Of Stoves and Shopping

A number of Liz's Christmas presents to me were virtual—ideas for things that I had some choice on, and which needed me to decide and order. These are quite typical, as I like having a say, and can normally find a good deal. I've been bemoaning my baking sheets for some time: originally non-stick, their coating has gradually worn and peeled, and they're decidedly unhappy. At worst, one gets scraps of coating on the bottom of one's bread roll. We've found some possibly replacements: solid silicone sheets (which, by design, will not lose coating) that go on top of metal sheets (for solidity). Also now on order is a nutcracker (a fun mushroom design: you screw a wooden plunger down into a cup, which crushes the nut: I never get on with plier designs); and a pair of welly liners (Liz loves hers).

We also spent a lot of time looking at our options for installing a stove in the sitting room. The open fire, while quite attractive burning, looks rather dull when not lit. Open fires are also hideously inefficient at putting heat into the room (20%, by some accounts, with the rest going up the chimney), and the open chimney lets cold air in, and warm air out, the entire time.

We live in a smoke-control area, which limits our choices, but we've seen a few that we like. One option is to get a back-boiler stove, and hook it into the central heating, so that we reduce our oil use and warm the whole house when the stove is lit, rather than predominantly the sitting room. No decision yet, though...