Denise Kersting

Those giant cauldrons can bring in a bunch of cash (at least in central PA). So if you decide that you don't want to bother with the heavy beasts, you might want to look into selling them. I see them pretty often on our local craigslist for around $250. I think the only way you could season them is to build a campfire and hang them from a tripod above it! I have several cast iron pans that were handed down or found that I've yet to clean too, and I just got a cast iron waffle pan that I'm excited to try out. Good luck with all that you have to get through, we bought my in-laws cabin several years ago and had many years of "stuff" to get through. It was tough (on us and them) some things we just got rid of, some we took back to them, some we donated, and some we are still looking at how to "relocate" without hurt feelings. The cabin is way different now, and I think in a way it helped that I painted all the inside walls--it looks like a different place to them now, so much of the "loss" is a little more acceptable.

Best of luck to you, downsizing (or combining homes) is always difficult! The one thing that stood out to me was the cast iron in (B1BA43C7-005F-4E31-AA28-58C66E7EB47A.jpeg), even if you aren't a fan, you should consider removing any rust, light seasoning and selling, you might get good money for it depending on the manufacturer/model.

After they bloom this year, cut 1/3rd to the base, next year (or 2 if if doesn't recover strongly) second 1/3rd, third year final 1/3rd. That should rejuvenate your lilac. Give it some compost tea if you have any available, or normal compost/fertilizer.

My mom's grape pie (or her strawberry-rhubarb pie that I don't have the recipe for)!!! This goes into a standard 9" pie shell:

4 cups prepared concord grapes  (has to be concord for the right flavor)*
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoon butter.

mix together and bake @400 for 25 minutes.

Then mix (for the crumb topping):

1/2 cup flour  1/2 cup sugar,  mix.  Cut in 1/4 cup butter, cover top of pie and bake 15 minutes more.


* to prepare grape filling. wash whole grapes, slip skin from grapes (pulp will just pop out as squeezed gently.  Put skins in a bowl and set aside.  put pulp in small saucepan.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes.  Press cooked pulp through a wire mesh strainer into a bowl to remove seeds.  Add the skins.

So glad you are doing well Aaron! I've been following your progress as me and hubby are quitting as well. We chose vaping as our method this time, we've tried the gum, patches, lozenges, and cold turkey b4 and they haven't worked well for my husband. I think whatever method works for you, go with it and stay with it! So congrats, and keep it up, you have many more people than you even know that are doing the same thing as you and are rooting for you. We haven't had any cigs since the end of January and have started reducing the level of nic in our vape juice. I love that me and my hubby don't smell like dirty ashtrays anymore, and I'm glad we will be saving money as well as our health. You've got everything to look forward to, and should be over the moon to be free from the shackles of needing a cancer stick, I know that we are! Please keep everyone posted, and I hope your story helps to encourage someone else to quit.

I'm so sorry for your loss. We have also buried a beloved family pet in their favorite spot in the garden. Never an easy task. Our climate is much different than yours, and our furbaby (Syrah a long-haired kitty) is under her favorite hostas, they were perfect for her to hide and contemplate to stalking from. I just wanted to throw the suggestion of ground-cover roses, they could provide a blanket of blooms, and should tolerate your growing conditions, for example (ignore the $ I'm sure they are available locally for less, lol) https://www.heirloomroses.com/white-meidiland.html. Kind regards, Dee.

Hi Duane,
I by no means want to hijack this thread, but could you let me know what depth (front to back wall) you would consider a normal fireplace vs. a Rumford fireplace? Thanks!!

Hi R. Spencer,
I'd like to add that if you are planning to move within a short timeframe that there may be may other areas to focus on than the fireplace, as Walt previously indicated. We bought our house over ten years ago, knowing that the fireplace needed work (and it still does). There is a chance that your idea of the perfect fix, may not be inline with a new owners ideas, and if you are looking to sell, that wood burner taking up space where the original chimney could have been repaired, may be seen as a negative. In our case, we know that the mortar is failing in our chimney, and if we fix it, it will be safe for wood burning once again. That doesn't happen to be on the top of our fix-it list, so we haven't had a fire there (for over 10 yrs). We have chosen to go the route of more energy efficient windows and adding insulation as priorities. If someone had put a woodburner in our living room with its current layout, it would make it cramped and limit walkways. If you know for certain that the market for a home such as yours, in your area, is almost always wanting a woodburner as the main source of heat, then it might be a worthwhile upgrade. But if many are okay with the option of having a fire (even with having to repair the chimney) then it might not be worth the cost. If you end up buying a stove used, look to evidence of rust/holes, that can be a fire hazard in and of itself. You will need proper backing for the floor and area (normally behind, but could be in front of) the unit to prevent any fire issues. I wish you the best of luck!
Regards,
Denise

I used to work in a store that sold fountain pens so I got to test a bunch of them! By far my favorite was a pen (no longer available sadly) made by a German co. Zeppelin. My second runner-up was a Montblanc. I still wish I had that Zeppelin, I really loved the weight, feel, and flow rate of that pen!

Here's a site that is more focused on "cabins" vs "tiny homes" but I think it is still a valuable resource: http://www.small-cabin.com/.