Cypress tree, bay, antique mail box, cactus I saw on my walk

I saw this antique mailbox in my neighbor's yard today, as I walked to see the bay with Bounce.

Looking to the left I see these cypress trees, above.

To my right when facing the bay I see these powerful waves and the cliffs. I love these clouds.

Above is a succulent sitting on top of a pot which reminds me of a barrel cactus, so the succulent looks like it is growing out of a huge stem. There are lots of cactus in this neighbor's garden.

I baked scones, yes, I really did

I made delicious lemon ginger scones. I baked scones. Me! Why is this noteworthy? Well, I have pretty much stopped baking since our sons became adults and moved out,  since recipes are always for large amounts, like for a whole cake, pie or a dozen cookies. That adds up to too much temptation and too many calories. Also for years I have cut way back on eating white flour and sugar. But I got inspired by my friend who bakes scones and I found this mix at a local coffee shop and bakery.

The second photo shows the scones before I baked them. I like the brand Iveta because they have a dozen or more flavors and their scones only have 4 g of sugar per scone. I was recently given scone mix of a different brand that has 8 g of sugar per serving. So I prefer 4 g to 8. Next baking for me will be the blueberry scone mix I was given. Recommended guidelines for amount of sugar per day for women vary, but the average recommended amount is 36 g. Some yogurt has 30 g for one serving, so it adds up quickly. It turns out that scones freeze nicely so I can invite a friend for coffee and scones, send one or two scones home with her, and freeze any left over. Do you like my plan?

Dust off that library card for a longer life

The above photo is taken by Nightsabre at Morguefile. That dog looks like a thoughtful guy and a reader!

I read a notice about a health study recently: "Dust off that library card."
Studies show that readers live longer than non-readers. If you already love to read, like
me, that is good news, and more good news is that you non-readers can start reading books at any time.
My current AARP news letter includes this in a list of 99 health ideas.
In their tip 98 I quote "Dust off that library card. A study of 3,635 older adults found that book readers had a 23 month survival advantage and 20 percent lower mortality risk compared with non-readers. Reading was protective regardless of gender, education or health."
This next photo is taken by DianneHope at Morguefile.

I chose the profession of librarian so you can see this tip about how healthy readers are is music to my ears. Plus I am a writer with thousands of articles and two books published so you can imagine that I like to read.
So in addition to an apple a day keeps the doctor away the study concludes that we can live longer by reading books.