Seasoned firewood and operator error

When your source of heat is a woodstove, you've got to stay on top of it. It doesn't take much to go from comfort to cold.

Here's how I goofed. The first thing is that I let the stove die down a bit lower than I should. When I noticed that I followed up with another goof. There's some firewood not quite as seasoned as the bulk of my pile. However, it is the closest firewood, so I grabbed that rather than put my boots on to get the better stuff.

Just to make matters a little bit worse, the ashes were getting full, restricting the airflow just enough to slow the fire down. It took a couple hours before I noticed as I was trying to get some other things done around the house.

Then the sun goes down and temperatures make their way to the single digits. Right about that time my lovely wife comes downstairs complaining about being cold. My bad.

The ash bin gets emptied. The dampers are opened up. I put my boots on and haul in some good seasoned wood. Of course, the house is cool, so it takes a few hours to get everything toasty again.

It doesn't help that I can go around in just a T-shirt while my lovely wife is wearing a sweater. By the time it's cold enough for me to be uncomfortable, it's really cold.

There's some subzero (Fahrenheit) temperatures in the forecast so I'd better stay on top of things. Down in the basement is a huge woodstove that I haven't even fired up yet this season. Between that one and the kitchen woodstove, the house will be quite warm. I've put off using it because the kitchen stove has kept things warm enough for me. Using only one stove conserves firewood, but I guess I've been a bit too frugal.

In two weeks we should be heading to Florida until the end of February. That will conserve firewood better than anything, while keeping the lovely wife warm.

-Sixbears