Happy December! We have made it to the 12th month of the year. I hope you all are doing well and are fairing the

cooler weather. December brings many things to celebrate; Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa are just a few. This is

the time of year to invite family and friends to spend more quality time together, to reflect on all of things we are thankful for, and to plan for the new year! If you have any interesting ways of doing these things and would like to

share, please let us know!

November was a busy time for us here at the Extension Office, as I am sure it is the same with each and every one of

you. The Annual Fall Bazaar was well attended and we had several vendors! Thanks for your continued support in this

endeavor. Sherry Butcher did an amazing job as the coordinator. We have continued our Sewing Days, Keys to Em-

bracing Aging, Keys to Great Parenting, and Small Steps to Health and Wealth programs. Holiday Treats was such

a fun program! We had over 40 people attend that two session program and learned how to prepare unique snacks for the holiday season. Please join us this month for any of these programs that are continuing. FCS Extension also started a

new program with the participation of Estill County’s FCS Agent, Thays Flores , Cooking Around the World. We had a

great time learning about Panama and tasting delicious foods. If you missed the first session, the next one will be on December 14 at 10 am and 5:30 pm.

Please join us for our annual Craft Day Camp on December 20! We are going to have lots of fun as always. Call the Exten-sion Office to sign up! It is free. If you know of any other people who may enjoy this day, please encourage them to at-

tend.

Jr. Homemakers Family and Consumer

Sciences Extension News !

A Message From Your Pres ident !

Hello ladies and gentlemen. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are doing well. I want to say that our

Bath County Fall Bazaar turned out good. There were plenty of vendors of different products and plenty of good food

for sale. I am sure a lot of Christmas gifts were bought.

Our Extension Homemakers membership has grown some, and we appreciate everyone for helping in trying to sign up more members. We had four people who attended the Licking River Board meeting, and we discussed projects that

each county was doing and the ones that are in the planning stages of new projects. I want to take a moment to Thank

all our Homemakers for all there help with all our projects. We do a lot and when I started writing all of them down, wow. Great job ladies! I believe the Farmers Market did pretty good this year and are still open until December 22. So

take advantage of all their gift ideas and food.

Well, we are starting the Christmas Season, and I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New

Year. This year we will be doing more projects and programs from the Extension Office and I look forward to seeing what is in store. Please feel free to give me a call if I can help with anything or if you have some ideas for projects or

programs. 859-585-0082 Lois Ginn

Special points of in-terest:

Dues are due ASAP!

The Extension Office will

be closed from Decem-

ber 23– January 1!

Happy New Year!

Bath County

Cooperative Extension

Inside this issue:

KEHA News 2-3

DIY/KP Recipe 4

Africa’s Great Green

Wall/ Hanukkah

5

Youth Health Bulletin 6-7

Craft Day Camp 8

Activity Sheets 9-

10

The Yule Log– Christ-

mas Tradition

11

Nicole Gwishiri Bath CEA for Family and Consumer Sciences

Page 2 Building Strong Families for Bath County

KEHA News !

Happy birthday to all of

you who have birthdays in the month of December!

Jenny Adkins

Diana Chambers

Cathy Cope

Betty Harmon

Mary Sue Helphinestine

Mary Ann Lewis

Margaret Manley (November)

Michelle Ray

Lisa Rogers (November)

Eileen Stewart

Etta Mae Stewart

Glenna Whitaker Please send in your birthday so that you may be recog-

nized!

Ever want to travel the world just to taste the wonder-

ful food? Want to do something different? Join us for

our new program! The SECOND country we will be ex-ploring will be Zimbabwe! We will explore their culture,

habits, prepare the food they eat.

When: December 14

Where: Bath County Ag Center

Time: 10 & 5:30 pm

Call the office to reserve your spot!

The ninth session of Keys To Embracing Aging

is on knowing stress management and reliev-

ers. These sessions are open to all ages, have

been so much fun, and we learn a lot.

When: December 7

Where: Bath County Li-

brary

Time: 10 am

Bring a friend or share with someone think

may be interested!

Join us for this new pro-gram for children! This program focuses on the child, birth to kin-dergarten, and teaches them skills to prepare for kindergarten. We will read a story, eat a snack, complete a craft or activity, and play with other children! When: December 8 Where: Bath County Library Time: 10 am

Join us this month as we celebrate the ending of a semester of

programs! Parents and kids will be able to play with each other

(inflatables, party games) as we head into the holiday season. If

you know of any parents who would like to participate in this free

program, please encourage them to come!

When: December 12

Where: Owingsville Elementary School

Time: 5:30 pm (dinner) - Program starts at 6

There will be childcare services available! Parents attending ses-

sions will get a chance to win gas cards, iPads, and more! Free

program!

