Washers, Woodstoves, and Baking Squash

As a first time homeowner, I've learned a lot the past two years. It took me a while, but I did repaint all the rooms inside my house (thanks to my brother in law and nephew!) And, I've learned the many uses of the standard 'washer', and I don't mean clothes washer. I mean that small round flat metal gadget that you use to screw something in - to make a big hole smaller. I was quite thrilled when I fixed a knob on my laundry-area doors using a simple washer to keep the screw in place.

This fall and winter, much of my time has been spent on wood! Ordering wood, moving and stacking wood, ordering more wood, hauling in wood, and lately, figuring out why my wood stove hasn't been working very efficiently.

Here's what I learned -
1)Buy your 3 cords of wood in the spring, split, and then let it season yourself
2)Never buy wood that's not fully seasoned, and
3)It's really important to have good dry kindling.

Yup, common sense to the man or woman who's been heating with wood for years. But for me, these have been major lessons learned. Except for a year living in a house with a wood stove predominantly used for quaint cozy little fires, I've never lived with a wood stove prior. Despite the labor and time involved in heating with wood, there is equally something incredibly satisfying in being so intimate and directly involved in heating my house. I am so much more mindful of how much energy I'm actually using to heat my house. Plus, the beautiful thing is that if the power goes out, I still have heat. And, there's just nothing as warm, cozy and comfortable as woodstove heat.

The woodstove can serve dual purposes too. I often cook on the top of my wood stove. Some people I've told this to looked at me like I was crazy, "Why would you want to do that?" they asked. "Why not?" I thought. It's like double-utilizing my heating and energy source. Lately I've been baking squash. I use a rectangular baking pan, fill it about 1-1 1/2 inches with water, place my cleaned out squash face down, cover with foil, and if the stove has been running a while, I can have that water boiling and the squash cooked within an hour. Personally, I can think of nothing more cool, simple, and perfectly practical!

As we look at rising oil prices, predictions of $4 gallons of gas by the summer, I'm aiming for simplicity and practical. Next in order are some lessons on how to use a hatchet and an axe (so I can split my own kindling and not buy it)!