Halcyon Days Autumnal Haze

October

By Robert Frost

O hushed October morning mild,

Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;

Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild,

Should waste them all.

The crows above the forest call;

Tomorrow they may form and go.

O hushed October morning mild,

Begin the hours of this day slow.

Make the day seem to us less brief.

Hearts not averse to being beguiled,

Beguile us in the way you know.

Release one leaf at break of day;

At noon release another leaf;

One from our trees, one far away.

Retard the sun with gentle mist;

Enchant the land with amethyst.

Slow, slow!

For the grapes’ sake, if they were all,

Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,

Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—

For the grapes’ sake along the wall.

    In this poem Robert Frost asks Fall to slow down, to drop only one leaf at a time from a tree near and a tree far away.

    Although it feels like Fall is ending with bare trees and graying skies, the Autumn Equinox actually does not end until December 20th.

    So enjoy the rest of the halcyon days and the autumnal haze....

AnnMarie :)

I am linking up with these great blog parties:

Make It Pretty Monday
Tuesday Trivia
The Scoop
You're Gonna Love It
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday



Last Campfire of Summer - Labor Day Treats

It's a little fuzzy, but somewhere in my childhood memory I was toasting pbj sandwiches over a campfire. I grew up going to the 1,000 Islands every summer so maybe it was there. I somehow inherited the toasted sandwich maker and it has since gone into retirement, it's duties taken over by a newer, online purchased square sandwich toaster.

My vintage round one is called a Jem-Toaster and made at a company in Brooklyn, NY. It is probably from the 1950's and no, I won't be listing that in NaNa's Things anytime soon! Too much nostalgia connected with it! The square one is newer and bigger but my husband thinks the vintage one makes a better toasted pbj.

So, as simple as it is to make, here is a mini tutorial to tempt you to run out and buy a toaster before this weekend. They are called everything from a Toasted Sandwich Maker to Pie Irons and can be found at local Home stores or on Amazon.com where there is a huge variety of them. There are even recipe books to buy but I am going to show you how to make the classic peanut butter and jelly toasted sandwich.

Spray the sandwich maker with cooking spray on both sides.

 

Load one side up with peanut butter and one side with jelly or jam. I prefer my homemade raspberry jam.

 

 

 

Put the sandwich together and into the maker. If needed, trim any crust that spills over once you close the two sides together. You can butter the outside of each piece of bread also before putting into the sandwich maker. Adds those good, extra calories and makes it even more gooey!

 

 

Have the fire nice and hot and start toasting!

 

 

 

Make sure to toast both sides well so that the peanut butter melts into the jam and literally oozes out when you eat it! This one needs a little more time....

 

 

A satisfied customer.....

 

 



If you are a morning campfire type of camper, try an egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. Just butter the outside of two pieces of bread, put one on the bottom part of the sandwich maker and put a slice of cheese in. Break an egg on top of the cheese and break the yoke. Cover with the other piece of bread with the butter side out. Toast away, until the egg is cooked.

These toasted sandwiches are good any time of day....we usually have them at night under the stars.....

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

P.S. Summer is not really over this weekend. The first day of Fall is not until September 22nd!

AnnMarie :)