We Got A Present Of Chopped Wood.

Wood for the winter in perfectly sized pieces.

It was rather unexpected but welcome nonetheless. A kindly soul, who I have taken to the doctor's a few times, brought two trailer loads, full of chopped wood. As a Thank You.

When you consider that he is a septuagenarian, it is unbelievable to know that not only did he chop the wood into small pieces, but that he also felled the tree in the forest. A few winters ago, Bob and I had the opportunity to chop our own wood to size. On TV it looks as easy as pie, but in real life, it's not so easy. Never mind splitting the wood with the axe, the hardest part ( for me ) was actually connecting my axe with the wood. Needless to say, Le Bob was prudently out of reach...

Anyway, we have enough wood, correctly sized for our wood burning kitchen stove ( a relic from the previous owner of our house ) to make our kitchen cozy and to have many pots of soups simmering away.

We do have a pellet oven for the central heating, but somehow, there is nothing more cozy than an old fashioned wood burning stove. I still remember that my Grandparents had one of these stoves and there was a compartment for hot water somewhere on the stove top. I think it had a copper lid and knowing my Grandmother, it was polished and sparkling.

Cooking on any wood burning stove is not for sissies. There is no temperature dial to turn up or down, except for perhaps opening the air shaft a bit more and fanning the fire. A fried egg could become a surprise egg.

A few weeks ago, Bob and I went to a Buschenschank at a castle. Schloss Kohfidisch is about 10 km from us and having a quick brush with a regal ambiance is nice.

We sat in the old kitchen area of the castle and even though nobody was cooking on the stove, it was just so cozy sitting next to it and imagining the meals that had been cooked on it through the centuries.

Bob and I were having a lovely time at the Buschenschank...eh, the plate of nibbles was Bob's and he was guarding it from those wifely fork-attacks with rather too much enthusiasm!

As you can see, this wood stove is huge, but when you consider that the castle has many wings, it is amply sized. If these walls could talk...

Biggi