A Place of Pure Enchantment Gleams...

A photo colour-feast on today's post because

Today is a rather colorless day in southern Ontario,

one of those days when the sky and landscape are monochromatic...

Morning...

Afternoon...

So here's a little reminder at the almost halfway point of January

(and didn't we just get here in a blink?!!)

of what is waiting beyond a few more month-blinks!

A place where zephyrs tug and tease

Tendrils from buds and smiles from lips

And garden-rooms as winter slips

Into a vault of memories

A place of pure enchantment gleams

Beyond landscapes tucked beneath snows

Where winter’s boisterous brood bestows

A frosty air to balmy dreams

A place where apple blossoms blush

And fragrant lilac plumes unfold

And earth is drenched in heaven’s gold

And lively with spring’s planting rush

And heaven is a pasture, blue

Dotted with clouds, like flocks of sheep

And earth’s green pastures run knee-deep

With nature’s verdant, freshest hue

A green-gold-blue-blush-purple mirth

Emerges to grace every home

Rather than earth-sky monochrome

Of snow-laden heavens and earth

Where brooks like shiny sashes swirl

Through wood nooks, meadowlands, and sing

A rippling canticle of spring

As winter’s loosened grip unfurls

A place where zephyrs tug and tease

Tendrils from buds and smiles from lips

And garden-rooms as winter slips

Into a vault of memories

Janet Martin

I get a little colour-hungry this time of year

so to satisfy my craving I read 'colorful' 

books like those that travel through places like Italy...

This travel inspired last night's supper!

Below, dried oregano, fresh-chopped garlic salt and pepper and bread crumbs.

Rub between hands till thoroughly mixed and sprinkle on olive-oil spritzed tomatoes.

Bake at 350 till bubbly.

Both the dish above and below can be topped with 

fresh grated black pepper and parmesan before serving. 

Want extra-yummy extra topping? 

Fresh-made bacon bits!

Living the Dream

Prov.13:12

Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

2025 November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Day 7

For the 2025 November PAD Chapbook Challenge,

 poets write a poem a day in the month of November. 

Day 7 is to write a dream poem.

Row Row Row Your Boat 

Ah, once upon a time unfurled

She was a girl, imbibed with dreams

Impatient for the favoured world

Of carefree days where laughter streams

And hope is no longer deferred

As longing tips a treasure trove

No longer guarded by a word

Of caution from sweet mother's love

Ah, once into a world of stars

She flew, to learn a dreamer's cast

Soon scores the hero's heart with scars

And sets her on her feet at last

To dance upon the Day in Hand

And taste the sparkle in life's cup

 Treading Yesteryear's Promised Land

Before the dream is all used up

Janet Martin

Dream-Roy Orbison

I Have a Dream-ABBA

All I Have To Do Is Dream-The Everly Bros.

Dream a Little Dream of Me- Michael Bublé 

Dream of Me-Ben and Rose

Maggie's Dream-Don Williams

 

Awakening to 'Living the 'Dream'

Today's poem was inspired by my niece who, yesterday, wrote on her Facebook post...

(after recovering from another round of sickness in their household)

'Walking around our property tonight, I took a moment

and realized in all the busyness & stress of home ownership & motherhood,

this is everything I've dreamed for' 💗

Thank-you J, for the reminder to treasure the moment and find the joy in it

no matter how hectic the 'happiness' spills!

'The dream' isn't only the picture-perfect moments but all of it together;

the lows make us more thankful for the highs.

This is the day the Lord has made;

we will rejoice and be glad in it!

Ps.118:24

Family milestone celebrations

are one of the happiest blessings on earth...

The other evening we celebrated Granddaughter's 6th birthday,

Which means it was her turn to receive her mommy-box/gramma box

'mommy' is the Pennsylvania-Dutch word for gramma.

(a short 'e' sound at the end rather than long)

In a mommy box 'treasures' are buried in popcorn...

Gum-lover's delight below 😂

the inside of the box is lined with little poems, pictures and bible verses

(I forgot to take a photo of the inside)

Awakening to 'Living the Dream'

To recognize that sorrow is the price we pay for joy

Loss is the proof of having had; everything comes, to pass

And grief and love are life’s most tenderly entwined alloy

Moment’s momentous momentum, sand in life’s hourglass

To recognize that highs and lows comprise ‘living the dream’

Without the brutal ‘bitter’ we would not cherish the ‘sweet’

Or taste the lilt of laughter with more reverent esteem

After the tears we shed when life and death solemnly meet

To recognize the priceless prize disguised as here-and-now

Intangible and fleet, the font that fills history’s mold

And then, with fervent thankfulness to make a humble vow

To do our part to make its art a pleasure/treasure to behold

To, recognize today is all we have, no more or less

To ‘live the dream’ by faith, not fate; to be constantly awed

By He whose loving kindness is the key to happiness

To recognize, through lows and highs, the faithfulness of God

© Janet Martin

I have decided to center my posts after all.

