Out With the Old

That’s how our fireplace looked a little while ago.

It doesn’t look like that now.

Now it looks like this:

Why?

Why contort myself into the fireplace to unscrew these stubborn bolts?

There were two of them.  They didn’t want to move.  But I convinced them.

It was weird sitting back in the fireplace.  I didn’t want to lean against anything because I knew I’d already be covered with soot.

But looking up was cool…

(I had a chim-chim-cheree moment.) 

And actually, the way I was sitting, leaning halfway back, was probably great for my abs.  I should sit in the fireplace more often, I suppose.

Anyway, after lots of grunting and a couple of curse words…

and the door thing was out.

I cleaned out all the ashes…

and lit a new fire.

Tonight the plan is to make paella in the fireplace.

You can see the big paella pan hanging to the right of the fireplace in the earlier pictures.

And this paella pan is the reason the door thing came off the fireplace TODAY.  The pan wouldn’t fit comfortably through the doors. 

That is no longer an issue.

And that’s what we’ve been up to.