The Joys of a Wood Stove
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Sun Dec 31 17:11:05 EST 2023

Jennie and I completed our first
elective home project this month
(after a series of unfortunate roof,
boiler, oil tank, and chimney fixes):
a wood stove.

The installation itself was stressful--
shoddy communication, delayed parts,
incompetent installers... but 3 months
after we started, it's here, and I
couldn't be loving it more.

We've had a fire almost every day for
3 weeks now, and it's given our home
a new warmth--both in its cozy
atmosphere and literally; it allows
us to heat asymmetrically, with a
toasty chair next to the fire and a
chillier bedroom upstairs. Much
preferred to the flat temperature of
central heating.  Heat people, not
spaces, as they say.

And while it may become more of a
chore over time, I've loved the
demanding nature of heating with wood:
it's forced me to chop kindling and
haul wood inside every other day, and
with a busy remote job, this is the
perfect positive pressure needed to
get 15 minutes of crisp air.

It demands attention too. Stoking,
refueling, and monitoring active fires
while in use, as well as cleaning the
stove daily. It might sound like a
hassle, but I love that I'm capable
of doing it myself. Our oil boiler
cannot legally be self-serviced and
is quite literally a black box.  In
comparison the wood stove is simple.
Even though we don't have trees to
cut down, it still feels like a big
step closer to self sufficiency.
Certainly in a storm we won't worry
about losing power.

Lastly, there's something innately
appealing in a good fire. Maybe it's
evolutionary, with fire being such
an important part of primitive life.
Maybe its just my ability to conceptualize
the whole lifecycle, from tree to log
to ember, that heightens my appreciation
compared to the turning of a dial.

Regardless, I can't imagine home
without it now.