Last month we installed a log burner. I know what you’re going to say: “They’re horrible things that pollute the air!” and to that I say I know, I largely agree. But we got the cleanest one on the market, it replaced an old gas fire, and it’s not our main source of heating. It’s really for the apocalypse or those times we’re without power due to storms and also to help keep us warm on especially cold days. It adds value to our house and we plan to use those very clean sawdust briquettes.
We got a Burley Hardwick which has an efficiency rating of 90.4%. Burley are the cleanest and most efficient stoves you can buy plus they’re made in the UK. The efficiency and clean air rating was important to me because I’ve got a bit of an obsession with clean air and log burners can seriously degrade the air quality inside your home. Each time you open the door to refuel they flood the room with particulates. We’ve used ours a couple of times so far and my air quality monitor has not recorded any noticeable increase in particulates which is great. We’ve also not seen any smoke coming from the chimney outside.
We live in a beautiful old granite building from 1904. Had the original fireplace been still here we’d have left it. But a previous owner removed it in the 1960s or 1970s and put in a gas fire which we’ve never used and which I’ve always found ugly. Here’s how it used to look:
The fire in the photo is an ethanol burner but the smell of these is quite unpleasant and I wondered what chemicals we were releasing into the air so we didn’t use it that much. They put chemicals into the ethanol, I suspect to stop people drinking it.
Builders came last month and removed it all. I listed all the old parts on Facebook for free and someone came and took them for their own place so I was pleased they got recycled. In the right home I’m sure they could work.
We decided to leave the bare granite which the builder repointed.
It was an awful mess in the room for several days.
We got a granite hearth. The fire itself is over 100kg but two builders managed to carry it upstairs.
As you can see I had to re-do the wallpaper. It was tricky deciding what to put there as we’ve got quite busy curtains in that room so I had to pick something that wouldn’t clash.
I chose Kelty by Voyage Maison. It was challenging to put up because Voyage Maison wallpaper is extra wide and it’s difficult to handle massive sections of paper without bending and crumpling them but with Ben’s help I did it.
I wrote on the wall first for the next owners who wallpaper. I guess that may be us if we’re here long enough.
We’re pretty happy with the result.
The only thing I’m disappointed with is that my muscles don’t look bigger in this next photo given I’ve been doing weights. I clearly need to ramp up my efforts.
In case anyone is wondering that is not a sheepskin rug in front of the fire. It’s a vegetarian or living rug which means the sheep who provided the fleece is still alive and was not killed for the rug. After being shorn for the summer the sheep’s wool was fixed to a felt backing so it can be used as a rug.
Yesterday was Ben’s birthday. I made my signature almond, orange and cardamom cake which is a favourite of Ben’s. Here I am squeezing an orange for the cake.
We ate in and I made a yummy cauliflower and bean dish with a peanut butter, roasted pepper garlic and ginger sauce. We don’t enjoy eating out so much these days as I find the food is often greasy and full of salt and sugar.
Elizabeth made pancakes for breakfast. These were made with spelt flour. I don’t put any sugar on other than the fruit. The blackberries are wild-picked.
For lunch I made a delicious quinoa dish with roasted red peppers, chickpeas, dill, mint, olive oil and apple cider vinegar. Those were the only ingredients and it was really yummy too.
We’ve also got lots of produce at the moment with some fantastic pears from the allotment and a delicious Bramley apple tree in the backyard.
I’ve even got parsley growing between some paving slabs in the backyard. These self-seeded from a nearby parsley plant. I decided to leave them there as they help suppress the weeds.
It was sad not having Daniel home with us last night for cake. I accidentally brought out four bowls for serving before remembering. Ben got to see him this week as he went to give a talk in the maths department in St Andrews on Thursday and Friday. Ben walked into town with Daniel a couple of times while he was there and always Daniel ran into people he knew. It’s true what they say: you can’t walk down the main street of St Andrews without running into someone you know. That’s a sign of a good place to live. Daniel is certainly very happy there.
rachel.blog 
Leave a comment