WHEN IT SNOWS, MAKE ICE CREAM

I love a snow-day. I love the sound of it - silence. Silence near, silence far. No school, no work, no traffic. Being snowed-in is a time when time truly stands still, or at least slows down enough so I can catch up with some stuff or stop everything to enjoy the right-here-and-now moments without guilt.

My husband took this photo of our backyard on Obama's day, January 20.

Snow takes me back to my childhood days on the farm when my mother would scoop up snow and magically turn it into ice cream. You can too. I'll share the magic. It's so easy you won't believe it.

Snow Ice Cream
Super fast, super easy, super yummy

½ cup half & half (whole milk or evaporated milk works too)
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp vanilla (or more)
dash of salt
2 cups fresh, clean snow, packed

Combine all ingredients and enjoy immediately.
Makes two servings.
NOTE: Eat it all because it doesn’t store well in the freezer or anywhere else.

RACE TO YOUR FORD DEALER

BUILT FORD TOUGH were the words across the hoodie I gave my foster-son for Christmas. Two weeks later that proved to be a lie.

He was crazy about his 2000 Ford Explorer. It fit his cowboy demeanor and got him where he needed and wanted to go. That night after he and his girlfriend returned from the gym, he parked it in her driveway behind her car. This picture shows what happened four hours later.

He received a recall letter around Thanksgiving. After calling the 800-number on the letter and being placed on hold too long, he hung up. He didn't follow up. The holidays came and just barely went when there was a banging at the door telling them that a corner of the house and the cars in the driveway were ablaze.

He couldn't afford comprehensive insurance so now his cowboy boots are doing the walking. Thanks to Ford's toughness, he has no vehicle, has no means of buying another and still owes us $1000 for this burned one. Thanks Ford. Thanks a lot.

This recall is massive and must be taken seriously. These fires can occur while the vehicle is being driven or when the power is off, and in some cases, idle for days. The speed control deactivation switches are the problem. They have been used for many years in many models of the extended Ford family. Run, don't walk, to your Ford dealer to see if your car or truck may be in danger or check on a recall link such as the one below.

http://www.ford-trucks.com/recalls/recall.php/m-FORD