One of the things about having a chalet in the woods is the added amount of work needed to keep it warm during winter.
I only used the chalet while in the warm season and over the Winter holidays.
My family loved going there for Christmas, and I would take a long weekend to get the chalet ready. I’d disinfect the chalet, get the fireplace and the chimney cleaned, and decorate. The previous winter, there had been severe storms that had knocked trees down. I wanted to clear up some of the mess, but I knew the downed trees would be perfect for the fireplace. I retained some of the downed wood, chopped some of it, and piled it on the back porch so I had it for hea. My friend came to help and before he left, we had enough wood to keep us going through the entire holiday season, and then some. After cutting wood and piling it up on the porch, I had to take some in to get warm. It had been snowing the entire time we were in the woods. We felt cold and started to get irritated. My friend got the fire started in the fireplace while I got the generator going to get some hot water. 15 minutes later we were getting our hot baths and then we snuggled in front of the fireplace. I had to admit that this long weekend was the highlight of my holiday season. I got to sit in front of the fireplace and have some alone time. Once the holidays started, there’d be no more alone time for me.