Friday things

It's Friday the thirteenth today. I don't have paraskavedekatriaphobia, but I am going to stay curled up in bed all day, and probably most of the three day weekend, to watch "The Office" and relax. The SNS household is still nursing our bout of the flu and as of right now we are on the uphill climb out of it. I feel like we've been sick for weeks. And we have, but that aside, we are getting better. We have been diffusing tea tree oils and eucalyptus to help keep the air clean. Here's to positive, healing thoughts. Unfortunately, all of the snow is gone as of today and we here in the SNS house are pretty bummed. Up toward Washington they got over a foot and a half and we are extremely jealous! But then again, we are wanting to see more of the sun too, so I guess we need to pick a side. Anyway, here are the things that made this week great.

1. The snow

Of course, I have to share the snow that we did get.

2. Snow ice cream

With all of the snow we had we thought, why not.

Here's how it's made:

• 8 cups packed snow (make sure this is not the first fallen snow of the year. Wait until the third or fourth fall of the year, it's cleaner.)

• 3 cups whole milk

• 4 tbs. pure vanilla extract

• 1 cups of sugar (more if you have a sweet tooth)

• Blend together in a blender and freeze for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

3. Slow-cooker stew

I threw together a quick "stew" earlier in the week and we ate on it a few days while we were under the weather. It consisted of stew meat (could use chicken, or noodles in place of the beef), baby carrots, peas, corn, vegetable stock (32 ounces), and a handful of small red potatoes. Cook in the slow cooker for about three to four hours on high. Salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

4. Chickadees