I know I have been complaining about the weather down here in Dubai for a long time now, four to six months now, and it is gonna stop right now – at least for now. YES, the summer is finally gone and the temperature is slowly receding.
By that I mean, I don’t have to run the aircon 18 hours a day right now. I know there is a bit of time for the official “fall”, but I will take it as a win for now.
So how is the weather wherever you are at now? Is the Dubai summer finally done?
Did you see anything new around here? Yes, I made a bit of renovation here and changed the website‘s look a bit. I moved to Divi themes and it took more time than I thought it would. But finally, I am happy with the result. What do you all think?
I apologize if something isn’t working and do tell me. Also let me know if you have any suggestions or updates for the site, leave them on the comment section. I am all excited and I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts about the changes here.
This was a good reading week for me. I finished reading two books, which somehow feels like a great thing because I have not done that in a while.
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman
Ayesha At Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
The reviews will be up soon.
What I watched this week
I am watching the Boys on Amazon and I loving it. Again I try not to binge on it, but I have caught up with all the episodes for now.
I also watched the Tenet last week and I can say my mind blew. I may have as well lived under a rock because this is my first Christopher Nolan movie (I know I know). I am definitely watching more of his movies in the coming week.
On my blog
In case you missed the posts from my blog, last week.
On other news, the last week staycation was great and I hadn’t realized how much I needed that. Of course I was (almost “over the top”) cautious and followed all safety precautions. I will attach some pictures for you guys to enjoy!
Now on to the review of the month aka August 2020 wrap up!
Quick August’20 updates
I had a below the average reading month because I spent most of the time reading manuscripts as a beta reader. I think August and July were the most busy months ever in terms of commissioned for beta reading work.
Staying in for most of the summer worked but I still managed to get sunburnt more than once. I am probably a tarnish to all the dark skinned Indians who have probably never used the sunscreen in their entire life.
We finally took our two day vacation at Ras Al Khaimah and spent almost every possible moment on the beach and the pool. Much needed cool off.
What I read this month:
As I mentioned earlier, it has not been a good reading month and am terribly off the Goodreads challenge charts – not to say anything about the A to Z reading challenge as well.
I am still hoping to catch them up in the upcoming months. I just read two books this month and I have already reviewed them both on the blog.
Henna Artist, The by Alka Joshi
Virgin River by Robyn Carr
What I watched this month:
I didn’t watch much this month except for Modern Family, which I loved to bits.
What else should I be watching on Netflix?
On my blog
In case you missed the posts from my blog, last week.
How has your August been? What are you watching and reading these days? Don’t forget to link me to your monthly wrap up post so that I can take a look at them. Let’s talk.
When you are reading this post, I would be enjoying my coffee and the two day staycation at Cove Rotana, Ras Al Khaimah. I know it is still scary to be out in the world with the numbers again slowly rising in the UAE but I think it is a well deserved rest.
When I say well deserved, I want to remind that I have been following the rules, restrictions and the curfew for six months now – yes the whole COVID-19 drama started here in the late February. I have stayed home as much as possible and the very few times I went out, I followed social distancing and with the gloves/masks.
Sure, it is the bare minimum, but staying cooped up in the house and working all through the pandemic is so depressing and sad. And hence the staycation (also because the prices were cheap for obvious reasons).
Anyway I will still be following all the precautions and santization, as required. But I need the beach, whatsoever. So the next time I talk to you guys I hope to be well rested and more fun than usual.
Here are some pictures of the hotel we are staying in for you!
After a long boring week where almost nothing happened, yesterday we celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi, which marks the birth of Vinayak or Ganesh – the elephant faced God in Hinduism. He is our God of new beginnings and thus one of our favorites.
Typically we create the idol with eco friendly products like clay, turmeric or rice flour and decorate with flowers and leaves. After the festival, we dissolve the idol in water, preferably in a lake or beach, which used to be a carnival by itself – hoping our sorrows and misfortunes would dissolve likewise.
Sadly, as things change people are using idols made of plaster of Paris and they are pollutants and a menace too. We are planning to dissolve our clay idol in a bucket of water and then pour it out into the garden later today.
We cook sweet and salt dumplings called Kozhukattai or Modak, pot boiled legumes (usually chickpeas or peanut, called sundal) and pudding (Kheer) among other dishes. So yesterday I had such a big lunch that I promptly slept after that.
So how was your week?
What I read this week
Last week I read Virgin River by Robyn Carr for Maureen’s book club. I can’t wait to join the book club discussions soon.
What I watched this week
I am still watching Modern Family and currently at Season 9. I am already worried that I am gonna finish watching it all.
I also finished watching Superstore on Prime. So what else should I start watching?
On my blog
In case you missed the posts from my blog, last week.
