Snowy Saturday

We woke up this morning to about an inch of snow. No worries, though--no school or work today. It has been a VERY cold week of temperatures and it was nice to sleep in this morning, drink coffee, look out the window at nature's blanket of beauty, and stay warm by the fireside.

And the "fireside" is my main topic today. Since we remodeled our house some 17 or 18 years ago, we have had a wood-burning insert set into a brick fireplace. Wood heat is so warm and we have always enjoyed backing up to it's warmth especially when coming in from the outside. But, it's also a bit dirty to load and cleanup. Then we had the major chore of finding, cutting, hauling, spliting, and stacking the wood pile getting ready for the winter season. And yes, I said "we" because I have always done my part to help out in the endeavor and Collin would tell you so. If Bryan was home, he always helped as well.

Collin always kept the stove up and going, but when he was away, many is the time that I've carried in wood and stoked the fire. Well, no more.

Collin has been captivated for some time by a new method of inserts--wood pellet heat. These are also developed for bio-fuels such as corn. We purchased one of these a few weeks ago and had it installed. He is extremely pleased--really warm heat such as we were used to, much easier to load as he pours in a bucket of pellets, cleanup is a snap with little dust, no more carpet squares over the floor for protection, and no going out into the rain or snow to haul in wood. He is a very happy camper. He is also delighted that if necessary, I could clean it and definately pour in pellets with little effort to stay warm if he wasn't here. He always was concerned if he wasn't here to load wood into the other stove and I had to keep it going. He was even more concerned when our kiddos were small. He didn't want his babies cold.

So here is our new wood pellett insert. What a great day to have it and stay warm.

We've really enjoyed the day. Collin fixed us a late breakfast this morning and we cleaned up the kitchen. He has cleaned the stove, while I've done some laundry, and he helped me tag team some cleaning in our bedroom and bathroom. I can't tell you how appreciative I am to get some help. Bryan has been home this weekend and I am presently being serenaded by drums which I love. Collin is enjoying You Tube on his computer and here I am.

Where ever you are, I hope you're cozy and warm.

Marcia