Pure Michigan

October 6, 2016


We just returned from five days in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. 


The colors won't be at their peak for another week or two.


But it was still quite pretty.



Had an authentic UP pasty. They are filled with beef, potatoes, onion, rutabaga, salt, and pepper, and were originally introduced to the area by immigrant miners from Cornwall. Mining (copper and iron) was big in the UP, and the area is still largely populated by descendants of miners from Finland and Norway. 

These were conveniently tucked into the miners' clothing where they stayed warm until a dinner break.



I never saw as many mushrooms and fungi as I did this past weekend. And lots of moss.

Perfect for fairies.



And what's camp without a big bonfire and s'mores?





While we were gone, the rest of these cupboards were removed. We will be without a kitchen and downstairs bath for about eight weeks. I have a coffee pot in the laundry room. Looks like a lot of takeout!


Have only seen four stink bugs since we've been home. I insisted we take apart our bed before we moved back into our bedroom. One under the mattress and one on the frame.

I wonder where else they're hiding?!


ps . . . I've lost my entire blog list on my sidebar. I see Blogger Engineering is supposed to be taking care of this, but that was days ago. Looks like I'll have to manually add all the blogs I follow. Has this happened to anyone else?

20 comments

  1. Good Evening Deborah, I smiled when I read the ingredients in your UP pasty, because as I was reading the ingredients, I thought to myself, this sounds very much like a Cornish Pastie and then you said that it was the immigrants from Cornwall that brought this pastie to your shores. The large turn of pastry is also on the UP pasty, which the Cornish women used to add to their pastie, so even though the tin miners hands were dirty, they could still eat their pastie and then throw the dirty pastry away when they had finished eating.
    The walks you must have taken, are lovely. I love walking by the river side as the sound of water is always so restful.
    Just before I go, what on earth is a stink bug... I have never heard of them. Whatever they are they sound awful.... I do hope they are not hiding anywhere else in your home.
    Best Wishes
    Daphne

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  2. Oh so many lovely photos. Our leaves haven't turned here but what you are showing is amazing.

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  3. What beautiful photos. I never realized upper Michigan was so gorgeous!!

    Wow, 8 weeks without a kitchen. A real inconvenience...but it will be so worth it in the end.

    I have never lost my blog roll. I hope you will be able to recover yours.

    Blessings,
    Patti

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  4. Lovely photos, Deborah. That UP pasty sounds delicious. Maybe it's just me, but I love rutabagas. Oh dear, kitchen remodels are really tough. I did a half one when we moved last time and I'm still gathering my strength for the rest of it. Best of luck.

    BTW, Blogger has been doing some very peculiar things lately. It eliminated about have of my followers (don't know where they went or how to retrieve them) and my Favorites (you included) disappeared. I had to manually reinstall them. And, apparently, they will no longer tell us where our Blog traffic is coming from, which was very helpful info.

    I keep thinking about moving over to Word Press.

    Cheers, M-T

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  5. Breathtaking already. We enjoyed visiting Michigan's Upper Peninsula several years ago. Beautiful countryside.

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  6. I smiled at the UP pasty, I am a great fan of the Cornish pasty, in some areas the meat was in one end and apple was put into the other end. The big crusts used to hold the pasty with dirty hands. Beautiful countryside already I can only imagine the beauty in a few weeks.

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  7. What wonderful photos, such a beautiful trip. Looking at the pasty makes me hungry. :-)

    I do hope your remodel is done in 8 weeks.

    Happy Fall ~ FlowerLady

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  8. What a great escape, Deborah, and beautiful. That pasy looks and sounds delish. [Coal] miners here in WV notoriously carried pepperoni rolls. Please keep a progress journey of your bath & kitchen - we're about to embark on some similar updates, remodel. Glad your stink bugs appear to be gone. I've heard of others losing their blog lists (I don't use that feature). I've quit receiving notifications of comments for over a week now....frustrating.
    Rita C at Panoply

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  10. My links on the sidebars disappeared, too. I heard they were working on the problem. I use my links all the time and since I just changed computers, they are not bookmarked.

    We lived in Holland for nearly nine years and near Muskegon for about a year and a half. Michigan is so beautiful.

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  11. The pastry looks so enticing! Nice photos ♥

    summerdaisycottage.blogspot.com

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  12. Nice to see more of Michigan, the great outdoors and fall colour. I've heard of the pastries kept warm by body heat, looks tasty too.
    Haven't lost my sidebar yet but one never knows, blogger does weird things.

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  13. Hi Deborah, Yes the beauty of Michigan is "Pure Michigan". These are the views I miss from my home state.
    Great pic of the kitchen in progress. We just started two guest bathrooms and while it's a mess right now, it will be worth it. At least we can use the kitchen. Enjoy the take out and laundry room coffee.

    I lost all my menu bar last week and Linda had to fix it all and put it back together. Something strange with blogspot is going on. Hope things fix soon.
    Have a great weekend and happy reno project!! Hugs

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  14. Such wonderful photos, Deborah. Thank you for sharing. I have never been to that part of the country! I know you'll be inconvenienced with the remodel, but you will sing with joy when you see the outcome. You'll never remember all your meals at MacDonalds! LOL Rosie @ The Magic Hutch

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  15. Blogger has been weird lately...I had to rework a few things in my layout...I think you can reinstall the blogs you follow by adding the gadget "blogs that I follow"
    Good luck!

    Your pictures of the trip are beautiful...lovely autumn shades.
    The kitchen is looking good...it looks like you are over the worst of it and now the fun part comes...decorating! Hope those stink bugs are going to find another place to live too!

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  16. What beauty! No color here in NC yet...not much anyway. Looking forward to seeing your finished projects. I just finished visiting Cheryl at The Farmer's Daughter and she has lost her sidebar as well. Sure hope it comes back on it's own!

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  17. Nice shots of autumn in Michigan. Best of luck with the renos. I look forward to seeing the new and improved kitchen and downstairs bath!

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  18. Oh my, my friend, how I miss the beauty of Michigan and Ohio! I'm sure you had the best time by seeing all the fabulous pics that you shared. That pasty looks mighty tasty! I'm looking forward to your kitchen reveal, but I'm sure not as much as you are. I hope those stink bugs hit the road for good!

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  19. What a beautiful trip you had! I love all the colors of the trees and the gorgeous waterfalls. I especially love all those fantastic mushrooms! I think there just might be some fairies living there :-)))
    That pasty is huge! Was it yummy?
    I think a kitchen remodel is always the hardest but also the most worth it in the end. I'm anxious to see yours when it's all done up.
    As for sting bugs.... those suckers are dive bombing me all over my front porch swing ... UGH!!!
    I have seen others mentioning the blogger sidebar issue. Something else you may not be aware of is that what I SEE is where it SHOULD say "Follow" to click on and follow your blog... It says "UNFOLLOW". I have noticed that on other blogs to and discovered that YOU don't see it that way.
    I purchased my own domain so I no longer have these blogger issues but the one thing that happened to me is that I can no longer put up the "Follow" thing on my sidebar because it's not compatible with my domain. That's why I went to follow me with Bloglovin or email. I think it confuses people but it eliminates some of the blogger issues.
    Have a Lovely Day,
    Danette

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  20. I am glad you had a great time in my UP! The color where I live still is not at its peak. Late for us! Happy autumn to you!

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