Cookin' with Gas





The deal is done, Woodchuck Acres is sold. We got the check!

We have a loooooooooong to-do list waiting for this moment; at the very top are: get a woodstove and run propane lines.

Teapot standing in for yet-to-be-delivered wood stove.



We found some cheap, not too ugly ceramic tiles and I put down a base for the stove (my first attempt at tiling, not too difficult but hard on the lower back).

Then we made a foray into Louisville to the nearest store that sold Lopi wood stoves.

We had a Lopi in New York and were impressed with the ease of use AND it has a cooktop. That's two ways to save money! The store was busy and the first gent who waited on us didn't know if they carried Lopis--until I pointed out that he was leaning on one. He blushed and explained he was a repair guy filling in for sales staff. We eventually talked with the sales manager and agreed, not only on a stove, but a complete installation package. We're talking mucho dinero here but Tom and I were not thrilled with installing another chimney or trying to manhandle a heavy stove into the house, etc. Been there, done that.

Our Indiana house is taller than this with a steeper roof--I wouldn't be smiling if we did it ourselves here!



We have a few cords ("ricks" out here) from that dead elm but need more. In NY we bought from a wiry, elderly man who brought it in his dumptruck. I looked forward to his delivery and his wealth of stories and he only lived about 4 miles away. Here I called our nearest neighbor (the one who bushhogged our field and his bucket loader and tractor helped pull down a dead pine limb) for a reference and, lo and behold, he also sells firewood. So we can get it from a source 1/4 mile away--I love buying locally!

So, the wood stove is on it's way. Now on to the propane lines.

 I wanted a line for a kitchen stove, a water heater, and an outside valve for a propane generator. I had delusions of doing this myself--so what if I've never dealt with potentially deadly gas and couldn't figure out how to crawl the 20 feet that would need to be navigated on your stomach over and under heating ducts and water pipes and through a cement block wall? We briefly considered cutting a trap door in the floor of the kitchen so I could somehow snake pipe along and... In this case, the musician in the family was the realistic one and talked me out of this endeavor.

A plumber who knew what he was doing came and within 3 hours had all lines done and we were using our gas stove by that afternoon. Sometimes you've just got to admit your inadequacy and bring in a professional.

Two major things checked off! It's wonderful to have money--at least for a little while.