We had a fairly productive weekend.
Hubby stacked a bunch of wood that has been sitting in two large piles with assorted cherry and poplar and elm sitting in small piles around the two large piles. He's wheel barrowing the cut firewood into the shed and stacking it.
Looks like we used about 1 1/2 cords of wood over the winter. It was a pretty mild winter. This is our second year of having a wood stove for the winter.
In fact, I am running the wood stove again this morning but only for a couple of hours. It wasn't super cold in here - 68 degrees. At first I was going to tough it out because the house was definitely chilly but, hey, 68 degrees inside, 48 degrees outside, high of 60 or even 64 degrees later today, how bad can it be?
I certainly would have toughed it out when I was running the propane for heat. I realized that I don't have to be tough. Wood is inexpensive. By taking the chill off the house, I live comfortably. Is that such a bad thing?
I am running the water in the East Zone already this morning. We really do have to keep up on the watering around here. I need to go out an fix one or two leaks in the system. I usually get at least a little bit wet. Coming in to a warm house will be nice!!!
Over the weekend, Hubby also re-rototilled the area I want to put the peas in and the area that I am putting the strawberries in. I should have moved the strawberries last fall but I ran out of time or oomph or both:) So, moving them now will be my next best option.
Of course, there is a whole list of projects to get done but I think I will just try to prioritize and do the best I can.
The iris are coming up and some of the daylilies are, as well. We have our first daffodil blooming. The forsythia is blooming. They are still quite small. Maybe next year they will be big enough to really put on a show.
Showing posts with label Wood stove. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wood stove. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Monday, April 16, 2012
Garden Notes
Yesterday was a busy one!
I got 40 feet of Russian Finger Potatoes put in the ground. One feature of the Russian potatoes is that I cover a few hills with deep straw in the fall and then I can dig potatoes all winter. Then, in the spring, I dig up what is left and replant then in a new spot. We get plenty of potatoes for the next year without buying seed potatoes.
I am growing 4 kinds of garlic. Silver rose, Walla Walla, Elephant and Italian Softneck.
I also put in almost 60 feet of onions. I usually buy the onion deal from Henry Fields or Gurneys and I get yellow, white and red onions. I think I need to buy some sweet white onions next year. I am getting really boring with the onion varieties.
I got several shrub bases with roots out of the pathway areas. One large one and two small ones were directly on the way to the new veggie garden gate and I knew that one of us would be tripping over it eventually if I didn't get those things out of the way. The other shrub base and roots was in the pathway to the new horse pen. It was a wicked looking thing with pointy branches sticking out from where I had chopped them off a few weeks ago. I sure didn't want to bring my new buddy in and have him spook at the goats or some such and then cut his leg on a branch stub.
I finished getting systemic onto the trees. We think we have peach borers although we haven't managed to literally catch one of those little devils. We had an apricot tree bleed to death and the next year another apricot tree died. We have also lost a couple of crabapples and one or two apple trees to those monsters. We have had attacks on cherry trees and another 2 apple trees but we dosed them with systemic right away and they survived. We don't really like using systemic but we haven't much choice since the willows, peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries, crabapples and apples are all susceptible to borers. I've been using it on the Siberian elms, as well, since they have rough bark [which we think is what the borers like since we haven't had any attack our pears or other trees with smooth bark YET] and the elms get those annoying elm beetles that get into everything.
I watered the North Zone yesterday. I watered the Front Zone and the Back Zone, both near the house, for three hours each. It has been so dry this winter that I am already working hard to make sure the plants have water. Spring is finally here although it can be a bumpy ride for 4 or more weeks.
The Kwanza flowering cherry trees are starting to bloom and the lilacs look fantastic this year. Hoping for a good show.
It was chilly in the house so Hubby started a fire to warm us up a bit. I called the burn line and it is a permissable burn day. I don't want to spend much time on that but I might get a bit of the last stuff near the veggie garden in a pile and burn it. We shall see.
