The wood truck arrived early Saturday morning with the delivery of next year's wood. A couple of local families then had a date with a table saw to get it just the right size for the pile where it will sit, covered until next winter when it will be used to feed the large furnaces that heat their homes. It's a great deal of manual labor, moving and cutting this amount of wood, and the entire family will pitch in until it is done. As a result, their gas bills will be virtually nonexistent.
I feel a little guilty as I watch them from my kitchen window while preparing a chocolate chip cookie pie for the evening's social call, lamenting the fact that I'll be forced to use walnuts over my favored pecans.
They work hard to avoid the gas bill.
We work hard to pay the gas bill.
So why do I feel guilty that they are out there busting there backsides on a Saturday morning while I'm playing Betty Crocker and dreaming of summer trips to Puglia and New York City? Though we don't say a word to each other as we observe the spectacle, I know Richard shares the feeling when he decides to bring out a couple of freshly prepared Belgian waffles to offer. He is sent home with a crumpled paper bag filled with fresh eggs. The gift of eggs erases the guilt, for now.
There is a lot to be learned from living in the paese.
They work hard to avoid the gas bill.
We work hard to pay the gas bill.
So why do I feel guilty that they are out there busting there backsides on a Saturday morning while I'm playing Betty Crocker and dreaming of summer trips to Puglia and New York City? Though we don't say a word to each other as we observe the spectacle, I know Richard shares the feeling when he decides to bring out a couple of freshly prepared Belgian waffles to offer. He is sent home with a crumpled paper bag filled with fresh eggs. The gift of eggs erases the guilt, for now.
There is a lot to be learned from living in the paese.
I wonder if they have a special system set up in the house so that the fireplace heats the whole thing? My fireplace only warms itself and about a foot in front of it.
ReplyDeleteIt's a huge monster wood-burning furnace in the basement that provides heat indirectly, like through heating the water for the bathroom & kitchen and the water that flows through the pipes to each room's radiator . . . geeess, I wish I could explain it better. It's quite a system. Gas can be used in the event that the wood is low. It never is.
ReplyDeleteWell that was very nice of you guys! I bet they appreciated the gesture of the waffles!
ReplyDeleteOh deja vu I took some almost identical photos of our neighbours wood delivery last week!
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