It feels like Mother Nature has decided to bring winter back as a April Fools joke. Haha, very funny!

For the record, I do not honor April Fools Day. So if anyone plays a joke on me, I shall remain as grumpy as this cat.

Can you believe the first quarter of 2025 is over already?

If you ask what I think of 2025, I would tell you I have very mixed opinions of the year so far. As much as I’ve tried to avoid the news, I haven’t been able to do so, not with it popping up everywhere – on the taskbar at the bottom of laptop screen, on my phone, everywhere – and the more I scanned the headlines, the more apocalyptic 2025 is looking.

A few nights ago, at around 11:30 PM, my mom burst into my room shouting, “Earthquake!”

Not again, I thought. I checked my phone and found no reported earthquake. I wondered if she’s suffering from the after-effects of the multiple earthquakes we experienced while we were in Japan. I know I have the after-effect myself as I would suddenly find the ground rocking beneath my feet sometimes when I walk. The matter of fact is although we do live along a fault line, we don’t get frequent earthquakes and if we do get an earthquake, it’s usually a big one, not small ones.

So, no, I don’t believe there was an earthquake recently.

Anyway, what went on in March?

Well, I toured Asia for 2 weeks – Taiwan to Japan and back to Taiwan. I wasn’t exhausted when I got home. That’s because my body seems to react to everything slower than everyone else. The reaction didn’t come until last weekend when wave after wave of exhaustion washed over me but I had to carry on because I had to prepare the garden for winter once more. Mother Nature’s April Fools joke.

Here’s a gallery of some of my favorite shot taken on the trip.

What’s going on in April?

Ever heard of the A-Z challenge? That’s what I’ll be doing in April on this blog. This year, I’m choosing to highlight 26 places I’ve been. My definition of “places” is very broad, so it can mean a State, country, or a landmark. My first post should’ve been out a few hours ago.

What am I looking forward the most in April?

The flowers!

I’m looking forward to the flowers, the trees blooming, the warmer weather (hopefully), and all the wonderful things that accompanies spring.

As for places I’m planning to go in April, I haven’t decided yet. I feel I’m still not yet recovered from the trip and perhaps, I should focus on that at the moment.