So, we're sitting around watching the Ravens and Texans playing football, when

the woodstoves start acting funny. Funny? Not really, the smoke from both stoves are starting to fill up the house...really bad. I know what the problem is. Out to the garage I go. Grab the 40' rope with the 7.5 lb angle iron....run back in, up the stairs, open the window, climb out on the roof and make a treacherous climb up to the chimney...the shingles have 2 inches of snow and a nice coating of ice underneath. It's 9 degrees out with a 20 MPH wind...I think the wind chill is about 15 below. No gloves, of course. And the friggen rope is completely tangled. Fingers getting numb quickly. I'm not a happy camper. Finally get to the roof ridge, over to the chimney and drop the angle iron down. Plugged nice and tight and 6 feet above the fire place opening. Pull up and drop the angle iron about a dozen times until the creosote plug finally breaks...we've got a nicely drafting chimney again! A few more drops to clear it up as good as I can - of course the wind is perfectly positioned to blow the smoke in my face. That done...now a fun slide down the roof, grabbing the dormer just before the 30' drop to the ground.

Ahhh...the joys of owning a home in Maine in the winter.