hardin ounty 111 opportunity way elizabethtown, ky 42701 ...tim west, uk college of agriculture,...
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Cooperative Extension Service Hardin County 111 Opportunity Way Elizabethtown, KY 42701 Phone (270) 765-4121 Fax: (270) 769-0426 hardin.ca.uky.edu
March 2020
Join the Extension Office on Facebook at www.facebook.com/hardinext
The Cooperative Extension Service prohibits discrimination in its programs and employment on the basis of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability, or national origin. Any employee who believes they have been discriminated against may seek resolution through a variety of paths. Discrimination may be reported to the District Director or supervisor. To file a complaint of discrimination, contact Tim West, UK College of Agriculture, 859-257-3879; Dr. Sonja Feist-Price or Terry Allen, UK Office of Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity, 859-257-8927; or the USDA, Director Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W Whitten Bldg., 14th & Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 (866) 632-9992.
Hello Homemaker!
Let me just say, coming back from maternity leave….it’s amazing how in just the span of 10 weeks I forgot how absolutely insane a day in Extension can be! And then throw in trying to leave on time to get a baby picked up from the sitter (working after hours was my MO before baby) and I’ve spent every day since returning running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I meet myself coming and going, I compliment the spit up that’s running down my shirt, tell myself I’m really pulling off those tired eyes, and I keep running to the next thing. But even with the chaos, I’m still so happy to be back. I love the work that we do in Extension and I love getting to work with each of you. I can’t wait to see what some of your clubs do this spring!! I want to encourage you to do a few things:
1. Attend State meeting. It’s April 21-23 in Owensboro this year, and I think will be a great time. KEHA State Meeting is a great way to get new ideas, meet new people, and get energized to really put your club into action.
2. Help us plan the Area Annual Meeting! It may not be until October, but when you’re planning a large gathering, October isn’t actually that far away. It’s going to take a village, and we’d love to have you on board! Maybe you like decorating, or filling goody bags, or contacting someone to guest speak – whatever it is, we’d love to have your help!!
3. Organize one club project this next month, and put it into action.
4. TELL US about your project!! You all do so many amazing things that I want to brag on as an agent but I don’t’ know you’re doing them!! I hear about them later or from someone else, and I would LOVE to hear them from you!! I’d love to brag on you on our Facebook page, and in our newsletter. The only way we are ever going to build mem-bership is by letting others know who we are and what we do. Being “the best kept se-cret” is one of my least favorite phrases, and a label I work every day to get rid of. BRAG ON YOURSELVES! First because you deserve it and second because when others see what you do, they’ll want to do it too!
I’m looking forward to seeing what you do, and thanks, as always, for doing it.
Hardin County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences
March BIRTHDAYS
March 1—Connie McCreary March 11—Chris Letterman March 14—Patsy Allen March 14—Edna Mae Akers Mar 15—Kathy Piper Mar 16—Betty McFarlan
March 21—Laura Mae Cox March 22—Carol Goldsmith March 22—Denise Johnson March 27 -Adele Eggleston Mar 31—Fern Grey
Rylee is now FOUR months old! She’s found her toes and her voice and she’s starting to get teeth. She loves her Daddy, her rattle ball, and unfortunately, the bright colors of a TV. We love having her around!
Gardener’s Toolbox Series will be held at the Hardin County Extension
Office - 270.765.4121 Classes start at 6 p.m. unless
otherwise stated Composting 2 – March 4 - $5 – Learn
more about all the ways to compost just about everything!
Mosaic Pot Class – March 23 AND 24 - $35 – In this two-part class, you will decorate an 8-inch terracotta pot and saucer with mosaic tiles in the first class. Then, come back the next night and learn all about grouting. Class size is limited.
Making a Bee Hotel – April 7 - $10 – Come and make a place for the mason and orchard bees to live in your yard and pollinate the flowers.
365 Days in the Life of a Gardener – April 15 - $5 - We will walk and talk through the history of a garden, discuss annuals, perennials, and heirlooms. Bringing the garden into the modern age with online resources and tools.
Rock painting – April 21 - $5 - Have you found painted rocks in public places? Join the craze of painting rocks and “hiding” them. Come and paint some rocks to hide in your favorite places! All supplies will be provided.
