Hooga

 

Kristin loves to watch CBS Sunday morning on yes, you guessed it, Sunday mornings.  I often drink coffee and listen along while surfing the internet, typically playing around on the golf forum I frequent, GolfWRX.

This week they presented a great piece on happiness and the study of happiness.  Denmark often ranks quite high in these studies, so of course, the CBS crew visited Copenhagen.  I’ll spare you the play-by-play as I’m sure it would be easy enough to find a link to the full episode, but the part I found fascinating was concerning a uniquely Danish concept embodied by the word “hygge.”

It’s pronounced hooga almost like the french Hugo with an “a” instead of an “o” at the end.  Huga.  Evidently there’s no direct translation into English, but it was explained as taking pleasure in the little things in life, while the Danish tourism bureau thinks, “cozy” is a synonym.

http://www.visitdenmark.com/hygge

Things that are quintessential and nice.  Hygge.  Bicycles can be hygge.  Watch the video in the above link.

So, this week’s photo is one of the things that are very hygge for me, the latte.  Many of my close friends know that I can get borderline obsessive about coffee.  I’ve roasted coffee, I’ve brewed it every way imaginable, I drink it every single day of my life.  I don’t want it to be a routine way of administering caffeine; I want it to be special.  Every.  Single.  Day.

I will readily admit I’ve failed recently.  I’ve gone to making a french press as it affords two cups and little fuss, but it has failed me.  I need my latte.  My espresso machine has been a little under the weather and needing maintenance, but unfortunately that can only be done by your’s truly and I’ve been short on time and motivation to fix it.  Time to correct not protect.

So, what’s particularly hygge about this photo.  And this is my favorite part for those of you that have made it this far….

I have spent years of my life waking up every day and pulling two shots of espresso, steaming a carafe of milk, and blending my own special latte.  You would think after hundreds and hundreds of lattes made that I could pour some latte art.  For those of you that aren’t big coffee drinkers, that’s the decoration between  the brown “crema” oil in the espresso and the white microfoam milk bubbles on top of the coffee.  This is the single example of anything neat that I’ve ever poured.  Truly one in a hundred at least, probably really one in a thousand.  Hygge.  Have a great week everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring!

It is easy to ascertain the fact that spring starts on the spring equinox, but is spring just a season or a “feeling,” mentality, combination of sights and scents?

Since I was a child growing up outside of Atlanta, I felt that spring often started before the first day of spring.  In my opinion it feels like summer long before the solstice, too.  In fact I’ve always thought that the change of seasons come about 3 weeks late throughout the year.  If timing is everything perhaps we have to ignore the meteorological definition of “seasons” and simply celebrate spring when the grass starts to grow, the trees begin to bud, bulbs push their first leaves from the dirt, and ambient air temps rise enough to strip off our sweaters and bare our arms and legs.

For my wife, Kristin, a more important day in the grind to leave winter behind is the “spring forward” and the beginning of daylight savings.  Perhaps, the first day of daylight savings would be a better time to start spring in our minds.

After the longest and wettest winter since we moved to Oregon, we’re certainly not going to argue semantics, but rather simply enjoy the sunshine, the awakening of the plants and critters from underneath what has been a blanket of snow for some weeks at elevation.  With the lengthening of daylight and more opportunity to get outside and enjoy some of the greatest weather we get in this part of the world, I’m really asking myself if I’m efficient in the use of my time.  A new winter routine of waking earlier and also retiring earlier has rendered more quiet time in the morning and will hopefully make my afternoons more productive for both work and leisure.  I wish all my friends and family the same.  More time.  Perhaps more aptly stated, more appreciation of our own time.  In my last post I stated how important it is to me to value my clients’ time, but ultimately this starts with valuing my own.  May spring sprung in each of your back yard’s soon and may you each have a wonderful season!

 

 

 

 

 

Musings

A new career, a new year, a new lease on life, and a new commitment – weekly blog posts.

I’m going to dredge up a photo, either recent or old, that has meaning to me and attempt to elucidate why the photo has meaning to me.  So, what’s in it for you?  Maybe nothing.

At the very least I bet you’ll learn one new word a week.  When was the last time you used “elucidate?”

e * lu *ci *date – to make (something) clear; explain.

So, here’s my photo of the week….

The significance of this photo to me is twofold.  It reminds me of my first experience stepping out on the range at the Bandon Dunes Resort.  Something about a huge clock marked “Rolex” makes you feel like you’re about to tee off at the U.S. Open.  The clock is a fixture; it creates atmosphere.  Would a big digital display with bright red numbers hanging inside the window of the warming hut serve the same purpose?  Absolutely.  So, why the clock?

I recently learned that I am very much a kinesthetic learner.  If you’re not sure if you’re visual, auditory, or kinesthetic, click here:

https://lonerwolf.com/visual-auditory-or-kinesthetic-test/

So, for a kinesthetic learner, something about that big clock just “feels” official.  It has nothing to do with what time it is and everything to do with the fact that “time” is important.  Important enough to be featured on a massive very expensive looking clock with the world’s most famous watchmaker’s logo on top.  My mind instantly triggers to “what time is it?”  “Where should I be?”  When do I need to leave to be there on time?”

Ironically, I glance down at my wrist watch rather than squint at the big clock (made by another watchmaker nonetheless).

So, if this huge icon of “time” wraps up all of these “feelings” in me, then what is the ramification on my blog, my life, and you the reader?  For me, it’s a great illustration for how the use of our time and our personal “timing” reflects our priorities and effects those around us.  Now that time is kept mostly by our telephones and other devices many of us are estranged from the wrist watch, the essential reminder for “time.”  I’m a bit old fashioned and my watch was a graduation present from my father, so I wear it every day.  I hope somewhere deep in my “kinesthetic learning center” a few brain cells are firing to subconsciously tell me, “value your time and most importantly value others’ time.”  The exact time it slips over my hand also has a lot to do with how I feel my morning is going to go as it’s the last part of my ritual before leaving the house each morning.

Until next week…

 

 

First blog post

This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you started this blog and what you plan to do with it.