Except my spelling. Should be flue on both occasions. :-/

The reason I never do regular fires in that fireplace is evident this morning - the smell afterward of the fire in the house. I was using candles and reflecting them in a mirror for the fire look, but I think it's time to put this fireplace completely out to pasture, so to speak. Ironic that we were talking about it in the last week.

I'll clean up the salt (started with salt to put out the flames, then used a spray bottle to put out the embers - I spent enough time putting out fires for the Forest Service that I wouldn't just pour water on it without knowing what exactly is on fire).

Yes, Poppy did a very good job. I realized later that I'd heard them walking around, and had turned over to go back to sleep when they came back into the room; Poppy was the pushy one to get my attention. There was wax everywhere in there, and it had puddled on the hearth, near the baskets I put out the other day.

I'll look into the insulation option this weekend.

SRS