When we first moved into our house, we weren't sure if we loved or despised our propane fireplace. It was easy to light and got the house plenty warm. But soon we realized it also did not have thermostatic control so we had to turn it off and on constantly. It made our eyes burn and it took up alot of room in the house. The efficiency rating on it was dismal and we just knew there had to be something better.
We had always longed for a good woodstove. It was not possible in the last house we owned cause it had a traditional built in fireplace. So it just seemed natural that we would swap out the propane fireplace for a brand spanking new woodstove at some point.
But as usual, with my DH, making decisions on things that cost bit bucks end up being a chore. Ken does not part with money easily!! So the last 2 winters came and went without us doing the switch. But the man does suprise me sometimes. About 6 weeks ago he came home with a sales slip from our local fireplace shop for a woodstove and a propane wall heater. Now we just had to wait for a very busy installer to get here and get it all put in for us.
Strangely enough, Ken did not bring home a picture of what he bought, nor could he describe it very well. So I ended up looking the model number up on line in order to be able to see what we were getting. I was hoping for a more traditional cast iron type stove but it was not to be. He bought a more modern looking cold rolled steel design from Vermont Castings. It is said to be a very sturdy model that will outlast us. Cast iron can crack with age, and cold rolled steel should never be able to do that. Yeah, whatever. I know it came down to dollars!! But once it was in, it looks pretty good with our living space and style and I am fine with it. It is one that has a large enough top surface to be able to cook on it if the power ever went out during a snow storm so that is a plus. And it sure does heat nicely without taking up too much floor space.
Now in case you thought we were smart people, shake it off. Cause we didn't think to maybe buy wood to have on hand ahead of time. So when cold weather hit the day after the stove got installed we were in a panic to have something to burn. Luckily, enough people sell wood in the area that we were able to get a load delivered that very next afternoon, just in time for our first very cold night. The stove heats up fairly fast and soon we found that not only were we going to love it, the dogs were in total heaven. Usually in the evenings they get pretty rowdy in the house and drive me a bit loco. But now they are more than happy to veg in the space between the back of the sofa and the stove itself. Sometimes they get so close that I worry they might burn their nose if they stretch wrong in their sleep. But they snuggle up, stay warm and sleep the evening away, leaving me in total peace to knit or watch TV. Who knew? All we needed was a good toasty spot for them to sleep in and we could have saved all that money we spent on toys!!
So here are pics. Starting with how it used to look and ending with a "few" of the doggie sleeping poses that I have managed to catch so far. Every time I think I have gotten all the cute shots, they come up with a new one. Please try to ignore the places where the paint needs touched up. Ken has to take a rather large paint chip somewhere to be mixed to match so we can fix the rest of the wall. At least all we had was a very small hole in the floor where the propane line had come up to the old unit. We simply placed the new stove right over that. Job done.
And now one last photo. This is of some of the wine I have made so far this year. The light colored bottle is dandelion and is now finished and into smaller bottles. The other 2 are elderberry. They just got reracked to get more of the sediment out of the liquid. I hope to be able to finish off the oldest bottle of that next time I do any racking. I also got a batch of wild persimmon into the secondary fermenter this same day and it is going to be some wonderful stuff. Sorry the pics are not as pretty as they should be. I am afraid the flash bounces off the liquid instead of going thru. I guess I could have slupped all this outside onto the porch to make nicer photos for all of you. Nope. I would rather wait and just let you taste it instead!!
There are a few more knitting projects done and I do need to come back and post about those separately. So expect me to do another post soon.
