[Redliner]

A wood burning fireplace was one of the "must have" criteria when my wife and I were shopping for our house. If the power goes out you can still cook food (although I suppose the BBQ works for that as well) and keep your house from freezing.

The firelogs are OK but I prefer real wood by far. Every fall I just get a forestry permit for $5, grab a chainsaw, go out by Bragg Creek, and fill my truck. We harvest the deadfall and there is tons of nice birch. Yeah, it's a lot of work bucking up the logs and splitting it into pieces that will fit in your fireplace, but we just make a day of it and it's a great excuse to spend time in the mountains. I guess it's probably a little late for you to do that now, but definitely something to think about for next year if you want to use your fireplace a lot.