Snlyay Tymoo
Warm Springs, Oregon
November 30, 1990 PAGE 7
Christmas gifts needn't be expensive this year
Ai the holiday icason approach
el, many people experience mixed
emotioni. The media picture happy
scenes of beautifully dressed fami
lies enjoying heartwarming home
comings and Pine meals together.
How does that image fit with our
own nagging doubts about the
"joys" of Thanksgiving or Christ
mas? The reality of holiday celebra
tions seldom matches, our hopes.
Children argue, parties disappoint,
family gatherings are tense, fruit
cakes fatten and the homemade
decorations droop. And in feeling
our disppointmcnt we blame our
selves and promise to do better
next year.
Perhaps we simply need to think
more carefully about what a holi
day like Christmas means. What
part of Chrismas pleases us the
most? Caroj Bly, a writer in Min
nesota, suggests that we see Christ
mas as a sum of many parts. If we
treat Christmas as a whole, a "sacred
cow," we will be unable to admit
that parts of Christmas are rubbish
and other parts okay, maybe even
wonderful.
If we weed out the unpleasant
parts of Christmas, we may redis
cover the real joy in the good parts.
This weeding process starts with
careful thought. Careful thought
can only happen during quiet time.
During the rainy-days ahead, curl
up wth a blanket, a pencil and
some quiet time. Think carefully
about the traditions and activities
that truly have importance to you
and your family.
One part of Christmas that many
Keep track of spending
November and December are think are realistic and fit within the
find unpleasant, frustrating and,
painfully expensive is gift giving,
in our consumer-oriented society
there is no end to the beautiful
things to give and receive. We con
fuse need with want and price with
quality. How many of us have too
many things and too little time and
money? Is it possible to find gifts
that convey our message of love
without cluttering our homes and
depicting our savings?
Consider gifts that are consu
mable and or very low cost. Christ
mas ornaments are storable, inex
pensive, usable year after year and
can be very personal for adults and
children. Other useful, economical
gifts are books and puzzles for
young children; crazy socks or fancy
shampoos for teenagers; stationary
and stamps for the elderly.
Food and or kitchen items are
practical and seldom wasted if
chosen with knowledge of the re
ceiver's taste and interests. Spe
cialty jams, extra-virgin olive oils,
nut butters, canned salmon, fla
vored salad vinegars, special cof
fees or teas, nuts and cheese are a
few examples of food gifts. Sam-
filcs of new, nutritious convenience
oods would please the too-busy-to-cook
working parent.
Even non-cooks could appreciate
new dish cloths or hot pads to
replace the old and tattered ones.
Acrylic cutting boards and refrig
erator thermometers are gifts en
couraging food safety. Put yourself
in the gift receiver's shoes. What
consumable gift would you find
appealing?
The secret to making changes in
holiday traditions that no longer
meet your needs is to involve all the
participants. Let parents and child
ren k now about your need to cha nge
some activities. Ask for their ideas.
If everyone is part of the process, .
there will be less resistance to the
change.
May your holidays be whet you
want them to be.
Information Provided By:
OSU Warm Springs Extension
1134 Palute Street
PO Box 430
Warm Springs, OR 97761
(503) 553-32383239
Stockman's seminar Dec. 1
The beef cattle production is
undergoing dramatic changes as
they meet the demands of the re
tailers and consumers. To meet
these challenges the cow calf pro
ducer is being asked to produce
cattle to certain industry stand
ards. Over the past two years the Cen
tral Oregon Stockman's Seminar
has focused on what type of calves
the industry was looking for and
months of special dinners with
family and friends, parties and ex
changing of gifts. These are good
times and often mean higher than
usual family expenses.
Unplanned or over-enthusiastic
holiday spending can create finan
cial troubles, expecially in January
when the bills arrive. Morrow offers
some ideas on how to control your
holiday spending, keep financial
stress to a minimum, and enjoy the
holiday season.
Estimate holiday expenses. Put
it all on paper estimated costs of
travel, special meals, parties, char
itable donations, greeting cards,
phone calls and gifts. As you esti
mate the cost of gifts, list the peo
ple for whom you usually buy gifts,
this year's gift ideas and the ap
proximate cost.
Estimate the amount of money
you can afford for holiday spend
ing. How much is available from
November and December incomes?
How much, if any, are you willing
to withdraw from savings? How
much, if any, can you afford to put
on credit cards and charge accounts?
Set limits for spending that you
money available. Discuss this as a
family. You need the cooperation
of the entire family. If your holiday
spending estimates are greater than
the income available, you can either
increase income or decrease ex
penses. Before deciding to cut
expenses, think about the parts of
your holiday celebration that are
most special. As the family dis
cusses this, you may find ways to
maintain and even expand the most
meaningful events and eliminate
those with less meaning or those
which have become a burden.
