Nostalgia

I recently found out that my old home back in Malta was up for sale. It brought back so many memories of when i would cook for a family. It is so rewarding to see your children and husband enjoying a home cooked meal, and the smell of baked potatoes, or a cake remains in my memory.

Fresh bread was delivered every day - all I had to do was leave a bag tied to the door knob with the required amount of money and the baker would take the money and leave me a loaf of bread.

The entrance to homes in Malta often has two doors. An exterior wooden one and interior one, usually glass.

When the wooden door was closed, it generally meant we are out, asleep, or don't feel like visitors (!!) but when you saw the glass door it meant welcome to our home!

My home was about 600 years old...we had exposed the limestone walls, it had a vaulted ceiling and many 'mohbas" or hiding places - for example, going up the stairs, there were shelves to one side, which actually opened up and led to a hidden room. The basement was also made up of three rooms, connected by a narrow passage way and had its own door to the outside. This was because it was used as a stable for the horse ( or donkey) that was used as transportation.

The Maltese are very houseproud - you find very few 'cookie cutter' homes and even though the newer buildings are similar to each other, the island is full of 'houses of character' that are highly in demand for their unique style. They, however, need constant maintenance as the windows and doors are all made of wood and need to be treated against the fierce summer sun.

The ceilings were about 18feet high - no need for a/c downstairs and the basement was always nice and cool in the summer.

We had made extensive alterations - all keeping in the style of the period, the only exception being installing a/c upstairs and the pool

You may notice that the pool is not fenced in. There are no regulations for fencing in pools in Malta like there are in the USA - and as far as i know, there have never been any child drownings in a pool! why? maybe because children are not left alone, and being island folk we all know how to swim!

If I had known i would not live there for ever i would have taken more pictures as this house was really a dream.