Sunday, September 04, 2011

Beulah's Day

Kuma d.o.g. and I are pretty proud of ourselves today. After a year of planning, working, procrastinating and finally re-focusing efforts, we've succeeded in bringing Beulah back to life just in time for cold weather. A few minor repairs, clamps, seals and checks and she was ready for her first fire in a new home. A handful of kindling, paper towel and a match was all it took to bring her up to a steak searing temperature.

Preparing meals on a wood burning cook stove is a dying art. Asked how it's done I find it difficult to explain due to it's simplicity. Wood cook stoves are incredibly easy to operate at no cost for both cooking and heat. Its like having 6 burners on all the time; 2 high heat, 2 medium and 2 low, with no utility bill. A few sticks of kindling and you are frying bacon and boiling water while the oven is always ready.

Beulah fired up and ready for dinner.

Doesn't take long for a cast iron cooking surface to get hot with a hot fire inside.

In business now, water is boiling.
Now, sitting on the porch listening to the radio, I find tears welling in my eyes as I listen to Justin Moore sing, "If Heaven Wasn't So Far Away". Its so hard to lose family or friends as they pass before us. I would love to share today's accomplishment with mom and dad, my childhood friend Mark or even Great Aunt Beulah, a strong lady in my past that the little cook stove was named after. I know they all would be so pleased to share my happiness. As Justin sings, I close my eyes and see each of them smile.

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