On Friday, January 29 the sun was shining and the morning was warm. Andy took his family to the pool in the late morning. Jim was attending a conference until noon. I washed all of the stone work and porches outside, even swept the patio off of the master bedroom. In the early afternoon Jim and I were sitting in the back yard, discussing the required tasks for the rest of the day, enjoying the sun and gentle breeze. All of a sudden, the sky grew very dark and the temperature dropped slightly. We thought it might rain and we had no intention of moving for a small rain. The wind picked up and started to blow the yard toys and furniture around. It picked up our plastic grass and rippled it like waves. Andy and his family blew in the door just as the wind really picked up. We rushed around the yard trying to pick everything up or anchor it down. The neighbor’s gazebo was bent and broken in a matter of minutes. Soon, the air was thick with dust and sand. We bustled around the house trying to close doors and windows to keep the dust out. Too late. The floors and counters were covered with a thick layer of dust.

The newspaper paper said that the sand storm had hit the southern emirates, causing chaos and wreaking havoc. Cars were piled up on the highways, palm trees had been split, street lamps were down, fencing was knocked over, cars had been smashed, and down pours of rain had caused flooding in low laying areas. Numerous people were injured in the wake of the storm. No drifting snow on the roads here, drifting sand brings traffic to a major slow down or a complete halt.

The task of cleaning every surface in the house and yard was daunting. So, in the true Dubai spirit, I called the lady who helps me clean house once in a while. For three hours she just dusted shelves and washed floors. I worked outside and in rooms where she did not work.

Things were fairly clean, and with daily diligence, the house can be kept clean. But, the sand storm changes everything. Vacuuming and dusting is in vain. I do just enough to keep the floors from becoming slippery. Hopefully this will pass soon. Then I will have to hire the house keeper to come back and hang out for a while.

January through March is supposed to be the rainy season. We have not seen much rain. Yes, it has drizzled and one afternoon we did have a downpour, but the rain seems to go around us. We do have plenty of sand instead.

A few weeks ago, Jim and I were driving to the store. The air was clear all around us. In the distance we could see the tall buildings of Dubai. The city was being hit by a sand storm. We could see it blowing into the city and everything was in a thick haze. It is fascinating how the sand storms can be so isolated at times.

Would I exchange these sand blizzards for the cold and snow blizzards? I do not know. I did enjoy fresh snow, shoveling and the quiet. I loved using the new snow by walking on it before anyone else. This is still too new for me.