41 degrees overnight. Yesterday was 64 degrees and very little wind. I hope today will be just as nice although it definitely looks cloudy, I am sure it won't rain.
I put the tomatoes and the artichokes [yes, I am growing artichokes from seeds] into the greenhouse and left them overnight. Fortunately it was 52 degrees in there this morning. Any time it stays over fifty I am happy since the baby plants do okay with that temperature and above.
I got 40 feet of Russian Finger Potatoes put in the ground. One feature of the Russian potatoes is that I cover a few hills with deep straw in the fall and then I can dig potatoes all winter. Then, in the spring, I dig up what is left and replant then in a new spot. We get plenty of potatoes for the next year without buying seed potatoes.
I am growing 4 kinds of garlic. Silver rose, Walla Walla, Elephant and Italian Softneck.
I also put in almost 60 feet of onions. I usually buy the onion deal from Henry Fields or Gurneys and I get yellow, white and red onions. I think I need to buy some sweet white onions next year. I am getting really boring with the onion varieties.
I got several shrub bases with roots out of the pathway areas. One large one and two small ones were directly on the way to the new veggie garden gate and I knew that one of us would be tripping over it eventually if I didn't get those things out of the way. The other shrub base and roots was in the pathway to the new horse pen. It was a wicked looking thing with pointy branches sticking out from where I had chopped them off a few weeks ago. I sure didn't want to bring my new buddy in and have him spook at the goats or some such and then cut his leg on a branch stub.
I finished getting systemic onto the trees. We think we have peach borers although we haven't managed to literally catch one of those little devils. We had an apricot tree bleed to death and the next year another apricot tree died. We have also lost a couple of crabapples and one or two apple trees to those monsters. We have had attacks on cherry trees and another 2 apple trees but we dosed them with systemic right away and they survived. We don't really like using systemic but we haven't much choice since the willows, peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries, crabapples and apples are all susceptible to borers. I've been using it on the Siberian elms, as well, since they have rough bark [which we think is what the borers like since we haven't had any attack our pears or other trees with smooth bark YET] and the elms get those annoying elm beetles that get into everything.
I watered the North Zone yesterday. I watered the Front Zone and the Back Zone, both near the house, for three hours each. It has been so dry this winter that I am already working hard to make sure the plants have water. Spring is finally here although it can be a bumpy ride for 4 or more weeks.
The Kwanza flowering cherry trees are starting to bloom and the lilacs look fantastic this year. Hoping for a good show.
It was chilly in the house so Hubby started a fire to warm us up a bit. I called the burn line and it is a permissable burn day. I don't want to spend much time on that but I might get a bit of the last stuff near the veggie garden in a pile and burn it. We shall see.
41 degrees overnight. Yesterday was 64 degrees and very little wind. I hope today will be just as nice although it definitely looks cloudy, I am sure it won't rain.
I put the tomatoes and the artichokes [yes, I am growing artichokes from seeds] into the greenhouse and left them overnight. Fortunately it was 52 degrees in there this morning. Any time it stays over fifty I am happy since the baby plants do okay with that temperature and above.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Garden Notes
It has been above freezing for the last several nights although Wednesday night was 33 degrees. Days 55 to 65 degrees.
Haven't gotten much done in the garden since we were busy building fence, working on the horse shed, hanging a gate. This weekend I have a lot to accomplish.
We ran the wood stove in the late evening last night. Toasty. Cold and cloudy today so I may run it again later. Love the ability to toast up the house without spending an arm and a leg.
Really windy yesterday.
Haven't gotten much done in the garden since we were busy building fence, working on the horse shed, hanging a gate. This weekend I have a lot to accomplish.
We ran the wood stove in the late evening last night. Toasty. Cold and cloudy today so I may run it again later. Love the ability to toast up the house without spending an arm and a leg.
Really windy yesterday.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
The Woodpile that Took Over the Hayshed
Left side
Right side
We got the idea that we needed a wood stove in October of 2011. So, the hay shed/shade cover is now filled to the gills with wood. You can see some straw in the center of the shed and there are a few bales of hay hiding underneath or in the back but ... the wood pile has taken over.
