Dollar Signs

We had another exciting day in the Keweenaw yesterday. First, the barn roof was finished. Yep, it's all fixed. You would never know a tree fell on it, and the shingles now match the house perfectly! 

If that wasn't exciting enough, we had another guy working at the house. He was finishing up the installation of the outdoor wood boiler/furnace. Can you see something wafting through the air?

Is this better?

How about in this shot?

Yes, it's smoke coming from the boiler! Amen and Amen!

We also see something in that smoke that you probably don't see. We see this:

No, we're not burning money. 

Every time we see smoke coming out of that chimney on the Earth Outdoor Wood Furnace - Mountain Man model - we see dollar signs - because we know we're getting our heat - and hot water - from our own free wood - and we're using less LP! 

Hip Hip Hooray!

We now have 2 thermostats. 

The top thermostat is in charge when we're burning wood. If the fire dies way down or goes out, the bottom thermostat will automatically take over using the LP for our heat and hot water. So, if Steve is sick or we're out of town, the house won't get too cold and our pipes won't freeze. 

We still use LP for our gas stove and dryer, and we'll switch the hot water back to using all LP in the warmer months. 

It's so great to know that I can now have the thermostat as high as I want without any guilt at all. The only problem I do have is that my husband still feels too warm when the thermostat is set at 67° and I'm still too cold when it's set at 69°! Thus, Steve is still running around in a t-shirt and I'm still covered up with a blanket! (#DifferentInnerThermostats!) Ha! 

All is well in the Keweenaw.