This new program addresses the issue of how we interact with health and wealth Participants will learn 25 behavior change strategies that can be applied to improve both their health and person-al finances. We will create something for the holiday sea-son. When: December 18 Where: Bath County Ag Center Time: 5:30 pm

Have you heard of the fa-mous “The Glitz” Antique Shop and Restaurant? Have you wanted to go but haven’t been able to? Well here is your chance! We will be tak-ing the van on two separate days, December 6 and 12, to view this sight that must be seen! When: December 6 & 12 Where: The Glitz (meet at Ag Center) Time: 9:30 am (reservation is for 11 am) Cost: $29.50 for meal Call the Office if you want to sign up by December 4! Spots are limited!

Page 3

DECEMBER 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 Farmers Market (8a)

2 Farm-ers (8)

3 4 5 6 Glitz Field Trip (9:30a) Ex. Off. Scrapbook Club (10a) Ex. Off. Sharpsburg Country (11:30a) Terry & Kathy’s

7 Keys To Em-bracing Aging (10a) Bath Co.. Library

8 Farmers Market (8a) Ex. Off. Pastime Play-dates (10a) Bath Co. Li-brary

9Farmers Mar-ket (8a) Ex. Off.

10 11 Sewing Day (9a) Ex. Off. District Board Meeting (6p) Ex. Off.

12 Glitz Field Trip (9:30a) Ex. Off. Keys to Great Parenting (5:30p) Owings-ville Elementary

13 Harpers & White Oak (10:30a) Ex. Off. Bethel Nite Blue Licks

14 Cooking Around the World (10a & 5:30p) Ex. Off. Salt Lick (12p) Ex. Off. Slate Valley (5:30p) Indian Creek Restau-rant Country @ Heart (6:30p) Ramsey Build-ing

15Farmers Market (8a) Ex. Off.

16Farmers Market (8a) Ex. Off.

17 18 Small Steps to Health & Wealth (5:30p) Ex. Off. Hill-N-Dale (6p) Ex. Off.

19 20 Day Camp (9a) Ex. Off.

21 Jr. Home-makers (5p) Ex. Off.

22Farmers Market (8a) Ex. Off.

23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

31 For the winter months, if school is cancelled ALL FCS/Homemaker programs held at the Extension Office will be cancelled! Call the office if you aren’t sure.

Supplies

Glass jars

Artificial snow Hot glue gun and glue

Assorted mini Christmas trees and snowmen Spray adhesive (optional)

Glitter (optional)

Krylon Glitter Blast (or white spray paint)

Directions 1. Remove lids and spray paint with glit-

ter or white paint. (you can also spray

the trees and snowmen with adhesive spray and then shake glitter on)

2. Hot glue your trees and snowmen to the lids. (also, glue the canning lids

together.

3. Fill jars with a little snow. 4. Screw lids on. Shake.

Page 4 Building Strong Families for Bath County

Try It Out ! Kentucky Proud Recipe!

DIY: Check It Out ! Waterless Snow Globes

Years of low rainfall and poor agricultural practices, such as livestock

overgrazing, have transformed the Sahel region of Africa into a semi-

arid desert. The lack of fertile soil along the almost 8,000-kilometer

stretch extending east-west across the breadth of the continent from

Senegal on the Atlantic coast to Eritrea on the Red Sea coast, is making it

increasingly hard for the residents, who depend on farming to survive.

In 2007, to try to combat the increasing desertification of the area south

of the Sahara, leaders from 11 African countries came up with the radical

idea of planting a “Great Green Wall” of trees on the edge of the desert.

Though the idea sounded good on paper, it was not easy to implement

given the dry and rocky landscape. Also, many areas of the proposed

“wall” had no residents, which meant there was no one to look after the

saplings.

But the inhabitants of what are some of the poorest places on the planet were not easily deterred. They made the “impossible” possible by finding cheap and efficient

ways to restore their land using simple water harvesting methods and planting drought-resistant acacia trees and other hardy native species. In addition to acting

as windbreaks and reducing soil erosion, the tree roots help retain moisture, filling the dried out wells with fresh drinking water. The tree canopy’s shade help retain

humidity, reducing the water needed for the crops, while the decomposed fallen leaves enrich the soil.

Though the “Great Green Wall” is now more a metaphor than an actual tree wall, the impact of the hodgepodge of projects it inspired has been significant. Since

2007, Ethiopia has restored 37 million acres of degraded land while Nigeria has reclaimed 12 million acres. In Senegal, 11 million trees have created 931 miles of fire-

walls and helped restore 61,000 acres of land. The residents are also seeing animals like antelopes and hares, as well as birds, that had disappeared for over 50

years, slowly starting to return.

The ecological benefits have corresponding economic perks. Where money and produce were scarce, and conflicts over dwindling resources were becoming more

frequent, jobs and food security are now a possibility. Many women have been employed working in gardens that can now grow in the improved soil conditions, and

kids can attend school instead of spending the day searching for water.

Though significant progress has been made, the “Great Green Wall” is still just about 15 percent underway. Estimated to cost about $8 billion, the project, funded by

the World Bank, United Nations, African Union, and the UK Botanical Gardens, is not expected to be completed until 2030. However, the effort and hefty price are well

worth it. With the trees come food, jobs and a future for residents, who currently face very bleak futures. Many also hope that when complete, this new “Wonder of

the World” will slow the alarmingly high numbers of Africans trying to migrate to Europe, aboard unsafe rafts, in search of a better life.

