Time out for a blizzard

All three dogs are having a party out running in the snow. It is hard to believe Miss Ruby the Foster Girl can fly through it as fast as she can. There's about 20" out there, more in the drifts, and it's up to her ears. This is our second weekend Nor'easter this winter. I guess it's good we don't have to go anywhere.

I think I finally resolved the new-house woodstove installation problem this week, after 2 phone calls to Herkimer Home and Leisure where I bought it. It was hard to interpret the instructions that came with it, because none of the situations exactly matched mine. To connect to the existing chimney, previously installed by Bruce the Plumber, I had to follow the back-wall-mount instructions even though it will actually vent through the ceiling. If we do make it up there at the end of this week, we will have to talk to Bruce and Jim to make sure it is all done right. After so many months of getting all the details right on our dream house, we don't want it to burn down the first time we light up the stove.

And light up the stove we will! Two months in a row our propane bill, for heat alone, has been close to $400. We don't spend that much on gas and electric here in the drafty old house in NJ where we live full-time. So much for my super efficient new heater. My investigation on my last visit turned up a possible explanation—it's cold up there, and there's a whole lot of traffic in and out the front door. That and the price of propane went up 60 cents a gallon.