Tragedy Has Struck

I've had my Vitamix for about 20 years. It was used when I got it. I was a struggling college student, but somehow I managed to scrape together $150 to buy one used from the Recycler.

At the time, I was vegetarian, but not raw. I'd make fruit smoothies in the Vitamix, pouring them into thick, recycled glass tumblers we got on a trip to Mexico, and drink them while I stood on the second floor balcony of our apartment in Long Beach, looking out at the palm trees that dotted the cold, morning skyline.

I have fond memories of grinding wheat berries into flour using the Vitamix, kneading it right in the canister, then baking a thick, brown bread that I spread with real butter.

I thought that Vitamix, with its gorgeous stainless steel construction, would live forever.

Two days ago, the agitator assembly broke in two. My husband took a photo of the part and sent it to his machinist brother in Alabama. This was his response:

Hey y'all,
I could make a new shaft but the internal splines require a special cutter that would cost thousands. No joke. You make the investment to make 10,000 parts for the production line. I would be glad to try and weld back together and rebalance it. Nothing to lose, all that will happen is it will vibrate too much to use if I don't get it just right. The vibration could be useful at other times away from food prep.

I doubt my Vitamix could take more vibration than it already has. We could buy a replacement part from the manufacturer, but with tax and shipping it would come to $101.55. We've haunted ebay but used replacement parts are going for at least $50 with shipping -- if you're lucky.

So I've been left with the painful decision: do I pay $50-$100 to fix it and stay with my first love? Or do I sell my first love for parts and fork out $449 for a more powerful but not as pretty Vitamix 5200?

Beauty or Brains? Age or Youthful Spunk? (Until the cost of replacing or fixing my Vitamix entered my financial horizon, the Spirooli was next on my list of raw accessories to acquire. Now that's been pushed down the list -- unless I'm lucky enough to win Gena's contest at ChoosingRaw.com.)

Part of me wonders if I didn't break the 3600's heart. A few months ago, despite her faithful service for 20 years, when Yardsnacker and Hihorosie had a contest for a new 5200, I entered this video:

So wooed was I by the promise of the 5200's reputed 2hp motor, I found myself disparaging the 3600's ability to make nut milk on camera. Maybe that agitator assembly coming apart was really just the Vitamix's heart breaking in two.

Like any break-up, there are two sides to the story and maybe no one is completely blameless. Maybe we will work it out or maybe it is just time for us to go our separate ways. Either way, you will always be my first appliance love.

Random Updates

• And the winner is... the only person who entered! Despite the fact that I had 115 unique visitors during the week the contest was open, only Franz wanted those Chili's vouchers so he shall have them. Congrats Franz and send me your mailing addy.
  
  
• I did get a cool, supportive comment on that entry from Tonya Kay, she of Stomp and Who Wants to Be a Superhero fame, who was featured in the YouTube clip I posted. Thanks Tonya! You're my superhero!
  
  
• A couple of other bloggers, HiHoRosie and LouLou, were nice enough to post comments too, but declined the invitation to enter the contest. I've got to get some raw-friendly prizes so that other folks who are reading will at least say "hi" -- I won't bite, I promise (I do get plenty of food on this regimen)!
  
  
• I was written up in another Pomona blog this week, Goddess of Pomona. Thanks goddess! GoP is one of my key sources for Pomona-centric info -- I get even more info there than by talking to my neighbors (don't worry, I do actually talk to my neighbors too).
  
  
• My biggest honor? I was stunned to make the "Top 50 Raw Food and Lifestyle Blogs" list on MassageTherapyCareers.com! Pretty neat -- and amazing I got noticed considering how new I am at this. Thanks Kelly Sonora!
  
  
• A highlight in the last week was attending a raw cooking class taught by Elaina Love of Pure Joy Planet and Chaya Ryvka of Cafe Gratitude. I volunteered, so I worked hard but ate a fabulous meal in exchange and learned a lot. The entire meal, truly, was to die for -- as good or better than any cooked meal I've ever had. I won't write much more about it, because blogger Debbie Does Raw, who was also volunteering, was documenting it in photos and video and will no doubt do a much better job than I in her blog (UPDATE: here's her post - complete with videos!). Debbie was chatty and fun, full of helpful tips and encouragement. I connected with her right away because we both entered the vitamix contest, had daughters later in life, married younger men, and turned to raw food for health reasons. Here's how part of the conversation went (paraphrased, of course, to the best of my recollection):
  
  DDR: Does your family do raw too?
  Me: No, my husband is younger than me so he still thinks he's immortal
  DDR: Mine too! 6 years younger.
  Me: So is mine!
  DDR: So we need to stay raw to stay young and keep up!
  Me: Oh, mine is going grey early, so that's good.
  DDR: Mine is going bald!
  
  
• One last update: I did a massive overhaul and relaunch of my other site, Spiritualitea.com. Spiritualitea has been around since 1998. Along with my deepening interests in health, I've expanded the focus of the site to include alternative health as well as spirituality. If you share any of these interests, do join our community -- it's free! If you're interested in writing for the site (including getting free copies of books to review), read more details on how to submit here.
  

I'm Ready to Do This! (and a Contest for your Cooked Friends)

If you've been reading this blog you'll know that I'm mostly but not completely raw. At the very beginning of the journey in January I was eating some cooked vegan meals at home. I progressed to trying to eat raw at home but eating cooked vegan meals when I went out. I did the latter because I didn't want to have to stop eating out since that is such a social event, but I also didn't want to order an expensive salad without all the added stuff (chip strips, candied nuts, MEAT - eew, cheese, etc.) and end up with a $15 pile of iceberg. Then I saw this video with raw dancer Tonya Kay:



The key part starts at about minute 4:22 (though the rest of it is great too, including info on how to handle visits with extended family). She says that when she goes out to a restaurant she asks them to make her a salad out of every raw vegetable they have in her kitchen and she has never been disappointed. So, while out at Chili's, I asked for just that and had them toss it in a dressing I knew was vegan (I looked it up before I went; I'm not at the point yet where I am concerned if the dressing is raw, though who knows maybe that's the next step). Sure enough, out came a lovely, LARGE, salad that was tasty and satisfying and they only charged me $6.50 -- cheaper than any entree on the menu! That's when I thought: I can do this, I can be 100% raw.

O.k., I'll pause now to say that my current personal definition of 100% raw is not the raw community standard definition of 100%: as I said, I'll have a non-raw dressing when going out, not all my spices and seasonings at home are raw, and I'm still figuring out which nuts are truly raw (or that I'm willing to order at steep prices online to be sure they are raw). What I mean is no more cooked meals, no more cooked snacks.

In the latter area, salted roasted peanuts have been my downfall. Here I finally asked my husband to either not buy them or hide them from me. Problem solved. But so far that's been my only real remaining craving. I'm loving all the raw foods I eat and now I can eat out with friends too, even at a chain restaurant where even all the salads on the menu are loaded with meat and extraneous stuff!

Now the reason we went to Chili's is that I was selected for a BzzAgent campaign and recieved coupons for free Guiltless Grill entrees (not buy 1 get 1 free, just free). My salad, which was the most guiltless by far, wasn't covered by the coupon but as I said, it was cheap. Still, I was able to treat my husband and friends with the coupons. If you want to try it, I'm giving away two remaining coupons to one person. Chances are most folks reading this are raw, but with the coupons you'll be able to take your cooked companions out to eat and feed them something that at least isn't as bad as the rest of the stuff on Chili's menu, and you'll be able to try my new strategy.

To enter, just say hi in the comments and let me know how you found me. Make sure you leave your email so I can reach you! I'll close the contest and announce the winner (drawn randomly) in a week.