Evanston: in praise of a fake
Evanston: in praise of a fake
Although I like the spontaneity and variety of a wood fire, pops and crackles, showers of sparks as logs burn through and fall, the smell of burning wood; we converted our fireplace to gas this summer. The primary reason was that on the mornings after we had fires in recent winters, the fine ash blown back into the living room caused me to cough, sneeze and have trouble breathing.
Fireplace season has only just begun here in the Midwest, but already benefits, some unanticipated, have been seen. Morning after symptoms are gone. We have fires more often--even shlepping a cord of wood up to our balcony still meant rationing in the past. And a few days ago I realized that now that starting a fire takes only seconds, there is no reason not to have one on chilly mornings as well as evenings, something we never did before. That gas is environmentally more friendly than wood--considerably more ash particles went up the chimney and into the atmosphere than entered our living room--is true, but really did not enter into our decision, though perhaps it should have.
So I am looking--or half-looking--forward to a winter of phony fires.
The above photo is a gas fire. Wood is here.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011