Burn Baby Burn

We were all total home bodies this past weekend and we loved it! Monte's latest project is the wood-burning stove insert that he wanted to install himself - and he did end up installing it, but after many attempts, some help from Hagen and our neighbor, and much frustration. But it paid off. It's in and the coals have been hot ever since. It's very nice having a fire every night.

Ani enjoyed playing in the snow (all 17 inches of it). It's the only time she'll wear her winter coat without a fight. She is more hot blooded than we thought. She also was a "big help" to me when I made Christmas cookies on Sunday. She helped roll the dough and cut the cookies out. Thankfully she was done helping me when the frosting and sprinkles came out, so I got to do those by myself and it didn't get too messy! She even said afterwards, "Thanks for helping me bake cookies, Mama!"

Our stylish girl

Wood

Is this wood thing getting out of hand?

The Fence

The purchase of a refurbished wood-burning fireplace insert leads to.... lots of wood accumulated for the faraway winter months (thank you, Craigslist "free" listings and Mr. Hagen)... which leads to the need for an axe to split the wood... which leads to the need for Monte to build a fence between our garage and the neighbor's which blocks off any alley thieves to protect our growing pile of wood. Yes, we have had an experience with an alley thief in the past!

Gadgets

Some recent gadgets at our house - if you don't know, Monte likes to tinker with stuff, whether it's old or new. Here's an old tinker item (the Singer sewing machine that our antique-dealer neighbor threw out in his trash) and a new tinker item, which we've actually had for a few weeks now - the coffee siphon.