When "recreational" becomes essential

We have what I would call a "recreational fireplace." That is, we do not require our fireplace to heat our house--we just have it to warm the living room and provide ambiance while we watch episodes of Top Chef on YouTube.

But yesterday's forecast called for freezing rain and heavy snow overnight. We've been through this up here before, and, in our experience, freezing rain and heavy snow means we will very likely lose our electricity.

Possibly for days.

Perhaps even a week.

In fact, that's what happened to us in the first month we lived up here. We lost our electricity for a solid week. And boy did we love having that "recreational fireplace" then.

So rather than trust to the "recreational" pile of wood I usually keep by the fireplace, I went outside yesterday morning and began chopping wood. LOTS of wood. And about a half an hour after I started, the cold--though not yet freezing--rain set in, and I knew I couldn't quit.

I stack the firewood by size: large and medium...

And small.

So now we have enough wood laid in to survive the apocalypse.

Provided it is a very short apocalypse.