name that wood

Often I have to take a look at my iPhone camera roll to remember what I've been up to.  A little sad that my memory needs visual reminders (be they photographs or notes in my planner/Google calendar), but it's also nice to have a sort of diary to look back on (the idea behind Instagram).  But I did have to laugh at one series of photos that I caught on my phone when stopped at a traffic light on my evening commute late last week.  Views of the cut ends of tree trunks heading for the mill.  I played a little game of "name that wood" and was pretty pleased with myself, except that the red ones puzzled me.  Some sort of oak?  Sometimes I amuse myself.  And really that's what this blog (and life in general) is about - having fun.

Speaking of fun, we attempted homemade gnocchi the other night using a recipe for pumpkin gnocchi (don't recall where I got the recipe).  One pound of potatoes, one cup of pureed pumpkin, 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour, fresh sage from the garden (yes, we've had that nice of weather that my sage survives), salt and pepper.  I need to practice my sauteing technique, though, because the gnocchi stuck to the cast iron pan and I kept adding oil until the gnocchi became donuts.  Or at least tasted like them.  A second batch went directly in the freezer and we'll probably just boil those and not saute them.  A little culinary experimentation.

Tonight I take one of the cats (Gracie) to the vet for an overnight stay.  Bright and early tomorrow she gets her teeth cleaned.  I know she's going to hate it (not that I let on that we were doing that tonight, otherwise I'd come home to find her crammed under the guest room bed).  Think good thoughts for my sweet (albeit bossy) little girl.