Sunset Ridge

Sunsets come early this time of year. Today's sunset will be at 4:11 p.m. The thing is, the sky is usually just a dull gray, so at sunset time it just turns a darker dull gray. Blah!

But, on days it's not quite so cloudy the western sky is just brilliant for about a half hour before sunset. Which, as it turns out, is when I am often ready for a walk.
My walking route is about 8 blocks square (although our neighborhood is not divided into square blocks). On the west side of my walking route is a neighborhood aptly named Sunset Ridge.
It's the only part of my route that has an actual walking path winding behind the houses (instead of just a sidewalk along the street).

It's so amazing to me that each sunset can be so different. Click on the "sunset" tag below to see other sunsets that I've shared.

Scottish Buttermilk Oat Scones

Remember my commitment to go off sugar? It's not going too well.

Oh, I've managed to avoid sugar, refined flour, and other "high glycemic" (i.e. starchy) foods for the past two weeks. The thing is, I don't feel any better. The headaches? They're still with me. Shakiness? Yep. But... "they" say that's to be expected. It takes a few weeks to start noticing a difference. So I guess I'll stick with it awhile longer.

In the meantime, I'm trying to rethink my menu planning. My family is supportive to a certain extent. They are willing to at least try whole grain alternatives to our normal fare. I just need more recipes. I tried Googling for "low glycemic recipes" and most things called for sugar substitute. That didn't help. I am looking for less-sweet recipes with wholesome ingredients. Anybody know a good website?

I found one recipe last week on the Bob's Red Mill Steel Cut Oats bag for Scottish Buttermilk Oat Scones. I thought it might be a good breakfast recipe so I tried it. The recipe called for raisins or currants. I didn't happen to have any on hand, and besides, raisins are kinda sugary, so I decided to put in slivered almonds instead. I thought that would give it a nice crunch. Turns out, that wasn't a good choice. What I hadn't realized is that the steel cut oats are chewy, so the almonds were too much. It just really needed the raisins. Or maybe blueberries. (I think blueberries might be less sugary than raisins.)
Anyway, here's the recipe. Oh, and I did substitute stevia for the sugar, although it probably didn't make much difference since it only calls for 1 teaspoon of sugar. I "frosted" it with plain cream cheese.

Scottish Buttermilk Oat Scones
1 cup steel cut oats
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1/2 cup whole grain oat flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup currants or raisins
butter for greasing baking sheet
4 tbsp. softened butter, cut into small pieces
1 tbsp. milk
cinnamon and sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 350. Place the oats in a pie pan and toast them for 20 minutes, stirring often to toast evenly and prevent burning. When slightly golden, remove from oven. Combine oats with buttermilk in a small bowl and let stand for 20 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, sugar, salt and raisins. Reset the oven to 400 and butter the baking sheet.
Using a pastry blender, cut the 4 tbsp. butter into the flour until the texture is coarsely crumbled, then stir in the buttermilk/oat mixture until combined. Flour your hands and scoop the dough, forming it into a ball. Do not over mix. Press the ball of dough directly onto the pan, then press into a 3/4" thick circle. With a sharp knife, score the surface, almost to the bottom, making eight wedges. Brush the surface with milk and sprinkle a bit of sugar and cinnamon on top. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Cut into wedges. Makes 8 scones.

My A B C (vintage picture book)

Today, boys and girls, we are going to learn the alphabet. There will be a quiz, so pay attention, please!

This darling vintage picture book was among some other old books that were given to me this summer. The cover is missing and there is not a copyright date on it, but the title page lists the author as Dorothy Hope Smith. With a little sleuthing online I found another edition of the same book that says it was published in 1927.

I love the vintage pictures with the bright primary colors. Total eye candy! But the thing that fascinates me most about this little book are the names! Naming trends intrigue me. Apparently these were popular children's names in the 1920s. A lot of them remind you of "old people" names, don't they? And, of course, that would be because the children of the 1920s are senior citizens today. I did a little more research and discovered that at least half of these names were on the top 100 names list for the 1920s!

Apparently they couldn't come up with a good verb that started with G to continue the alliteration. Let's see... how 'bout, "Gertrude and Gerald gaze at the Globe"? Well, okay, it's not quite as good a verb as "study" but still...

Those yellow pumpkins worry me! Helen's dress is orange, but the pumpkins are yellow.

I never met a dog named Judy before, did you?

This page layout is just a little strange. For some reason N and O don't get their own pages, so we having yawning Ned with his candle hovering over the ocean!

Awww... I love the old timey radio. So neat!

Ulrich, huh? Can't say I've ever met anyone named Ulrich.

Can we assume that a velocipede is a tricycle?
No, we cannot!
A tricycle is a velocipede, but not all velocipedes are tricycles.
Betcha didn't know that, didja? Or maybe you're smarter than me!

And you just thought taking Christ out of Christmas was a new thing!
Actually, the word "Xmas" does not take Christ out of Christmas.
(You can read up on it here.)

Don't know anyone named Yorick either.

Now we know our ABCs... and it's time for the quiz! Just two questions:

1. What's your favorite picture in this little book? (Mine's the letter R for radio!)
2. Which names have you never heard before?

Be sure to visit Coloradolady for a list of other posts for Vintage Thingy Thursday.

Kindred Spirits Reading Group

My blogging friend, Emily, is starting a book group blog for ladies who enjoy vintage literature. If you like reading books by Jane Austen, L.M. Montgomery, or other writers from previous centuries... then you're a "kindred spirit" and you should join us! We'll be reading and discussing one book a month, and taking turns being hostess.

For the month of December, Emily has selected Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. I thought that was a great book to start with, as it's not terribly long... and most of us are familiar enough with the story to join in the discussion even if we don't have time to read (or re-read) it right now. Please feel free to join us, if this interests you!

Saturday Evening Blog Post

On the first Saturday of the month Elizabeth Esther hosts The Saturday Evening Blog Post. Don't you just love the vintage graphic with the oh-so-proper mother and children in front of the vintage radio? Betcha never even noticed that Mother is on her laptop! Too funny!

Anyway, we're supposed to choose our favorite post for the month of October from our blogs, then link them up at Elizabeth Esther's so everyone can go and read the "Best Posts of October '09" from the participating blogs.

I chose A Convoluted Lesson in Frugality as my favorite, just because it was so fun to write... and because it went off on such random bunny trails!

Now pop on over to EstherEsther.com and check out other great posts. If you leave her a comment you'll be entered in a drawing for a worship music CD.