T Stands for End of January This and That

 Hi everyone. I am writing and posting this Monday night for this week's T day over at Bleubeard's and Elizabeth's blog.

I thought January went very fast until I realized that January 1, New Year's Day, seems like a very long time ago.  I am ready for spring, but I am happy it is almost/or is (depending on when you read this) February as that means we are slowly getting closer to better weather. If we're lucky March will be mostly snow free and mild.  I'm hoping for that at least.

Like many of you in the northeast, this past weekend we had a big snowstorm on Saturday. Here's some Sunday morning views out my kitchen window and then out the living room window when the dogs went outside.

It was cold so the snow was light and powdery, but with the wind it drifted. It was still a pain in the you know where to shovel, especially where the dogs tramped it down.  

That makes it hard to tell how much snow we actually had. Whether we had 9 or 10 inches, with drifts over a foot, it was more than enough, especially with the next storm on the weather horizon.  (This photo of my deck looks deceiving -like there isn't much). I know the coast of NH and down in Eastern  Massachusetts had a lot more snow.

I did a bit of baking this past week also. I made this Basque Cheesecake (Tarta de Queso).  The recipe comes from the King Arthur Flour website (Basque Cheesecake recipe), and it was very easy to make. It had no crust, and all the ingredients get put into a food processor, mixed until smooth, and then poured into a parchment paper lined pan.

It's baked at a high temperature for a shorter period of time, which browns the top ( and makes it a little like a crust) but leaves the inside really creamy.

That browning also gives it a pretty but rustic look. This was the yummiest cheesecake as it was much lighter than traditional cheesecake but still quite tasty.  Nothing tasted burnt. I recommend giving it a try sometime if you're a fan of cheesecakes.

The other thing I did twice last week was head down to the beach to walk a couple of days. The beach is  one of the few places you can walk easily at low tide during the winter when other places are snow covered or icy, but it is also a bit of a pain (for me) as it means driving an hour each way to get there. The drive is worth it though when it's not too cold or too windy.

One of my beach walks was at York Beach in York, Maine. York has a couple of beaches, and I walked Long Sands (to answer your question CJ).   Back in my 20's, I lived for a couple of off seasons in York. I loved being near the beach and being able to walk it on a regular basis, and that's one reason I enjoy going back there.

After the beach I took a drive over to Nubble Light.

Nubble Light is not only picturesque, but is on this island just off the shore.

Here's a little info about Nubble Light from Wikipedia:

The Cape Neddick Light is a lighthouse in Cape Neddick, York, Maine.^[2][3] In 1874 Congress appropriated $15,000 to build a light station at the "Nubble" and in 1879 construction began. Cape Neddick Light Station was dedicated by the U.S. Lighthouse Service and put into use in 1879. It is still in use today.

Nubble Light is a famous American icon and a classic example of a lighthouse. The Voyager spacecraft, which carries photographs of Earth's most prominent man-made structures and natural features, should it fall into the hands of intelligent extraterrestrials, includes a photo of Nubble Light with images of the Great Wall of

 China and the Taj Mahal.^[4]

If you want to read the full article, you can here: Nubble Light.

Since it is T day, and since I need to share a drink photo, I will let Maddie do that this week.

Ha ha. I don't think she'd even drink Diet Coke,  but she looks like I caught her sipping mine.

Thanks for visiting. Have a great T day and week ahead. And Happy February too.