Those of you who see my Facebook posts know that last Thursday and Friday were winter here in Abu Dhabi. It got down to 53 here in the city. Up north in
the mountains of Ras al Khaimah (sounds like they are saying Rozzleheimer) there was actual 
snow. RAK is the part in red on the map of the UAE. The ambient temp went to -2.2 Celsius (about 28 Fahrenheit) and there was a pretty stiff wind. Though it is not the first time there has ever been ‘snow’ up there, it IS highly unusual for it to be real snow. Usually they refer to relatively annual hail and ice storms as ‘snow’. This was really, truly snow. That kinds of weather definitely warranted significant layers of clothing. That said, the weather we got here in Abu Dhabi did not. Nevertheless, anything below 65 degrees seems to require multiple layers topped by a down parka, earmuffs, and ski gloves. 
(Pardon me for snickering.) In the meantime, Larry and I are sporting short sleeves, beneath a wind breaker or lightweight shawl. I think daytime temps in the mid 60s with bright sunlight are heavenly!
Moving on to the week that has followed our winter, we have now experienced rainy season. Or I should specify some people did. While I saw some clouds that could be considered ominous by local standards, I didn’t feel a drop of rain. I do know people who did however. They had to walk or drive through multiple drops of rain. I am not sure any of it was measureable, and nobody was even remotely damp after braving the ‘storm.’ Though I’m told we could possibly get more, the bulk of rainy season is reportedly now over. Wow. I am underwhelmed, and find myself missing precipitation. Maybe I just miss some variation on the theme of constant, glaring, unfettered, sunlight. Or maybe I just miss the clarity of sunlight at altitude. Maybe because the atmosphere is thinner, or perhaps because the accompanying dryness makes it difficult for ‘stuff’ to hang in the air, the light at altitude is simply more clear and crisp. I definitely miss that.
All of this is to say that the past 10 days have encompassed the bulk of both winter and the rainy season here in the Middle East. Today it is back up to mid-70s, and by the end of next week, we will be into the mid-80s during the day. Fahrenheit of course, as I have yet to be used to the Celsius equivalent. I am told I will be considered a local when I associate with Celsius temps and stop converting dirhams to dollars in my head. (I predict that neither of those things will happen.)
Now for an update on the boat… As many of you know, we have been actively pursuing a boat in hopes of having it here by the time our lease on the apartment expires at the end of this month. The first one we took a hard look at sold before we had our stuff together. The second one didn’t hold up to scrutiny after we started asking questions. But… as they say, the third time’s a charm. We made an offer on one, and after a bit of back and forth it is looking good. Within the next couple of weeks Larry and I will fly to Southern Europe and walk through the inspection process with the Marine Surveyor. Barring any anomalies in the inspection we will have a boat! I will post photos once everything is complete (I don’t want to jinx anything!)