Cleaning the stove

I know I have told several tales about cleaning our woodstove, but bear with me because it seems like I am always learning something. One would think I would have a system down by now. But I keep thinking up new ideas on how to do it better with less mess. Some work and some don’t. This time a lot of what I did worked, but not all.

The day started with canning applesauce that I had actually made about Christmastime. But it got put outside in a bucket and then froze, so I just kept putting off getting it in jars. But the very welcome warm up thawed my applesauce, so I had to get it in jars and processed. While that was cooking, I brought in the roosters that I butchered sometime in January, which were also frozen solid but starting to thaw. When they were thawed and the applesauce was processed through the water bath canner, I put them in the pressure cooker with a bunch of vegetables and spices, set the pressure for about 15 pounds and started heating them up.

It was while I was waiting for them to come up to pressure that I decided I should clean the stove. Normally Rick helps me do it, but I knew it needed to be done desperately and I have done it before, so I got the project started. I brought in a tarp to try to mitigate the mess we made last time. I got two big garbage bags to put the pipes in to take them outside to clean. I’m normally barefoot in the house, so I have a pair of crocs by the front door to slip into, and I did when I took the pipes to clean the inside out. The stovepipe was really dirty, especially in the elbows where the soot tends to collect. I didn’t drop any pipes this time. The floor managed to not get horribly black, just some on back of the stove. The pipes slipped right into the garbage bags and everything.

So I slipped into the crocs and headed out to the garbage barrels to scrape the inside of the pipes out. I pulled the first elbow out and dumped it. As a pretty good load of soot landed on my feet, I decided that maybe the crocks were not the best choice. But the job had to be finished.

After the pipes were cleaned and put back together, I scraped out the rest of the stove and emptied the ashes and the soot pan. Of course, I slipped back into said crocs and noticed that they felt a little gritty on the inside, but I didn’t pay much attention.

It was only after all was said and done and I was headed for the shower that I realized my feet were totally black. My toenails, in between the toes, the bottoms, all over. They were just black.

So this time around, I learned to wear my slip-on mud boots rather than my crocs when cleaning out the stove and stovepipe. 

Quick Chicken Supper

2 cups water

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1 (10 oz.) package frozen mixed vegetables

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cups chopped chicken

Bring water to a boil and add bouillon cubes. Add vegetables and cook until done. Add soup and chicken, heat until chicken is warmed. Served over mashed potatoes, noodles or toast.