Ten windows, upstairs and down, ten openings in the walls of the house, new windows, new sealings new moldings new surrounds. Where have the noises from the street gone? Who turned down the volume so we can no longer hear it, the din or the street outside. It's so quiet in here now. The house is sealed. It holds the heat in and the noises out. We huddle around the fireplace and watch the mellow flames roll over a huge log of pine. Roll and tumble inside the fire box and kiss the glass with orange elongated lips. The wood crackles.