Thursday, January 12, 2017

Buh-by Hygge, Hello Lagom!

I am probably really slow on the uptake but in the last several months I have heard a lot about the Danish lifestyle concept known as "hygge". "Hygge" doesn't really have an English translation but loosely means "cozy".  It is a way that the Danes look at life and structure their homelife.  It has to do with the cold, dark weather there and is meant to make it more comfortable and festive.  It involves lots of knitted items, hot cocoa, simple meals with good friends and candles.  It sounds lovely but.....

It is Texas, it is January, is is 80 degrees and I am in shorts.  Hard to "hygge" under those conditions unless you factor in a comfy lawn chair, some new flip flops and a big iced tea.  That is "hygge" in Texas.

I do understand the concept though and I like it, it sounds great.

However, it seems that "hygge" is so 2016!  According to magazines and the internet the next new thing is "lagom".

"Lagom" is a Swedish word meaning "just the right amount" or "just enough".  It is also a lifestyle concept and it promotes simple living, moderation.

Now, that is something I can get my head around.  I have done that all my life! Who knew I was living some exotic, foreign lifestyle!!  Maybe it has to do with all that Scandinavian blood coursing through my veins according to Ancestry.com DNA.  Maybe it came from my mother -- nah, she didn't believe much in moderation as I think back.  I don't know but I do know that I have always lived "in moderation".

I can't be a minimalist for sure.  I just can't.  I like my "stuff" too much.  Now, I don't go out every chance I get and acquire new "stuff" and I don't particularly like shopping at all but I can't live with one plate, one towel and one pair of shoes.  My feet hurt too much for just one pair of shoes.

I also cannot live with excess.  Right now my kitchen cabinets are giving me grief because they are running over with unnecessary stuff.  I need to purge.  Most of the stuff I didn't buy but rather fell heir to.  Falling heir is not a good thing in a lot of cases.  Anyway, I dont' like having too much --too many plastic storage containers, too many towels, definitely too many magazines.  I can't handle too much.

So, it seems that for me, 2017 being the year of "lagom" is going to be a good fit! It gives me license to go in and dig out all those casserole dishes that I don't ever use.  It gives me the "ok" to throw out all the magazines! Yes, it gives me permission to be myself!

Yay 2017 and the year of "lagom"!!!

Update

 Ok, so we visited our cardiologist yesterday to get the lay of the land for the Hubs.  Seems there is an issue with one of the grafts from ...