The house where I'm living (Happy 4th of July!)

Around 6 p.m. last night, I walked a mile or 2 to the island's only modern grocery store, called Dia. There are small family-owned markets in town, but they're pricey and don't have as much variety. It was hot and I had 5 or 6 heavy bags, so I was sweaty and thoroughly exhausted when I finally trudged up the last steep steps leading home. This morning, my back & biceps are sore and my hands are swollen where the plastic bags cut off my circulation ... and this from someone who spends 1-2 hours a day at the gym back home! (Can you say light-weight?)

Anyway, I don't have much planned for today other than a walk to the beach, so I took some shots of the old Greek house where I'm living. Here you see the entry, the thick wooden front door, lower half-door, and slate steps leading into the house.







Three steps up is the main floor, and to the right is a galley kitchen. Notice the marble sink and low beamed ceiling.



To the left is the bedroom which has a fireplace. Small but cozy! I can only imagine the families that have lived here over the centuries.





Up another narrow curved staircase is the living room. It has a high beamed ceiling, lots of windows, and a doorway which used to lead to a small balcony, now removed after falling into dis-repair.







All windows and the upstairs doorway have green wooden shutters which latch loosely to keep out the sun and can be "thrown open" in the morning and evening to catch the cooler breezes... natural air conditioning. No one here owns a clothes dryer, so the sun and breezes make it easy to dry everything on a clothes line or balcony.



I'll let the bathroom/laundry photo speak for itself...