The shed is fifteen feet wide and 8 feet sloping to 6 feet in the back. One row of wood on the right side and two rows of wood on the left side. We probably have 4 cords of wood in there, or pretty close to it.
Cutting wood honestly wasn't a bad job to have last fall and early winter. The weather was lovely and we were in the golden hills. However, the road up to the tree cutting area is so rocky. You just have to creep along and bump and bump for most of the trip.
I relied on Hubby to cut down the trees. He then cut them to length [about 18 or 20 inches]. I stacked a lot of it in the trailer but Hubby helped me out on that part of the job as well. The whole thing took quite a bit of time as we had to drive 40 minutes to get on the dirt road and then an hour up the dirt road to where the wood was.
Once we had some practice, it only took about 3 hours to cut and load our 3/4 of a cord into the trailer. It then took us an hour and a half to get back down that rocky, bumpy dirt road and another 40 minutes to get home. Hubby then starts to unload the wood while I make sure the animals and ourselves get some food.
Hubby unloads and splits logs for several days. We have designed the back area so that he can back the truck and trailer in and unload right where we are splitting and storing the wood.
We didn't know how much wood we would need so we decided on two cords but then we said we better have 4 cords just in case we needed more. After all, burning wood is supposed to save us $800-900 in propane so that means we will be paying for the stove within three or four years. If we run out of wood, we aren't making our money back on this deal.
We have had a very mild winter. The lows are sometimes 10 degrees but usually not as cold as that and the highs have been forties and fifties. So, we haven't even used a cord of wood so far this year.
Bottom line: We have a huge amount of the wood pile left for next year. Of course, it is only February and we thought that it will be nice to heat the house in the spring by firing up the stove for a bit in the mornings. In the spring, if it is going to be sunny, we often just skip heating the house and hope the sun will heat us up by late afternoon. It is a bit chilly and I hate taking a shower in the morning when it is cold in the house. With the woodstove firing up in the morning for an hour or so, we will start out warmer and the sun will give us a nicely heated house by evening.
One minor drawback to having a woodstove: The homeowner's insurance went up by $80 per year. Yep, it eats into the profits a bit but we are still ahead.
One of the reasons to have a woodstove and not a pellet stove is: We have had a couple of power outages. Once we were without electricity for three days. Without the woodstove we are at the mercy of the weather. The pellet stove needs a battery back up to keep working during a power outage. Another reason to have a woodstove instead of a pellet stove is that we can cut wood ourselves and don't have to buy bags of pellets. Definitely a money saver. One more reason to have a woodstove vs. a pellet stove is the cost. A good woodstove that is EPA rated at 80% efficiency is less costly to buy initially than a pellet stove.
The house has been heating up to such a high temperature with the woodstove that we are often opening a window in the living room and the office to let a bit of the heat out. Honestly, this is the warmest I have ever been in the winter and it is wonderful. We think that even if we have a pogo nip winter [grey, no sun for days or even weeks, freezing cold with frozen fog] like we have for two bad winters, that woodstove will keep us toasty and warm. Best investment we ever made.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Wood Stove and Resting Up
There is a lovely blogger name Bruce at FallenfromGrace blog. He has had numerous health problems and is dealing with his issues. He always reminds me that it is important not to measure my worth by how much work I get done. After all, work is not all we are. For a total Type A personality this can be a hard lesson to deal with. It is easy to put all your self-worth eggs in the work basket. When you can't work as much anymore it is a big adjustment.
Today I am resting up. Yeah, I have gotten a lot done lately but by not prioritizing and resting up sooner, I am wearing myself out. I am sore and tired and dragging butt badly. Tomorrow, I clean a house and I hope desperately that I have the oomph to do it right. After all, my priorities have to be the pets, the hubby and my few clients getting their houses cleaned right. Friday, I am going to rest up again. Hopefully, by taking good care of myself I will be able to keep it together instead of falling apart for a week.
