Aire Serv of the Mid-Hudson Valley - November/December 2020

Aire Serv of the Mid-Hudson Valley - November/December 2020

aireserv.com/mid-hudson-valley | 845-256-6158

COMFORT CONNECTIONS

PRACTICING GRATITUDE

To Wrap Up a Strange, Difficult Year

s we approach the holiday season, I can’t help but reflect on this past year. What a year it has been! I think it’s safe to say that none of us knew this is how we would spend 2020 when this new decade began just 10 months ago. We’ve endured a pandemic, devastating wildfires and natural disasters, and a tense political climate. I think many of us are ready to leave 2020 in the past and move forward. Yet, through it all, I’ve found a few things for which I am grateful this year. While it can be difficult to look on the bright side, especially given this year’s onslaught, I’ve always tried to maintain a positive outlook. That lifelong disposition was certainly challenged this year, but there are a handful of things our entire team at Aire Serv of the Mid-Hudson Valley is grateful for. I was hopeful when, as the pandemic began, HVAC providers were deemed essential businesses. This allowed us to keep our doors open and keep dispatching our teams to homes and buildings in need of HVAC repair. Business was slower than usual, of course, because fewer people were comfortable with other people entering their homes. But the opportunities we did have by staying open were very meaningful for our team and our business. Along with continuing to operate as an essential business, we were able to secure special funding to ensure that our employees were paid consistently and had some job security, and that our business could weather the worst of this storm. Like many in the HVAC and break- fix service industries, we rely on a constant stream of work to pay our employees, bills, and other expenses that come with operating a company. Depending on how the pandemic restrictions played out, it could have meant the difference between keeping our lights on and having to close up shop.

Our team was also blessed to have made it this far into the pandemic while remaining healthy. This was one of our biggest priorities to ensure we could continue both to enter homes and to return to our families safely. We increased precautions and instituted new service options with the goal of protecting our clients and our technicians and their families from the virus. Finally, the surge of steady warm weather this summer was just the remedy we needed for our springtime pandemic slump. While I’m sure many of you dreaded the excessively sweaty, hot days, our team was grateful that the weather made our business more of a necessity for many of our clients and new customers. It reminded us how happy it makes us to do what we do best: help you and your loved ones live comfortably. As we prepare for the end of a strange, tough year, I’m happy to say that we are hiring. Our team is continuing to grow, and we’re excited to expand in the coming year. Frankly, I’m looking forward to a more relaxing 2021, not only for myself but also for our team, and hopefully doing away with some of the more extreme COVID-19 restrictions we’ve had to put in place. I’m ready for us to return to a new normal, but with a bit less stress consuming our year. I hope you find time to reflect on what you’re most grateful for this year. Thank you for your business in 2020. We couldn’t have survived this year without you. Have a very happy and safe holiday season!

Jim Serra

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TOP 5 HEALTHY LIFE HACKS TO HAVE AN AWESOME MORNING

Getting your day started with coffee isn't always enough. Sometimes, you need to give yourself an extra boost, especially when you have little energy or trouble focusing. For an awesome start to your day, here are five tips to get you going right off the bat. Wake up 5 minutes early. What’s the power of five minutes? It can be more than you think. Spend this time doing simple breathing exercises or a quick meditation so you can get focused for the rest of the day. If that’s not your style, you can prepare a quick to-do list for your day ahead. Either way, it’s always nice to have a little extra time for yourself without losing too much sleep. Start with green tea, then coffee. A cup of coffee at 7 a.m. can leave you burned out by 10 a.m. Try swapping it with green tea for a more gentle wake-up call. After that, you can brew your favorite coffee to keep you going strong. This practice also might help you consume less caffeine overall! Take a quick morning walk — and have your meetings on the go. Morning meetings can make us want to fall asleep again. Don’t spend all of them sitting down if you don’t have to! Not only will morning walks help you wake up, but they can also add some extra physical activity to your day.

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Write in your journal. Who says you have to journal at the end of the day when you’re tired and ready to sleep? You can journal in the morning about what happened yesterday and the things you’re looking forward to that day. Journaling can remind you of your daily goals and motivate you to stick to your commitments. Pack your lunch (or snacks!). Staying on track with your goals starts with having the energy to do them. Plan a healthy balance of fats, vegetables, carbohydrates, and proteins. This can be as simple as assembling dips, carrots, wraps, and salads each morning.

It’s time to try these tactics to jump-start your day!

CALL US!

DURING A HOLIDAY HVAC EMERGENCY,

That’s why our team remains available for all holiday emergencies. We know how important it is for you and your family to have a working heating and cooling system, especially during the holidays. We know that you cannot wait a few days until after the holidays for a repair or service. Often, your heating system needs to be fixed immediately. In fact, waiting too long for repairs could be detrimental to your unit. If there’s a leak or damaged area on your unit, waiting a long time for repairs could result in further damage from the elements or exposure. This often leads to costly and potentially dangerous situations for your family as you wait for said repairs. Don’t panic when your HVAC system causes a holiday emergency. Simply call our direct line at 845-256-6158. If you need us right away, we will work with you to get the next available technician out to your home as quickly as possible. We hope you don’t need our emergency services this holiday season, but if you do, we have you covered. Have a very happy and safe end to your year!

Picture this: It’s the perfect holiday evening. You have a gorgeous turkey roasting in the oven, your family is nestled on the couch watching a holiday movie, and you’re about to sneak a well- deserved holiday cookie. Then, you feel a chill. “Why is it so cold in here?” you wonder. Placing your hand by the vent, you feel nothing. There’s no rush of warm air — only dead silence. When you check the thermostat, nothing appears to be wrong, but the temperature in your home is dropping fast while the wind whips around outside your home. But who is open on a holiday and can come to fix your HVAC unit?

