The Woodstove
(...it's the best place to be!)
It is a dark damp February evening. There is a chilly wind blowing in the chimney, threatening to drown out The Country Show with Bob Harris on the radio. At this time of year the woodstove is lit almost constantly, and at the moment we are burning our way through a sack of peat from my parents, the smell of which always reminds me of childhood holidays in the Western Isles.
On a night like this there are not many places I’d rather be than sitting near the stove with a book or my knitting. I’m currently working on two knitting projects. The first is a sheep jumper for my son; it was supposed to be his Christmas present, but I never specified which Christmas! It should be fine, as long as he doesn’t have a massive growth spurt any time soon… The second project is a pair of pink “Forest Spell” socks by Drops Design. After several months of suffering from SSS (Second Sock Syndrome), I finally got around to casting on the remaining member of the pair a couple of days ago. Hopefully it won’t take me another four months to finish it!
Now, back to the woodstove. The stove is a classic example of “stacking functions” – a permaculture design principle whereby a single element in a system is used to produce multiple beneficial outcomes. Not only does the woodstove fulfill its most obvious function of heating the room, but at the same time it can also be used for:
Heating a kettle of water for tea and washing the dishes
Cooking dinner. Leek and potato soup in particular always tastes so much better when cooked on top of the stove!
Drying a load of laundry, or a damp sock from a leaking welly. I don’t have a tumble dryer so in winter it can sometimes be hard to get near the stove for all the clothes horses laden with damp washing!
Reheating last night’s leftovers for lunch
Evaporating seawater to make sea salt
Warming cats!
Ash for fruit trees and bushes in the garden
What else have I missed? Let me know in the comments below.
I hope everyone’s having a good week so far. Thanks for reading!
Cat x
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After my first pair of socks, I vowed never again to suffer Second Sock Syndrome. Now, I knit all my socks two at a time, usually on circular needles. Not only do I force myself to finish both or none, but the pattern is more consistent. Of course, I don't have near the experience knitting that you do, but I am enamored of socks!
The other good thing about a woodstove was going home with totally frozen feet, in spite of my pricey Sorel books, and putting my feet up on the stove until they thawed. Bliss!