Yesterday I moved into my new home. It was a bit difficult to say good bye to the Dixon hotel, in particularly to the huge and delicious morning breakfast but anyway I finally made it to Seatoun. I parked the car on its parking pad which is a platform that stands on poles and is attached to the road somehow (underneath there is a steep slope). Somehow I managed to carry my bags down the 60 step stair case, unlocked the front door and voila my new home was mine! Had a quick look around before heading to work but felt that I had completed a major step in my New Zealand life.
So when I came home last night I had to get the wood stove working somehow, well it took me about 2 hours before I had a small fire going, which is promising for the days to come. It changed my plans for the night though, not a lot of time to sit in front of the heater and read my library book. But anyway, today it went a lot better, I just threw a bit more wood in the chamber and somehow the fire got going. But I keep going back to see if things are still burning as expected, which seems to turn into a full time job. I also need to get wood from outside and dry it in doors otherwise... no fire.
Got the phone and the internet installed today, which means that I don't have to pay the high internet charge in the hotel anymore. But at least I can use Skype again for making international calls, the local telecom company is charging its customers a small fortune for those type of calls.
Woke up this morning by the sound of the boats passing by. I also hear the sound of the waves which is very soothing and comforting. There is not much sun though which means that the house doesn't get warmed up from the outside. But I should be ok with the heaters, the main challenge is to keep the humidity out, hence a good reason to keep the wood stove in good shape.
Work went well today, I got something working and have been asked to show my stuff tomorrow to a wider audience. Fingers crossed that it will be well received.
Anyway, next project is to get a car and a bicycle, the former should be economical since petrol costs a fortune these days. I got some petrol last weekend and this pump kept going and only stopped when it reached an astronomical amount of $78... quite different than what I was used to in LA.
Well the fire is still going which I consider quite an achievement, good night!
Posts
4 comments:
Well well well. NICE man!! Glad you've got a place now . . and it's quite a relaxing enviornment . . as if you were on holiday. Impressive work . . . and with the stove as well. Pretty funny, when I was in Sweden this last winter . . that was there main source of heating. And . . .it took diligent watching but the house was unbelievably warm after awhile and lasted through out the night. Glad work is going well as well. I knew it would, just have to be introduced to everyone . . and nothing like some deadlines to get to know the people along the pipeline.
I'm happy for you my friend. We miss you here but are wishing for the best and it's already there,
MAC
Hooray! Congrats on moving into your new digs!
I stayed at a writer's colony one cold winter on Langley Island (in the Peugeot Sound just N. or Seattle). Each of us lonely writers got our own cabins on this amazing farm and we had to heat our little homes with wood-burning stoves. The first night I woke up freezing! and had to re-light the fire, but I soon learned the secrets:
1) Start with a clean grate. Ash and cold bits smother the fire.
2) A fire burns best if there's some space between logs (fire likes oxygen - but you know this already from grade school). If you want the fire to burn all night (a slower fire), pack the logs closer together to keep the fire burning but not raging.
3) You can slow down a fire by using less dry wood (e.g. cured wood, dampened wood, etc.). Also, large logs and hard woods (which is well dried) burn the slowest, too (good for the night).
4) Partially open the flue and the vents (you'll probably have to futz with it a bit to get the perfect combination for your stove).
But then again, I'm no expert.
So, what's your address and when can we come visit??
It seems that "details of a fire" could be a best seller, thanks heaps for all the suggestions (The living room got pretty warm tonight)
gas would cost that much here now, my friend.
Post a Comment