Christian County Homemakers Newsletter

Jan 2018

KEEP WARM THIS WINTER

As the mercury drops on the thermometer, remember to stay warm both indoors and outdoors for your health. This is particularly true for older adults as they tend to lose body heat faster than younger adults.

Not staying warm enough can lead to hypothermia. This condition occurs when your body temperature drops too low. For older adults, that number is around 95 de-

grees F. Hypothermia can lead to many other health problems includ-ing heart attack, kidney problems and liver dam-age. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half of all hypothermia-related deaths are in adults 65 years and older. You may not notice ear-

ly signs of hypothermia. They include cold hands and feet, a puffy or swollen face, pale skin, confusion, anger and sleepiness. Later signs of hypothermia include trouble walk-ing or clumsiness; stiff, jerky arm and leg movements; slow heartbeat; slow, shallow breaths and blacking out. Shivering can be an early sign of hypothermia but is not a guarantee. In fact, some people experiencing hypothermia do not shiver at all.

Being outside during cold weather or even inside a chilly house can cause hypo-thermia. Try to stay inside on chilly days, especially those that are also windy and damp. If you cannot stay in, remember to dress in loose fitting layers to keep yourself warm and wear a hat and scarf as you tend to lose a lot of body heat from your head and neck. Keep your thermostat set at 68 degrees F or higher to make sure you stay warm enough inside during the winter. Remember to also wear warm clothes while inside and use blankets for additional warmth. If you are worried about heating costs, close off doors and vents in unused rooms. Keep the basement door closed at all times, and put rolled up towels by doors to block drafts.

Medical conditions including thyroid disease, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, memory loss and arthritis can make it harder for you to stay warm. Some prescription and over-the-counter medications can also affect body heat. Talk to your doctor about ways to stay warm if you have these conditions and before you start or stop any medi-cation. If you think yourself or a loved one is experiencing hypothermia, seek immediate medi-cal attention. For more information on weather-related issues or healthy aging, visit your Christian County Extension office. Source: Amy Kostelic, UK extension specialist in family life education

Dear Extension Homemaker: Yikes! I just typed 2018! Where has time gone! It is very cold as I write this. Please be very careful as you venture out of your home. Dress warmly and pack emergency supplies in your car--flashlight, batteries, blan-ket, snacks, water, gloves, boots, first-aid kit, ice scraper/snowbrush, jump-

er cables, road flares.

I want to let you know how very ap-preciative I am of the Christmas gift you all gave me. I enjoy working with each of you, and I was touched that you all thought of me. Stay warm and stay involved!

GRANDPARENT AND ADULT GRANDCHILDREN RELATIONSHIPS MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL One of the many benefits of living longer is grandparents get to see their grandchildren become adults. While scientists have

conducted much research about the benefits and effects of positive relationships between grandparents and their young grand-children, until recently little research had been conducted about the relationships between grandparents and adult grandchildren. Recent studies show that posi-tive relationships between these two groups are mutually beneficial. A study conducted by Boston College researchers showed that close emotional bonds between grandparents and their adult grandchildren is associated with fewer symptoms of depression in both generations. Researchers also found that grandparents who helped out their grandchildren and received assistance from their grandchildren had the fewest symptoms of depression. Grandparents who received support but could not reciprocate, had the most depressive symptoms. Another study, led by a University of Texas researcher, looked at the frequency of grandparents offering support to their adult grandchildren. Researchers found that listening, emotional support and companionship were the most common

things grandparents gave to their adult grandchildren. The study also found that grandparents were a greater means of support to their grandchildren when the child’s parent was experiencing life problems or was unemployed. Grandparents listening, advice and companionship with their adult grandchildren ran hand-in-hand with parents providing these same types of support to the child.

