Jen is now (12:25PM) in the middle of shopping for a weding dress. her mother stayed with us last night, and we had a fantastic dinner with her, sipping wine and talking. After the dishes, I was able to make a fire in the fireplace and keep it going; the damper in the flue is gone, so all the air in the house is drawn to the chimney and past the fire, which gets too much oxygen and smolders itself out. I closed the glass doors built onto the front of the hearth and found that the fire burned brightly and well that way. We’ll have to have somebody come out to replace the missing damper so we can enjoy both the heat and the light from the flames.