Well it's now cold enough for me to need the heating on so I have succumbed and lit the stove. The kettle is currently on top and as soon as I've had a cup of coffee I intend to put a pan of leek and potato soup on top to simmer all day. It will save me a small fortune on the electric and gas as I simply open the sitting room door to let the heat warm upstairs. Thankfully we don't feel the cold too much so it will be enough to keep the house comfortably warm all the time. I'd got a bit chilly last night and realised that it was time to get the fire on. We are lucky in that our fire is central in the house and not on an outside wall so all the heat it produces heats up the core of the house. The staircase and spare bedroom are always snuggly as they get a tiny bit of warmth through the wall
I'm going to do an experiment to see just how much fuel we use as I usually put ten briquettes on overnight and it's still glowing by the following morning. I will weigh them and calculate the running cost. I need to keep Himself away from it though as he does love to mess about poking it and that increases the cost of running it. I leave it to create a nice hot bed of coals and it's ample for me for through the day. And I'm chuffed to bits to be able to report that we have been asked to look after little Zippy for a week next month. The money earned will go straight on buying more fuel for the stove so we haven't dipped into our savings at all to fund the heating for the coming winter. She's such a little treasure too so I can't wait to have her come stay.
There are no words to convey exactly how much I envy that stove. We are in a clean air zone.
ReplyDeleteWe burn kiln dried wood or smokeless briquettes so create very little smoke. We love sitting watching the flames dance when we burn wood but tend to burn the briquettes more these days and they create more of a glow than dancing flames.
DeleteLooks like it's really warm and cosy. I'd love something like that.
ReplyDeleteI haven't turned the heat on yet. I am going to hold off as long as possible. It's been a little chilly, but I've been bundling up and even got the blankets out to cover me up while sitting her watching telly. I feel it more than the men in the house. I have to remember to keep moving and maybe go up to my craft room - it's really warm up there still!
I only lit the fire yesterday as I had some friends coming over and they both feel the cold far more than I do. Must admit though that it was nice to see the fire lit and feel the warmth.
DeleteI can't believe the change in the temperature in the fortnight we've been away! We lit our woodburner on Tuesday, too. I think we might be spending most of winter in the swimming baths and using the gym and sauna now we're members - it works out at 50p a day so it's a lot cheaper than sticking the heat on! xxx
ReplyDeleteWhat a blimmin good idea. Just think how fit you'll be too. I'm going to look into that now.
DeleteWhat a cracking idea Cherie for the soup on the stove. I look forward to seeing Zippy again !
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