One way to hold costs down is to
shop early and take advantage of
sales. Planning and shopping early
helps you to avoid last minute
pressures that result in impulse
buying.
As you spend for the holiday,
keep track of the costs. Total holi
day expenses paid for with cash,
check, or credit card. Know what
you have spent and what bills will
be arriving. This will help control
your splurge urge. If you find some
expenses are higher than your orig
inal expenses, make adjustments in
your plan.
Raising good readers takes time
Nutrition workshop scheduled
Oregon State University nutri
tion specialist Margaret Lewis will
present "Feeding, with Love and
Good Sens'e"Thursday, December
6, 1990 at the Community Center
Social Hall. The two-hour work
shop will begin at 6:30 p.m.
There is no cost for this work
shop and babysitting will be pro
vided. The workshop ' will offer
practical tips and gift ideas for par
ents and caregivers, growth weight
variations and iron-rich foods.
Tn sien uo call 553-3238.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of
hucksters around who try to take
advantage of eager parents by sel
ling expensive and complicated
systems for teaching reading. At
best, most of these are a waste
ofmoney; at worst, they may actu
ally discourage a child because
they are so boring. Raising good
readers takes time, not money.
Here are some tips from educators
and parents:
1. Start reading to children at a
very early age basically, as soon
as they are able to sit in your lab. A '
six-month-old may not understand
the words to Dr. Seuss but he will,
in time, think of reading as a pleas
urable activity and associate it with
your love and warmth. He will also
learn the basics of books: that they
tell a story, that each page contains
a discrete piece of information,
that the funny symbols (otherwise
known as letters) have distinct
meanings. When reading to young
children, it's important to be flexi
ble, you may want to proceed from
beginning to end in an orderly
fashion, he may want to stay on
one page and study it intently.
Don't think of this as stubborn
ness. Consider it an early form of
art appreciationj'he'sprobably just
pondering the mysteries of the
illustration.
2. Take advantage of story hours at
children's bookshops or your local
library. Again, the point is to rein
' force the feeling that reading is fun,
not drudgery. Bookstore owners
and librarians are also valuable
resources for suggesting age-appropriate
books. Both stores and
libraries also often have reding
clubs that reward children for the
number of books they have com
pleted. Reading should be its own
reward, but sometimes a little outside
recognition helps.
3. While there's certainly nothing
wrong with buying lots of good
books for your kids, don't think
that unless you shell out big bucks
you will forever stunt their intellec
tual growth. Many fine children's
books are available in paperback
versions at reasonable prices. Look
for used-book sales and visit the
library often. You'll teach valuable
lessons about responsibility. She
has to keep the books in good con
dition and get them back in time
or pay a fine.
4. Establish quiet times and places
at home for reading. Agains, this
doesnt require spending a lot of
money. A comfortable chair and
good light is all that's necessary.
5. Teach by example. If you a
couch potato in front of the TV,
your child probably will be one,
too. On the other hand, if your kids
JOB OPENING
Extension Intern
W-H and Youth Agent
(Half-or full-time
depending on
funding)
Contact the Extension
office for information
Use space heaters carefully
As winter approaches, many
people are considering the use of
supplemental heating appliances
such as portable heaters in an effort
to avoid high heating bills. These
systems can help lower heating
costs but can be very dangerous if
installed or used improperly.
Supplemental home heating ap
pliances are estimatd to be asso
ciated with 105,800 residential fires,
killing an estimated 600 people, in
1987. In addition, thousands of
injuries from contact burns and
about 1 00 deaths from carbon mon
oxide poisoning occur every year.
The U.S. Consumer Product
Be prepared for childrens' futures
Parents with estate plans know
their children will be financially
protected in the unlikely event both
parents die.
Although most parents live to
see their children's 18th birthdays,
one or both parents could die in
accidents or from illness. That's
why it's important to plan how the
children will be provided and cared
for.
Estate Planning for Families with
Minor Children, FS 3 1 3, offers ideas
about planning for the children's
future in the event of a parent's
death. It is available without charge
from the Warm Springs Extension
Office.
Written by Alice Mills Morrow,
OSU Extension family economics
specialist, the new publication uses
a "case study" approach to the sub
ject. Morrow describes estate pan
ning issues for a first marriage, a
familly with a handicapped child
and a family where there are child
ren from prior marriages.
Each family is different, so each
has a different estate planning situa
tion. The most difficult part of the
estate planning process is making
complex family decisions relating
to lifestyle, values, goals and rela
tionships. Other questions to be answered
include how to provide income for
the children, how property will be
distributed and how financial re
sources will be managed. In addi
tion, parents should decide who to
nominate as guardian for the child
ren. Estate planning attorneys can
help parents understand the advan
tages and disadvantages of various
estate planning tools and techniques
and prepare necessary legal documents.
