* What to do with all my left over craft supplies.
* Menu ideas.
* Ways to downsize.
* Retirement advice.
* Travel ideas.
* There is hope in light overcoming darkness in our country and world.
* We are stronger when we stand together rather than let ourselves be driven apart.
* I lead a very quiet, uneventful retirement life than most people out there writing blogs.
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Saturday Smiles 8/24/2019
*The cost of flights to Reno, NV went down this week and we were able to book a trip to see our oldest son and DIL. This is so great because with them living so far away and the high cost of airline travel, we don't see them as much as we would like to.
*Spent a lovely weekend in Copper Harbor, Michigan. Copper Harbor is in the northern most point of the Upper Peninsula. Gorgeous scenery, friendly people and a serene getaway. We went to the annual Art in the Park and picked up a new bird feeder as well as homemade candles and a sculpture made from wood and stones found in Lake Superior. We also visited The Jam Pot which is a bakery run by Monks who have a home in Eagle Harbor. The Jam Pot makes the most delicious Maple Syrup and cookies.
* We spotted a group of Sandhill Cranes in a field - 2 large ones and 3 smaller ones - on our way home. We stopped on the side of the road and watched them for a bit. I am always amazed at how many different species of birds and animals I see in the Upper Peninsula.
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Did You Know...Pasties?
Pasties
1. Pasties (pronounced "pah-stees") are a combination of meat and vegetables wrapped in a flaky crust. The traditional recipe calls for round steak, potatoes, turnips or rutabaga, and onions. However some substitute carrots for rutabaga.
2. The Pasty has a shape like the letter "D" or a half moon. It is sometimes it is called a "Cousin Jack mouth organ" or "a Cornishman's harmonica" as a reference to its Cornish roots.
3. Pasties were brought to the US by Cornwall, England miners in the 1840s. It has become so popular in the UP of Michigan, Wisconsin and northern Minnesota that it has become a tourist attraction, including being featured on the HGTV cooking series "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" as well as a Pasty Fest in Calumet, Michigan. Governor George Romney of Michigan declared May 24, 1968 to be the first statewide Michigan Pasty Day.
* The recipe I follow to make pasties is below.
Filling: 2lbs. round steak, chop into 1/4" cubes
5 large potatoes, peeled, chop into 1/4" cubes
1 small rutabaga, chop into 1/4" cubes
1 onion, finely chopped
1tsp. salt
1tsp. pepper
Dough: 4 cups sifted flour
2tsp. salt
1-1 1/2 cups shortening
10tsp ice water
Cut flour and salt into shortening until it is coarse. Add water and form into ball. Divide into 6 equal rolled balls. Dust with flour and put in plastic wrap. Chill 1 hour. Mix steak with vegetables, onion, salt & pepper. Roll each ball on floured surface to a 9" circle. Add 1-1 1/2 cups of filling to each circle. Fold over to create 1/2 moon shaped pies. Seal the edges and cut small slits in the top. Bake on a cookie sheet at 400F for 45-50 minutes until golden brown.
*The only part of the recipe that is difficult (in my opinion) is making the crust. Work the dough too much and it becomes tough. Work the dough not enough and it will not be strong enough to hold the filling.
1. Pasties (pronounced "pah-stees") are a combination of meat and vegetables wrapped in a flaky crust. The traditional recipe calls for round steak, potatoes, turnips or rutabaga, and onions. However some substitute carrots for rutabaga.
2. The Pasty has a shape like the letter "D" or a half moon. It is sometimes it is called a "Cousin Jack mouth organ" or "a Cornishman's harmonica" as a reference to its Cornish roots.
* The recipe I follow to make pasties is below.
