Day 252, 271,273- Mama's Kitchen Stoves

23rd June, Scorching Hot Afternoon

Dear Diary,

Sorry I haven't written for a while. School has started again and what with chores and homework, homework, homework (not just from school, but from Ma, Pa and OM too!), I have no time to myself anymore. I must PROTEST or insist that diary writing be made part of the curriculum. After all, it improves my writing, right?

It is so hot today but Mama has asked me to start the fire and prepare the stove for cooking dinner. I think I will just melt if I am to start the fire now. So I am taking a little time to cool off and write. Let's pick up where I left off and write about my favourite kitchen pieces today. 

First off, Mama's intelligent stoves invented by none other then Mama herself. The one inside the kitchen was the first one she made. She said it was when we moved into this house. She made it with mud and then decorated it really pretty but that's not the best part. 

This stove has a drawer that automatically collects the ashes from the burning charcoal. There is some kind of a sieve built by her in between the stove and the drawer so that only the ashes falls through.  And then it only collects on the left side of the drawer so that you can put something else, like logs or charcoal on the right side. This makes cooking very clean.

Ash is also good for cleaning metal pots and pans because it gets rid of grease easily. 

But Mama was not completely satisfied with this stove because it is not smokeless and she is always concerned about how all that will affect my health. Sometimes it gets so bad that I cannot even see through the fog the smoke creates. So  I made this hand fan. I used it not only to fan the fire but also to chase away the smoke when I walk. Everyone thought I was really clever. 

Anyway, that was why Mama made this second stove. It is meant for the outdoors. Mama loves cooking outdoor. It is easier to clean up after and the smoke dissipates into the sky without choking anyone. This outdoor stove is placed under a mud made chamber which shields it from the elements. 

The really amazing thing about this stove is that it is smokeless or almost. Mama told me she made this stove with a material that can withstand much higher temperature than the traditional mud stove. It is thus better at holding in heat which means it burns less fuel. 

This also means less back breaking chore of collecting wood. 

Hey, it's evening already! Time really flies. I better start the fire now before Mama screams at me. I know how to pacify her though. I will just show her what I wrote today. She always smiles when she reads my diary.