Fireside Spelling

 Just when I was getting tired of folding the same 100 pair of shorts that my kids have been wearing since May, our season skip hopped right over to winter.  The calendar says Fall  - my frozen leg hairs say Winter.
  So you can guess how completely lovely it was to find that James had a cozy fire going in the living room today.  We gathered up all our books and plunked down on the floor for the rest of the school day.  
  Goodbye shorts - I'm done with you.

Throw On Another Log

A week ago, just about the time the snow headed our way, one of our heat pumps broke. The repair men said that the motor needed replacing and a new one would have to be ordered. We called today and the part still isn't in. In the meantime, we've had to heat our main living area with the fireplace. It takes much more effort on my husband and son's part to keep us warm. They've had to get, chop and stack firewood all week. It requires all of us to continually feed the fire throughout the day and night. As much as everyone will be glad to have the heat pump running again, there's something about using the fireplace .....the smell of the wood burning outside, the flickering lights in the evening, Kelly laying in front of it reading her book..it has a coziness that can't come out of a heat duct!