As we age, it’s important not to forget the strong bonds that formed years ago as grandparents and young grandchildren. Everyone gets busy, but it’s important for us to take time to enjoy these relationships as much as possible. Whether over the phone or in person, continuing these relationships can be helpful to both generations in ways neither can imagine. For more information on raising strong families, contact the Christian County Cooperative Extension Service. Source: David Weisenhorn,

senior extension specialist, and Amy Kostelic, associate extension professor

PAYING FOR CONVENIENCE AT THE GROCERY STORE Our society loves convenience, especially when it comes

to food. Convenience items are already prepared and pack-aged, so that we have little work to do before consuming the product. Convenience items are everywhere, but most com-monly found at the grocery. They also tend to be more expen-sive than regularly packaged items.

You can purchase different types of convenience items including scratch, semi-convenience, convenient and ready-to-eat. A general rule of thumb is the more time a food takes you to prepare, the cheaper it is, with ready-to-eat options exhibit-ing the greatest costs.

For example, bagged lettuce can cost three to four times more than if you purchase a head of lettuce and shred it your-self. In the center aisles where you find boxed packaged foods, 100-calorie pack snacks generally cost 20 percent to 100 percent more than the same item in a regular sized pack-age. In this case, the additional packaging leads to more costs.

You can make smarter monetary choices at the grocery store by choosing wisely when it comes to convenience items. First, invest time instead of money. For example, purchase the whole head of lettuce and take the time to prepare it on your own. Purchase a regularly packaged snack and use the serv-ing size on the nutrition facts label to make your own small snack size. Use the unit price to compare similar items. The unit price is listed on the price tag directly below the item on the shelf. The unit price gives us an idea of how Source: Heather Norman-Burgdolf, UK extension specialist in food and nutrition

much the items costs divided by weight. Using this num-ber, we can compare foods that are the same but in different sized containers or compare brands. Your best value will gen-erally be the item with the lowest unit price.

Remember that purchasing convenience items at the grocery store is not always a bad thing. It is important that you recognize the best balance of time, quality and cost that fits your and your family’s lifestyle. Make sure that spending a bit more on convenience items truly adds value and not a per-ceived value caused by good marketing. For more information about financial stability and accessing

healthy foods, visit your Christian County Extension office.

Source: Heather Norman-Burgdolf, UK extension specialist in food and nutrition

CULTURAL ARTS CONTEST—MARCH 9, CHRISTIAN COUNTY

EXTENSION OFFICE

The Cultural Arts Contest will be held in our county office due to con-

struction in Princeton. Please make every effort to come and help

with the contest. The categories and rules are listed in this newslet-

ter. If you have any questions, let me know.

CULTURAL ARTS EXHIBIT RULES

Each article must be the work of an Extension Homemaker member

and must have been completed during the past 2 years.

Champion (purple ribbon) entries from previous years in each catego-

ry or subcategory are not eligible for entry in another KEHA cultural

arts contest.

Identification of item should be on tag provided by the Area Home-

makers and attached to exhibit.

The exhibitor and/or their representative is responsible for transport-

ing exhibits to and from the state meeting.

Each exhibitor must provide their own materials to properly display

their item. Tape and nails cannot be used on the walls.

Entries will be exhibited by category.

Entries will be judged by subcategory when indicated.

Exhibitor is responsible for category/subcategory determination. Ex-

treme care should be taken to place entries in the correct category.

Entries entered in the wrong category will be moved to the correct

category, if possible.

Entries entered in the wrong category, where there is no correct cate-

gory available or where there is already another entry, will be disquali-

fied.

Blue ribbons are awarded for high quality work, the number depend-

ing on the quality of the entries.

A championship purple ribbon is awarded to best of the blue ribbon

entries in each category. CULTURAL ARTS EXHIBIT CATEGORIES

Categories Subcategories 1.APPAREL ......................................................................................... Novelty

Basic Sewing Quilted Pieced

Appliquéd Accessory

2. ART, 3-DIMENSIONAL……………….............................……………Carving Sculpture

3. ART, NATURAL ..................................................................................Wood Other

4. BASKETRY ......................................................................................... Plain Dyed Material

Novelty Miniature (under 4 inch)

Cane 5. BEAD...............................................……………Non-jewelry Item/Wearable

...Knitting or Crochet with Beads Bead-weaving Miscellaneous

6. CERAMICS ........................................................................... Hand-formed Molded

Pre-made

7. COUNTED CROSS STITCH ......................................... 14 Count & Under

16 - 22 Count

Specialty Cloth (linens, etc.)

