We’re in the middle of our traditional late-December cold snap here but for once I’m not going to complain. First, really industrial-grade cold involves clear skies and after the extended gloom that graced most of the month I’ll take clear sky any way I can get it. Second, I’ve finally gotten the hang of heating with wood (This being my fourth winter in the Lair, it’s about time) and in about an hour I’ll be complaining that it’s too warm. So under the circumstances, whining about winter seems inappropriate.
Nothing else is going on that needs reportage, though, so there it is. My oven is still broke (and when I get around to taking some pix I’ve got a story about my efforts at remediation that will make you glad you live there and not here) and so yesterday I took my bread pans over to Ian’s – and found that Ian’s oven and mine have totally different notions of what comprises 350o so it’s a damn good thing I decided to stick around while baking or I’d have a couple of lumps of coal too late for Christmas. But other than that I’m just sittin’ and readin’, which is pretty boring to write about so I’ll spare you.
More later, maybe.
I’ve found that an oven thermometer is a vital piece of kitchen equipment. They are not expensive, but can save a person from creating a lot of wheat coal. 🙂
Bright and cold here too, right now, but we’re in for another snowstorm tonight and tomorrow. 100% “chance” so far, so it may be a good one. I’m all ready. 🙂
I don’t mind the cold it’s a simple matter of dressing for it. I have lived in a cabin with wood heat which for safety resons and peace of mind would not use the stove after bedtime. So it’s 39 degrees in the morning, I have wool blankets, fleece sheets and down comforters. I pretty much feel the same way about heat it is no big deal. I have lived in Alaska and Las Vegas, New Orleans, etc. I will say humidity with heat can be tough to bear but even then it is more about mind over matter and staying healthy. I love the snow and I have lived where I had to shovel the roof when it got deeper then five feet up there. What I don’t like is driving in trafffic with other drivers in the snow. Where I live now it rains everyday and it is grey and ugly out there but it’s no big deal, it’s all relative. I’m just happy to be here, let the weather/climate do what it does I love it all.
Looking forward to photos of your more efficient, more accurate temperature, replacement stove.
Your broken stove will then be a wonderful outdoor shelter for rats and mice which will be complacent and trapped, ready to be offed en masse. It’s all a win-win.
MamaLiberty is right about the oven thermometer – very few stoves have accurate thermometers. You can buy one at a hardware store, maybe at a dollar store, but even those can be inaccurate.
How did you get a picture of my ex girlfriend?
Congratulations on your article in Backwoods Home magazine, hope they make you a regular like Claire. Those large payment checks are so comforting.
I looked all over Backwoods Home and couldn’t find any but one old article from Joel. Got a link?
Joel’s article is in the current (Jan/Feb 2015) print edition, ML. Unknown whether they’ll eventually put it online.
I dunno about large checks, Zelda. Large and BHM don’t go together often. But yeah, checks are GOOD! And congrats on getting your article in print, Joel.
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/simon151.html
Oh… I’ve not bought a paper magazine in probably 30 years. Maybe I’ll look and see if the grocery store has that one. Couldn’t kill me after all this time. LOL
I saw that, and thought it was an OLD one. COOL! Thanks, Ben.
Hey, they didn’t tear that up too badly! Thanks for posting it. Tell the truth, I’d pretty much forgotten about it.
Joel when you were sitting and reading, were you reading the proofs of your book? and is there a publication date? Or did I miss the announcement? Is there a calendar to go with it?