And AGAIN

We just came in from attempting to get the snow off of the SUV so we can go get the mail. It's been three days since we have been out. We woke up to snow falling again and thus far have about 2 inches. We should get several more before it's all over.

The driveway was cleared yesterday. It was really interesting as they came with a a front end plow with a snow throw thing on the back. They shot the snow off the driveway and up into the hill to the woods. Cleared the drive but gave us lots of snow on the slope. 

He backed down the driveway and stopped to change the snow thrower from one side to the other

You can see the plow in the front - he was backing down the driveway

And then went foreword lowering the plow.

Worked great but gave us very large piles of snow on the side. However, we are NOT complaining as the driveway was clear and we planned to get the mail today.

Honey is a bit bewildered at the large pile at the side and end of the driveway.

We just came back in and we were able to clear off the SUV - but still need to dig out mound of snow in front of it. However, we do believe we will be able to  go get the mail this afternoon and while we are there, drop off some trash. (mail and trash are less than a mile away)  And since we did think ahead, we have plenty of food and such so we can just hunker down and watch the Olympics. 

It's not a bad thing to be stuck in the house as long as you are warm and have food.

Damn that groundhog!!!

Valentine's Day SNOW

Today is Friday and it's Valentine's Day. The snow started Wednesday night and it kept snowing! Over the three days we got over 14 inches of snow.

Right now the sun is shining and it's 29 outside. I started taking these pictures when we first got up around 5:45 AM after Honey's first walk and my first cup of coffee.

Just as it started to get light, Honey was checking everything out.

And when we went out we saw how deep it was. In places it was up to my knees.

The grill in the back wearing a cap of snow.

And the car under the snow on the side of the driveway. But the sky sure looks good!

The driveway - I'm almost down to the road and you can see my foot prints.

The view from the kitchen window is sure lovely - I really enjoy watching the seasons change from this window.

Pressure Cooker Cheesecake

Do you have a pressure cooker? They now come as plug in electric cookers and many of them also function as slow cookers and steamers. Today I thought would be a good day to make a pressure cooker cheese cake. The reason I like this ( and B does too) is that it's easy, tasty and not huge so we aren't eating it forever.

My Cuisinart pressure cooker is ready to go. 

I used the food processor to first chop up ½ cup graham crackers (3 full crackers) and place them in the pan I will bake in.

Grease the bottom and sides of the pan (picture follows) with butter and and coat with crumbs. In the processor blend 16 oz of cream cheese at room temperature and ½ cup sugar. Then add 2 large eggs, 1 ½ tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp grated lemon and ½ tsp vanilla. Blend and pour into a pan that will fit into the pot of the pressure cooker.

Put 2 cups of water into the pressure cooker, cover the pan and place it on a trivet up off the bottom, lock the lid into place and pressure cook for 15 minutes.

Let the pressure release naturally (about 10 minutes) then remove the lid, take out the pan using the holder or pot holders and blot the top carefully if water is on the cake.

Once cooled, refrigerate covered for at least 4 hours. 

If you have never used a pressure cooker you should check them out. I got this one at Costco and a smaller one that I often use from QVC. 

-11 Yep, minus eleven!!!

After a while, the term cold becomes questionable. Just how cold is cold? In the summer, temperatures inside under air conditioning that are in the 60s are "cold". However, this morning, we were COLD. The thermometer in the car read -11. Yikes, now that is really cold!

And this cold is just part of this ongoing crazy winter. We just got done with a snow fall that gave us an additional inch or so on top of the 10 inches we had a few days before. Our driveway gets plowed and the guys are getting somewhat creative on how they deal with the snow. We have a mound of snow in the back, next to the SUV that is so high Honey has not been able to navigate over it. Honey and I have worked out our system for her walks. I wore my "high" boots that lace up mid calf the first day or so after the ten inches. We then trail blazed paths up the small hill next to the driveway. This started before we were plowed and has continued so the trail is now a tamped down path that winds its way through the woods and has several accesses from the driveway. Unfortunately one access is now under that mound of snow!

And now we are expecting another storm - referred to as a nor'easter so you know it's not going to drop just a few inches. The amount we will get continues to change - it appears to be in the 8 to 10 inch range. Should start tonight and into tomorrow. At least we aren't expecting any ice. We were out yesterday to make sure we had needed food supplies - bread, milk, eggs and a few other goodies thrown in. So we are set. Right now the sun is shining and the temperature has warmed up a bit. We should get into the teens today. Looking ahead, more moderate temperatures are expected by next week. It's getting there that is the concern.

Snow Storm #2

We again got snow (got some over the weekend)

As expected, it started last night after midnight and continued through noon. The snow then took a "break" and now, at 4:30 PM, it's again snowing.

When I was out with the ruler it had snowed about 5 inches. I cleaned off the railing yesterday to be able to measure today's snow. But of course it continued to snow after this picture.

After the snow stopped the plow came. Now they had already plowed the driveway. We decided this year that rather than B having to do all that work, we would have the landscaping people clean the driveway. One of our best decisions! The plow is really neat - they can fold it to better move to snow to a different place. 

And here the plow goes by again after several passes. The snow is at the end of the driveway and an area is clear so we can get the SUV down from the area off the driveway where it is parked. That's easier than trying to dig out the cars that are parked along the driveway.

And through it all, Miss Honey supervised. 

She said they did a fine job - we agree!

The next storm is to hit this weekend (today is Wednesday)

We are NOT looking forward to it.