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Friday, February 5, 2010

California fireplaces are the best!



Years ago I bought my first house in California and was thrilled to discover the gas pipe under the fireplace grate that provided instant flames under logs of any size.  No more struggling with kindling, newspaper, or firestarters --- this was civilization at its best!  You can imagine what a let-down it was to land in New England years later and discover that building codes forbade the installation such gas lines.  Why???


 


While sitting next to the crackling fireplaces this week, I was also pondering the somewhat cheesy appearance of some of the fireplace mantles in this historic Lodge.  Apparently, they were all replaced relatively recently in the 1980s.  Would the passage of time make the mantle below look more elegant and beautiful?