The Peak was I got my front porch firewood racks populated for the season and started using the new bulk storage system I built in the spring. I'll start my first fire tonight. I've posted this before: That's the front facing 32'. There's a back row under that roof, and a 16' unit behind there, for a total of 96 linear feet. I estimate it to be roughly 5 to 5 1/2 cords of storage. With the way the economy is going, I'm glad to have this much. Now that it's organized, I'll be able to see how much I use. The wood is seasoned and organized (some cuts & types make for a better overnight burn.) It's actually a pleasure to be able to select, load & transport what I need and to get to the different wood & kindling I use to manage fires in my tiny 2ft³ stove. I also set up a 6"x6"x24" that's straddling two stacks of solid block so I can cut kindling near the racks without bending over and to get that process off of my porch. I might turn the top set of blocks sideways so I can drop the 6"x6" down a row for the taller stuff when I need to...the design's still fluid. I also got on my roof and ran a brush down the chimney. I don't do this every year. The entire stack is inside the house except for maybe 3'-4' that protrudes through the roof, so the smoke does not have much chance to condense...there are no bends or cold lengths. I'm lucky that I get a really strong draft with that short of a stack. Sure makes it easy to get a brush in the top. The modern stoves have baffles that not only recycle the gases for a second burn, they also prevent embers from getting sucked up (low risk of ignition.) I don't get too much debris when I brush it, maybe 1 cup per heating season, if that. That's not bad considering I burn wood 4 months straight every year. Today's Pit was when I pulled off the chimney cap and sliced my finger on the sharp bottom. This is my 12th heating season and I have never done this before. I had those cheap latex medical gloves on to keep the gunk off of my hands...it sliced right through them. I guess the glove kept most of the soot out of the cut, and it kept most of the blood off of my roof. No stitches required (I really expected worse.) Soap & water + hydrogen peroxide + antibiotic ointment + a band aid, and I was good-to-go.
Pit: Got the bill for the motorhome insurance policy (annual). Peak: Called the agent to get the "total replacement value" revised and saved $400. Win.
Peak, great weather again today, I am still live and breathing My Pit is my Amazon order was to big -to leave notice said mailbox. Will have to pick up tomorrow. Stuffy and itchy nose driving me nuts. Have not had that in years. Hubby woke up with pink eye - again !Had it in January. Otherwise nice day
I got a bunch of bric-a-brac, and some wood that's too long for my wood stove. I'll box it up if you want to send a prepaid UPS label. Of course, you realize that a fireplace sucks out more heat than it gives, don't you?
um, maybe our living room is very small and normally keeps most of apt warm. However we be broke-ish sp will pass on you send me wood
What a great name for a TV series: Broke-ish If I lived closer, I'd just throw it in my truck and drive it over.
It has been a peak/pit day thus far, but more peak than pit. The cold , rainy weather has been the bad part. It has not even made it up to 50 yet, and probably won’t get there today. We were going to go to the fitness center, but it is just way too cold to be out driving around if we do not have to, and tomorrow looks a little better. The good part is that Bobby and I spent some time getting the house more ready for winter since we didn’t want to go anywhere in the truck. I went through the sheets, and got out the warmer jersey sheets, and we set up the electric blanket on the bed to warm up the sheets before we go to bed, and then we can probably turn it off for the night until we have the really cold weather. I packed up the extra sheet sets that we don’t use, and am sending those over with Bobby to the renters who moved in behind us. They are nice people , but don’t have much at this time, and I think that they will like having more bedding. I ordered more of the heavy insulated curtains, and they should be here in Friday, and that will help keep more of the rooms warmer than the thin curtains do. I am happy that Amazon still has some of those light-blocking , insulated curtains on the clearance sale, and I got them about half price.
Pit: Have not been sleeping well; I'm guessing because routine has changed since cold set in and body hasn't caught up. Peak: In order to feel better, went for an intense walk at the state park and it helped.
Pit: found out that we have to give up our one garage. We have two, next to each other. One for our Durango and one as a storage for some things. Then, last week, we got a notice from our manager that all garages, in the complex, have to be used for a vehicle, not just storing things. There is very much a shortage of parking spots and some new residents have two vehicles. There are some residents that park their vehicle in the parking lot and have numerous things in their garage. Now, in order to keep their garage, they have to put their vehicle in the garage. So, we obtained a fairly small storage locker where our boat is stored. It is a 5 foot wide by 10 foot long one. We now have to do some more "downsizing"! Well, since we do very little physical stuff anymore, we really wore ourselves out yesterday moving some boxes. When we moved into this complex, there was no policy about how the rented garages are to be used. Parking a vehicle, storage or even running a business out of the garage was ok. Peak: went to Dunkin Donuts for coffee and my wife had her vision exam. She will be getting new lenses in her current glasses, and with the new lenses, she will have 20/20 vision (with her glasses on). Most of the exam is covered by Medicare, since she is a Diabetic II and gets a free vision exam yearly. I will have to get one as well, but I have full 20/20 since my laser cataract surgeries in 2018.
I had 2 peaks. The first was when I woke up, looked at my cellphone and realized that this D.S.T. iteration was fall back. This is why I no longer tell blond jokes... The second was making a batch of Italian bread, beginning with the biga (starter) I made last night and that has been developing in the fridge. Here is is in its ready-for-the-oven state: I line a French bread pan with parchment paper for the final rise and leave them in it for the initial 10 minutes in the oven (at 500°F), because the dough is so loose the loaves would spread into puddles. Here's the pan I use: The Pit is gonna be when they come out of the oven and I gotta stop myself from over-sampling so I will have some for later.
Pit: Armpit weirdness, nerve pain and tightness make me want to saw my arm off with a kitchen knife. Peak: I am staying out of the kitchen.
@Cody Fousnaugh - thanks for the heads up on garages. I fear they will do that here also. When they do there is not reason for us to stay here anymore. We only have one but have the boat he built in there along with way too much tools. When money is not to scarce and weather not too bad, he is always building or making something.