Making Fire

It's chilly outside!! Perfect for using our fireplace for the first time. We just so happened to have some starter logs left over from the previous owners. Jordan isn't home, but I'm cold so I decided to have at it by myself.

Kindling, check. Candle lighter, check. Starter logs in place and flue is open. Ready for take off.

The junk mail - kindling - created a nice big fire. I grabbed my camera. Yay! I did it! I made my very first fire in my very first house.

And... the fire was gone before I could even click. The smoke alarm went off. Jelly is running around scared to death. Big ears and big noises don't go well together.

I closed the fireplace doors, opened the sliding glass doors. The smoke alarm eventually stopped.

I started messing around with the flue. It wasn't open very much and didn't seem right. So slung it back and forth. Some soot fell out. Then a lizard fell out! He ran for the sliding glass doors. Peanut snatched him up and he was dead before I could pull Peanut off of him. Sadly, the first use of my fireplace tools were to scoop up a dead lizard and toss him in the back yard.

I call trusty Dad and ask him how much a flue is supposed to be open. All the way, completely vertical. This one isn't. There is a weird latch that is holding the flue handle in place and not allowing it to open all the way. I unscrew it, remove it and, TA-DA, the flue opens all the way!

Now my fire is roaring and the starter logs have taken. I'm too scared to open the fireplace doors, so I'm not getting much warmth out of the deal. But it sure does add a nice cozy feeling to the living room.

Isn't it pretty?



It only cost one lizard his life and Jelly some minor distress.