keeping the home fire burning

One of the questions I get asked most often by my family in the south is "are ya keepin' warm up there?" My answer is "Yes, too warm!" I am warmer here during a mild Maine winter than I ever was during the coldest North Carolina winter. Samson has spent all winter walking around the house in his Phineas and Ferb underwear. I'm wearing shorts and flip flops in the house. I crack a window when I'm cooking in the kitchen. I turn on a fan at night.

We use a wood burning stove to heat the house and also have a fuel furnace for times when we are not home to tend to the fire and to keep the house from getting too cold when we go away for the weekend. But since we are usually home, the furnace is not used. And there is really no way to turn down the fire. And everbody knows that once you get a good fire going, you keep it going, you don't let it die down just to crank it back up again when the house gets chilly. So it stays super warm - no, make that hot - in the house most every day, all day. But it feels extra good when coming in from the cold and wet. And it's totally acceptable to walk away from work to go check the fire so you don't come home to a cold house at the end of the workday.

Other than Maine, we have always lived in a mild climate and never had the need for a high heat source. The only downside is when I have a (fake) blonde moment and burn myself. It's happened at least 3 times this winter. And I'm literally scarred from it. Now I put pot holders on my hands when I have to add wood to the stove. (Let's hope I just don't catch them on fire now).