Life is a treasure to be enjoyed one day at a time. I started my yesterday with the Saturday Sweets Stroll. Here are some random shots I took along the way:

When I got back home, I started making plans for next year’s journey.

7 January: 1898 Hotel in Makati, Manila.

8 January: Philippine Airlines Manila (MNL) to Da Nang (DAD).

8 January-13 January: Haian Beach Resort, Da Nang.

13 January-14 January: Mercure French Village Hotel, Ba Na Hills.

14 January-16 January: Lantana Boutique Hotel, Hoi An.

16 January-19 January: Century Riverside Hotel, Hue.

19 January-23 January: Haian Beach Resort, Da Nang.

23 January: Vietnam Airlines Da Nang (DAD) to Saigon (SGN).

23 January: Philippine Airlines Saigon (SGN) to Manila (MNL).

I’ll be traveling with Swan and my neighbors, Jeff and Davina, who will be providing transport to and from Manila. So, now all that’s left to do is survive until January. Wish me luck!

With the travel arrangements taken care of, I was ready to quench my thirst. I was a little bit surprised when I saw a Facebook post that there would be live music once again at Treasure Island. Welp, we have had mostly sunny skies these past few days, so why not hit the beach?

Their set included several Creedence Clearwater songs, which I had never heard done in a female voice. Not bad at all. Then they did the Moody Blues (sorry for the brain fart) Procol Harum classic, “A Whiter Shade of Pale.” I hadn’t heard that tune in many, many years, but damned if I didn’t remember the words. I impressed Swan by singing along.

I headed out to the beach to check on things and saw this:

We headed back home not long after dark because that’s just the way we roll.

I enjoyed this photo of the Blue Angels spelling “F U” while flying in formation.

In the January 2011 LTG archives was a sad episode in The Story of My Life: waking up to find my mother dead. It wasn’t a surprise, and I was relieved that her suffering was over, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

In today’s YouTube video, a seventy-year-old expat shares his experiences during his relatively brief time in the Philippines. I smiled as he talked about the frustrations that come with Filipino inefficiencies, and I remembered the lesson my “tour guide,” Loraine, taught me during one of my early visits when I frequently lost patience: “Relax. Take a deep breath. Accept the Filipino way.” That mantra still comes in handy even after all these years.

So, who is up for a smile or two?

And now the time has come to prepare to implement the remainder of my Sunday routines. More of the same in a good way.