Page 5 Africa’s “Great Green Wall” Aims to Restore Land and Hope

Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights is an eight-day Jewish festival, whose date is based on the Hebrew calendar and there-

fore, varies annually. This year, the 25th day of the month of Kislev, which is when the holiday begins, happens to fall on December 12.

Like most religious festivals, it is a joyful eight-day period during which families come together to seek out blessings, eat delicious

meals and play games. For some lucky kids it even means receiving a gift every night!

The story behind this all-important Jewish holiday dates back 2,200 years, when a Greek king tried to impose his culture on the peo-

ple in his territory, despite the fact that most of them practiced the Jewish religion. The people rebelled and fought for three years

before reclaiming the temple on Jerusalem's Mount Moriah. Inside the temple, they discovered a small amount of oil, which they estimated would keep the temple light

burning for one day. To their surprise, the oil lasted for eight days, which is why, the holiday is celebrated for that length of time.

Thanks to the legend, the most important ritual of the holiday is the lighting of the Menorah, a holder that fits nine candles. Eight candles are lit one at time to mark each

day of the festival. The ninth, known as the Shamash (servant), is used to light the others. Over the years, Menorahs have become increasingly elaborate and unique.

This year, a French chocolate maker has come up with a yummy concoction, where instead of adding a candle a day, one simply plucks it off the Menorah and chows it

down. To keep some semblance of tradition, he did add some almond oil to the Shamash, so that it can actually be lit!

While families entertain themselves in many ways, the most traditional and popular game played is using a four-sided spinning top known as the Dreidel. The multiple

player game, entails each player beginning with an equal number of game pieces, which could be anything from candy to money. Depending on their spinning prowess

they can either lose a few or all their pieces to a mutual pot, or, get everything that's accumulated inside and declare themselves the winner.

As for the favorite food? While people in the USA prefer Latkes, in Israel, the birthplace of the festival, the favorite food for this traditional event is Sufganiyot, a jelly

donut cooked in oil. All in all, it is a fun-filled eight days, just like festivals should be. Happy Hanukkah to all of you!

The E ight-Day Fest iva l of Hanukah

Page 6 Building Strong Families for Bath County

Page 7

Page 8 Building Strong Families for Bath County

Page 9

Page 10 Building Strong Families for Bath County

I hope this holiday season brings joy, warmth, and happiness to

your lives. I am so thankful for the time I get to spend with you all,

either in person or in spirit, and I hope that your days are peaceful.

If there is anything you need or want us to do, please let your county president, Lois, or I know. We are here to help!

I look forward to seeing you throughout this month and into the

new year. Best wishes, safe days and nights, and share a little love

with others!

Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Boxing Day, and Happy

Kwanzaa to you all!

Nicole Gwishiri

Family and Consumer Sciences Agent for Bath County

In November 1966, Fred Thrower, the President of New York-based television station

WPIX was faced with a dilemma. He had to figure out some exciting Christmas Eve

programming to replace a three-hour slot left vacant by the cancellation of a regular

Saturday night college basketball game.

But instead of filling the time with reruns, the television executive decided to create an

animated Christmas card — One that featured a cheery fireplace, Christmas stockings

and most important of all, a warm crackling fire. Thrower believed the holiday 'show' with the 17-second clip (replayed continuously) and soothing Christmas music in the

background would bring joy and comfort to apartment dwellers with no fireplace of

their own.

He was right. The three-hour long commercial free 'Yule Log' that debuted on Decem-

ber 24, 1966, was a roaring success, one that soon became an eagerly awaited annual tradition. But nothing lasts forever. In 1989, after a successful

23-year run, the owners of WPIX decided to replace this feel-good show with programming that would include revenue generating commercials.

But avid Yule Log fans were not ready to let the station cancel the revered tradition so easily. In 2000, a fan began an online petition to convince the

station to bring the show back. The response was so overwhelming that WPIX decided to air a new and improved version in 2001. It was the most

watched Christmas 'show' in the Metropolitan New York Area, and a new 'Yule Log' era was born.

In 2003, WPIX's parent company Tribune Broadcasting decided to broadcast the show that now featured a 7-minute loop, nationwide. In 2009, the

show's increasing popularity spurred the company to increase the programming time from the original three to four hours.

Over the years, the unique Christmas special's popularity had resulted in several copycat shows. In addition to the several television stations airing

their respective versions at different times between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Yule Log shows are also available on Internet streaming ser-vices like Netflix.

The Yule Log—A Christmas Special Like No Other

Bath County Cooperative

Extension

2914 E. HWY 60

Owingsville, KY 40360

Phone: 606-674-6121

Fax: 606-674-6687

Email: ncgw222@Uky.edu

Teaching. Research.

Extension.

We’re on the Web!

Bath.ca.uky.edu (Facebook) Bath

County Cooperative Extension,

Bath County Agriculture, and

Bath County 4-H