1) I made an effort to get to know the guy who sold and installed my gas-fired furnace.

It paid off a couple of years later during a blizzard. The furnace would light and then kick out. I gave him a call, and because he knew I was handy he talked me through the simple fix: a slight layer of ash/corrosion on the flame sensor thermocouple. Ten minutes and a bit of steel wool later, everything was operational. This is now part of my annual maintenance list. He was very glad he didn't have to make a service call on the most miserable day of the winter.

2) I have a high-quality wood stove for secondary heat. Since I'm in the country, it's no problem to have two years' wood stored.

A good wood stove, properly installed, is not cheap. I would say at least $1500 to go for stove and insulated pipe. If you buy junk, you'll get junk and you'll hate it. Though there are some good deals in the used market if you know what to look for.

Keep in mind you will probably need permits, insurance inspections, and so on. You will also pay an extra insurance fee for solid fuel appliances in your house.

Improvised stove setups are tricky, and potentially hazardous. If you burn down your house, insurance will laugh in your face. I do keep an old coal/wood stove around, with lots of piping and adjustable elbows, should I need to do an improvised setup. I keep a three foot section of insulated pipe (7" ID, with 2" insulation) that I can mount in a window, so I can run a 5-6" single-wall pipe to the outdoors with some degree of safety. I also keep some large sheet metal pieces around to improvise heat shields. You can't be too careful.

I am contemplating a small, insulated shed with a stove and blower (120VAC/12VDC) inside it, and some insulated supply/return air pipes. That way the actual fire is outside the house. If it was on skids, I could move it anywhere in my yard quite easily.