OUR FIRST ˝GUESTS”

My parents arrived almost three weeks ago .They are sleeping in our future office – this being the only room ready at the time of their arrival. These four extra hands make a world of difference and our renovation is taking big leaps.
They were up on ladders in their painting and working gear the very next morning – equipped with wire and paint brushes. Only the smell of freshly cooked food can lure my dad from his work. A lot of the holes – remnants from new wiring or pluming are being repaired by my dad – the only thing missing is a fresh coat of paint. My mom lends a helping hand wherever it’s needed, spends a lot of time in our gardens and often puts the finishing painting touches on a renovated window or door.
Our first hotel room is painted and the wooden floor is put down. Our balconies are freshly tiled and the new iron railing mounted. We are unpacking boxes to find pictures and items to decorate the room. An absolute highlight was our first shower in the new bathroom a few days ago – easy to regulate water temperatures and a slightly massaging water current made up for the months of improvised showering. Everyone’s shower that day was rather extensive…
One of our biggest projects so far – a wall for more privacy – is almost completed. The “Maestro” is confident to finish the work sometime next week.

RECYCLING DURING CONSTRUCTION

We are making an effort to stay true to our principles even during the construction. Many things were reused or found a new purpose – i.e. our old gate that was used around a sitting area as a trellis for the freshly planted Jasmine. This should provide ample privacy by the end of winter and encourage people to sit down and take a little break.
Many of the logs that so far supported the wooden floor found a new purpose by the reservoir. They form part of the wall that holds the banks of our “pond”.
Old wood serves as trim for the restored windows and many of the old doors that seemed beyond salvation shine in new splendor.
The concrete of the old parking lot was broken up and used as part of the foundation for the wall. This saved a lot of unnecessary truck trips and our budget certainly didn’t mind!

NATURE DOESN’T CEASE TO AMAZE US

We harvest new fruit almost every week, discover new blossoms and our Tilapia fish at least quadruplet in size. Lots of frogs choose our reservoir as their new home – their croaking can be heard at night – and the chirping of birds is a very nice sound to wake up to in the morning.

ADMINISTRATION

The work behind the scenes becomes more and more important. Our website needs upgrading and the design and printing of business cards and other promotional material is underway. Permits need to be applied for and we are working on getting in touch with the tourism organizations in the area.
Our lunches, dinners and drinks become more inventive and daring as we try to design ideas for a future menu…

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 1st, 2011 at 2:16 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.