It does suck that I can't get everything done as fast as I want to but I keep telling myself that it is the big picture that counts. I will get my home improvement done even if it takes a long time to do it. It took a little over a year to finish the greenhouse but now I have a lovely spot to raise baby plants. It looks like it may not be until sometime this spring that I get the doors on the new long shed. That shed has already been in the works for over a year but, it is painted and it is being used for storage and by sometime next year everything will be snug when it rains or snows.
The wood stove is in and we had a lovely fire this morning. The house is toasty and warm. I am grateful for this. I have lived in worse places and been pretty darn cold so, just for today, I am enjoying sitting in a warm house with a lovely fire and all the modern conveniences including a computer.
Life is good even if I am not getting anything constructive done:)
Today I am resting up. Yeah, I have gotten a lot done lately but by not prioritizing and resting up sooner, I am wearing myself out. I am sore and tired and dragging butt badly. Tomorrow, I clean a house and I hope desperately that I have the oomph to do it right. After all, my priorities have to be the pets, the hubby and my few clients getting their houses cleaned right. Friday, I am going to rest up again. Hopefully, by taking good care of myself I will be able to keep it together instead of falling apart for a week.
It does suck that I can't get everything done as fast as I want to but I keep telling myself that it is the big picture that counts. I will get my home improvement done even if it takes a long time to do it. It took a little over a year to finish the greenhouse but now I have a lovely spot to raise baby plants. It looks like it may not be until sometime this spring that I get the doors on the new long shed. That shed has already been in the works for over a year but, it is painted and it is being used for storage and by sometime next year everything will be snug when it rains or snows.
The wood stove is in and we had a lovely fire this morning. The house is toasty and warm. I am grateful for this. I have lived in worse places and been pretty darn cold so, just for today, I am enjoying sitting in a warm house with a lovely fire and all the modern conveniences including a computer.
Life is good even if I am not getting anything constructive done:)
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Freezing Temps and Fire
Tonight is the first night for freezing temps this year. I have all the irrigation and hoses off the faucets as a precaution. Once the hose bibs freeze your dead toast. They only freeze if you don't take the time to unhook the hoses.
Fortunately, we got the new wood stove up and running today. It is a Kuma Wood Classic and it is wonderful. We built our first small fire to cure the paint and sat by it for an hour. Hubby is getting all the credit for this one.
Hubby cut a hole in the ceiling, got all the roof flashing on and the support box in. He got the triple wall pipe in. Then, he got the stove centered and the double wall interior pipe on the stove. Really, an all day event. Although we did take an hour or so off in the early afternoon. Hubby can do anything and I am very proud of him.
I, on the other hand, have reached the point of exhaustion. Tomorrow is an absolute day of rest. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, is getting done. I really over did it.
Yeah, I have a lot left to do and I will still have a lot left to do on Friday but until then I am resting up tomorrow and cleaning a house on Thursday and that is it!
Fortunately, we got the new wood stove up and running today. It is a Kuma Wood Classic and it is wonderful. We built our first small fire to cure the paint and sat by it for an hour. Hubby is getting all the credit for this one.
Hubby cut a hole in the ceiling, got all the roof flashing on and the support box in. He got the triple wall pipe in. Then, he got the stove centered and the double wall interior pipe on the stove. Really, an all day event. Although we did take an hour or so off in the early afternoon. Hubby can do anything and I am very proud of him.
I, on the other hand, have reached the point of exhaustion. Tomorrow is an absolute day of rest. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, is getting done. I really over did it.
Yeah, I have a lot left to do and I will still have a lot left to do on Friday but until then I am resting up tomorrow and cleaning a house on Thursday and that is it!
Friday, October 21, 2011
Cutting wood
Hubby picked me up to go cut wood across the river yesterday afternoon. Turns out he already got some cedar wood in the morning. Then he took me out to get pinyon pine at an old mining town. Not much town left but there are plenty of resinous dead pinyons to cut down. Turns out that although the road is a bit rocky at the start, we can get a trailer up there, no problem, the next time we go. That would make for a very long day but we could get an entire cord of wood all at once.
