The Chimney Sweeps...

...are coming today!

Their names are H.O.W. & W.O.W.!



This picture is what one should look like,
in the true sense of the Profession.....
But....
Because Cowboy and I are both deathly afraid of heights, I'm quite positive we won't look so confident.
Fear will no doubt preside over our faces,
along with the soot!
Not to mention the fact that our roof line is NOT that flat! Ours has an 8-12 pitch!
That is STEEP!
(and no... I'm not talking Tea Talk!)




The next few hours shall be interesting to say the least.

Of course, since we are a family with a long history of Procrastinators, this chore has been put off way too long!
We must now, face our fears head on!
It has been downright chilly for well over two weeks, in the frigid range of 13º to 22º through the darkness.
Many a log has turned to glowing embers of scarlets and orange, already.
Smoke is infiltrating our breathing spaces each time the door is opened.

This old house has two, 2-story chimneys and the one with a funky crook in it's configuration has brought us nothing but billowing grief each winter.

Yet, for the sake of warmth which is nurturing for the heart and soul...not to mention for proper functioning of the hands that cook or these hands that want to blog, these chimneys are a blessing.

Thus far, this cold and blue morning, we have managed to kill some time by downing a pot and a half of coffee for courage as we sat in solemn silence.
Each of us secretly drawing from within the depths of our minds,
searching for the strength to carry out this dreaded task...

It is 7:18 am and the time has come!
...Without further ado, we must don our hats, gloves and coats;
grab the chains, the brushes and ladders!
We must meet the demons of creosote!

I fear, if we continue to drag our feet any longer,
we will cause holes to form in our souls soles!
New boots are on our list of things we cannot buy!

Just to make this more ordeal even more eerie....

The first time we were forced to clamber up the steep pitches towards the chimney top, was three Christmases ago (2005) in a pouring down rain.
We had had a chimney fire and all the burned off creosote came crashing down to that funky crook, plugging this whole chimney not allowing any smoke to leave. That fire smoldered for days. We were forced to hire a Pro Chimney Sweep.
Do you know they charge by the story?? It was way too costly, so we have taken on the amateur ways of a Chimney Sweep...do it yourself!
* * *
That cold and wet December night, was our second 'encounter' of having another "Presence" amongst us.

* * *

Maybe I'll post about that for Halloween...but it is the truth, and Hydro was here to witness it too!
Even the mere thought of, or the mention of, gives Cowboy the willies,
so I think I'll wait until this sooty story is behind us to remind him of that night's encounter!


By the way...if you don't hear from me in a few days?
You might send the search & rescue our way!
(Does not mean they'd find us though, Fed-ex never can!)
Silence on my end, could mean that our fears got the better of us
and we took a giant "leap of faith" and landed elsewhere....
OR...
the "Presence" reappeared at an untimely moment!


OOOooooowwwWWW




(Sorry, but I had to enable that word scrabble thingy...spammers are getting me
and I cannot find the "garbage can" thing to delete their nonsense!)