University of Illinois Extension – Stephenson County

Local Programs:

Pressure Canner Testing

Master Food Preserver, Barb Curry, will offer testing of pressure canner dial gauges at the University of Illinois Extension – Stephenson County office on June 6, 9-11 a.m. and on June 11, 1-3 p.m. For further information call 815-235-4125.

Master Gardener Help-Line

If you have horticulture questions, contact University of Illinois Extension – Stephenson County anytime. If a Master Gardener is not immediately available to answer your call, an answer to your question will be returned in a timely manner. The help-line can be reached by calling 815-235-4125. There is no charge for this service.

Freeport Farmers Market

Consider attending this event on Saturdays, 8-11 a.m., May 19 to October 6. The location is the Farm Bureau parking lot in Freeport, at the corner of Galena Avenue. and Spring Street. You'll find fruits, vegetables, herbs, eggs, maple syrup, honey, breads, cookies, candy, pies, crafts, and more!

22^nd Annual Stephenson County Ag Breakfast

This breakfast will be held Saturday, June 23 at the Stephenson County Fairgrounds, 6-10 a.m. Stephenson County agricultural products will be served. A donation of $4 per person includes breakfast and all entertainment. Children 5 and under are free.

Art 4 Tots

This summer series is designed for children ages 3-5 with an adult companion. The workshops begin with related storytelling followed by a hands-on art-making activity. Please call the Freeport Arts Center at 815-235-9755 for registration details for any of the following classes which are offered from 2-3 p.m. on the following dates:

June 13 – Sparkling Rainbow Fish

June 27 – 4^th of July Fireworks

July 11 – Dancing Chinese Dragons

July 26 – Yo Ho! Pirate Treasure!

August 8 – Family Totem Poles

August 22 – Summer Stained Glass

Art Camp

Kids ages 7-10 are invited for a fun-filled week of hands-on art activities at the Freeport Arts Center. The camp will be held July 16-20. Call 815-235-9755 for registration details.

Summer Saturday Open Studio

The Freeport Arts Center offers a teacher-guided open art studio for kids ages 7-14. Materials are provided for each week's project. Call 815-235-9755 for details.

Summer 2007

Dear Reader:

In the "good ole' summertime" schedules and challenges of working families can be quite different from those encountered during the more structured parts of the year.

In this issue of the Working Families newsletter you'll find ideas for dealing with many summertime issues: stain removal, visits to grandparents and helping your teen find the most beneficial activities to be involved in. You'll even find ways to conserve the earth's natural resources when buying food locally or to consider your consumption habits.

Have a great summer and don't hesitate to contact us with questions or ideas for future issues.

Sincerely,

University of Illinois Extension

Professionals

Table of Contents Buying Locally Grown Products............................ 1 Storage Chart for Fruits/Vegetables........................ 2 Visiting with Grandparents..................................... 3 Recipe: Vegetable Kabobs....................................... 3 Sharing Household Work........................................ 4 Are you being spammed?........................................ 5 Sustainable Living: Food for Thought..................... 5 Summer Programs Expand Teens' Skills................. 5 Who Has Time to Cook?........................................ 6 Spring Summer Food Stains.................................... 7 Quick Tip................................................................ 7

Buying Locally Grown Produce

When planning family meals and snacks, consider including nutritious fruits and vegetables on your shopping list. With modern farming, processing and delivery, grocery stores offer fresh produce soon after it is picked. But fruits and vegetables grown by local farmers often are fresher and tastier than those shipped further distances. Purchasing locally grown foods can also help your local economy.

More and more communities sponsor weekly farmers' markets to provide a central, in-town site for local producers to sell their products directly to consumers.

Check your local Extension office for information about local farmer's markets. In Illinois, the Department of Agriculture offers a listing of Farmer's Markets online at: www.agr.state.il.us/markets/farmers/. Please note the previously listed Freeport Farmers Market.

Another option is to take a weekend drive into the country to look for roadside produce stands. Usually, farm families sell their produce, picked just hours before you buy it. Also, "U-pick" farms are available in almost every county. They allow you to pick your own berries, peaches and apples.

Visit University of Illinois Extension's "Illinois Fresh" site for Farmer's Markets, Roadside Stands and U-Pick locations at: www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/fresh/. This site includes links to other states' locations and includes harvesting suggestions for numerous fruits and vegetables.

As a special feature at the Stephenson County Ag Breakfast, the Stephenson County Local Foods Task Force, led by University of Illinois Extension, will conduct a press conference to launch a county-wide local foods initiative to increase awareness of the economic, environmental, and taste benefits of "buying local." They will unveil a new graphic symbol to identify local foods.

