A personal wood stove story

A personal wood stove story

       And on Thanksgiving Day in rural east Tennessee on the Cumberland Plateau

            Mostly I like being "warm enough". That often means wearing extra clothes during cold times, like so many know how to do already. My goal is to make my main room like at 68 F. In the rest of the cottage, it is more like in the 50's and even 40's. The dogs really like it, also.

            It also means trying to be thrifty.  I used to call my father cheap, now I call him thrifty. He's been dead over a decade, but I still think about him and my mother, who died earlier in 1997.

            I also believe the lower temperatures do help my health during the cold season.

            So I added some split and seasoned oak wood to the wood stove, mostly just to keep it burning, but also to enjoy the warmth. Sitting by  a warm wood stove is just good for my morale.

            Plus I hope and expect it will help keep my water pipes from freezing.  It got down to like 18 F last night.

            So this is not like just turning up the thermostat, or even adding on more house insulation, but more about just being happy enough with what I have. And I am happy right now.

            And the wood stove is doing OK, from my east Tennessee on the Cumberland Plateau  point of view.