24 French and Decreasing / Increasing Daily With Other Guests and Groups- Plus Our Lives Go On!

Well, Inga -and, therefore I- are on a "clean this" mission at MPH. Have gotten the whole living room areas and the dining room area walls all washed. Are now attacking the stair hallway walls and the kitchen . So Tshimbu is attacking all of that and Kabanza the hall stair walls. Also have him cleaning the walls to the huge pantry and door areas. You should have seen the reaction when I put on my pretty blue and white - with ruffles -apron and went in to help scrub the main work island and show what I wanted!!! I might have well have asked them to strip! "NO! Mama!!" So I showed them what I wanted fast and just keep going in and praising them. Once half of the work island was done so the cooks could  move to the other end of the island, Papa Mata asked if I could get all of the counters done too. Guess they saw how great the counter looked and how dusty the rest of the kitchen really was. It only took soap and very HOT water to cut the grease!! This took all day while- we were out doing the groceries. Everything looks great!! But it is dry and dusty season. Laundry room and kitcher hallway are next. Also went and checked the dorm baths and there are no longer spiderwebs all over the place. So they looked at my picture reminders and are doing well. I'm proud of them and brag constantly! ;)) Yea!! This ole Southern Stubborn Mule will get it done - hopefully with sugar instead of having to go to vinegar!! ;))




Ken at Barber

Also while out we made a stop at a Salon for me to be pampered and Ken to get his ears lowered. Mansour from Morocco cut our hair. His shirt color was the same as the girls outfits except a different design. He had a thick beard and his shirt unbuttoned to his waist! Sexy-I guess- for someone!  ;) He has five girls that assist him. The one standing by Ken washed his hair and then seated him. Then her job was to swish Ken's face and neck with a soft brush every time hair got on it. Good haircut but as Ken says, "He's no Lynnette Smith!"- his favorite barber in Lubbock- NO ! Favorite in the whole WORLD!! Then it was my turn. Another young lady took care of me. A great hair wash and then head massage. (Told her I'd give her ten years to stop. It lost something in translation!) She seated me and he cut my hair. Showed him the pics on my phone and I got the same cut! Then pedi and mani for me. Can you believe they did not have my favorite OPI Cajun Shrimp color! Bummer! Wonderful pampering time. Much cheaper than the US! Next customer had long hair. The girls would hold the sections out of his way as he dried it. No big hair clip deals. The girls were all dressed in the same uniforms. He had a Dalmatian the size of a horse- yes it was a Dalmatian not a Great Dane (as I thought was a possibility) and gorgeous. But on our arrival the dog unhappily went to the back room. There are no codes in this country- no salon, restaurant, electrical or anything.  Food For Thought would have a Hay Day.


DFC- Democratic Fried Chicken? What A Hoot!
Or is that What A "Cluck?"

Another " In the Sign Department" on our way to town. We seem to go various streets each week as my requests vary on what we need. I tell Emanuel, the Chauffeur, where I want to go and the order is his choice- most times. If we get meat that grocery has to be the last stop after lunch. So this time it is a take off on KFC!! It's DFC! Love it! On way home also saw a French sign but it also had one in English- "Ladies Night" at a local bar. Not the one across the street but a near by one. But Ken  was not interested in saving money so we did not go! ;)

 The French arrived at 11:30/23:30 PM ! Flight on time- 7:40. Two hours to get bags- 2 still not here. Then the rest spent getting here from the airport. Then got rooms all assigned and I went and got my gown on and sat down on the bed- K-flop. "Knock! Knock!" Get on bathrobe and go to the door. (Which has a MPH sign on it in French and English that says "Unless it is an Emergency, Do Not knock after 9 PM"- OOPS! Guess it was an emergency for 18 tired and thirsty teenagers!)  ;)) They all wanted cokes and Fanta Orange. Those are kept in a locked refrigerator cabinet. So out the keys and I go. Patient Panties! So far they have been very polite and the kids speak great English! Adults are hit and miss.

This morning they tell me there may be even more for lunch. So I go and ask Inga and I return with the answer. "May" doesn't work well for food I tell them. You can agree to pay for 30 whether they show or not or stay at 24 guests to add to your 24 folks. They agree on thirty. So lunch is now 64 and no more counting from them. (Another group of 4 has until  the 9:30 AM -Cut Off for signing up for lunch to let us know-or they can't eat lunch here.) Then the French want a big place to meet each day. I tell them the large conference room is available at $70 a day. "Even for an hour or so for the conference room?" So I tell them yes. (We are NOT a hotel - though they would charge more than $70!!- I want to tell them but I smile and paddle like crazy under the water!! Think, Lenore,
S-W-A-N!) Or the patio or library for free. Isn't life fun! When their 24+ guests arrived and all got to the Conference room, they have been singing and it has been so pretty! The kids are here to help for two weeks build /remodel a kitchen at an orphanage. Before the adult guests arrived the kids were outside playing soccer and volleyball with out a net. Were having lots of fun.


This is the door to my office. The carved symbol is the same one as the ones painted around the top of the walls in the  dining area. It is Bakuba symbol and means Welcome.If you look at it you can see the head in the center and the arm is in the air waving welcome. Well, maybe you can't see it -so use your BIG imagination!! ;))

Issues in the kitchen. Yesterday's lunch for 64 was 45 minutes late. Supper was not enough meat servings.  When one can't read it is hard to "gazillionize" a recipe for 4 to feed 40+. So he "sort of" doubled a recipe for pancakes for 40 this morning by adding more flour. The recipe was for 4 so we were a "tad"bit short plus sort of flat tasting! Inge went in and made more and followed the recipe and included all the ingredients and increased it. As we Murrays call it "She had a tight jaw!"So Inge is here for the whole day to see about getting the kitchen sorted out. She has the patience of Job!  It's above my pay grade!-Thank Goodness!! She has asked me and my Type A personality to help. So I am to look at jobs the different cooks can each do so it is not duplicated and thus help each other and have it run smoother. So I will surf the net for help on what a Chef does because huge kitchens are not my forte'. Also she just came in and wants a Daily,Weekly and Monthly cleaning schedule for commercial Kitchens. I will look for that next.

Tonight we are going to Chez Mama Colonel! Guess what they serve!! He! He! Can't wait to go! Think I'll order chicken- BBQ if they have it! I'd love some of Ken's BBQ chicken and one of his steaks.  Doris Weeks is home in Savannah and I asked her to bring some BBQ sauce so we may do it here for "family. Hope it is still warm when we get home in October so he can cook me some on the Grill. Found out Larry likes Spoon Bread so I am going to do that too when it is a small crowd and we have a Texas meal and see how it goes before I even try to teach the cooks Texas Fried steak. We actually found hot dogs at the Snooty Patooty grocery. So that is up next too. Not the ones that look like fingers floating in a glass jar-  but in a package like home. Not Oscar Mayer but hey at least they aren't floating!!

I am off to see the Wizard! The Wonderful Wizzard of..... They have promised to take us to the Zongo Falls for Ken's and my Birthday combination! Yea!! Fun in the future!!

Y'all have a great weekend, now, Ya Hear!!  Love, ya! ME