The first thing we always had to do when visiting the family cabin during the winter was to fire up the wood stove. It was sort of the chore that nobody really wanted. And so it usually fell to me as the dad thing to do. It only took 10 or 15 minutes of heating from the wood stove to start to make a difference. But if it was particularly cold or I couldn’t get a fire lit, the wait for heating comfort could be uncomfortable for sure. The wood stove is still there and it’s the main heating we use for the cabin still. However, we now have a bit of help when it comes to both heating and cooling that old cabin. I talked a buddy of mine who is an HVAC professional to go up there one weekend to install some modern HVAC. And it turned out great. I bought a ductless mini split from the HVAC company I use at our home. They are great and have been our HVAC provider since we moved here and bought this house. The ductless heat pump is awesome. The heating is immediate so there is no waiting for the wood stove to warm up. Plus, we now have air conditioning for those mid summer trips that can get really hot. I was worried a bit that modern HVAC equipment would compromise the feeling of the cabin. But I was wrong. Having a ductless mini split heating and cooling unit just upgrades the whole cabin experience. And there is nothing wrong with an upgrade as long as it doesn’t ruin the nature of the thing.