lighting our fire

The search for a wood cook/stove turned fruitful today, as we found a wood stove dealer hiding in a lighting store in far west Springfield. They have the beautiful Jotul stoves. We are interested in the economy model, the Jotul F 602 CB. We found a separate bake oven that goes on top of a wood stove. So that's our option one. Option two brings us into the realm of actual wood cook stoves. First, there's the Sheepherder, a small heat and cook stove that is very affordable. The upgrade looks nicer, but would toast our small (750 sf) house. There's also the Baker's Choice, another economy model, but bigger and more expensive. Choices, choices.

The guy at the lighting store told me that he's sold more wood stoves this last year than the last many years combined. Could it be rising fuel prices, coupled with an unstable climate and subpar utility grid? Hmm, that's some of our reasons for getting a wood stove. We also have several winters of wood laying around the yard, some of which is actually split and stacked now. Our neighborhood has a lot of downed trees that could provide us for firewood for plenty of years to come.

Our decision to cook on a wood stove seems natural, as it seems like a good idea to combine functions like that. We'll have to figure out something for summer cooking. Outdoor kitchen would be all right til the mosquitoes get bad, and maybe an electric burner after that. Or, invest in bat houses and get the outdoor kitchen cannery of my dreams!

There are a lot of really beautiful wood stoves and especially wood cook stoves out there. I have read that the prices have been driven up lately by demand, partly because of an increased desire of self-sufficiency and also by the antiques market, since an old ornate wood cookstove looks so nice sitting under the pretty pictures of one's ancestors. We actually have a wood stove already, one I got from my mom last year. But our insurance requires certain things, and a familial fondness isn't one of them. But that one might do well for a good outdoor kitchen.

We are grateful to have received our income tax return, thankful to all you hard-working Americans for supporting us while we are taking our slack, raising our kid, investing in our communities and futures. We're planting the trees that will feed your grandkids of the future, and sharing knowledge and skills (and starts and seeds) that might otherwise be scarce. It's an investment in a different lifestyle.

And thanks also to our President, who knows how to buy off the little people at just the right moment. We'll be putting that stimulating money to use setting up some water catchment from our roof to soak into our soil for our gardens. We're going to invest in a garden for Kaleigh, whose heart desires strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, corn ON the cob, and a few other miscellaneous fruits. I'm going to get a new pair of glasses, so I can stop having to look through white blurry spots all day, and some new shoes for my feet that walk. Kaleigh's going to get a giant box of goodies from Rainbow Resource Center, a homeschool store. And Don might go to Goodwill to get a second pair of "nice" jeans.

It's weird to think about shopping at a time like this. But we have had a lot of time with no money to think about what we're going to do, a lot of projects in the works, forever picking up pieces of the Zomban homestead and putting them back together (or, realizing the weeds know what they're doing and learning to leave em alone). Every bit we can cut ourselves free of the tentacles of Leviathan, we're going to do. So much for not having any ambitions, goals, or plans for the future.

sharqi