It's hard to teach an 'old dog' new tricks, plus

I have discovered some 'centered' poetry volumes 

in my poem book collection.

See HERE for back story on this 😆

Of Divine Architecture

Trusting our faithful God is sometimes easier said than done, isn't it?!

Trusting Him in all our hard unknowns!

Yesterday my friend whose family is searching for a new home to move to 

as the deadline in their current rental approaches (Feb.), 

said this as they continuously entrust to God this desperate need;

'we know that something will work out, 

even if it isn't necessarily our dream.'

I have been pondering her words  'even if it isn't necessarily our dream.'

No one's dream includes the stress of home-seeking,

 sudden loss of a loved one,

or debilitating injuries or sickness of body or mind,

or broken marriages and friendships.

Trouble and tragedy are part of this sin-cursed world.

And how would we ever learn true and full surrender to

our all-sufficient Heavenly Father's love and grace

without sorrow and suffering;

Our Heavenly Father, who left His throne

knowing what lay before Him!

He was homeless, hated, rejected, spat upon, beaten,

misjudged, mistreated and crucified,

though he was guiltless of any sin!

He did not send a substitute to pardon humanity

but gave Himself to suffer redemption's brutal cost!

He alone brings true comfort and joy.

Through him alone sorrow and sickness are healed

whether on earth or in Heaven.

Ah, holy Christmas season as we

celebrate, marvel and meditate

on the glad tidings of great joy 

which was, will be and ever IS

to all people!

Luke 2:1-11

Then the angel said to them,

“Do not be afraid, for behold,

I bring you good tidings of great joy 

which will be to all people.

11For there is born to you this day in the city of David

a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

***

When our castle of dreams tumbles

God is there to catch the pieces

if we let Him and to help us forward

as we learn to humbly yield and trust

 the Divine Architect with what appears broken

***

Sorrow makes us so much more thankful for/aware of joy!

Today's joy included 

an early morning visit from my sister-in-law

who came bearing a beautiful poinsettia-gift 

...cookie-baking with my neighbours

because school buses were canceled,

Delighting in the snowy scenes through their windows

and mine...

There is no path to What Once Was of former 'days of glory'

Futile to rue the day because of a twist in life's/love's story

Where oft on tender plots of joy, grief's bitter battle wages

As death crumples, like crushed decoys, love's hope and dream-filled pages

Ah, who of us is wise enough to know God's kind intentions 

Or understand the blueprint of His love's Divine Dimensions  

The Builder and Maker of earth and Heaven, who can measure

Or know the height and depth and girth of Mercy's architecture 

It is not ours to mastermind the means of our Creator

Enough to know that He is kind, love's reckoning far greater

Than panoramic dust-to-dust's volatile stance of seasons

Enough to know that we can trust His all-wise perfect Reasons 

Janet Martin

Such is Perhaps

I've come to the conclusion that love and life

are a fine mingling of disappointment and delight!

Torrential down-pours to and from Pennsylvania

 hampered/dampened what would have been even more spectacular views,

on our weekend getaway to attend our nephew's wedding!

Dodging the timing of the wipers to capture the *perfect shot became a bit of a game...

*(I quickly gave up on 'perfect' and simply hoped for a few unblurry shots)😅

But Saturday was less wet than forecasted 

so we didn't get drenched in the morning while doing touristy things

 nor in the afternoon did guests get drenched. 

The wedding was beautiful!

This beautiful couple have already been through some deeply refining disappointments

requiring dream-rearranging...(shot blurred for privacy sake)

Weather-disappointments are a part of life and overall

rather small on the scale of disappointments!

And God's handiwork is stunning, even in the rain!

(both literally and metaphorically)

Sometimes dreams don't turn out how we imagine/anticipate!

But if we place our dreams into God's hands

 perhaps, no, surely He will use the disappointment

to deepen our awareness and appreciation for

the myriad of mercies we are showered with daily! 

Dreamworlds collapse; Such is ‘perhaps’

…perhaps life’s bitter-sweetest means

Of teaching us to hope and trust

In more than destiny of dreams

Perhaps to help us hone the heart

To kinder, meeker give-and-take

Because we know the stinging smart

That ‘perhaps’ can leave in its wake

...to make us more aware of how

We wield the onus of replies

Where perhaps ‘perhaps’ is the ‘wow’

Still wearing broken-dream disguise

...while we weather warpaths of wish

Vexed by detours, potholes, barred gates

Perhaps we should remember this;

 Perhaps something far better waits

© Janet Martin

Life's disappointments develop and test

the mettle of our character.

