Guests

The last snowstorm gave us quite a bit of snow. We were thankful the township snowplow came in the evening before my brother Mike and wife Pam arrived from northern Minnesota, so they were able to get in. We have a new snowplow operator, and because he had not been into our farmyard before it seemed he didn't know exactly what to do and where to push the snow. He didn't even get close to making an open pathway to the house, so Andrew had to take out our walk behind snow blower to finish the job. It took him quite a while, but he did a good job making a path for us to get into the basement where we live.



Now we drive through a tunnel of sorts to get down to the basement door. Hopefully I can back the car up the path; backing up in a limited space is not one of my strengths!

Our family woke up the morning after Mike and Pam's arrival to the sound of the carbon monoxide detector going off. Jim immediately opened up the door and vented the house. We have had trouble before with the drastic changes in temperature outside, which causes ice to build up in the chimney pipe just as it makes a bend upward, outside of the house. The guys usually then take off the plate at the bottom of the vertical pipe and clean out the ice (doesn't everyone keep an acetylene torch in the house for activities such as this??) and we are back in business. Our usual notice that the ice is building up is a dripping of creosote/water into a bucket in the back of the wood stove, but this time it didn't happen.

Upon inspection, Jim discovered that two sections of piping located just above the insulated chimney pipe had rusted completely through, and was causing major problems with the exhaust from the wood stove.

The guys took a section of the ladder and headed to the old Norwegian cabin located in the woods a ways from our house. There was extra chimney pipe over there that is no longer being used, since the little wood stove they had installed in there is now located in our guest cabin.

They had some pretty sights while walking along the ridge to the old cabin. I'm thankful the guys were able to get the barn painted before winter set in.

There is lots of snow in the woods!

This is the old Norwegian cabin. When we first purchased our place the cabin had two additions on either side, but they were dilapidated and full of animal droppings. I guess at one time this cabin was used by snowmobilers as a place to get out of the wind and warm up. There had been a lot of wood pulled off from those old rooms and used as firewood for a bonfire site located just down from the cabin. We also had to clean up a lot of broken beer bottles and cans from around the abandoned area.

Off goes the chimney pipe.

Time to take off the rusted pipe. The brownish stain on the temporary vinyl siding was caused by a combination of creosote/water that had drained from the chimney piping.

When Jim saw how terrible the piping up there actually was, he removed the pipe and left it with the sections missing. We now are using our floor heat until we can get to Minot to purchase insulated pipe.

The decision was made that when we repair the piping it will now be located inside the house, and piped through the two floors above. Jim plans to build a brick chimney around the pipe after it's installed. It has taken a long time to figure out just how we wanted to situate the wood stove; whether to move it to the center of the house and pipe it up from there, or leave it in its current position by the wall facing the lake. Jim thinks it will work better staying where it is. The plan is to add a wood cook stove in the kitchen area on the main floor and construct a second chimney when that is utilized.

Later in the afternoon the Bartlett Boys gave Aunt Pam and Uncle Mike a concert.

Thanks, Mike and Pam, for making the trip up to visit. We miss you already! (Looks like Peter still has a ways to go before catching up in height to Uncle Mike!)