Well, the dry season has definitely arrived. The skies are clearer than a month ago. Those clouds that are up there are small puffy things that give definition to the blue bowl of the sky. Yesterday afternoon I realized why the hills looked funny. The humidity has dropped and I am seeing them clearly for the first time. The days are cooler and the nights are very pleasant.

I'm having a tough time getting into the holiday season. There is no climate trigger to get me thinking of Christmas. The scene outside my window is green and blue and lovely but it doesn't conjure up images of Santa and his reindeer. Some places have strung bright colored lights but lights in a palm tree just don't carry the same connotation.

But I do have to get out to the stores this weekend. I want to get some local crafts for my family. My little nieces will get grass skirts and the little coconut halter tops that go with them. I need to send T-shirts from the Traditional Seafarers Society to some family members as well as other bits and pieces. My college daughters want the universal present, money. And I need to look around for other things to box up and send home.

Merry Christmas/Happy Chanukka/Happy Kwanza/G'day