Wiley on the West Coast

One week ago today, on Friday, May 05, The Well Lived Woman welcomed Wiley Canning Company into their beautiful space for a tasting, dialogue, and book signing. With endless thanks to Elise Joseph and The Well Lived Woman team, Jaimi Brooks and Robin Raab Olascoaga, we gathered to celebrate The Wiley Canning Company Cookbook, as we enjoyed recipes found within it, with an intimate group of wonderful humans.

At the core of Wiley Canning Company exists a steadfast intention to gather curious humans around delicious ingredients. Each time this happens, I witness the best of us.

When I say I witness “the best of us”, I mean I witness a palpable desire to acquire new knowledge and genuine connection with one another. These two things—the acquisition of new knowledge and the choice to meet someone new—are difficult to do because they are often uncomfortable. But, the result is a greater understanding of the way we ourselves, and others, feel valued and interpret the complex world around us.

The day after our event at The Well Lived Woman, I went to Huntington Gardens and stumbled upon this quote:

“It is vital for us to remember that we are on an unknown arc toward an unknown future. There is still a great deal to be discovered and perhaps a number of current understandings to be overturned.”

Canning, pickling, and preserving practices have existed for over a century. But, there is still so much to learn. Humanity? Much, much longer. We have so much to learn about home food preservation, and we have so much to learn about each other. My greatest hope is that Wiley can tap into the pursuit of both.

The moments above and below were captured at The Well Lived Woman by Zachary Gray.