It is snowing lightly again here in Centralia and it is very cold (for this part of the world) so I am working on my wood stove fire maintenance skills. I am way past the “getting the fire started stage” and on to the more difficult skill of maximizing warmth while maximizing burn time and minimizing wood consumption.

Lorena and I have so much joy with our wood stove right now, we are considering a wood burning fireplace rather than a gas one. It smells good, it is easy to do once one gets the hang of it and it really is better once you get the hang of it. I cannot believe I am actually saying this, but we like it a LOT!