I had my first fire of the season tonight. “Wait, what?” you say. “I thought you were some kind of campfire junky?” It was my first fire of the season, in the fireplace. As the above thought is accurate, I just don’t burn enough wood at home – for several reasons; my firebox is just huge and in order to make it look proportional or have any kind of heat I need to burn a lot of wood – my supply of firewood is low and whatever variety I stole from my parent’s place doesn’t burn very well (I think it’s cherry) – and I don’t like the mechanics of the fire-grate.
So I tried to fix all that tonight. I started by removing the fire-grate. If I’m going to have this big firebox than I’m at least going to enjoy staring at it. I opened the screen as far as I could, jammed my head, one arm, and a screwdriver inside and found the bolts – that thing is gone. And now it’s a wide open expanse that’s beautiful to look at. I’ve been wanting to do that for quite some time now. I’ve always felt I wasn’t utilizing the fireplace in a smart way as far as aesthetics go. The grate was dated and the fireplace needed to breath. (Years ago I painted the hearth deep orange in an effort to liven it up and it did. But it’s time to do it again and bring it up to the next step. I have a plan for the finished product but it will take a little time; a photo of that will come eventually.)
The pile of wood I stole from my folks place has been dwindling the last few years and I have just a enough for two small or one large fire. I made a large fire to utilize that whole box and get rid of that wood. It was nice. But now I have no wood. I have a few sources, but it’s not the same as just having a fire on a whim.
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There’s something about fire that always mesmerizes me; makes me think, zone out and get lost. It was no different tonight. My wife was in the basement on her spin bike while I removed the grate and prepped the fire. As I sat there and lit it, I watched the flame grow, closely. As each ember grew to a flame, I was drawn further and further in. The house was quiet. No TV, no one else around, dog laying at my side as usual – as he is right now. It was how it needed to be.
I’ve been wanting to have a fire for about a month now; waiting for a cold, crisp night where it would just feel right – maybe even a little snow falling outside. I even prepped the wood in the rack so tonight when I was ready all I had to do was strike a match. The crisp night never came. It’s been a record warm month of December in west Michigan, and very little-to-no snow, hardly measurable. Last week it was 50 degrees with rain for 3 straight days. It was April. Tonight as my wife was downstairs I decided it was time to pull the trigger. If I wait for the right night, it won’t come.
Tonight I won’t go into the thoughts I started to conjure as stared into those flames. But I will tell you that I feel as though I’ve been neglecting my writing on this journal. I enjoy writing and I do it as often as I can. Sometimes I write and no one sees it; sometimes I write but only a friend may see it. I’ve been doing a lot of great things lately and I have a lot of irons in the fire. I’m trying some new things that will be launching any day now that I’ll be sharing with you soon (I hope). I’ve got features in the works for this web page that may help open opportunities for me and my followers. I’ve got a meeting next week to discuss the possibilities of filling a large amount of wall space of a global corporation’s local office that could lead to a second location – later that week I’m helping with an event that will introduce an entirely new market to my work. I’m excited for the future and the way 2011 is coming to an end. I feel these projects are all happening in a great place in time as 2012 quickly approaches. I can’t wait to share all these projects with you as they come into fruition, I can’t wait for all of your support.
2011 has been a year of rebirth and growth for me. I’ve really learned a mountain of lessons this year and the majority of them were about me. I want to continue to teach myself, challenge myself, and show myself just what it is that I can become. With 12 days left of the year, I have plenty to get done. As I spread the hot coals in front of me and head towards bed, my thoughts are of what tomorrow will teach me.
Pypeline.