Poêle

December 18th:

The woodburning stove (poêle) didn't arrive in time for our previous fitting date in November, so we were incredibly grateful that M. Monnier managed to fit us in before Christmas.

We had to rearrange our journey to arrive a day earlier, but it was worth it.

As we hadn't yet got the heating regulated properly, it was doubly worth it! [Even now it's above freezing it's still worth it.]

Bizarrely, the workmen showed up on the day they were supposed to, only about 20 minutes late (given the snow that practically counts as 'early'), and worked really hard until the stove was fitted. And didn't complain when we insisted that they check it with a level [Maria was right!]!

We were totally impressed with them, and the lovely job they did, and (of course!) the poêle.

And with that night dropping down to -19°C, it got a real "road test"!

The advice is to burn the logs 'hot' and let the fire go out, rather than banking it down for the night, but we had to keep it in till the heating got into double figures.

It's Norwegian, and all our neighbours agree that they know a thing or two about woodburning stoves and cold winters!

We thought people would look a bit askance that we hadn't chosen a French model, but everyone agreed that Scandinavian stoves are way better; that was a surprise, but we are total converts!

And we've noticed plenty of other people choosing foreign stoves, too.

Best Piece of Advice Award:

The Best Piece of Advice Award goes to Karen, for suggesting getting a side-loading model.

The side door doesn't let any ash out, and less smoke (if the fire is smoky), and when it's hot, you don't roast quite the same...

Brilliant idea!

Karen also gets the runner-up Best Piece of Advice Award for suggesting a hot-air blower for the shower room radiator.

When it's not cold enough to have the heating on but nippy enough that you don't want to take your clothes of and get wet, the soufflerie takes the chill off the air enough to get naked.

And like most females I like to be warm if I'm going to be nude!