Even though there was no scheduled conference call today, I managed to stay on the phone for close to an hour with one of my very favorite KKY folks discussing many fine details. As a woman who will soon need to start cooking before real starvation sets in, my interest in the galley appointments has been tweaked. Amazing what necessity does to one's outlook on things.
If you've been reading my previous posts, you certainly know that my Tom was the cook in the family. He was such a good cook (without benefit of recipes), that I gladly retreated to other parts of the boat/house while dinner was being prepared. I would secretly giggle to myself when Tom announced that he didn't feel like cooking. As soon as I heard those words, I flew to the Chart Guides if we were in an unfamiliar marina to see which nearby restaurant took reservations. Hardly very Italian wife of me, but this is a whole new generation, right?
I digress. Today's conversation concerned the galley and some parts of the salon. Many minutes were devoted to the inboard corner cabinet facing aft in the galley, the one at the end. In the 55 brochure, 2 different styles of this cabinet are featured on the 2nd facing page. The upper photo features the cabinet with 2 glass doors, the bottom photo features a closed fronted cabinet with louvered doors. I've decided to go with my heart and opted for the glass fronted cabinets. Though I'm giving up some storage for beauty, this is not such a big sacrifice on this boat since there is a LOT of storage, especially with the new interior design. I have some beautiful crystal pieces that mean a lot to me. So, with the help of museum putty and the glass doors, I'll be able to enjoy looking at these pieces every day. Besides, the lighted cabinets in the evening lend a soft glow to not only the galley and salon, but also to the companionway, since the cabinets are glass on both sides. Neat, right?
Next huge topic is the backsplash behind the stove - what material to put there? Stainless steel is standard, but to those of us who have battled with stainless refrigerator doors and other equally impossible to clean appliances, I have absolutely no interest in trying to clean a stainless steel backsplash, behind a stove of all places! My assignment is to haunt tile stores to get some ideas of what is out there. I'm thinking of doing something that is easy to care for but beautiful to look at. Mosaic, tile, travertine, granite, tile with a center pattern, on and on, the choices are endless. Since I've already decided to go with granite on the countertops, I now need to visit a quarry to attempt to make a decision while we're still in this century. When we did the kitchen counters in our house, I was in the quarry til they told me they had to close. When Tom heard I still hadn't made a decision, he said he would call the quarry and have them lock me inside until they opened the next day. This is a huge decision folks. Since it's sort of permanent and will be seen every second I'm on the boat, it's important to get it right the first time!
Since I'm absolutely wild about cherry, I decided to wrap most of the boat in this gorgeous wood, including the walls of the galley. I'm not a fan of formica and dislike the abrupt ending of wood between the salon and galley. Besides, the window in the galley is huge and oddly shaped, so will blend in better with the cherry. Since cherry is a light wood and the boat light-infused, there is no problem with the wood making the boat's interior look too dark. So another decision made on a Friday afternoon in which absolutely no office work was accomplished.
For those of you who are concerned about how "custom" you can make your Krogen, have no fear. When I'm finished with this blog, I will do 2 unusual things: measure my cat (yep) and measure the length and height of her litter box. Among the discussions of bow thrusters, stabilizers and dishwashers, was the one concerning the location of my adorable tuxedo cat's litter box. Since I will most likely always have company on this boat (call early for your reservation), my cat needs a comfortable place to get away from the lack of privacy she is now used to. Cats can be finicky, so to forestall any "bad" litter box behavior, I'm being proactive here. We've narrowed the litter box location to the master stateroom since that is the one place Zoe (my cat) can be alone to do her business. Now we need to figure out just where in the stateroom to put that box. Not a huge amount of choices. One was to take the bottom 2 drawers out of the vanity and coat it with epoxy to present a smooth, easy space to clean. Another was to put a removable piece of plastic on the bottom of the shower stall and just plop the box in there. If anyone has any other ideas, I'd be thrilled to hear them.
Whew, I've exhausted myself just thinking about all the decisions that have been made and are still to be made. So far, this has been an exhilarating process peppered with a sense of disbelief that I'm really going ahead with building this boat after all I've been through in not quite 6 months (Monday the 17th will be exactly 6 months since I lost Tom). At the end of the day, this boat is all about Tom and honoring his memory all the days I own the boat. He will be aboard with me always.
Have a great weekend everyone! More to come on Monday I 'm sure.
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