November 9, 2012
Let me, if I may, be ever
welcomed to my room in winter by a glowing hearth, in summer by a vase of
flowers; if I may not, let me then think how nice they would be, and bury
myself in my work. I do not think that the road to contentment lies in
despising what we have not got. Let us acknowledge all good, all delight that
the world holds, and be content without it. George MacDonald
Friday nights are movie nights around here. This week’s selection:
the Swedish film, As
It Is In Heaven. Along the continuum of “choir director turns mess into music” movies,
it’s on the opposite end of Sister Act. (Sorry, Diane.) Heavy, but worth it. Here’s the tear-jerking climax: Gabriella’s
Song
Afterward I returned to a very chilly cabin. So, I attempted to make my first fire. And by first I really mean first. Ever. In my life.
In my defense, I’ve never had a fireplace, and we weren’t
taught about fires in Girl Scouts. Unlike my Boy Scout-cousins. No gender bias
there, though. I suppose the 9-year-old Girls were too busy learning about birth control
to mess with fires, right St. Tim’s? (FYI)
Anyway, I’d been avoiding the wood stove since arriving 9 days ago, which wasn’t much of a feat; the passive solar heating does its job quite well. In fact, if I stay inside during a sunny afternoon without an open window, I get a bit loopy! But today was not one of those sunny afternoons:
.
So, the time had come to experiment with fire. And it was a
beautiful and warm fire, indeed.
For about 15 minutes.
And then it was out.
Did I do something wrong?
What makes this little incident even more pathetic is that
the fire was built when I arrived. All I had to do was light the kindling, and
clearly I failed in that simple task.
Help!
Check and see if the flue is open- along with that and some careful love as you get it started you should be on the right track- oxygen and dry wood should do the trick! I love the blog- you're doing the work!
ReplyDeleteYessica, I love the quotes you're putting at the top of each post. I feel like I'm on retreat, too, with a daily inspirational quote.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think it is important for oxygen to get under the fire, too, right Jen? The fires I've built or been taught to build were made with kindling kind of arranged like a teepee.
Maybe you should watch the move "Cast Away" while you're there. :)
So, I do believe air (too much and too little) have been the culprits. I still haven't found a good balance, though. Sometimes it roars away, and other times it just goes away. I haven't frozen yet, so that's good.
ReplyDelete