It was so lovely up there in the hills. Trees all around and birds flitting everywhere. Peaceful and sunny. I had a nice time.
Honestly, I didn't help that much on the wood gathering. This whole make over - the painting, the shopping, the tile work - has kind of taken it out of me. I desperately need an entire day off. Today, however, I had to clean another house. So, tomorrow I will rest up except for cleaning out the goat pen a bit.
The slate tile looks so good on the hearth we picked up another 5 boxes so we could do the entry way by the front door. We had to buy another small bag of mortar but there is plenty of grout left from the hearth job so this will be an inexpensive way to pretty up that area. Right now it is green vinyl. Kind of goes with the green carpet. Yeah, I'd get rid of the carpet but I really don't have it in the budget. Maybe in a couple of more years.
Did I mention that Hubby got my pretty new chandelier up. He knows how to do everything:) It looks so pretty and the old one was so freakin' ugly. What a pleasant change. We took six years to get around to painting the living room/dining room/hall and fixing it up a bit. I am so pleased we are getting that opportunity now.
Of course, we have been kind of busy since we moved in.
It was so lovely up there in the hills. Trees all around and birds flitting everywhere. Peaceful and sunny. I had a nice time.
Honestly, I didn't help that much on the wood gathering. This whole make over - the painting, the shopping, the tile work - has kind of taken it out of me. I desperately need an entire day off. Today, however, I had to clean another house. So, tomorrow I will rest up except for cleaning out the goat pen a bit.
The slate tile looks so good on the hearth we picked up another 5 boxes so we could do the entry way by the front door. We had to buy another small bag of mortar but there is plenty of grout left from the hearth job so this will be an inexpensive way to pretty up that area. Right now it is green vinyl. Kind of goes with the green carpet. Yeah, I'd get rid of the carpet but I really don't have it in the budget. Maybe in a couple of more years.
Did I mention that Hubby got my pretty new chandelier up. He knows how to do everything:) It looks so pretty and the old one was so freakin' ugly. What a pleasant change. We took six years to get around to painting the living room/dining room/hall and fixing it up a bit. I am so pleased we are getting that opportunity now.
Of course, we have been kind of busy since we moved in.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Make over
Hubby has a few days off and we have gotten a lot done. Loosely using the term we.
The new chandelier looks fabulous. Hubby got it up today.
The slate tile got laid yesterday and we grouted it today. Hubby did all the heavy lifting and I did the actual grouting and cleaning up excess mortar while Hubby kept the clean buckets of water coming. That saved me a lot of back breaking effort. A good thing since I didn't have it in me.
We managed to get some of the stuff put away and now we can walk through the office again.
I have a cleaning job tomorrow and am resting up so that I can get my arms to do that much work. Arghhh. It is hard not to have the ability to keep going and going but darn it at least I am still going.
I hope I manage to paint Sunday and Monday so that we can wrap this job up for the most part on next Tuesday and Wednesday.
It's been a lot of work but I am so pleased that after living here for 6 years we finally got to the last room of the house to be painted. The wood stove will be toasty and save us money. Plus, we will not freeze if the power goes out for several days.
Tomorrow, Hubby is meeting up with me after my cleaning job and we are going to see about cutting wood for the new stove. He has already said he will do most of the work tomorrow since I am pretty much done in.
The new chandelier looks fabulous. Hubby got it up today.
The slate tile got laid yesterday and we grouted it today. Hubby did all the heavy lifting and I did the actual grouting and cleaning up excess mortar while Hubby kept the clean buckets of water coming. That saved me a lot of back breaking effort. A good thing since I didn't have it in me.
We managed to get some of the stuff put away and now we can walk through the office again.
I have a cleaning job tomorrow and am resting up so that I can get my arms to do that much work. Arghhh. It is hard not to have the ability to keep going and going but darn it at least I am still going.
