84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 4, 2003
Family Living
Focus
by
Sandra
Parker Hall
Lebanon County
Extension
A Boxful Of Memories
Happy New Year!
I hope 2003 will be a very good
year for everyone. The recent hol
idays were very memorable.
For me this was only the sec
ond time in my lifetime that I did
not get to the homestead on
Christmas Day. The snow ar
rived early Christmas morning
and continued until we had a
foot of snow.
Needless to say, we were not
on the roads, as we have an hour
and forty-five minute drive to
where I grew up. Instead we had
a very quiet and nice Christmas
at our home and shoveled snow.
The snow was beautiful as it
blanketed the pine trees and our
bushes. It was very quiet and
peaceful. But then again we only
have to shovel a little not like
on the farm where you have lots
of snow to move and when the
wind blows it drifts.
When I was a child, there were
times when we were snowed in
for a days. According to the
weather person this was the first
major snow in 30 years on
Christmas Day so we can
count our selves very fortunate
especially when so many people
are traveling to see family and
friends. The next day we traveled
to the homestead and saw Dad
and many but not all my sisters,
brothers-in-laws, nieces, and
nephews.
As I mentioned earlier this was
the second time my family did
not see extended family on
Christmas Day. The first was
years ago when the boys were
small that year it was extreme
ly cold and the cars would not
start. We tried, but they just
wouldn’t start. The following
day, with the help of neighbors,
we were able to get them started
and traveled to see everyone.
That was a memorable occasion
as my husband, sisters, and I re
membered this piece on informa
tion.
Another way it was remem
bered is that I have a box of
memories. I have a
recipe box that con-
tain 365 cards one
for each day of the
year. My cards hap
pen to be color coded
pink for February,
green for March, pur
ple for April and so
forth. Each card has a
date on it but no year.
The box is kept in the
kitchen so when some-
thing memorable hap
pens, I or a family
member write a cou-
ple notes on the card
When
as a memory.
the card is filled for
the day, we add an-
other card. Be sure to
put the date on it in
case the box is spilled
and you have to put
the cards back in
order.
Every couple weeks
we review the cards
usually at mealtime
and we remember
some very special
things that happened
in our family. Of
course, not all are
happy times as we all
times. But the memories are a
part of us, and help us remember
the good and sad times.
Birthdays and weddings me
also recorded on our cards. This
is a good reminder for me to re
member family and friends’
birthdays and anniversaries.
The years do go by quickly and
we think we will always remem
ber special events, but somehow
as we get older the dates seem
to run together and we wonder
what year we did the special trip
to the cottage or shore or what
year was it that Jim and JoAnn
were married.
The boxful of memories is fun
and a wonderful way to remem
ber special family events. As the
new year is starting this is a good
time to start your own boxful of
memories. Have a wonderful
2003.
Lean Meats
Workshop
LEESPORT (Berks Co.)
Want to know how to
prepare meat with less fat
and more taste? Cook
meats in a variety of ways?
Mimimize the risk of food
borne illness from these
products? Flavor meats
using low-fat marinades
and rubs?
Attend the Lean and
Easy Meats Workshop at
the Berks County Ag Cen
ter, Lees port, Thursday,
March 6, from 1 p.m.-2
p.m.
Cost is $l. Advance reg
istration is required. Send
your name, address, phone
number, and $1 for each
registration to Berks Coop
erative Extension, Berks
County Ag Center, P.O.
Box 520, Leesport, PA
19533.
01, SUS< IUEHANNA
OJt. IUINTING
i
Couple Support For Diabetic Diet
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
Have you ever wondered how
couples adjust to one partner de
veloping diabetes? How do they
manage the diet that is required?
Lynne Brown, an associate
professor at Penn State, did. She
interviewed 20 couples in which
one was a recently diagnosed
type 2 diabetic. She found there
were three major ways that cou
ples react to the diet. Now she is
trying to develop a questionnaire
that will distinguish these react
ion patterns so diabetes educators
can more effectively help type 2
diabetics who are married or liv
ing together manage the diabetic
diet.
Dr. Brown needs married vol
unteers who are type 2 diabetics
to help her develop this question
naire. All the volunteer has to do
is complete five paper and pencil
Cooking For Crowds: Volunteer’s Guide
To Safe Food Handling Workshop
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
Is your group concerned about
safe food handling practices for
your banquets, fund-raisers, bake
sales, soup luncheons or church
suppers? Skills used at home are
not adequate when serving large
groups. Help ensure the safety of
your guests and customers by at
tending Cooking for Crowds: A
Volunteer’s Guide to Safe Food
Deductible Generosity
LEESPORT (Berks Co.) Do
nating items to those less fortu
nate is a win-win situation. In ad
dition to helping others, you may
be able to deduct your contribu
tions for tax purposes.
Before you donate an item, es
timate its fair market value the
price you would pay for it in its
current condition on the open
market.
Used clothing and household
items probably would be worth
less than you originally paid for
them.
Keep a list of everything you
donate, along with receipts from
the charities. When you file
your return, you must
itemize your deductions to
claim your contribution.
If you’re deducting non
cash donations of more
than $5OO, you will have to
f
/A
■l
fill out
8283.
You’ll need
appraisals if
you’re claiming
non-cash contri
butions of more
than $5,000
(other than pub
licly traded se
curities),
Source:
■ ■
a For Value-Added Sales or for Personal Use *
B Process meat easily and affordably with Chop- a
■ Rite Two Meat Processors. Make sausage for your
JJ own use or to sell. Save time and money and have a
a the freshest ground meat ever. 1
a fcSo Made in a
uSI Jy
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questionnaires at the cooperative
extension office nearest their
home. The questionnaires will
ask questions about your and
your spouse’s adjustment to the
diabetic diet. Dr. Brown needs
both those who feel the do not
have the support of their spouse
and those who do feel they have
the support of their spouse to vol
unteer. She also needs both those
having trouble with the diet and
those having success with the diet
to volunteer.
Volunteers can complete the
questionnaires during one visit to
the cooperative extension office
in Lancaster County between
now and Jan. 31. The visit would
take at most 1.5 to 2 hours of the
volunteer’s time and 'those who
complete all forms will receive a
cash gift. To qualify for the
study, volunteers must be:
Handling. Topics include: how
food becomes unsafe, purchasing
and storing supplies properly,
calibrating food thermometers,
cleaning and sanitizing, and up
to-date methods for handling and
preparing food to prevent food
borne illness. This workshop will
be conducted on Tuesday, Jan.
28 at the Farm
and Home Cen-
Form
Finan
cial
Literacy Center
Call 1-800-683-5858
531 Old Skippack Rd.
Harleysville, PA 19438
on the Web:
www.chop-rite.com
• A type 2 diabetic for one
year or longer
• 45 years of age or older
• Living with the same spouse
or partner at least one year since
diagnosed
• Using dietary methods to
control diabetes, even if taking
medication or insulin
• Willing to complete the
forms in the local cooperative ex
tension office.
If you are interested in volun
teering for the study or learning
more about it, call
1-800-406-0556 and leave a mes
sage indicating times you can be
reached. A study staff person will
return your call to answer your
questions and confirm your quali
fications for the study. Please
consider volunteering and help
ing other diabetics like you get
improved diet counseling.
ter in. Lancaster from 9 a.m.-
noon. Instructor is Nancy Wiker.
Cost is $lO (includes manual
and four food safety posters).
Preregistration is requested. Call
Penn State Cooperative Exten
sion at (717) 394-6851 for inform
ation.
Prices
art
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