When buying in season, you increase your chances for finding great tasting produce. The following guide from Clemson Extension Home and Garden Information Center lists the season that certain fruits and vegetables are at their peak:

Summer: apricots, blueberries, cherries, eggplant, fresh herbs, green beans, hot peppers, melon, okra, peaches, plums, sweet corn, sweet peppers, tomatoes and zucchini.

Fall: apples, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, collards, grapes, kale, pears, persimmons, pumpkins, winter squash and yams.

Winter: beets, cabbage, carrots, citrus fruits, onions, rutabagas, turnips and winter squash.

Spring: asparagus, blackberries, green onions, leeks, lettuces, new potatoes, peas, red radishes, rhubarb, spinach, strawberries and watercress.

Jananne Finck, Nutrition and Wellness Educator

Storage Times for Fruits and Vegetables

Visiting with Grandparents

Summer usually brings more free time, vacations and visits with relatives. Grandparents are often thought of as spoiling and indulging–bringing gifts to their grandchildren–as they could not do for their own children. But, grandparents, and sometimes other relatives, can play a very monumental role in the development of a child's life, influencing a child's lifelong values of family and relationships. They can offer more important gifts to a child–gifts that build character, stability and lifelong memories.

· Love and Acceptance: Grandparents often provide a child with unconditional love and acceptance, whether or not the child makes the honor roll or wins awards. They have learned in later life that our relationships are what are most important and influence a grandchild in the right direction.

· Self-Confidence: Most grandparents know that when they place that drawing on the refrigerator door or give praise for a job well done it makes a child gain confidence and feel important.

· Good Example: Many grandparents understand that children are watching the way they interact with people and the way they approach life. They know having a positive attitude and providing a good example will give the child a positive view of life.

· Experience and Wisdom: Grandparents often have practical skills and wisdom to share. By patiently sharing experiences, grandparents can model ways to deal with fears and resolve difficult situations.

· Understanding Change: Grandparents have seen many changes in their lifetime. By sharing memories of these experiences, children are better able to understand that change is a part of life. This can help a child learn to cope with changes.

· Happy Memories: Kind words, loving gestures and special times together can create memories for a child that will last a lifetime.

· Stability and Security: Families often have to move from one community to another or face other changes. In these times, grandparents can provide a sense of continuity and a secure source of warmth and understanding.

· Calmness and Peace: After years of maturing experiences, grandparents may be less ruffled by the ups and downs of daily living than younger generations. When a grandparent shares calmness and peace with a young child, it is a comforting experience.

· Time: The best thing grandparents can offer grandchildren is time. Grandparents are more likely to have the time to give than busy parents. They offer individual time with grandchildren to have fun, get to know each other better and be there to really listen.

Take time to recognize the gifts grandparents are to your children and make those important connections in your family this summer.

Adapted from: The Joys and Challenges of Grandparenting, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Kentucky.

Patti Faughn, Family Life Educator

Vegetable Kabobs

2 large green peppers cut into 1" squares

2 medium onions, quartered, separated into sections

4 small zucchini cut into 1" pieces

4 small yellow squash, cut into 1" pieces

12 cherry or grape tomatoes

12 fresh mushrooms

1 ½ cup lite Italian salad dressing

Skewers

Place vegetables in a non-metal dish, pour Italian salad dressing over all and mix. Marinate vegetables in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Drain vegetables and thread alternately on skewers. Grill kabobs for 15-20 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Additional salad dressing can be used to brush over kabobs while cooking.

Makes 8 servings.

Nutrient analysis per serving: 58 calories, 3 grams protein, 10 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 1 gram fat, 0 cholesterol, 31 milligrams calcium, 522 milligrams potassium, 350 milligrams sodium. Exchanges: 2 vegetables, trace of fat.

Sharing Household Work

The bathtub is dirty. There are dust balls the size of small dogs under the bed. The refrigerator is full of fuzzy, moldy leftovers from who-knows-when. When they are not at work, Rita and Dan constantly fight over the housework–who should do what and when?

For most people there is a "second shift" of work at home after the work day is over. Dual-earner families must decide how the work at home will get done since time is at a premium. "Household work" means different things to different people. Most agree that household work includes fixing meals, washing dishes, doing laundry, picking up, cleaning and doing food shopping. Others include jobs like minor repairs, errands and paying the bills. Whatever is included, there is a lot of work waiting when paid labor is done, and this burden is heaviest when both partners work outside the home.

Dissatisfaction with the division of household work is an important issue for many couples. Experts say that the repetitive, dreary nature of most household work is related to depression, especially for those who do it unwillingly or under the extreme time pressure that is often present in dual-earner families. One study found that the more hours people spent on the most dull, repetitive household jobs, the less satisfied they were with their marriages. Estimates differ, but most agree that, compared to men, women still do more of the least desirable work (for example, cooking and cleaning). In general, these women are unhappier with their share of the work and report lower marriage satisfaction. Many women dream of an ideal marriage where partners share housework equally, but not many report experiencing that ideal.

