Adaptation

With the weather getting colder and the trees becoming naked, we are enjoying fall and welcoming winter with open arms. I guess I am a true Wisconsinite when I say I enjoy when the snow flies and it becomes cold enough to wear flannel and lots of layers.

Even though we welcome the new challenges of the winter season, we don't always welcome the challenges in life so easily. Lately we've been going through bit of a personal battle, trying to enjoy the present yet we desperately long to get out of our condo and own our own homestead. Especially with winter approaching, I wish I had a fireplace or a wood stove to sit by and feel toasty warm.

You can't install a fireplace in a condo, but you can buy a ceramic heater that looks like wood stove. The electric wood stove was something we wanted and not necessarily needed, but having it lets us enjoy the ambiance of a fire without having to approve chimney construction with the condo association. The model we purchased is also energy efficient and heats our living room quite well so we will not have to jack the heat up so much. We also have a simple box shaped ceramic heater in our bedroom which keeps us comfortable and also helps us save on heating bills.

We realize it is going to take us awhile until we reach or final destination, but everyday we continue in the right direction. We are still working on paying off our debt, which is going very well, and working on saving and not accumulating more debt by being creative and sometimes frugal. The holidays may be a challenge, but I have been busy knitting, sewing and canning gifts this year to help offset costs. Plus who doesn't love homemade gifts?

I'm sure most people who read this post or come visit us will get a kick out of this thing and maybe have a laugh or two about how we have a fake wood stove in our living room. But for us, it is a great compromise until we can have a real one.

As for me, I'll be laying in front of my wood stove on my deerskin rug, playing my ukulele.