8. CROCHET.…........................................................................... Yarn Thread

9. DOLL/TOY MAKING.................................................. Porcelain/China Cloth

Handmade Toy other than Porcelain/China or Cloth

10. DRAWING ..................................................................................... Pastels

Pen & Ink Pen & Ink with Oil Roughing

Pencil or Charcoal-Black

Pencil-Color

11. EMBROIDERY .................................................. Basic Embroidery Crewel

Candle Wicking

Smocking

Ribbon

Machine Embroidery

Swedish

Tatting/Lace Making

Miscellaneous

12. FELTING*................................................................... Wet Method Needle

Method

13. HOLIDAY DECORATIONS….......................................................... Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

14. JEWELRY.......................................................................... Original Design

Beaded

Mixed Media (wire, chain maille, mixed with beads)

15. KNITTING ......................................................................................... Hand

16. NEEDLEPOINT ....................................................................Cloth Canvas

Plastic

17. PAINTING, ART ....................................................................... Oil Acrylic

Water Color

18. PAINTING, CHINA

19. PAINTING, DECORATIVE.............................................................. Wood

Other

20. PHOTOGRAPHY……………………..Black & White (mounted & framed)

Color (mounted & framed)

21. PILLOWS**

22. QUILTS***…………………… Machine Appliqué (machine quilted) Hand

Appliqué (hand quilted)

Hand Pieced (hand quilted)

Machine Pieced (hand quilted)

Machine Pieced (machine quilted)

Novelty (stenciled, embroidered, miniature, etc.) (hand quilted)

Novelty (stenciled, embroidered, miniature, etc.) (machine quilted)

Baby or Lap (hand quilted)

Technology Based (hand or machine quilted)

Miscellaneous (hand or machine quilted)

23. RECYCLED ART (Include a before and after picture) ................Clothing Household

Other 24. RUG MAKING 25. SCRAPBOOKING****..................................................... Heritage Layout

Family Layout Miscellaneous Layout

Collage Layout 26. WALL or DOOR HANGING............................................................ Fabric

Other 27. WEAVING........................................................................................ Loom

Hand (macramé, caning)

28. MISCELLANEOUS……………..… (Items not included in other categories

listed, otherwise they will be disqualified)

* All felted items should be entered in the Felting

category under one of the subcategories. Items that

have been knitted or crocheted and wet felted

should not be entered in Knitting or Crochet.

** The pillow category is for pillows made using

techniques not included in other categories. Patch-

work and quilted pillows are examples that may be

entered in this category; however, needlepoint and embroidered

pillows should be entered in their respective categories.

***Quilts must be completely done by the KEHA member exhibitor.

This includes quilting.

**** Scrapbooking entries are limited to 1 or

2 pages. If the entire scrapbook is sent,

please designate pages to be judged.

IMPORTANT DATES

TO REMEMBER!!

MLK, Jr. Day—Jan 15

(office closed)

Homemaker Advisory

Council Mtg—Jan 22

10:00 am

Jan 31—Feb Leader Training—1:00 pm—

Downsizing & Organizing Your Home

March 5—Mar Leader Training—5:00

pm—Gardening in Small Spaces

March 9—Cultural Arts Contest—

Christian Co Office

March 23—Spring Seminar— Christian

Co Office Be thinking about agencies and

groups that would benefit from a

Homemaker Mini-Grant. Applica-

tions will go out to Club presidents in

coming weeks. Remember, the

amount much be designated for

some specific purchase the group

wants or needs. The deadline will

be March 1.