After a few days of unseasonably warm weather that melted all the lovely snow and put an end, for awhile, to the skiing, it cooled down again enough to justify our first fire.
Having bought 100 pounds of coal on-line, we took the lazy route and just used the bags of SimpleFire that we found in the closet. We had no idea what it was, so of course we googled it. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that it is processed from recycled paper and burns cleaner than coal, wood, or natural gas. It comes in a paper bag and all we had to do was light the bag. After a few minutes, we had beautiful flames although neither the smell nor sound of a wood fire. It was supposed to last an hour but was really only good for about half that time. Maybe it's old and a little dry?
The second time we used it we tried to light the coal with it but that didn't work. I suspect it doesn't burn hot enough, so we'll have to try a real firestarter next time. Still, it was lovely to have a fire during cocktail hour, and SimpleFire would certainly be easier for our Frog Room guests to use.
 |
| Janet & Sunny |
 |
| Living room fireplace |
