January 2024 Edition

Family & Consumer Sciences
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Homemaker Newsletter - January 2024

Thought of the Month:  “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” - Lao Tzu 
Roll Call:  January rings in the new year. Share one goal you have for your new year’s “journey.” 

Homemaker Council Meeting will be on January 22nd
Happy Holidays from the Russell County Extension Office and the Russell County Extension Homemakers!  The first Homemaker meeting of the year will be on January 22nd at 5 p.m. at the Russell County Extension Office. At 4 p.m., Debbie Shepherd, the FCS Agent from Wayne County, will be teaching a lesson to connect busy hands with healthy minds (and get us ready for Valentine’s Day). Please call the office at 270-866-4477 to RSVP. 

Psst!  Hold the Date - Russell County ANR and FCS agents will be hosting an Estate Planning Series on March 18th and 21st at 6 PM. This is a FREE program and UK Specialists and an attorney will be present to answer your questions.  

2023 Homemaker Christmas Party
We had a terrific time on December 5th at the annual Homemaker Christmas party. We had a delightful turnout of over 30 Homemakers, and they brought the food and good times!

Update on Fundraisers & Community Service Events

March Madness is Coming Early!  Donation raffles of tickets will begin on Dec. 5th through March Madness for a chance to win a basketball signed by Coach Cal from the U.K. Wildcats!  Tickets 1 for $5 or 5 for $20!Proceeds will go to the Homemaker budget and the Scholarship Fund. 

Quilt Guild Selling Quilt for Scholarship Fund - The Piecemakers Quilt Guild is selling a quilt for the Scholarship Fund. They are asking $300 for this queen size quilt-size 88x99”. Contact Melonie Eubank at 270-507-6331 if you are interested in buying “The Carpenters Star”.

Rada Products Still for Sale - Homemakers are now selling Rada products! We have 5 catalogs, and there is an online option to sell as well. To share the link, search radafundraising.com, and then type in Russell County Extension Homemakers in the search box. Online link:  https://radafundraising.com/pages/select-your-fundraising-group

Community Service Projects
The Russell County Extension Homemakers are collecting donations for the Senior Center - Now through January 26th Homemakers are accepting donations for seniors in need at the Senior Center. Donations can include hygiene items and shelf-stable/non-perishable items.  Deodorant, Shampoo, Body Wash, Body Wipes, Long Handled Brushes, Tooth Paste, Tooth Brushes, Toilet Paper, Nail Clippers, Granola Bars, Rice, Crackers, Pasta, Tuna Fish, Canned Fruit, Vegetables, Meat

Have an idea for a community service project? Give us a call at 270-866-4477 to let us know what you are thinking about!  You are also welcome to mention your ideas on the Russell County Homemakers Facebook Page or on the Homemakers by Heart Facebook group. 

Cultural Arts Competition - Homemakers, it is time to prepare for the annual Homemaker Cultural Arts Competition! The county will accept your entries from February 12th-15th, and judging and viewing will occur on February 16th, with viewing Viewing will open on February 16th from 1 PM - 4 PM. Pick-up can occur on February 19th. Winners of the county will go to our area competition on March 6th in Cumberland County. 

County Entries: 2/12-2/15 (ends at noon); County Judging will occur on 2/15 in the afternoon; Viewing: 2/16;  Area: March 6th (3/6); State: May 9th (5/9)

Club Meeting Information

Homemakers on the Go - Hold the date of January 11th at 10 a.m. for the first Homemakers on the Go meeting of the year. They will be doing a craft and eating lunch in town. If you are interested in attending, please call the Extension Office to let us know if you plan on attending: 270-866-4477.

Homemakers by Heart - Our new Homemakers by Heart club will have their first meeting on January 15th at the Extension Office at 6 p.m. We will have a guest speaker come talk to Homemakers by Heart about sourdough starters and sourdough bread.  Please call 270-866-4477 by January 5th to RSVP for this meeting. 

Sunset Club - The Sunset Club typically meets on the 2nd Tuesday at 6 PM. The official date of the meeting is still waiting to be determined. Please call the office if you have any questions.  

Piecemakers Quilt Guild - The Quilt Guild will be meeting on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month at noon for fellowship and quilting. 

Crafty Bees - The Crafty Bees will be meeting on Tuesday, January 23rd at 5:30 p.m. at the Extension Office. They will be making DIY snow globes.  There is no registration fee for this meeting, just please bring a large mouth mason jar and lid for the craft. Call 270-866-4477 to RSVP. 

Self-Care
Source: Paul Norrod , DRPH RN , Extension Specialist for Rural Health and Safety
     The holiday season is often thought of as a time of celebration and rest, but for many people, the holidays cause a lot of stress. The stress can come from worrying about money, travel, work, child care, or dealing with the absence of someone you love. The results of holiday stress can negatively affect relationships at work and in our family. To deal with the stress of the holiday season, we should find ways to better care for ourselves by engaging in self-care.
     Self-care is a broad term involving attitudes, knowledge, and activities to improve or maintain our well-being. Self-care generally applies to reducing stress, but it is important to support our physical well-being as well as our relationships. On the other hand, well-being involves living out our mental and physical health to achieve our dreams, passions, goals, and keep or form new relationships. Focusing on self-care involves the use of coping skills, which are a set of activities or skills to reduce our stress. Coping skills and activities can vary, but often include drawing, painting, sowing, hunting or fishing, taking walks, or using boxed breathing.
     When thinking about stress and self-care, we should consider events or situations that create stress and those coping activities that reduce our stress. A simple way to evaluate your stress is to make a list and rank those things that cause stress from least to greatest. That way, you can find your most problematic stressors. Once you’ve made that list, do the same for your coping skills. Rank them from least to greatest in terms of what gives you the most relief from stress. Lastly, if your feelings of stress are not improving or are worsening, text or call 988 to speak with a crisis counselor and receive support.
Reference:  National Institute of Mental Health (2021). "Caring for Your Mental Health." 2022, from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/caring-for-your-mental-health.

Breakfast Hash

Servings:  6       Serving Size:  1 cup         

Katie Shoultz, Extension Specialist, University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service 

Ingredients:  

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 pound breakfast sausage
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large sweet potato, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper  
• 6 eggs

Directions:

1. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to one skillet and set aside.
2. In another skillet, add sausage and break into small pieces. Cook over medium heat. Once browned, add onion and bell pepper. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat.
3. In the skillet with olive oil, add chopped sweet potato, paprika and black pepper. Cook and stir until the potatoes begin to brown slightly. Cover and let potatoes continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes.
4. Scrape potatoes to one side of skillet and add half of the sausage mixture into the potatoes. Do the same with the potatoes and move half of the potatoes to the sausage skillet. Mix each skillet until ingredients are combined and then create 3 spaces in each skillet for the eggs.
5. Crack eggs into spaces, cover the skillets and cook over medium-low heat until eggs are cooked firm.

260 calories; 19g total fat; 5g saturated fat; 0g trans fat; 200mg cholesterol; 430mg sodium; 8g carbohydrate; 1g fiber; 3g sugar; 0g added sugar; 14g protein; 6% Daily Value of vitamin D; 4% Daily Value of calcium; 10% Daily Value of iron; 4% Daily Value of potassium.

Megan Gullett, CEA for Family & Consumer Sciences

For 2024 Cultural Arts Categories & Rules visit https://russell.ca.uky.edu/sites/russell.ca.uky.edu/files/2023-2024%20Cultural%20Arts%20Categories%20%26%20Rules.pdf