I know many
crazies people were out shopping and trying to score the deal of the century or at least the deal of the season today. Not me! Today, I was giving thanks that our kids have awesome friends with even awesomer (not a word, I know) parents.
When our house was build back in '73, the builders included a very cool looking wood burning stove. Sadly, even back in '73, the stove was not up to code and it DEFINITELY does not meet today's safety standards. It never, ever drew smoke up correctly and, frankly, was not safe to be used. Hell, even with the damper closed, there was a gap all the way around it letting the chimney act as a vent for the heat in the winter and the cool in the summer. Sorry, but I don't want to pay to heat or air condition the outdoors. The, to add insult to injury, it developed a serious leak during the last heavy rainstorm we had. The bitch had to go.
Dudley, the dad of our kids' friends, came over to help me remove the wood stove. It was a time consuming job but wasn't that difficult.
Yeah, that is me up there helping.The kids used the pieces of the chimney we dropped to the ground to build a "cannon".
Gabe climbed the indoor ladder and tried to climb the outdoor ladder.
And, I now have this nice wide-open space...
With the hole patched, I'm no longer trying to heat the outdoors. Eventually, we would like to put a gas fireplace in this area. Until then, it will make a great location for our Christmas tree this year. And, the wood stove sans stovepipe will make a perfect outdoor fireplace. It will be fun to have a place to toast marshmallows. So, what did you do on black Friday?
12 comments:
You are one of the few people who actually got something really accomplished today! Congrats!
Well done!!! You'll sleep well tonight :-)
Make a couple of s'mores for me, will ya??!!
So much better for you, once that stove was out of the house. Your wallet will be happier this winter! I love the brick work. That spot will be so pretty for your Christmas tree. Finally I remembered to add this part, "Hello from IComLeavWe!"
Gerardine Baugh
You might want to leave just a little stovepipe on your outdoor stove, just so that if a little wind kicks up, nobody ends up with hickory-flavored clothing (as often happens with campfires.)
And the brickwork looks like it will make a fantastic Christmas tree backdrop.
Thank you for your kind comment.
I agree, some kind of Christmas decorations or a tree would look awesome there!
You got a lot accomplished! We traded videos with our cousins. Not home videos, online ones. Our favorites included The Butterfly Circus and Grocery Store Wars. Not very productive, but fun!
Wow. That is impressive. I went shopping at some local stores and cooked a Thanksgiving dinner that my husband actually wanted to eat. As opposed to the one at the restaurant that we ate with his family. Sometimes it is so nice to score a good one like that.
It must feel amazing to have that out of your house!
I cleaned the house, did laundry, and saw an old friend and her family for about an hour as they were driving though my city.
So did seeing Gabe up on that ladder freak you out? Would have (or did) me. Looks great with that out of there and having it as a fire pit/chimnea thing is a great idea.
When I saw the pictures of the pipes, I assumed you were building a Dobsonian Reflector Telescope.
Apparently not.
OK, Gabe on that ladder gave me the willies! Boys are scary!
That's going to be a cool place to put your tree!
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