A Cook-"In"



The kids begged me last weekend to let them have a cook-"in," so we rigged some wire hangers and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for s'mores over the fire in our woodburner. Rob and I weren't quite feeling up to hot dogs with our sensitive systems, but we had just as much fun as the kids watching them make and eat their rustic dinner.

Could I live off the grid? Sometimes I feel like we could, especially with the wood-burning stove providing our only heat source here during this most turbulent winter. Sometimes when I'm out tromping through the drifts to throw a bale of hay to the horse and then off to the woodshed to carry a couple of armloads of wood to fill the wood box in the living room, I think, what would be the big deal of having to go out just one more time to hand pump a couple buckets of water to heat on the wood stove for cooking and bathing...I think we could probably do it!

But...I do look forward to the day when all I have to do is turn a little dial, and I can trust that all the children will be warm for the evening. Once taken-for-granted, such conveniences seem almost luxurious now!

Maybe someday we'll throw out our modern conveniences--ooh, I'm not sure how happy I would be without internet!--and cooking over the woodburning stove in the winter will be the norm and not the exception! Probably not anytime soon...

Comments

TheDana said…
That looks like fun! I remember growing up with only wood heat. It was our job during the summer and fall to cut, chop, and stack all that wood! And while I miss the scent of burning maple, I like my thermostat quite well. :D Though I don't need it too often in Florida!
February 27, 2008 at 8:52 AM
jeny said…
So much fun!!
I have had the temptation to do that over our gas fireplace, but fought the urge.
Our furnace has struggled to keep up this winter what with the dramatic temperature shifts. I love Little House on the Prairie, but I'm too much of a wimp to actually live that way I think!

Thank you for the comment and prayers. I'm sorry to have been the cause of the strain on your emotions today. I love you!

p.s. I'm curious . . .what are your three choices for your family to be stationed? I'm praying that you will be stationed at your top choice. Or rather, that your top choice is also the Lord's choice for your new mission field :)
February 28, 2008 at 3:13 PM
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