Malta Diary - part 5

This entry can very well be titled 'Women and Work.' it has been the week for women in Malta, as the results of the European Parliament elections were decided, and in a stunning result, 4 out of the 6 Maltese members elected were women, two-thirds of Malta's humble representation at the European Union! There are presently 10 women in the Maltese parliament, out of 65 members, and so the women in Malta are having a field day, rightly so. Incidentally thanks to the 4 elected in the Euro Parliament, Malta has the largest percentage of representation of women among the 27 countries that make up the European Union. In the last election 5 years ago, they had none.

This week has also been a working week for me as I did some furniture painting around our house. As I'm so used to seeing white in the USA, in reference to snow, I've seen lots of white this past week as I painted chairs, cabinets, doors and other furniture with brilliant white paint, freshening up some of the kitchen equipment that needed a new paint-job. Speaking of painting, I also started doing some watercolor projects in my free time. After the success of my 4 paintings being auctioned for our parish school, I got motivated to pick up the brushes and created some landscapes with the limited equipment I have, mostly lent by my sister-in-law Maria.

This past week I also accompanied my sister-in-law to her native island of Gozo, our sister island and part of the Maltese archipelago. Gozo is 5 miles north-west of Malta, and a ferry boat covers the 20 minute transit to a more peaceful, more conservative and less crowded spot in the 122 square miles that make up the Maltese islands. I was able to visit some of the churches there and take some great photos to add to my ever-growing collection. So far I took 1200 photos, but I'm sure by the time I return to Bend the number will be close to 2000.