the "fire" place

we're both native to florida. that being said our fireplace is like a new toy.
with the threat of a hurricane, we received little rain, but were left with a nice cold front, of sorts. the deal was: on the first day the temperature went below 70, because natives get cold at 69 ;) ... we were to build our first fire. the boy started the fire around 9:30 and made a wine and cheese platter to snack on. i came in around 10:30 to a warm living room complete with a roaring fire and the pugs. fire places are alien to me, i've never had one, so it's intriguing to see fire in the house, and not dial 911. the boy went to bed a bit ago, leaving me to tend to the hearth. doesn't that sound odd... hearth?? anyways, the duraflame log, (which was to produce 3 hours of warmth and crackling fire goodness) was rounding the 4 hours mark at 1:30. i was really getting sleepy, really really sleepy. the embers are still glowing so i'm writing in hopes they will fade out so i can sleep at ease.
now we've kicked on the heat, weather channel said it's to be chilly tomorrow! i love october!