Andrea, the new house is so exciting, but an asbestos board in front of a fireplace that you can come into contact with is considered "hot" and if you were in the US your house would be wrapped in plastic and men in moon suits would come in to collect it. You be very careful with that thing.

Once removed, you're certainly going to find out why it was put there in the first place. Hopefully modern technology will provide a good way to keep out the draft, probably the biggest reason for blocking off a fireplace that I can think of.

I do hope you'll take before, during, and after photos as you work on and get moved into the house. And wouldn't this be a great series of things to use in a blog, if you have one.

Another lovely day here, high predicted of 75 today. Clear and beautiful. But I have a ton of stuff on my desk. This entry constitutes my short break after finishing one big task and moving on to another.

Kat, it left Denver at 1:38am. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow. Isn't tracking amazing? :)

SRS