Roasty Toasty

Despite the wind blowing cold and hard off of the North Sea, just minutes from our flat, we have discovered a very exciting thing.
Yesterday our Sugar Gliders' cage arrived. We've slowly been purchasing the necessary equipment/accessories/toys/everything else we will need for our babies' new arrival, even though it is still over a month away. The breeder has also told us that we can start mailing in pieces of cloth with our scent on it, but we're still waiting for the material to be delivered to our flat.
Yesterday was just as cold as today, but with the added bonus of a heavy, cold rain accompaniment. Even Glacier and Roscoe didn't enjoy running out to "park" and did their business quickly so we could get back to the flat. A friend had invited us over for a movie and drinks and although we were more than willing to go, upon further examination of the weather, she figured it would be better to have one wet person and no wet dogs. So, she offered to come to our flat. Mr. K and I agreed and asked her if she would help us put the cage together.
When she arrived, she wasn't wet thankfully because it had stopped raining, but she was pretty cold. We set to work assembling the cage, which is actually very well made, but has the worst instructions ever. It only has a picture of the cage assembled and expects a person to know just how to put it together. Carmen also texted and said she was coming over after work and her arrival made us realise that it had grown quite chilly in the flat, despite there being three people and two dogs crammed into a small space.
Mr. K and I have been trying to hold off on turning on the heat as the flat is quite small and the weather is so confused. One day it is chilly and the next it is quite warm, which then warms up the flat to a comfortable temperature. Last night though, it was just not warming up and that's when we remembered the small gas fireplace in the corner of the living room. We flicked it on and it was warmer within minutes. That little flame took the chill right out of the air.
We were all amazed at the amount of heat that small fireplace put off. Mr. K and I were also  happy to discover that just a half an hour of turning on the fireplace and the whole flat warmed up. There's something comforting about a fire casting heat throughout a room. Sure, it was a gas fire as opposed to wood, but the warmth is no less cheering and warming. I'm looking forward to waking up Christmas morning, turning on our little fireplace and enjoying a beautiful morning with my boys; oh and one girl by then. It'll be something to look forward to coming home from university next fall/winter as well. I'm very grateful that Tenie and Carmen found our little flat complete with fireplace. It adds that much more character.