nostalgia for childhood, part II

We had a REAL fire in our REAL fireplace last night. The first ever! So real, Lizzy toasted a marshmallow for me. A s'more was the last thing I felt like eating at that moment, but who can resist a 5-year-old's s'more offering?

When we moved into our house in January, we noted the many, many things that we wanted to fix/change/eliminate. Could be a big reason why that house sat on the market for six months. But, as Matt has said since, the opportunities to make the house our own were an attraction for him. He's been itching to roll up his sleeves and do some home improvement.

Lately, he's been wondering how many thousands it would cost to tear out the wretched gas fireplace insert and get the chimney fitted for fire. He had an inspector come over and check it out, and verify that nothing really needs to be done, aside from physically tearing out the loathsome unit and plugging the hole where the gas line went in. The unit was henceforth torn out. A chimney cap, grate and screen were purchased. And ... voila! A roaring fire.

(I did take pictures, but didn't get around to downloading them. My evenings have been short recently. Too many presents to wrap, errands to run, too much sleep to get.)

Heck, Matt might even MAKE money on the deal if he successfully unloads the gas fire thingy on craigslist. And manages to get a deposit on the gas tank.

All in all, it's a pretty awesome development. Our first significant home improvement 'project,' and it turned out to be so easy!

Matt said he almost cried last night, after he turned off all the lights and gazed into the fire. But don't tell him I told you that.

Next up: Lots and LOTS of wallpaper removal. Wish us luck on all of that.