Well, we all get older, but when it happens to you…

… you really start to take notice of your surroundngs and your situation! If you are very lucky like me, someone who loves you …

… throws you a surprise party. If you are even luckier, you will have a few friends come by for the surprise!

Turning 60 is a big wake up call for me, and perhaps anyone, to think about where you are and what you are doing.

So… Beer Day. That seemed like  good thing to do. If you are not celebrating Beer Day, then you might be lost.

We did go out on a small shopping trip for a present  …

… and saw some lovely shiny trinkets, but in the end settled on a good meal.

Back in August, I also stepped down as the Division Chair of Education.

While I very much enjoyed the role, and in fact was head hunted from Al Ain to come to Abu Dhabi to take on the role, once I resigned from the college, I could not hold on to this position.

We also had a couple house guests over the summer. Our good friend, and my former colleague at the college, Leah, was on her way back to Newfoundland after many years in Abu Dhabi. She came with her cat, Kenzie, to stay with us for a few weeks. Kenzie had recently lost an eye to some kind of pre-cancer. He seemed to adapt to his new surroundings quite well.

More recently, Annette landed a house sit literally across the street from the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.

If you peek through the buildings that we could see from the entry way of the home sit building, you can see the Burj Khalifa peeking through.

One of the astounding facts of this area, known as ‘Business Bay’, is that not only is it home to the tallest building, but the Burj is surrounded by dozens of super-highrises. We stayed on the 24th floor of this building.

The lofts were home to two gorgeous kitties called …

and

Although I love the rural lifestyle that we are about to move into, I also enjoy some time in the ‘downtown’ of big cities. As far as Dubai goes, this is downtown.

The Boulevard circles the Burj Khalifa, and so a stroll around is quite a lovely tour.

At night, the whole area lights up.

The Business Bay is also home to the Dubai Opera. The building itself is really quite amazing to look, and even better to go inside and watch a show.

At night, it becomes very glamorous.

I would love to post a few more photos of the Business Bay area, but I have already made a few posts, so let me just refer you …

Of course, with so many people swarming the Burj and surrounding areas, there are loads of restaurants. You can find just about any cuisine you want, and you will most likely find someone from that very culture working in the kitchen.

Closer to home in Abu Dhabi, the sights are a bit more serene. We always love to walk along the corniche at sunset. The weather is beautiful, and the streets are full.

As a side note, we also visited the Teamlab Phenomona Display. This is quite a disruption of senses.

Finally, as we wind up our time here in Canal Blossom #603, I will miss the lovely views and sitting at my desk gazing out at the canal while I work on my Queen’s University courses.