{January 16, 2011}

Oh how I adore thee, woodstove! You make my home all warm and toasty, filling the room with a subtle orange glow, and providing quite the conversation piece for all who see you. It can be said that the woodstove was yet another big reason we purchased this house. A central chimney with an open floorplan, along with our Mitsubishi Mr. Slim (I am so blogging about that wonderful investment come summer), means we've yet to have to turn on our baseboard heaters this winter even with temps in the single digits. Getting wood, starting fires, and tending them makes me feel even more "country-fied" and brings me back to days spent at my MeMaw's and PaPaw's log cabin, sitting next to their two story fireplace. Man I loved that cabin. Plus, I think the woodstove is beautiful. The picture doesn't quite capture the color of it sadly, but it's a deep merlot shade that matches nicely with the brick chimney. We have a fire going pretty much everyday for most of the day, so it can get quite dusty in here--but it's worth it. Another benefit of all that wood ash is that I can spread it around the chicken run and the chickens and guineas will dust bathe in it, providing a natural lice/mite deterrent. On the mantle sits some candles I picked up from Michael's, a decorative tin watering can filled with dried flowers, and a ginormous "L" that my dad purchased for me last Christmas from The Back Porch Shoppe on Etsy (I had specifically asked for it). Since we've moved in, the items on the mantle have changed due to two separate accidents involving items getting knocked off...and subsequently broken. We've since fixed the issue but I learned not to put glass up there ever again. Picking shards of it out of all the crevices in the woodstove was not fun. The kettle was left behind (presumably on purpose) by the previous owners and serves as a humidifier for the room. Each day we fill it with water and let it do its thing.

I don't care for the perspective of this shot, however Ryan and Ian were playing a game at the dining room table (which sits directly across from the woodstove), and made it difficult to get a "straight on" picture. Ah well, good enough for this project.

On to the pic...{click to view full size}