We hope
everyone will join us this week at our delicious Pathfinder Produce markets, to
discover all the great flavors and textures that abound with fresh fruits and
veggies. The members of our Adult Day Services program work diligently
each week to put on our markets, at Pathfinder Village Commons on Thursdays
from 1 to 5 p.m., and on Fridays at the UMC-Morris from Noon to 5 p.m.
Stop by and say “hello” to everyone, catch up on the latest community news with
friends, and find some great produce deals for your family’s meals.
We want
to also let everyone know that we’re seeking participants for our Dash to
the Splash Program, our 8-week fitness and training program that helps get
folks ready to take part in our fourth annual Splash Path 5K and Fun Walk,
which is set for May 20. The Dash to the Splash program will meet two
times each week after work at Pathfinder, and will form teams of runners and
walkers. The teams work together, under the guidance of a volunteer
coach, to build strength, stamina and get ready for Splash Path … we also have
a tremendous amount of fun along the way! To learn more, visit our Facebook Events
pages.
To sign
up for Dash to the Splash, which will start on March 21, please contact Monica
Clark by March 15
at (607) 965-8377 x 107. To learn more about Splash Path, a low-cost
family fun color run and walk, visit our Facebook event page or website, and
you can register online at splashpath.racewire.com.
****
This past
weekend the weather was beautiful, a perfect time for a winter hike. As
the snow was a little deep on Saturday afternoon, I broke out a little-used
pair of snowshoes to see if they would help with walking. They did, and I
enjoyed going around a trail I’ve made around our property, a combination of
meadow, woods and quite a bit of swamp. (Perhaps I’m channeling my inner-Shrek).
I’m still
on track with my steps-goal per day (tracked by the wearable widget I got in
December), and on my days-off I try to give our 8-year old lab Della a good walk too. She probably walks twice as much as I do
-- her Labrador instincts lead her to
investigate lots of thickets and jump into any pools of water she can find.
Once we
came back to the house, a hot-cup of tea was in order for me, and she curled up
in her crate, her happy place, located close to our Jǿtul woodstove. She
is a terrific snorer, and these hikes send her to the Land of Nod. As she
snored, I checked my Facebook feed … many friends were also going outside to
play, and enjoying their fire pits and fireplaces. It’s as if we Central
New Yorkers are discovering traditions of Scandinavia, a region known for ice
and snow, and yet paradoxically has some of the highest levels of societal happiness and
well-being among developed countries.
Last year,
one Scandinavian term got a lot of play in the media, a concept called hygge (pronounced “hoo-guh”), a
Danish term meaning “a quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that
engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being.” According to the
Hygge House website, hygge is “a feeling
or mood that comes from taking genuine pleasure in making ordinary, everyday
moments more meaningful, beautiful or special. Hygge doesn’t require learning
‘how to hygge,’ adopting it as a lifestyle or buying anything. It simply
requires being present and recognizing a moment that feels so sweet, cozy, charming,
special or nice that you just have to name the moment.”
Hygge
House’s blogger Alex Beauchamp offers, “Danes created hygge because they were
trying to survive boredom, cold, dark and sameness, and the undefinable feeling
of Hygge was a way for them to find moments to celebrate or acknowledge and to
break up the day, months or years. With so many cold, dark days, the simple act
of a candle glowing with a cup of coffee in the morning or a home cooked
evening meal with friends can make a huge difference to one’s spirit.”
So while
it’s definitely related to winter, hygge is expansive -- a
simpler, thankful platform from which we progress through our lives, and
through which we see ordinary moments as gifts. I would expect that as
one becomes more hyggelige, life suggests ways to be more focused on
relationships, eschew materialism, and be healthier. Which leads me to a
Netflix program, Minimalism, I also watched this past weekend. Although it was overly
long and maybe a little preachy, the program also focused on how less can be
more, and can enrich life.
Until next
time, enjoy the simple pleasures,
Lori
