Check out our new U of I Extension website at: http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/crawford/

There is lots of information at your finger tips.

Thursday, October 6, we are teaming up with the Palestine Chamber of Commerce with a bus trip to the new Lincoln's Museum & Library and the Governor's Mansion in Springfield! The bus will leave from the Robinson Community Center's lower level parking lot at 7 a.m. and return around 10 p.m. The cost is $35.00 per person. Please call the Chamber office at 586-2222 by Sept. 29 with your credit card info or send a check payable to the Chamber office. It is on a first come paid basis. Lunch & dinner are not included in the fee.

Take action immediately. Report this to your local police and call all your credit card companies and get a new driver's license.

Talk with your bank about what to do and then call the Federal Trade Commission's Identity Theft Hotline at 877-438-4338.

Hey – it's time to collect items for the Heritage Home in Hutsonville. We will be delivering items on Thursday, September 15 at 1:30 p.m. Do you want to help us deliver the goodies? If so, come early, so we can all go to lunch at noon! Please come to the U of I Extension Office in the Commercium Building, on the 2nd floor.

They could use: belts, non-skid slippers, body lotion, soap, shampoo and conditioner, shaving cream, denture cream, toothpaste and brushes, umbrellas, rain gear, socks, tissues, wet-ones, phone cards, large print novels, stamps and stationary, puzzles, word puzzles, and magazines! Please no aerosol cans!

If you have any of these items around your house that you are NOT using, please consider giving them to the Heritage Home in Hutsonville.

This is such a worthy clause. Just think – in 50 years – it will be our young military men and women in homes like these! Let us show our support to these brave men & women who were called to duty out of their lives to fight for our freedom!

Don't forget – we are still collecting your empty medicine, aspirin and vitamin bottles to send to Haiti! Drop them off at the Extension Office or the Robinson, Oblong or Palestine Senior Centers.

This helps our country by keeping them out of our landfills and helps their country by supplying a need they have. We all win!

The SWAN Shelter (Stop Women's Abuse Now) in Olney, would like all of our old cell phones so they can recycle them into money! So if you have any old cell phones – please consider donating them to SWAN. They can be dropped off at our office.

When you're buying a pumpkin to eat, remember the biggest may not be the best. Smaller pumpkins usually have more tender and edible flesh. Look for one with a bright-orange color and an attached stem. If the stem is off, the inside may dry out and rot. Pumpkins keep for several months and retain their flavor if stored in a cool (50-55 F) dark, dry place. Separate one from another with good air circulation. Wipe off occasionally with a dry cloth. When baking with fresh pumpkin, select a smaller pumpkin, one that weighs about 2-½ pounds. Wash the pumpkin, and cut it in half crosswise. Scrape out the seeds, and reserve them for roasting, (see recipe below). Place the halves, cut side down, in a jellyroll pan. Bake at 325 F for 45 minutes or until fork tender; cool 10 minutes. Peel pumpkin, and puree in a food processor, or mash (yields about 2-¼ cups). Pumpkins are famous for being high in vitamin A. The vegetable also has iron, thiamin, riboflavin and vitamin C.

FAMILY

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,

"Oh excuse me please" was my reply.
He said, "Please excuse me too;
I wasn't watching for you."

We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said good-bye.
But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.

Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.

Why do we treat strangers BETTER than our family members? We have more understanding with strangers than the ones we love.

CHICKEN PASTA SALAD

1 c. uncooked pasta

1 (6-oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked (may be grilled)

¼ t. pepper

1 c. fresh broccoli florets

¼ c. chopped sweet red pepper

¼ c. chopped red onion

¼ c. ranch salad dressing

1 T. grated Parmesan cheese

1-½ t. lemon juice

Cook pasta according to package directions. Cut cooked chicken into 1-inch cubes. Drain pasta; combine with chicken, broccoli, onion, red pepper, salad dressing, cheese pepper, lemon juice; toss to coat. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate.

Serves 2.