It’s our first year in the house, so there are lots of “firsts,” but not many of those firsts really warrant a blog. However, we had two firsts coincide – our first dusting of snow and our first fire in the big kitchen fireplace.

I was so impressed when the gorgeous stone kitchen fireplace was revealed, I wasn’t sure I wanted to “dirty it up” with a fire, even though we went to the expense of making it functional. I was somewhat prepared to strike that match on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day – at least it would be an auspicious day, worthy of commemorating with a fire.  But Christmas Day hit 72 degrees, so I breathed a sigh of relief and the fireplace remained in pristine condition… until last weekend.

There is always something magical about the first snow – especially when it is only a dusting – enough to look beautiful, not enough to shovel. And, according to Chris “It was inevitable.”  I’m not sure whether he meant the snow or the fire – but he opened the damper, set the logs and lit the match.  The smoke rose up the chimney and logs from our growing wood pile turned into a bed of hot coals across the stone hearth.  It was picture perfect.

Now I’m getting used to a new look to the fireplace – black soot dusts the stones. It doesn’t look pristine anymore, but it does make our home look lived in and functional.  Now that the first fire is behind us, I expect many more fires to take the chill off on a cold weekend morning, or to settle us in on a cold snowy night.

A kitchen fire is a nice backdrop for dinner with friends