Opening a new branch

We just received our official Guest House Authorization the other day, so now it is time to open a new vein of the business. I am very excited about that, knowing it will probably increase our cooking school business. So excited to finally be official and start to advertise.

That means it's website-building time. Getting the frame will be the hardest part. All the content will be fun.

Any day now!

I should have official Guest House authorization any day. Once that happens, it's time to set up my new website and post many pics of the rooms. I am so excited about finally getting to advertise and expanding this business.

One of the great things that I have heard recently is about an adoption program based in my city. Someone from the US Consulate called me and explained that folks are adopting babies and need a place to stay for a longer period of time (2 - 4 weeks). Our place is perfect for those kinds of stays. We are much better than the Ibis or other hotels around, in that we have a floor people can rent with a full-scale kitchen, a washing machine and multiple pack-n-plays. What a great business opportunity, as well as a blessing to those adopting kiddos.

Once we get that authorization (I think on Monday), we will start rejoicing.

Authorization & the Police

We are so close to having our full authorization to be an official Guest House. Just a few more days and we are good to go! The architect drew up the plan of our house and we got it approved. Our fiduciare then headed over to the Fire station to get their authorization on the fire safety of the house. At the station, we were then told we needed stabilization authority after the mosque in our city fell a few months ago. Any old building now needs that authorization. It's down to the final authorization from the local government. That is being worked on today and should be complete at the beginning of next week.

Oh what a relief that will be. I am so excited to start advertising as an official guest house and venture into a new aspect of this business. It's going to be fun. The past few weeks filling the house with numerous decorations has been envisioning.

Then the trip to the police station a few days ago was quite the adventure. I just had a large group come through last week and take several classes. About 13 of the students stayed the night. According to the police, a group like that needs to stay at a hotel. To them, they aren't considered friends or guests, just tourists. I got a nice slap on the hands by having to wait to talk with the Chief for 2 1/2 hours, and the time I spent with him was less than 5 minutes.

Here soon, I won't need to worry about that. Once I am official, I can advertise and anyone can stay at the place. Will keep you updated...

Authorization ... Take Two

We have started the process of getting authorization for our Guest House again. I don't know how long it is going to take or how many papers need to be filed, but I am unleashing my fiduciare (tax accountant) to take care of it all. He told me to give him some money and he'll get it done. He also joked about me having to buy him a new pair of shoes at the end because he is going wear down the souls of his making this happen.

I sure can't wait to be an official registered Guest House. That will be great to advertise and get folks in the door. Guess I need to start thinking of a name for the house.

Maybe ... Riad Padgett

Constantly Growing

It seemed to take forever to hit the century mark (class #100), but since we did, we have been racing toward #200. In the past few weeks, we have been holding classes at break-neck speeds. Early this morning, we had a delightful couple in from New Mexico (#108). From now until the end of the month, I think we have 10 more classes already in the books.

A few weeks ago we had "Aussie week." On Tuesday, a dude named Isaac came through on his travels from Sydney. Two days later, a fun couple from Melbourne ventured through our school. I almost lost my Texas accent and headed Down Under after that week.

In two weeks we have "Foreign Tongue week" if it all works out. There are two classes slated to be in French, then four classes to be held in Modern Standard Arabic. Guess I will just sit in the corner and pick my nose for those. Not gonna be able to understand much. But washing dishes is an international language.

Sorry about the delay between posts. I hope to become more regular in recording all the fun events of our school. I need to do this more regularly so I don't forget all the fun that we have with each of our clients.

If I could turn back time...

A few days ago, we had a delightful group come through our cooking school. They contacted us at the last minute, but we were able to make something work for them. And I am glad that we could, because they are doing something that I wish I would have had the opportunity/ability to do.

They have quit their jobs and taken some time to travel the world.

Alys & Alex said "sayonara" to their incomes for a year and have traversed the globe. And they are only half way through their trip with all of Europe waiting for them. It was pretty neat talking with them and their friend Meg, who also quit her job to travel before moving back to her home state of Virginia.

If you are interested in reading more about their travels, take a look at their blog: www.alysandalex.com

One of their coolest adventures came in Laos (chronicled at the beginning of their trip).

Repainting ... Again

How many years will it take before I figure out how to correctly paint my guest house? Every single year at the end of the rainy season, the paint on the ceiling starts to peel and "snow" down on the couches and beds.

Yesterday I spent several hours scraping paint and plaster off my ceiling in a discouraged mood...cuz it's not the first time I've done the same thing. Insanity?

Next week, I am going to get a "professional" painter to come over to the house and give me his opinion on what I need to do. Whatever it is, though, I am already thinking it's not going to work. Where is the optimistic side of me in this whole mess?

At least we just held class #95. That will help and pay for the repeat work next week.

Busy Week

We have had a great week in regards to the business. And I mean full. This past week, our guest house has been full with a family of 4 on the top floor (Dutch) and a Canadian couple on the 2nd floor. It has been great hosting and taking care of them.

At the same time, we have had 3 different cooking classes. Earlier this week, we hosted 11 ladies for a quick 2-hour course. They blew in, made a great chicken tajine with apricots, and then took off to Fes. What a whirlwind those few hours were. Yesterday, a good buddy of mine and his girlfriend came through. He has been living here for 6 years and is heading back to the States on Sunday. Sad times. But the class with them was wonderful. And as we speak, my wife is finishing a course with the Canadian couple and a friend. Wish I could be there eating the Bourmash dish they are making, but I got kid-duty.

Next week is already starting to fill up. I guess the rain and pouring go hand-in-hand. All those months over the winter break of hoping for something has passed. Now I kinda miss that slow season.

Olympic Visitor

I am still trying to figure out for sure, but I believe that we just had an Olympic Silver Medalist in our midst about 2 weeks ago. A couple came through for an evening class and really enjoyed themselves. As Amy was chatting with them, she found out that they are ice skaters traveling around on vacation. She was a little too busy trying to light the heater to talk with them extensively, but she was able to get to know them a little bit.

Today, I printed several classes worth of pictures and started putting them in our guest book. As I got to their picture, I noticed that the girl's name was Alexandra Cohen. The name rung a bell, and thought it might be Sasha's little sister. After doing a little research, it comes to be that Sasha Cohen was born Alexandra Cohen, but goes by Sasha. Then comparing the 1 picture I have of them with the vast amounts of pics on the internet, I am 90% positive they are one in the same. Now I just need to email them their recipes and ask the obvious question.

A possible Silver Medalist in our little ole cooking school! How awesome!

89 & Counting

So I am not the best blogger. I normally don't have a lot of things to say. I want to write out my thoughts, but forget. As far as business goes, I know this helps, so I will do my best to talk more about Meknes, our cooking school and various other stories.

As of now, we have held 89 cooking classes in the last year and a half. On top of that, we have hosted a good number of guests in our house! I lost track of them a long time ago. Our informal guest house has definitely been a huge success. I love being able to host families/groups/parties at the house. It took a lot of work at the beginning, but now is just fun.

Wonder who is going to be in class #100?!?!?!

It's just around the corner. Stay tuned...