Did I tell you I love wood heat? I do. With a mild blizzard outside, I am toasty warm sitting near the fire. The temp. got up to 14F. today and is now hovering around 5 F. and so it is pretty cool in most homes, but we are feeling a balmy 80F. in our living room thanks to our trusty woodstove. I even took a little nap in front of that little box this afternoon. Just like when I was a kid, I put a blanket down and let the heat radiate over my back. It felt delicious. Ah, the good ole days with wood heat.

Did I say I hate dealing with woodstoves? I do. I was raised with woodstoves. I've had many years of experience. I hate the woodchips and ashes. I hate starting fires and them going out or roaring away in the chimney out of control. I mildly dislike bringing in wood, since I never fail to drop some on the way. Filling the woodbox was one of my big chores as a kid. I mildly hate cutting wood even though I like the outdoors and I have many fond memories of helping my dad. He would cut down the trees and cut up the logs while I pulled back tree branches and helped throw chunks into the pickup box to be brought back to the house to be piled in cord stacks.

My little house has had its share of woodstoves. We once had a fashionable round oak stove in the center of the house that would glow red hot if too much wood was put in. I have vivid memories of BF running out the back door with a flaming chunk of wood. There was no way to regulate the heat. If it got too warm in the house, we would just open the windows. At one time, we had two woodstoves, one in the kitchen and one in the living room. Luckily, I only cooked on a woodstove in my mother's house.

So, with all of that in mind, I love the toasty warm house when the winter winds whip around up here on Wyndehill. I don't worry about storms and loss of electricity because I can cook on my stove top and keep warm too.

Thanks, little woodstove.