I hope I manage to paint Sunday and Monday so that we can wrap this job up for the most part on next Tuesday and Wednesday.
It's been a lot of work but I am so pleased that after living here for 6 years we finally got to the last room of the house to be painted. The wood stove will be toasty and save us money. Plus, we will not freeze if the power goes out for several days.
Tomorrow, Hubby is meeting up with me after my cleaning job and we are going to see about cutting wood for the new stove. He has already said he will do most of the work tomorrow since I am pretty much done in.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Shopping
I drove back into town today since we are on a mission to get this living room/dining room/hallway done. I got the mortar we needed. Mapei II in grey color. They fortunately had a small bag. The other Mapei product was said to be a somewhat better choice but it only came in giant 50 pound bags. Aaarrgghh, no way am I wanting to have a huge amount like that sitting in the long shed for years. The smaller bag and the fact that we used Mapei II in the kitchen and the kitchen has turned out fine pushed me to the Mapei II.
I got a gorgeous Hampton Bay Florentina hanging chandelier with 5 light amber colored glass globes that point upward and a wheaten finish with hints of black for $50. It is a bit grand but I think it will look fantastic. I only hope Hubby agrees since I already took it out of the box:) I looked it up and that light fixture was going for $250. Wow, such a deal!!! I have been searching for the right dining room lighting fixture for quite some time.
I got curtain rods in black, 1" for the tab curtains. The finials are an old-fashioned door knob shape and they are white with black accents. I like them and they were half the price of all the other ones I didn't like so much. Again, hope Hubby likes them as well. I guess I will find out pretty soon. He'll be home in an hour and a half.
Yes, I was gone for 5 hours doing shopping. Hope I am done!
Darn it. I didn't think of it when I was at the store earlier today but the other light that goes with the chandelier would be great for the hallway where I have the fairly ugly "flying saucer" light fixture. While I could live with it, it certainly would be nice to replace it at these prices. The other light was a pendant but smaller and flatter than the chandelier I bought today.
Hubby thought the chandelier I bought was fine. He liked the one I took a picture of better [I liked that one too] but thought at less than half the cost and no special bulbs needed [unlike the other light fixture I took a picture of] he could live with this one.
Hubby really like the curtain rods so that was great!!!!
I got a gorgeous Hampton Bay Florentina hanging chandelier with 5 light amber colored glass globes that point upward and a wheaten finish with hints of black for $50. It is a bit grand but I think it will look fantastic. I only hope Hubby agrees since I already took it out of the box:) I looked it up and that light fixture was going for $250. Wow, such a deal!!! I have been searching for the right dining room lighting fixture for quite some time.
I got curtain rods in black, 1" for the tab curtains. The finials are an old-fashioned door knob shape and they are white with black accents. I like them and they were half the price of all the other ones I didn't like so much. Again, hope Hubby likes them as well. I guess I will find out pretty soon. He'll be home in an hour and a half.
Yes, I was gone for 5 hours doing shopping. Hope I am done!
Darn it. I didn't think of it when I was at the store earlier today but the other light that goes with the chandelier would be great for the hallway where I have the fairly ugly "flying saucer" light fixture. While I could live with it, it certainly would be nice to replace it at these prices. The other light was a pendant but smaller and flatter than the chandelier I bought today.
Hubby thought the chandelier I bought was fine. He liked the one I took a picture of better [I liked that one too] but thought at less than half the cost and no special bulbs needed [unlike the other light fixture I took a picture of] he could live with this one.
Hubby really like the curtain rods so that was great!!!!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Home Again!
We have been home since last Thursday. We got the truck and trailer unloaded and all the clothes washed up.
Somehow we got the idea on Friday that we should look into a wood stove. We researched, realized the new stoves are very efficient and headed into town on Saturday to look at stoves in person. We came home and did some more research.