Aire Serv of the Mid-Hudson Valley can! Unfortunately, that scenario can happen to anyone. The holidays are the most inconvenient time for your HVAC unit to go kaput, but it can happen. And when it does, you don’t want to be left scrambling

for blankets and reaching the voicemail of your technician.

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ITCH NO MORE

CONQUER DRY SKIN THIS WINTER

The holidays are a time for warm cookies, togetherness, gift-giving, and the gift we wish wouldn’t keep on giving — dry skin. Every winter, our body’s largest organ turns into a flaky, itchy mess, leaving many of us reaching for the lotion multiple times each day. This winter, conquer your dry skin by understanding how it works and what you can do to combat it. (Hint: Your HVAC system can help!)

much you lotion up, there are a few other tricks you can try. Start by bundling up whenever you go outside. Wear gloves, a scarf, and a hat to protect your sensitive skin from the wind. Back home, shorten your showers or baths to just 10 minutes and use warm water. (Hot water strips your skin of the oils it uses to retain moisture.) And a diet that is rich in “good fats” will keep you and your skin hydrated as well.

Why is my skin dry?

How does my HVAC system help?

The science behind dry winter skin is simple. Because there is less moisture in the air, your skin loses hydration, leaving it cracked, itchy, flaky, and struggling to retain enough moisture to keep it well hydrated. Your skin may also suffer because of windy weather; the cool, dry wind saps your skin’s moisture, making it even more difficult for your skin to stay properly hydrated.

Skip the can-shaped cranberry sauce this year and bring a jar of homemade sauce to Thanksgiving instead. This easy recipe can be made ahead of the big event and keeps for 10 days in the fridge. Don’t let dry skin frustrate you this winter. Our team at Aire Serv of the Mid-Hudson Valley can help. Schedule your appointment today! ZESTY ORANGE CRANBERRY SAUCE Most homes’ HVAC systems can benefit from a humidifier that regulates the moisture content of the air, providing you with a home that is neither too dry nor too humid. But if your home feels dry — itchy skin, runny noses, and sore eyes are a few signs of this — your system may not be keeping up its end of the bargain. A technician can diagnose the issue or work with you to design a humidification system that will keep you (and your skin) comfortable all season long.

What can I do to relieve it?

Replenishing your skin’s moisture can be as easy as regularly applying lotion, but if you’re frustrated by skin that won’t stay hydrated no matter how

HAVE A LAUGH

Inspired by OnceUponAChef.com

INGREDIENTS

• 12 oz fresh cranberries • 2 tsp orange zest • Salt to taste

• 1/2 cup orange juice, freshly squeezed • 1/2 cup water • 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar

DIRECTIONS 1. In a medium saucepan, heat the orange juice, water, and sugar to a boil. Add the remaining ingredients, then bring the mixture back to boiling. 2. Reduce the heat to medium and boil gently for 10–12 minutes, until the cranberries burst. 3. Transfer the sauce to a bowl or jar, cover, and refrigerate until serving.

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845-256-6158

PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

392 Masten Rd. Pleasant Valley, NY 12569

What I’m Grateful for This Year INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1 2 Top 5 Healthy Life Hacks to Have an Awesome Morning HVAC Emergency Threatening Your Holidays? Call Us! 845-256-6158 | aireserv.com/mid-hudson-valley

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Combat Dry Skin This Winter

Zesty Orange Cranberry Sauce

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How a Thanksgiving Dinner Mix-Up Led to the TV Dinner

A MEAL FOR THE CHANGING AMERICAN HOME

HOW A THANKSGIVING DINNER MIX-UP LED TO THE TV DINNER

Would you believe that Thanksgiving dinner — a meal dedicated to home cooking, family time, and, well, being thankful — was directly

had a winning idea. He suggested they package up the remaining turkey with a few sides as frozen dinners that would be ready to eat after being thawed. The twist? They would be served in compartmentalized aluminum trays, much like airplane meals, which were the inspiration for Thomas’ idea. Additionally, they would be marketed as “TV dinners,” with their packaging designed to look like a television set.

responsible for the invention of the TV dinner, the ultimate manifestation of the solitary, processed meal? If you are a little suspicious of that fact, you’re not alone. But, the connection is real. Those little frozen meals on trays were the result of a Turkey Day mix-up of epic proportions. The year was 1953. That fall, the frozen food company C.A. Swanson & Sons drastically overestimated how many Americans would want a turkey as the centerpiece of their Thanksgiving spread, leaving them with about 260 tons of extra turkey packed into 10 refrigerated railroad cars. They needed a way to sell this surplus quickly

By 1954, roughly half of American households had TVs. Over the next 10 years, that figure jumped to 92%. As the TV rose in prominence in American living rooms, the TV dinner’s popularity increased exponentially. Swanson sold nearly 10 million of them during the first year of production. By 1959, Americans spent half a billion dollars gobbling up TV dinners.

because they had to keep running the train cars back and forth between the East Coast and the Midwest to generate the electricity needed to keep the turkey from spoiling.

Several other phenomena have been linked to the advent of the TV dinner, such as the erosion of the traditional family dinner and a preference for TV

entertainment over family conversation during mealtime. It’s hard to believe it all happened because of one Thanksgiving Day with too much turkey!

The company sent out a bulletin asking if any of their employees had a solution to the problem. Swanson salesman Gerry Thomas

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