No Smoking
The nights are getting cooler, so last night I decided to light the wood stove to keep the temperature in the house nice as long as possible. I was alone at the time but didn't think I would have a problem. There was some paper-based trash already in the stove, waiting to be burnt, so I put some thin sticks on it and set a match to it. From there on in things got on a downhill roller coaster. Some smoke started coming out of the rings on top of the stove. I opened the door to the ashtray wider, hoping for an updraft. I could hope all night because I wasn't getting one. The smoke, dense and dark grey, got worse. The paper was burning just fine, but the chimney didn't want any part of this. I unscrewed the lower door that led to the chimney and tried to create an updraft burning newspaper just inside it. Not with all the smoke pouring out of there. The newspaper burned, but that was it. I looked around and all I could see was a thick London fog. I looked back at the sto...