Smoking but not Hot

Living in the Balkans has its challenges. Heating the house can be a test of patience. We have 2 wood stoves that heat the whole house and I have been trying for over 2 hours to get one of the stoves lit to heat the main living area of our house. It has finally taken off but I smell like a campfire. During the winter we always smell of smoke, like we've just been sitting out roasting marshmallows over an open fire. Oh that we were. Also, because the country we live in has limited energy resources, we currently are on a 3 on, 3 off schedule for electricity. Strangely though someone at the power station is smiling on us as we have currently had power for 3hours 42 minutes in this cycle.