Safety Commission (CPSC) is anx
ious to alert consumers about the
potential dangers posed by sup
plemental heating units. To that
end, the Commission has a few tips
for using these units safely.
Here are some general safety
tips:
Keep children and pets away
from supplementary heating ap
pliances. Never use a space heater over
night in the room where you are
sleeping. It should never be left
unattended.
Maintain proper ventilation in
the room where the fuel-fired heater
is used.
Place heaters at least three feet
away from objects such as bedding,
furniture, draperies and other com
bustibles. Always follow the manufac
turer's instructions in installing,
operating and maintaining your
heating appliance.
Keep a properly functioning
smoke detector on each level of
your home and close to sleeping
areas.
see you happily curled up with a
good book, they'll get the' idea that
you not only preach reading, you
practice it as well.
6. Don't stop with books. There are
wonderful children's magazines
available on such specialized topics
as sports, nature, science and his
tory. A year's subscription is usu
ally quite reasonable and makes
a great present as well as giving
further encouragement to read.
7. Give them a reason to read, if
your child is a budding baseball
fan, look for sports books. If she
likes animals, try nature stories.
Youngsters have a .much greater
incentive when they are engaged in
the subject matter.
8. Remember that not all children
will take to reading in the same
way. One daughter may be the type
who reads the cissies under the
covers at night, with a flashlight;
the other may limit her recrea
tional reading to Sunday comics
and the kiddies version of junk
novels. It's virtually impossible to
enforce taste standards as children
get older. Just be glad they're read
ing something and make sure they
have plenty of opportunities to
move up to a higher level when and
if they are ready.
9. Finally, even after your children
are proficient and eager readers,
keep reading to them. Try books
that may be a little beyond their
reach at the moment-j-for example
traditional favorites like "Treasure
Island " or "Little Women. " After a
while reading together gets to be a
habit that no one wants to give up.
what type of heifers would produce
the calves to industry standards.
As the Stockman's Seminar con
tinues for its third year the focus
will be on selecting sires.
Stockman Seminar III will take
place at the Jefferson County Fair
grounds in Madras on Saturday,
December I.
The 1990 event is "Beef Produc
tion 90's Style" and will again fea
ture Dr. Bob Long from Tcx8
Technical University. This year Dr.
Long will describe how to select
bulls that will sire calves to meet
the trends in the 90's. A part of his
presentation will include using live
bulls to demonstrate his concepts.
Joining us this year will be Dr.
Larry Cundiff, U.S. Meat Animal
Research, from Clay Center,
Nebraska. Dr. Cundiff will present
selection of cattle breeds for the
Western arid grasslands and using
EPDs.
To introduce the seminar and tie
us into the concepts learned in the
previous two seminars will be Dr.
Bill Zollinger, Oregon State Uni
versity Extension Beef Specialist.
Even if a producer doesn't sell to
the large packers, producers will
likely be affected as industry stand
ards move certain directions.
On site registration is $25. Checks
should be made payable to Tri
County Cattlemen.
The seminar is sponsored by the
Cattlemen's Association and Ore
gon State University Extension
Offices in Crook, Deschutes and
Jefferson Counties and on the
Warm Springs Reservation.
TONIGHT!
November 29
from 7 to 8 p.m.
How to help a
grieving friend
Presented by OSU Family
Life Specialist Jan Hare
Community Center
Social Hall
Refreshmentsbabysitting
win oe provided
Winterize garden tools now
Don't neglect the thorough gar
dener's season-ending chore the
cleaning and storage of garden
tools.
Maintained equipment will last
longer. In the long run, properly
cared-for garden tools make gar
dening easier and more efficient.
Clean and shapren small hand
tools before storing. Remove rust
spots as well as dirt and apply a
light coat of oil to metal surfaces to
protect against rust.
Drain garden hoses, coil and
hang them from a curved surface.
Hanging hoses from a nail or hook
causes a sharp bend to form in the
hose that will weaken it and create
leaks.
Follow manufacturer's instruc
tions when cleaning power equipment.
Drain the fuel tanks of gasoline
engines and make sure all the gas is
removed from the carburetor and
fuel lines. This prevents buildup of
gum from gasoline evaporation in
the lines.
Change old engine oil. Remove
the engine's spark plug and squirt a
small amount of oil into the cyl
inder. Turn the engine over by
hand to make sure the cylinder
walls are lubricted before putting
the spark plug back in place.
Equipment parts that contact
the soil need a light coat of oil
before storing. Repaint bare metal
surfaces where original paint has
been damaged or worn away.
Storing tools in a lockable cabinet
or closet will keep them safely out
of the way.
Tasty recipes offered ?ecce new word for being resourceful
Oumnkln RroaH six- to eieht-auart saucepan. Peel J
Pumpkin Bread
Vi cups flour, sifted
3 cups sugar
; 1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
, 1 'i tsp. salt .
