The best I could come up with was “Brrrrr”. That’s just sad! It is winter time at the foot of the rockies, and I am a weather wimp. My garage has been a steady 41 degrees FOREVER!. Needless to say, I am not getting much done on the tear. Little bits here and there between bouts of frostbite is all. The galley counter top is finished (but not done) and I have started on the lower cabinets.

The lower cabinet will be divided into three sections like the upper cabinets, but they will be all drawers. On the left, will be a slide out drawer/shelf for the stove and pots. In the center, two drawers. The top one for silverware and small stuff. The lower one is a heavy duty drawer to hold my dutch oven and cast iron pans (yeah, I know). On the right, we will have a single drawer/frame where the drop in “kitchen box” will fit. The idea is, this box will be in the house when we are between trips where it can be cleaned and restocked. Then, when we head out to go camping, we drop the box into the galley.

Work, the weather, lack of sleep, winter blues, piss poor planning — whatever. No matter what excuse I use, the fact is, I am just not getting done what I should. But, spring is coming, and I need to get ready!

It has been a while since I have posted anything, so I thought I might post a (non)update. Right now, the teardrop progress is slow… real slow. To make sure things are as waterproof and durable as possible, everything gets at least three coats of Helmsman Spar Urethane. In fact, we are on our third gallon so far! However, what that really means is that things take a long time to finish.

Why so long? For the cabinets, the doors and frame may take a day to cut and shape. Then they have to be assembled and glued. Once the glue dries overnight, they get sanded and cleaned. Finally, its time for the first coat of urethane, which takes at least half a day to dry. Follow that with another coat and allow full day to dry before sanding. Then a third coat is applied and given another full day to dry. Now, turn them over and repeat the process. And, just to keep things from going to fast, with my unheated garage, if the daytime temperature is to low (about half the time at this time of year), you cannot apply the finish.

Santa, how about some insulation for the doors and heat in the garage for Christmas?