I've seen fire and I've seen rain...

sigh... my second fire of the season. I don't have much of a fireplace, but it's not the size of a fireplace that counts, you know... no.... honest!

Someday, when I have moved to the mountains... or the ocean... or both, I will have a wonderful fireplace. My fireplace is a sometimes thing. Let's move back a step. Many of the houses where I live were not intended to last for a long time. This was a vacation spot... a sometimes place. If you add to that the dampness and cooler weather, well... my house is beginning to rot. ewwww... Ok, that's an exaggeration... or not. Several years ago I noticed a stream of ants coming from the cat's bedroom to the closet in the hall. I checked the windows, as they can get in there, but no ants... I checked around the room and found that the guest bed had, indeed, fallen through the floor! The upper right bedpost was firmly imbedded in the soft wood that USED to keep me from the things that live under the house . I had it repaired. I had it repaired again. I had it repaired a third time and that seems to have done the trick. But this is NOT a solid house. The fireplace has no mantle. It's a box on a wall. It's mine and I love it, but it's like that awkward child... I'm the only one.

So, someday when I have moved to the mountains, or the ocean, I will have a wonderful fireplace. As I hope to live on the lake someday, I want one that has no chimney. No traditional chimney at least. I want, instead of some picture over the fireplace, to have a window that looks over the lake... or the ocean... or the river. I've seen this done. I want a fireplace that is deep enough to make a fire at the back of it so the smoke NEVER comes out the front and fills the house.. .. I want one that has a real draft, so I can have a fire in the worst of all weathers, something I can't do in this house. I want a fireplace make of stone or wood or natural stuff... I don't know. I just want a wonderful fireplace..

maybe some running water....

me!