I was five or six years old. My grandfather and grandmother were living right across from our house. Behind the not so impressive garden walls was hidden a paradise. One entered the garden through the gates. On both sides of the narrow path that my grandfather built, were the peach, cherry, plum, walnut and quince trees. In the spring they looked beautiful with their blooms. At the end of the path there stood three buildings. The first was the large kitchen and pantry. The second had the large bedrooms, living room and bathroom. And the last one was used for the guests. In front of the first house was the gazebo covered in climbing grapevines.
My grandmother had always picked and collected the grape leaves and put them in plastic bottles with tight caps to be used for making stuffed grape leaves in winter. Scattered around were the beautiful flowering plants that my grandfather carefully cared for and nurtured. Mostly, I liked the chrysanthemums. There was a very big half stove and half wood oven in the living room. In the winter months we were warmed by the stove and at the same time, in the wood oven the pastries and cakes were baking. They used to take off the lids on the top of the stove and cook food in pots placed in the openings. After dinner, we used to roast chestnuts and place orange peels on the top for fragrant citrus smells to fill the room. There never was a shortage of visitors in my grandmother’s house. Yes, my grandmother’s house was so wonderful!