In spite of the often-heard complaint that many partners, especially men, are not doing their share, some women have a hard time permitting their partners to fully participate in the household work. "Gatekeeping" happens when women protect their housekeeping role even though they are often resentful of the burden. Here are some reasons that gatekeeping occurs.

"I have certain standards." Many women have been raised to see themselves as the manager of the household. They feel responsibility to maintain certain standards of cleanliness and tidiness, and this may lead them to micromanage, criticize or redo a partner's efforts. Careful examination of standards and serious efforts to adjust them to reality are necessary in most dual-earner families.

"Family roles should be different for men and women." It makes more sense to divide tasks by abilities, interests and needs than simply by "men's work" and "women's work." All of us have an image in our minds of how life used to be for families when mothers stayed at home and minded the hearth. Wiser division of tasks allows for balanced sharing and individual preference. Acknowledging this can help as we navigate our modern lives, where both partners must pitch in to run the household as well as to contribute income. In general, it seems that those who ignore household responsibilities have partners who are dissatisfied and angry. Likewise, those who do not allow their partners to pitch in are doing themselves and their relationships a disservice.

One of the challenges for busy dual-earner couples is to carve out enough time for getting the necessary household work done without losing sight of personal, couple and family time. This problem is a source of stress in many relationships. While one solution would be to hire someone to help clean the house, most couples cannot afford this. Here are some tips on managing the "second shift."

? Prioritize. What really needs to be done and when? Some jobs are clearly more important than others. What must get done each day? What can wait until the weekend? What can children do?

? Make a plan. A little planning can go a long way. Working out a plan of responsibility for household jobs can benefit both partners in terms of their personal well-being as well as the health of their relationship. Making a plan can also help clarify who is doing work that the other may not know about.

? Ban micromanaging. Make a rule that whoever does the task can do it their way without criticism. In the case of different standards, partners can work to reach a compromise that both can live with.

? Be flexible. Switch household jobs every now and then so that boredom is minimized. Also, letting someone fresh take responsibility for a household job might reveal some hidden talent or creativity.

Angela Wiley, Ph.D., Family Life Specialist

Are you being spammed?

If you use a computer, chances are you have been spammed. According to Wikipedia, spamming is the abuse of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages, which are generally undesired. There are many types of spam media; however, the most widely referred to type of spam is e-mail spam, often called junk e-mail.

So, why do you receive spam e-mail? Spam is sent to promote products and services and is a way to reach a large number of consumers. Spam can be deceptive. Examples include pyramid schemes, credit card scams, credit repair scams and money-making chain letters. Spammers can get your e-mail from a variety of sources such as purchased database lists, on-line web pages, chat rooms or blogs that you have published your e-mail through.

How can you avoid receiving spam? Here are a few ideas offered by the Federal Trade Commission:

· Read carefully before giving out your e-mail address online.

· Use a separate e-mail account when signing up for things you are unsure about.

· Check the privacy policy before submitting your e-mail address at a website.

· Use spam filtering software. This software is often available for free and will cut down on the amount of e-mails that you receive.

If you receive a spam e-mail, do not respond; but, rather, send a copy of unwanted or deceptive messages to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov. The FTC uses the unsolicited e-mails stored in this database to pursue law enforcement actions against people who send deceptive spam e-mail.

Spamming is such a "hot consumer topic" that the Federal Trade Commission will be holding a "Spam Summit: The Next Generation of Threats and Solutions," in Washington, DC on July 11 and 12, 2007. The summit will bring together experts from the business, government and technology sectors; consumer advocates; and academics to explore consumer protection issues surrounding spam, phishing and malware. The summit is open to the public and can be viewed via live Webcast. For more information on the summit, visit www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/04/spamsummit.shtm.

Jennifer Hunt, Consumer and Family Economics Educator

Sustainable Living: Food for Thought

What is sustainable living? One definition is "A life that is deeply satisfying, fulfilling and appealing–and at the same time, environmentally responsible."

This does not mean that everyone should go and live in a forest. It does mean making practical and responsible choices in consumption of resources.

The following websites contain articles that discuss topics related to sustainable living and intelligent consumption. A person reading these articles may agree or disagree with the content; but, at the very least, the articles provide some attention to these subjects. These articles and others can be found on the Sustainable Living Project website from Oregon State University www.cof.orst.edu/cof/extended/sustain/educational.php.

Intelligent Consumption: Addressing Consumer Responsibilities for Natural Resources – and Beyond

www.cof.orst.edu/cof/extended/sustain/JOEIntelligentConsumption.php

Sustainable Living Strategies for Breaking the Cycle of Work and Spend

www.cof.orst.edu/cof/extended/sustain/spendcycle.php

The New Politics of Consumption