Friday, bake sale, chimney sweeps
It's been a busy morning already! At 7am, the chimney sweepers showed up to clean the fireplace, the first one I have ever had. I asked the old tenants if they had cleaned it this year and they said "no", what I should have asked was "have you cleaned it ever?". The guy said that it probably hadn't been cleaned for 10 years. It's clean now. We also discovered that we have no flu door, the knob that sticks out of the fireplace spins freely. We also have to let the landlady know that her cap isn't up to code and it needs something else that I can't remember at this minute. We can use it as is as long as we make sure the the damper is open and that it stays open. We paid for the cleaning, but certainly cannot pay for the neglect over the years. If all goes well, we can have a fire tonight. The guy told us that the fires have to be hot for the first hour to heat the chimney and reduce the risk of creosote collecting which can cause chimney fires. I think that we can manage that! This also means that we will probably be using the livingroom more, right now it is the room that the cats sleep in.
I made cookies last night and have brought them in for the bake sale. I hope that people like them and don't take a bite and spit them out saying "I paid for this?". I did make them a bit chewier than usual, so hopefully they aren't undercooked.