Sunday we went back to the store we thought had the two best stoves and spent several hours making up our minds. A mid-size Lennox or a mid-size Kuma. We finally decided on the Kuma Wood Classic. We put down our deposit and made arrangements to pick up the stove on Tuesday next week. We went to the two big box stores in town to look at hearth materials. Came home and did more research on what we would need to do a hearth. We also got the entire living room cleared of furniture.
Monday it was back to town to get a wood cutting permit, some chainsaw parts and measure the new stove for the air inlet and buy our choice of hearth materials. Unfortunately, it was Columbus day so we couldn't get the wood cutting permit and the wood stove store was closed, as well. We did purchase our concrete backer board, slate tiles, mortar, grout and air intake parts.
Back to town on Tuesday since we couldn't get everything done in town on Monday. We measured the stove, double checked that we had the right stovepipe list and had heart failure over the price of stove pipe a second time. We had lunch in town. Yes, it was decadent but after all, we are still on vacation:) We hit Costco and we were finally home again. After taking a break, we got the hearth started.
Hubby did a bunch of measuring and double checking. He cut a hole in the floor and then he cut a matching hole in each of the concrete backer board layers. We dry fitted and the holes lined up perfectly. We put down some Thinset, screwed down the first layer of backer board, some more Thinset and the second layer of backer board was screwed into the floor.
We spent hours and hours driving and shopping these last several days and it has been pretty exhausting. Hubby is back to work but he is putting in 6 - ten hour days in a row. So, I am sort of on my own for the next week. Did I mention that I have decided now is the time to finally paint the living room? Most of the furniture is out so I through that into the mix. Today, if I can manage it, I am washing the ceiling with TSP so I can paint it Honeymilk white. More on painting in another post, I think.
Right now it is time to get moving. There is a paint sample to put on the wall. It is called Pale Honey. It is a gold color but hopefully not too dark. Then I have some goats and dogs to feed. And the day is rolling forwards from there.
Somehow we got the idea on Friday that we should look into a wood stove. We researched, realized the new stoves are very efficient and headed into town on Saturday to look at stoves in person. We came home and did some more research.
Sunday we went back to the store we thought had the two best stoves and spent several hours making up our minds. A mid-size Lennox or a mid-size Kuma. We finally decided on the Kuma Wood Classic. We put down our deposit and made arrangements to pick up the stove on Tuesday next week. We went to the two big box stores in town to look at hearth materials. Came home and did more research on what we would need to do a hearth. We also got the entire living room cleared of furniture.
Monday it was back to town to get a wood cutting permit, some chainsaw parts and measure the new stove for the air inlet and buy our choice of hearth materials. Unfortunately, it was Columbus day so we couldn't get the wood cutting permit and the wood stove store was closed, as well. We did purchase our concrete backer board, slate tiles, mortar, grout and air intake parts.
Back to town on Tuesday since we couldn't get everything done in town on Monday. We measured the stove, double checked that we had the right stovepipe list and had heart failure over the price of stove pipe a second time. We had lunch in town. Yes, it was decadent but after all, we are still on vacation:) We hit Costco and we were finally home again. After taking a break, we got the hearth started.
Hubby did a bunch of measuring and double checking. He cut a hole in the floor and then he cut a matching hole in each of the concrete backer board layers. We dry fitted and the holes lined up perfectly. We put down some Thinset, screwed down the first layer of backer board, some more Thinset and the second layer of backer board was screwed into the floor.
We spent hours and hours driving and shopping these last several days and it has been pretty exhausting. Hubby is back to work but he is putting in 6 - ten hour days in a row. So, I am sort of on my own for the next week. Did I mention that I have decided now is the time to finally paint the living room? Most of the furniture is out so I through that into the mix. Today, if I can manage it, I am washing the ceiling with TSP so I can paint it Honeymilk white. More on painting in another post, I think.
Right now it is time to get moving. There is a paint sample to put on the wall. It is called Pale Honey. It is a gold color but hopefully not too dark. Then I have some goats and dogs to feed. And the day is rolling forwards from there.
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