Filling: 2lbs. round steak, chop into 1/4" cubes
5 large potatoes, peeled, chop into 1/4" cubes
1 small rutabaga, chop into 1/4" cubes
1 onion, finely chopped
1tsp. salt
1tsp. pepper
Dough: 4 cups sifted flour
2tsp. salt
1-1 1/2 cups shortening
10tsp ice water
Cut flour and salt into shortening until it is coarse. Add water and form into ball. Divide into 6 equal rolled balls. Dust with flour and put in plastic wrap. Chill 1 hour. Mix steak with vegetables, onion, salt & pepper. Roll each ball on floured surface to a 9" circle. Add 1-1 1/2 cups of filling to each circle. Fold over to create 1/2 moon shaped pies. Seal the edges and cut small slits in the top. Bake on a cookie sheet at 400F for 45-50 minutes until golden brown.
*The only part of the recipe that is difficult (in my opinion) is making the crust. Work the dough too much and it becomes tough. Work the dough not enough and it will not be strong enough to hold the filling.
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Saturday Smiles 8/10/2019
* Our son AJ came home for a surprise visit. He moved 2 months ago to Minnesota for work. He had a few days off and decided to surprise us. What a super way to start the week!
* It seems every September for the last 5 years, we have had so much junk in our garage that we have to hire two guys and a truck to haul it away. Th junk is an accumulation of stuff that my sons seem to want to store in our garage and then decide they don't want it. All that junk makes it difficult to park the car, lawnmower and snowblower in the garage as it was intended for. Having the guys come costs us about $100. This year my husband and I realized we didn't have to do it. It seems there is no more junk being stored in our garage that doesn't belong there. A successful decluttering project!
* I found the cutest cat paperclips in Hobby Lobby. I am a nut for anything cat related.
Sunday, August 4, 2019
I Am Not A Born "Yooper"!
I am not a born "Yooper" (nickname for a resident of the UP of Michigan), I became a yooper when I moved here in 1970 and then stayed.
I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit and to say that I was surprised that there was anything or anyone in the UP besides Mackinac Island is the understatement of the year. There were a great many things I needed to adjust to when I moved here, the biggest of these was the winter weather. An inch of snow on the ground where I was raised caused an entire city to shut down. Here, it takes more than a foot or two for that call to be made. Also, the length of winter is nothing to sneeze at. Winter usually starts in October and lasts until April (if we are lucky). Yoopers do not follow seasons on the calendar, we follow it as when the snow starts and when the snow ends. But for all the downside of winter here, to me the most beautiful time is spring and summer. The beauty of the UP is amazing and it is so beautiful that tourists come from near and far just to experience it.
I am lucky in that I live in the most beautiful part of the UP. I live amid forests and woods of green filled with animals that most city dwellers never see. I live near Lake Superior, the largest fresh water lake in the world as well as the largest of the Great Lakes. I live in a place where the residents are strong, faith-filled, happy and loyal to family, friends and even strangers. When I was growing up in the city never did I think I would find a place like the UP to call home but that is exactly where I happily am.
I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit and to say that I was surprised that there was anything or anyone in the UP besides Mackinac Island is the understatement of the year. There were a great many things I needed to adjust to when I moved here, the biggest of these was the winter weather. An inch of snow on the ground where I was raised caused an entire city to shut down. Here, it takes more than a foot or two for that call to be made. Also, the length of winter is nothing to sneeze at. Winter usually starts in October and lasts until April (if we are lucky). Yoopers do not follow seasons on the calendar, we follow it as when the snow starts and when the snow ends. But for all the downside of winter here, to me the most beautiful time is spring and summer. The beauty of the UP is amazing and it is so beautiful that tourists come from near and far just to experience it.
I am lucky in that I live in the most beautiful part of the UP. I live amid forests and woods of green filled with animals that most city dwellers never see. I live near Lake Superior, the largest fresh water lake in the world as well as the largest of the Great Lakes. I live in a place where the residents are strong, faith-filled, happy and loyal to family, friends and even strangers. When I was growing up in the city never did I think I would find a place like the UP to call home but that is exactly where I happily am.
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