ediTOrial

OuR vOicE Focus on wellness

The month of August was dedicated to National Wellness Month, but no matter what month or day it may be there is never a bad time to take your overall health and wellness into consideration.

Both mentally and physically our wellness is vital and these are things that like any other aspect of our lives need and deserve time to be focused on.

And increasingly in recent years we are coming to have a better understanding of the connection between these two aspects of ourselves and how they collectively play a role in how we feel.

In a world that moves ever faster and is connected 24/7 and where the line between work and personal life is blurry, we are realizing that the constant toll on our mental wellness can impact our physical wellness and manifest in physical ways with feelings of being tired or rundown or mentally drained.

But many agree that by taking some time to focus on wellness and do things that benefit our personal wellbeing we can break this cycle.

But as difficult as it can be to find the time, our awareness of how important this is continues to grow as we come to better understand the toll constant stress can take on our health.

While there are numerous opinions about ways to better care for our overall wellness, there seems to be consensus around several key things that we can do to improve our overall wellness.

Doing an online search can provide a great deal of information to consider and of course speaking with your healthcare provider is an important resource when you are making any decisions about your health and wellness.

Some common examples include things like exercise, even 30 minutes a day, is believed to have significant benefits to both physical and mental health.

Exercise, depending on what form it takes, can have a variety of benefits. It can help improve mood while also helping maintain a healthy weight or helping with weight loss, it can boost energy, help with pain management and improve cardiovascular health among other benefits.

Along with exercise stretching is also recommended, not only to help muscles before and after exercise but also for overall health benefits.

For people who may work in a situation where they are on their feet all day or people who work at desks, stretching can help with aches and pains as well as help with back pain and better posture.

Stretching can also help us relax and release some stress benefiting our mental health as well.

And as we better understand the connection between our physical and mental wellness we are learning how feeling better and relieving those aches and pains can help improve our mental feeling of wellbeing.

It is also recommended to take some time to get outside, especially exercise like going for a walk or hike and getting some fresh air have been found to improve memory and help lower blood pressure while also helping improve mood.

When exercising or in general focusing on breathing is also recommended as deep breathing has been found to help relive stress and when we are stressed it has been found we often take shallow breaths and may even hold our breath, tensing up over time. Deep breathing can help relive that.

And other factors such as getting enough sleep are vital to our physical and mental wellbeing.

Lack of sleep has been connected with weight gain, depression and anxiety and can even take a toll on our immune system.

And getting enough water is also highly recommended.

Hydration we know plays an important roll in our health. In the warmer months of summer being dehydrated can be dangerous but staying hydrated can help our body manage nutrients, lower blood pressure and improve our mood.

Other things like taking a break from social media and taking the time to connect with friends and family can also play an important part in how we feel and our overall health and well being.

The heat was oppressive, but we were determined to finally pick some black raspberries. I was my jam making time of the year and I wouldn’t be deterred. Outfitted with buckets, baskets and fans that hung around the neck, we headed to Navarino Orchards. One sticking point had me bit worried. The berries are a tad bit on the far away side from the parking lot and, since my walking ability is what you might categorize as minimal, getting from said parking lot to the picking area was a problem.

But, ever resourceful, I had a plan. Cane at the ready, I started the trek out to the berry patch ahead of the spouse, thinking that at his normal pace, he would catch up to me when I was about half way there. While it was a scorcher of a day, with humidity near 90 percent, the lack of rain had left the ground dry. As I teetered and wobbled along, my footfalls and cane sent clouds of dust into the air.

I heard it before I saw it. An interesting, rather beat-up vehicle looking like a cross between a truck and a jeep pulled up beside me. In the driver’s seat, an athletically-slim gal of what we might call a “certain age” offered me and my fast-approaching spouse a ride. I enthusiastically accepted. We scrambled into the seat and our driver, whose name was Jane, took us the rest of the way to the area of the patch “where few go to pick.”

According to Jane, “Most start in the front and never reach this back area. It’s full of berries.” Jane stayed with us as we began to pick, adding berries to the baskets of each of us while offering a few pointers on how to gather our harvest quickly.

“Pull back the leaves,” she said. “Everyone forgets to do that - look underneath.”

I complemented her on the way the berries had been cared for, obviously wired up, watered and weeded out, morphing into a reminiscence of the wild black caps that my grandmother and I picked … a thousand years ago. Jane responded with her own memories of the same where she grew up on a farm in Marcellus.

“I’m a Leach,” she said. “Married a man from South Onondaga.”

“I never finished high school; we got married young. People did that in those days. My life has been my family and this,” she said, as she waved her hand indicating the wide expanse of berries and apple trees.

Our volunteer chauffer and expert berry picker stayed with us as we filled our containers as we chatted about life and family.

She then asked, “How old are you?

I responded, “82.”

“Me too,” she said. “When’s your birthday?”

I told her June 7, and she replied, “Well, I’ll be! Mine is June 4.”

She sidled next to me and told me how lucky I was to have my husband with me in a voice meant for my spouse to hear.

“My husband died too young. He was so good at everything he did - he created this business; he was the best carpenter.” She stepped back and waved her hand at the farm … “all this and my house and the barn. When you are finished I’ll take you on a tour of the place.”

