Courtyard Fireplace Progressing Nicely!!

It was a miserably hot and humid day today, and has been for some weeks past now, so the idea of writing about a fireplace shouldn't fill me with such lightheartedness.  However......this fireplace reminds me of the wonderful fires I plan to have in the dead of winter, outside under the stars, not to mention the roasted marshmallows I'm planning on at Halloween!!  And despite the heat, Husband Dearest is progressing very well indeed!  Here are the photos I took this morning before leaving for work, and after returning home from work.  You'll also notice a few Feline Aficionados "helping" me!  Bless them!

 Dundee pretending not to notice me this morning. If you look closely, you'll see that the tiles are not on the front of the two fire boxes to either side of the fireplace yet, nor is the tile on the inside floor of  the boxes either.  The photos from this evening show Husband's progress.

 Thistle being her usual nonchalant Feline Self - REFUSING to look up for a photo op!

 Close up of tiles on hearth.

 Nasty work, this!

 Rock in place on the top front of the fireplace and looking fabulous!! 

 Dundee spots a leaf and goes into his Death Crouch!

Beware, Leaf!!  Your days are numbered!!

 It looks dark here, but my camera batteries were giving out.  Amazingly enough, I was able to catch Thistle's face, at least in profile, before she realized I had her in my sights!

 "Oh Mother Dearest, when will you learn......"

 "Rats!  You tricked me! Curses! Foiled again!!!

 "I cannot be bothered, Mother.  Surely you can see that!"

 All's fair in love and war, and owning a cat!  Notice the stick hanging down from the top of the photo?  I was enticing her to look up and she couldn't resist!  Of course, she probably thought I was going to hit her with it, but at least I got my picture! So there!!!

 Oh yes, this post is about a fireplace, isn't it?  The rest of the photos were taken this evening after I got home from work.  Here you see Husband Dearest "cleaning" the wet mortar from the tile he put in place earlier.  Notice the ever-present coffee cup.  No matter what the heat, that coffee cup is never far away!

 More clean-up, this time with the hose.  The beautiful color of the tiles comes out now the dust is washed away.

 Ta Da!! Notice the top of the fireplace now, with the "vent" in place.  Would you believe Husband Dearest actually talked me into getting up on top of the fire box (not a pretty site getting there, I assure you) and helping him put that heavy slab in place? I must be NUTS!!

Well, that's it for now. Hope everyone is enjoying their long-awaited for Friday evening! May God Bless, Jan