In addition to being present for the first day of school, I got to got to Margo's dance class. That's Margo in the blue costume. She is 5 and just started kindergarten. She's naturally very graceful and really seems to enjoy it.
Anna's birthday isn't until next week, but we wanted to celebrate while we were there. Anna decided that for her birthday present, she wanted to have lunch and go shopping for her present with Granny. So the two of us had burgers and a sundae at Red Robin's and then went to a toy store for the all important choosing of THE GIFT. She came out with a stuffed animal and some other special things.
As if that weren't exciting enough, when we got home, some college kids were giving horse cart rides in exchange for recyclables. What fun!
We closed this great day of celebration with a small birthday party at our campsite. We had a little hike around the lake, caught and released a few fish, ate burgers cooked over the fire, and roasted marshmallows. Happy 7th birthday, Anna!On our last day in Ypsilanti, we went to the church picnic. There were rides and games for the kids, a wonderful pot luck lunch and some very good young fiddlers. Claire (just turned 3) really got into the music. In fact, she got up and spontaneously started dancing. She's a sweetie.
As I said earlier, we arrived late this afternoon in Macinaw City. The ride was really gorgeous once we got out of the metropolitan area. The geography is gently rolling hills. The trees are just barely starting to turn. Near Gaylord, we crossed the 45th parallel--half way between the equator and the North Pole. Cool! We walked a little near the Old Point Macinac Lighthouse and found some fossils at the edge of the Straits of Macinac. I've got some lighthouse pictures that I'll post as soon as I download them from the camera. Then we took a quick stroll through the shops in the village. We had pasties for supper. These are Cornish pastries that the copper and iron miners from England and Wales took into the mines for dinner. Here's an authentic recipe for Copper County Pasties courtesy of Terry Meyers' internet site.
Copper Country Pasties
- Pastry:
- 3 c. flour
- 1 1/2 sticks butter (cold and cut into bits)
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 6 tbsp. water
In a large bowl, combine flour, butter and salt. Blend ingredients until well combined and add water, one tablespoon at a time to form a dough. Toss mixture until it forms a ball. Kneed dough lightly against a smooth surface with heel of the hand to distribute fat evenly. Form into a ball, dust with flour, wrap in wax paper and chill for 30 minutes.
- Filling:
- 1 lb. round steak, coursely ground
- 1 lb. boneless pork loin, coursely ground
- 5 carrots, chopped
- 2 lg. onions, chopped
- 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 c. rutabaga, chopped (can substitute turnip)
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
Tomorrow we catch the ferry over to Macinac Island.
Stay tuned--more fun is coming soon!
3 comments:
O.K. What is the best way to fill those pasties? Roll them out first? Are they round or folded in half? I assume they are then fried. Can they be shipped to Florida - well, just thought I'd ask.
The pastry for the pasties is rolled out round. The filling is added, then they are simply folded in half and the edges sealed. So they are half-moon shaped. Sometimes they fold up the ends of the half moon an inch or two. The pies are baked, not fried, so they are reasonably healthy.
Joyce, when I visited England I loved the pasties and our guide quickly corrected my pronounciation--the "a" is pronounced as "ah". The long "a" sound turns it into an entirely different thing.
Thought you might find this amusing.
Sarah at TNC, Lake Wales Ridge
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