Sandy Days

A few weeks ago I posted this photo on Facebook of my street here in Saudi during a dust storm . Since we are experiencing another sand storm today, I thought I would revisit the subject here on the blog.

Our skies are usually blue and sunny, but when the "sand man" blows through an eerie orange glow appears outside. And, within an hour, the temperature drops and the wind begins howling. In Arabic the storms are referred to as a shamal, or north wind.

Since it is not a good idea to "play" outside (you breathe in fine dust), I am forced to come up with fun, creative things for Zeina to do inside the house. For the most part, we bake real cakes and cookies, make play-doh food and blow up the bouncy castle in the play room so that we stay entertained.