2 tsp. baking soda
4 eggs
; 1 cup vegetable oil
'23 up water
;'2 cups mashed, cooked pumpkin
Grease one regular-size loaf pan
or three mini-loaf pans. Set aside.
In large bolw, stir flour, sugar
cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and bak
ing soda together. In another bowl
combine eggs, oil, water and pump
kin. Stir into dry ingredients. Pour
into greased pan(s). Bake at 350 F
for one hour or until a toothpick
inserted in the middle comes out
clean.
. Yield: One regular-size loaf or
three mini-loaves.
Autumn Applesauce
(canning recipe)
6 lbs. Jonathan apples
2 cups water
'$ cup sugarfmore or less to taste)
I Tbsp. bottled lemon juice
Put lemon juice and water in a
six- to eight-quart saucepan. Peel
and core apples. Slice apples into
the saucepan with water and lemon
juice. Heat over medium-high heat
until apples are softened, stirring
constantly. Proceed to one of the
variations below, if desired. Return
mixture to saucepan and bring to a
boil over medium heat. Stir in
sugar.
Immediately fill hot pint jars
with applesauce, leaving '$-inch
headspace at the top. Carefully run
a nonmetallic utinsil down inside
of jars to remvoe trapped air bub
bles. Wipe jar tops and threads
clean. Pleace hot lids on jars and
screw bands on firmly. Process in
boiling water canner for 20 minutes.
You can omit sugar, or use an
artificial sweetener.
Variations:
1 . Over low heat, mash apples to
desired consistney for chunky apple
sauce. 2. Process apples in food proces
sor to desire consistency for smooth
applesauce.
Tips: For spiced applesauce, stir
in Vt teaspoon ground allspice OR
cinnamon after adding sugar.
Yield: 4 to 5 pints.
Recycling and conservation of
resources are hot topics today. Both
are popular with adults and possi
bly more so with children and the
teenage population.
"Recycle" today may be just a
more popular word for "frugal" in
Grandma's or Great-Grandma's day
when she recycled her flour sacks
into dressesshirts and dish towels.
Mom was being "thrifty" when she
reused the plastic margarine and
cottage cheese tubs for refrigerator
and freezer food containers. Today
it's call recycling.
State government
conference set
The 4-H "Know Your State
Government" Conference will be
held April 3-5, 1 99 1 in Salem. Dur
ing this conference youth learn first
hand about how the state govern
ment works.
Youth in grades 10 through 12
can become involved in this con
ference by contacting the Exten
sion office.
Some supermarket chains are
encouraging the reusing of paper
and plastic grocery bags by offer
ing several cents each to customers
who bring in and reuse their own
grocery bags more than once.
Fresh citrus, bought in bulk,
comes in a variety of bag types and
sizes. Clear plastic or poly bags
(with holes for ventilation) hold
two to five pounds of lemons or
oranges. Expandable net bags of
different sizes can stretch to hold
three to ten pounds of any variety
of citrus. Large mesh bags with
pull-string ties can hold up to ten
pounds of grapefruit or oranges.
Lots of bags with lots of potential
for reuse are being brought home
with the purchase of fresh citrus.
A survey of school-age children
produced quite a list of practical
and fun uses for all three types of
bags:
Plastic or Poly Bags (with holes for
ventilation):
Use to store socks or a sweater
' Use as a car trash bag or to
carry a damp bathing suit.
Use as a fish creel to hold
small fish and submerge in a river
or lake while fishing.
Expandable Net Bags:
Use to carry snacks or lunches.
Use to hold delicate items of
clothing in the wash cycle.
Use to air dry flowers and
herbs.
For travel-to hold road maps,
travel games, pairs of shoes.
Make a pot scrubber-remove
end; tie in several loose knots.
Extension offers
tuition vouchers
A new tuition voucher program
is available to youth volunteers
through the OSU Extension Ser
vice. Youth ages 16-19 years old
may earn a $25 voucher for every
eight hours of service helping peo
ple in one-to-one activities. Vouch
ers may be used in paying tuition
and fees at eligible colleges and
vocational schools in Oregon. For
more information contact the OSU
Extension Office at 553-3238.
Large Mesh Bags:
Use to carry library or school
books.
Use to carry swimwear to pool
or beach. (Sand can be shaken
from small beach equipment when
carried home in mesh bags.)
Use to carry a small travel
pillow.
Use as a Halloween trick-or-treat
bag.
Make a butterfly net using a
wire coat hanger.
Use to collect recyclable cans
and bottles.
Summer Week
needs counselors
Youth who have completed at
least one year of college with strong
leadership skills and who have an
interest in older youth are needed
as counselors for Summer Week.
Counselors will need to be availa
ble for Summer Week June 17-21,
1991. Contact the OSU ExU..:;or.
office for an application. Deadline
is January 6.