Tuesday 22 November 2022
It’s 08:08, I’ve been up for almost an hour and I’ve only just sat down to write. I haven’t even made a mug of tea. This is because my new life is not warm without a morning coal-related work-out.
The first thing I did was pull on my wellies to then slide my way across mud to bring in a 20 kg bag of coal. The bag leaked watery coal on the floor (it’s not all wet; it’s also a long story), so that had to be cleaned up. Next, I cleared away some ash from the burner that looked comparatively clean yesterday. As someone with extremely limited experience of lighting fires (YouTube), it would appear that the getting-going of a fire isn’t my problem (though it seems that firelighters and kindling can make even a useless fire look amazing for ten joyous minutes). As I look at it now, there are two tongues of flame and the suggestion of a glow. Warmth is yet to be a feature of my morning unless I stand extremely close to burning kindling and pretend that’s how it’ll be for the rest of the day and night.
I have some dusty coal smears on my hands, despite having washed them post-fire, and I can’t get all the coal-dirt out my nails from yesterday’s big fire-clean. I need some of that orange gritty cleaner I can never remember the name of. (Google has informed me it is Swarfega. Amazing stuff.)
I’d say I’m on the cusp of feeling sorry for myself. Fortunately, I know that we have a plumber coming on Thursday to look at our heating set-up with a view to (apparently straightforward) connecting the boiler to electricity rather than the multi-fuel stove. Or something. I don’t entirely understand. And I certainly don’t know what we’re doing wrong that the fire appears not to be heating the radiators. It was working fine when we moved in, the previous owners having left it lit for us. At least we know it has the potential to work well and for the house to be lovely and warm. Sigh. If only.
My lower back is still aching and we still have a lot of boxes, stuff and furniture to move around. For the first day since Friday and the big drive up here from London, we don’t need to drive anywhere. And our new bed is arriving this morning. Sleeping on a thin foam mattress on the floor is very unlikely to have made things better where my back is concerned.
I definitely sound a bit sorry for myself, but I am genuinely happy to be here and have a lot to look forward to over the coming days (not just warmth and a bed).
Today, for the first time other than dumping stuff in it, I’m planning to spend some time in my study/the guest room. I am also thinking of doing a wash, which would be premature were it not that I can’t imagine it will dry within, oo, a good few days. We will also have a walk around the garden and ‘land’, which, unbelievably, we still haven’t had a chance to do.
In the meantime, I’m making a list of all the warm clothes I need to amass and continuing Google searches on all things related to multi-fuel stoves and making them emit enough heat to power the radiators around the house.