True love in the form of an ax

My grandad is no longer with us. He was the sweetest man I ever knew. One of my favorite memories of my grandad was that he made the best fires in the fireplace in the wintertime. I remember him wadding up countless newspapers to get the fire going, and playing games and eating popcorn by the fire. Great memories.

I'm all about ambiance. I want my house to exude warmth, and welcome. My husband is the opposite. He's practical. He thinks the fire should be a heat source and not just for looks. And in theory, that's great. We did that when we lived in CO and I loved it. But it kills him for some reason to burn a fire in the fireplace, with all the heat getting sucked up the chimney. And me, well, as long as it is warm and welcoming, who cares?

So we've had a few arguments this year about the fireplace. He thinks we need to get it cleaned before we burn it (we've been here 3 years and burned the fireplace about 10 times), he's from the country where you chop your own wood and doesn't believe in paying someone for it, and he thinks its impractical. I had to start thinking of ways to place candles in the fireplace and how we could make s'mores.

The other day I was rounding the corner to see a truck in my yard and the gate open. There was my husband and a coworker, unloading wood. Free wood. Its not often that the sight of your husband unloading wood makes your love grow for someone, but for me it did. He had put aside all his arguments and gotten me some wood. The plus for him, is that he didn't have to pay for it, and he got to get his ax out and chop it. Something he did all the time growing up. So I'm going to leave you with a picture of my sweet husband doing the most romantic thing for me....chopping wood.