Off again on the ancient Gator, our guide took us past the various field where the different varieties of apples were grown, adding a lively narration about their uses and when they would be ripe. As we rounded one of the apple orchards, there, in the middle of the ripening apples, was Jane’s house.

“He built that for me,” she said with great pride. It was a lovely house.

The narration continued as we passed the fields where the fall vegetables were growing and learned which member of the family was responsible for them.

It was to the Barn at the Farm Café we headed next. Jane had told us about its origins as a hundredyear-old barn. We were interested after a hot and more than humid afternoon of berry picking. Inside we saw the result of expert craftmanship in the addition, faithful to age of the hundred-year-old barn to which is was attached. . The cocktails were great too.

Jane’s daughter, Brenda, joined us and expanded on the birth of this café. “A relative wanted to get married here and so we did built this venue. There is even a bridal suite upstairs.”

As we were leaving, I thanked Jane for her hospitality and asked her how she maintained her health and energy.

“What do you eat?” I asked. “Dry Cheerios, water and coffee … that’s it.” Her daughter and the bartender verified her claim.

As we headed home, I said to no one in particular, “I think Jane’s diet a try.”

After my spouse stopped laughing, I continued… “after I make and eat a black raspberry pie.”

jANE’SPLACE

Ramblings from the empty nest

ann Ferro

Ann Ferro is a mother, a grandmother and a retired social studies teacher. While still figuring out what she wants to be when she grows up, she lives in Marcellus with lots of books, a spouse and a large orange cat.

Blue Moon Apothecary to shine at busy intersection

Decades ago, Foley’s Rexall operated a drug store and soda fountain at 612 Oswego St., at the busy corner of Tulip Street.

More recently the location has been home to an upscale tattoo parlor and a multifaceted salon, and now it’s restyling itself as a health-related shop selling herbs, infused water, loose teas and gluten-free baked goods and unusual gift items.

For most of this month, Blue Moon proprietor Kelly Tompkins has been working overtime furnishing and decorating the interior as she prepares to open this week, on Thursday, Sept. 1. An experienced herbalist, Kelly said her business mission is to “spread kindness to all who enter the sanctuary of the Blue Moon Apothecary and Wellness Center to help others find their way through non-invasive alternative healing methods.”

Deborah’s Sweet Treats

Besides the grub that’s good for ya including items from Deborah’s Sweet Treats bakery, the shop will sell unusual gift items such as hand-crafted Decaf Candles, wind chimes, jewelry, organic gift plants and artwork by local comic book illustrator Matt Flint.

“Matt’s work is phenomenal,” Kelly said. “He specializes in superheroes and also does a lot of digital artwork.”

You can see an example of Flint’s artistry on the front window at 612 Oswego St. now adorned with the logo which he created for Blue Moon Apothecary.

Kelly will employ a variety of holistic practitioners at the shop including massage therapists, Reiki practitioners, psychic mediums, life/wellness coaches and nutritionists. Livin’ in Liverpool

russ Tarby

Apothecary hours

The apothecary will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, Thursday and Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Hours are by appointment only on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“I want to help others find their way through non-invasive alternative healing,” Kelly said. “I want to inspire freedom from self-doubt and social constraints.”

For more info, visit facebook. com/BlueMoonApothecaryandWellnessCtr or call Kelly Tompkins at 315-254-2557.

Herm Card clarification

In last week’s column we reviewed a new book by former umpire Herm Card, “Looking Back…a life with baseball.” A longtime educator, Herm now shoots photographs for the Syracuse Mets.

Unfortunately, we listed one of Herm’s ancient, discarded email addresses. Here’s Herm’s current addy: herm4444@gmail.com. By the way, “Looking back” is available for sale at amazon.com.

Hometown gal making good

Christine Gregory, a CiceroNorth Syracuse High School alumna is now gracing television screen across Central NY. Having graduated from SUNY Oswego in 2020, Christine now works as weekend meteorologist at WROCTV in Rochester, where she also files environmentally centered stories during the week.

This month, she also began keeping track of the temperatures here in her old stomping grounds, reporting for WSYR-TV Channel 9.

“I’ve enjoyed doing some of the noon news shows and spending time with the lovely Kate Thornton, who was one of my old mentors when I interned at WSYR in college,” Gregory wrote on her Facebook page. “I wish Kate the best of luck with baby Number 3.” On Aug. 16 Thornton gave birth to her third daughter, Hannah Joan Columbia.

Broadcaster passes

Bob Papaleoni’s career in television spanned from WSYR-TV Channel 9 to New Channels and Time Warner Cable, to his retirement from WCNY-TV in 2016.

A lifelong musician, Papaleoni was a past member of the Brigadiers Drum Corps. His musical experience included drumming for local bands such as The Free Design, Sail and Prism.

Bob died at age 74, the same day that Kate Thornton gave birth to Hannah, on Aug. 16.

last word

“We’ll be focusing on self-care by providing all natural organic personal care products so customers can take control of their future.” –Blue Moon Apothecary proprietor Kelly Tompkins.

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