Everyone is hunky-dory when life goes the way we like, right?

When it doesn't...ah! what then?!

1 Thess.5:18

...in everything give thanks; 

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

A lot of our deepest disappointments are only fully witnessed

by He who truly loves and cares!

Thank-you, faithful Heavenly Father🙏

He Whispers To Me

February/Winter Flowers

I picked the flower puzzle to do (see quandary here) 

because there's just something about flowers

in winter that can't be beat!!

even the pieces look like a handful of petals tossed on a garden path!

So, let's celebrate the last day of February with winter flowers

even if they are painted on cardboard💖😊

They kindle wild dream-pleasure for gardens not planted yet

They gleam with priceless treasure of fond memories to be

They rouse a youthful yearning in the appetites they whet

For perfumed pinks and purples heady with sweet nectar-tea

And like children with rosy faces, kissed by brisk wind-chill

They bloom a little rosier on winter’s windowsill

They delight hearts with visions of a sunny summer’s day

Where butterflies and laughter flit and flirt with honey bee

They make indoors feel friendlier while winter whiles away

As we stroll perfect gardens in a plot of fantasy

A welcome splash of color on a dolor afternoon

They garnish kitchen tables with a glint of May or June

They cheer us with old fashioned charm and make us humbly glad

To be alive where flowers wait to burst the bud with bloom

As blush and gold menageries drive poets gently mad

With so much beauty to behold from Mother Nature’s loom

Primed with a plethora of plumes no tombs can keep at bay 

Unfolding outdoor living rooms still snuggly tucked away

© Janet Martin

Speaking of outdoor living rooms

I would love to try this come spring!

Baking Lavash Bread on Stone Grill

From Country Life Vlog

 

The Wonderworld of 'Will' or The Best of 'This'

Oh, the wonders of tomorrow...

Little grand-daughter sighed with ecstasy  as she relived

 a euphoric plethora of summer memories

 while peering through winter's window...toward spring!

Tomorrow will soon be today's challenges and joys

Tomorrow will soon steal today's girls and boys

Tomorrow will change (for better or worse) what Today still is

Tomorrow is a world away; let's make the best of This

'Grandma, why did you tape the door shut?', questioned grand-daughter the other day.

"Because it's not very tight", I replied "and we need to keep the shivery wind outside!

But, one warm, wonderful sunny day Gramma will take the tape off!

We will open the door and set the rocking chair and flowers

 back on the deck and have tea out there

and read books and have campfire suppers!

 Won't that be a happy day?!!"

And grand-daughters eyes sparkled with heaven-like anticipation as she sighed,

'ye-e-eth!! and aunty Mel will be here too, right?'

' Oh, I hope so,' was all gramma could promise😅💖

I've always believed anticipation is one of life's purest pleasures,

but let's not miss what is while we dream, right?!

Someday porch flowerpots will brim with pretty petal-plumes

The wooly-white woodland will ring with reawakened tunes

The meadow will be like a green-spun picnic blanket spread

Beneath a canopy of sun-kissed blue skies overhead

The barren branch will burgeon with hues of replenished shade

The gale will gentle its halloos into a serenade

Raindrop-waltzes will wash the world and rouse earth from its sleep

And windows will not frame counterpanes unfurled, white and deep

New beginnings will flower and blossoms will deck the grass

Dreamland’s barred gate will lower and beckon us to trespass

The quiet interlude between harvest and Planting Must

Will turn into a bustling scene of machine-startled dust

The clock will feast on a buffet of quickened hour-chime

Hearthside evenings borne away until next winter-time

And we will taste spring’s cheeriness that waits within our thought

And we will wear the weariness we had somehow forgot

And we will wonder at the way each season swiftly spills

While hunger scavenges hope’s tray that each new day refills

And we will bow our head in thanks to mortal’s gracious God

Where we will soon join silenced ranks in earth’s grave-stippled sod

The wonderworld of 'will' is filled with what yet waits to be

With tears and laughter not yet spilled into a memory

But, lest we miss the best of This that will fill yesteryears

Let's make the most of what yet is before it disappears 

© Janet Martin

Genesis 3:19
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, 

until you return to the ground--because out of it were you taken. 

For dust you are, and to dust you shall return."

Eccles.12:7

Then the dust will return to the earth as it was,

 And the spirit will return to God who gave it.