For additional classes held at the
Hardin County Library and
Barr Memorial Library at Ft. Knox
check our website@
hardin.ca.uky.edu
Hello, Homemakers,
The State Convention is fast approaching. If you have not registered, you should do so soon. Our Lincoln Trail area will be responsible for “manning” certain areas at the meeting, and volunteers are needed. If you can give one or two hours of your time at the basket raffle, the silent auction, or the homemaker showcase tables, please let Diane McCamish, area president, know. Your help will be greatly appreciated. Although our area meeting, which Hardin Co. Homemakers will host, is several months away (Oct. 16th), it is not too early to begin planning. A steering committee will be called together to begin organizing our plans for this event. The other counties of our area look forward to coming to our city this year and enjoying a large crowd of attendees at this yearly meeting. At your clubs’ March meetings there will be additional information about who will be on the steering committee and a time and place to begin planning. As you can see, things are getting busy! Bettina Marple Hardin County Homemaker President
Beginning Quilting Class
New date is: Tuesday, April 14 9:30 to 4:30 Cost $20.00 Instructor: Patty Pruitt If you want to get started quilting or you want to improve your skills then this is the class to attend. We will discuss everything from needles/thread to putting on a border.
Supply list will be given at time of registration.
Registration deadline is April 7.
Rescheduled
Come and join our new
Stitchers for Hope
that meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month. We will meet
from 1:00—5:00 p.m. in the Sewing Room at the Hardin County
Extension office.
We will be bringing a variety of projects for Non-Profit, doing a
different project each month. If you have a charity and/or
project that really interests you, let us know.
Our February project will be making fleece hats for cancer
patients. Each cap requires 1/2 yard of fleece. Also needed are
sewing supplies. Pattern will be provided to those attending.
For questions please contact instructors and Master Clothing
Volunteers, Wanda Teegarden at 270-872-3629 or Gail Hinton
at 270-765-7545
Cross Stitchers A free group that meets on Saturdays (9:00-5:00) throughout the year to work on projects and learn new techniques from one another.
Love cross stitch and want to finish your project surrounded by others who love cross stitch too?
Then this group is for you!
Don’t know anything about cross stitch but want to learn?
Then this group is for you too!
Come when you can and leave when you need to.
Bring a project you’re working on or bring supplies to get started and
someone will help you!
For dates call 270-765-4121
Hardin County Cooperative Extension Service
DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME BEGINS
MARCH 8
Set your clocks 1 hour forward
The April Homemaker Lesson has been cancelled due to the agent from Marion County leaving her position. We will include the April lesson in the upcoming April newsletter. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
April
How Healthy Bladder
Habits Might Help
You Don’t be embarrassed: The unwanted urine leak happens
to many of us from time to time. In fact, it is estimated that
13 million people in the United States suffer from
regular urine leaks. Many more women have the issue than
men. Some women leak daily, while others may have the
issue once-in-a-while. You may fall somewhere in
between. Urinary incontinence (UI) can happen at any age,
but occurrences increase in young adulthood and steadily
rise in older adults. The prevalence of UI in women by age
group are 6.9% for 20-39 year olds, 17.2% for 40-59 year
olds, 23.2% for 60-79 year olds, and 31.7% in women 80
years or older. These statistics could actually be higher
because half of women do not seek medical help for their
condition. A combination of embarrassment and belief that
UI is a natural part of aging and childbirth, prevent women
from speaking with a healthcare professional. Women
should not ignore UI, as treatment can be
relatively simple and often effective.
More than 50% of wom-en will
experience urinary in-continence at some
point in their lifetime. If leaking is affecting your life, it is important to speak with
your healthcare provider. There are many effective
treatment options. One conservative treatment for UI is
physical therapy. Patients work with physical therapists to
address poor bladder habits that make UI worse and to
strengthen the pelvic floor. In this lesson, we will show you
some examples of exercises that strengthen the pelvic
floor and can help prevent leakage. You will also learn how
UI can impact your life, the parts of your body that play a
role in urination, types of common bladder issues and bad
habits, and when to seek help. Being knowledgeable about
UI and knowing that is a treatable condition will help you
gain the confidence to seek treatment options from your
healthcare provider.
How Urinary Leakage Can Im-pact Your Life If you are living with UI, you may have found that it has
changed your life in a number of ways. Women have
reported changes in different aspects of their lives
emotionally, socially, physically, and psychologically as a
result of incontinence. Studies show that those with UI
have a poorer quality of life than those without.
