open to ordering more books on the topic so if there’s anything you want, let them know!

It’s Friday morning, and I’m still in shock.  I received a phone call yesterday at work which sent me instantly to tears.  My mum’s sister and her husband have been living in the UK on a house swap for a month and using it as a base to explore Europe.  They are currently on a tour in Turkey and yesterday my Uncle woke up at 4am complaining of back pain and dropped dead instantly of what appears to be a heart attack.  Absolutely no warning, and my poor Aunty had to run to the hotel lobby in her nightie and barefoot to get help. She did apparently see him again before the police took him away.  She’s in a foreign country, suddenly on her own after over 50 years of marriage, far far away from family in Australia :(

My cousin has hopped on the first flight over this morning, but that’s got to take at least 20 hours or more.

Then, this opens up all sorts of questions about what happens when you die overseas.  It costs tens of thousands to send a body home, it has to be approved by quarantine. Then my Aunt and cousin will have to go back to the house in England, pack up everything and bring them home.  You know how when someone dies, there’s usually a flurry of activity organising a funeral for a week and then you settle in with your grief. Well, it could be weeks before they get home with him, and then she’ll have to relive it again as she sees everyone.

I’m just so sad, for the loss of someone who was certainly a character (to say the least!) and so so sad for my Aunty, we’re absolutely helpless to comfort her.  Last night I fell asleep trying to project an aura of love to her - I hope she felt it.

It’s just been the week of crap things like this - my Mum has been sick with Asthma and the flu, and after being high raw for about 7 months she’s had to get on antibiotics and another cocktail of medicine, and eating cooked soup to warm herself up. We’ve had to take her to the doctor twice, and leave work early to do it to.

Last night we were going shopping, and still went even though we’re zombies from the shock. In that state, sat down at Ikea and had a plate of yukky chips just to fill the void, and some (vegan) chocolate afterwards. I just feel so blergh now from that.

So, sorry for such a glum post but I just had to get it off my chest.  I’ll turn comments off cause I’m not fishing for condolences and I know you’ll all offer me hugs :)  Thanks so much for that, everyone’s thoughts are appreciated.

I’m going to plod off to work now, get through my day and hang out for the weekend where I can get some quiet time to sit and reflect about it all.

I’ll post something happy tomorrow, I promise, like yummy food shots from the last few weeks or something!