Bladder Anatomy 101 The goal of the urinary tract system is to allow urine to
ac-cumulate in the bladder and then void the urine
periodically at times that are convenient and socially
appropriate (Figure Below). The process seems simple.
So why do so many people struggle with urinary leaking?
The first part to answering this question is by
understanding the process. Two major players in a
properly functioning urinary tract system are the pelvic
floor and the brain! As children we learn to sense our
bladder filling as well as when and where to allow for
socially appropriate places to void the bladder. Just as a
child learns to use the muscles in the legs to walk, a child
also learns to use the muscles of the pelvic floor to hold in
urine. What is the pelvic floor and what does it do? The
pelvic floor is made up of a group of muscles that are
connected to the bottom of the pelvic bones. You can think
about these muscles like a hammock that covers the large
space that exists between the pelvic bones. The pelvic floor
has 3 vital jobs: The pelvic floor muscles work with internal
ligaments to
provide support for
the pelvic organs.
The pelvic organs
include the blad-
der, uterus, vagina,
small intestines,
and rectum.
Strengthening of
the pelvic floor
muscles can pre-
vent pelvic floor organs from pressing down through the
vaginal opening. The muscles of the pelvic floor along with
the abdominal muscles, back muscles, and diaphragm sta-
arms, legs, and head are attached. The pelvic floor muscles
control entry and exit from the body. As you have a desire
to urinate or defecate, your pelvic floor muscles relax to
allow you to do so. However, if you would like to prevent
exit of urine and feces, the muscles can be contracted
(tightened). Pelvic floor muscle strength can also prevent
leakage of feces and urine.
Good Bladder Habits Your bladder can hold more than you might realize.
Table 1 shows how much urine your bladder holds and
what it should normally feel like when that much liquid is
in your system. It is important that you train yourself not
to empty your bladder before it reaches a full capacity
(strong desire to void). If you are regularly emptying your
bladder prior to having a desire to void (peeing “just in
case”), your brain will notice your frequency of urination
and send inappropriate messages that you have to go
more often than you actually do. So good bladder habits
are those that allow your bladder to become properly full,
prior to emptying.
Here are a few general rules for good bladder habits:
Wait about 3-4 hours be-tween urinating
• Avoid urinating “just in case.”
Do not use the toilet just because there is one nearby.
Caffeinated beverages like coffee and soda can irritate
your bladder. When the bladder becomes irritated, it can
trigger or worsen the need to frequently urinate and/or
urgently. There is limited research data on food and
beverage irritants beyond caffeine for UI, but there are
clinical cases that show certain foods and drinks can
irritate the bladder. Everyone has a different response to
food and beverages so what affects one person may not
affect you. Keeping a diary of food and beverages is useful
to see if a particular food or drink affects your bladder.
Review the list of items in the supplemental handout on
foods and beverages. If you leak, identify the items that
are a regular part of your diet. Does your pattern of food
or drink intake look like it could be giving you problems?
This may give you clues about certain foods or drinks that
might make the leaks worse. Most often, the guilty items
are coffee, tea, and soda. For one week, remove from your
diet two or three items and keep track of your bladder
issue. Start with the most likely items first. At the same
time, keep a bladder diary. Was there a connection? If not,
try this with a few other items that are a part of your diet
the next week. Be observant to changes in your bladder
habits. If there is a change in your bladder habits, see if
there has been a change to your eating/drinking pattern as
well. For example, during the summer, you may drink more
ice tea or lemonade. Is that when you see an uptick in leak-
age? Share your findings with your healthcare provider
when seeking treatment for UI.
Strengthening Your Pelvic Floor Remember, the pelvic floor is made up of a group of mus-
cles. Thankfully, muscles can be strength-
ened. Keeping your pelvic floor muscles
strong is an important
factor in bladder health and is one type of
effective treatment for UI in women. Ask a
physical therapist about exercises that can
help strengthen your pelvic floor. As with
any new exercise program, if you have on-
going medical issues, health concerns, and/or it has been a
while since you have participated in exercise, it is best to
talk to your doctor before starting.
When to See Your Healthcare Provider There are times that general pelvic floor exercises may not
be appropriate for what you are experiencing. Here are
reasons to go see your healthcare provider:
Frequent night urination
Sudden onset of frequency and/or urgency
Inability to fully empty bladder