fires in fireplaces

I just want to take a few minutes to comment on how I love my fireplace. This winter, as in no previous winter, I have discovered that I don't need to be cold in the evening. I can build a fire and VOILA, as they say in the old country, I have warmth! Now, it's not that I suddenly wised up. I've known for a long time that a fire in the fireplace would make me feel warmer. The problem (for me) involved the fact that the lovely heat generated during the fire and then, all night long after the fire has gone out, goes up the chimney, and I have effectively created a sinkhole for all the heat produced especially post-fire by my oil burning furnace. Last winter, I made a move toward partially solving that problem by having glass doors put on the front of the fireplace. I have no way of knowing if they are the least bit effective in keeping heat in the room, during the hours that the damper is open. All I know is that as of today, oil went to $100.00 /barrel, and I'm sure we'll see that reflected in our next oil deliveries.
I have a wood-burning furnace in the basement, and in previous years (those with a husband in the house) I have heated the house with wood. That involves approximately 4 - 5 cords of wood, the removal of ashes (by the ton, it seems) and a heck of a lot of stacking, splitting and moving of wood into the basement. As oil prices have risen, so have wood prices, so, what's a person (single woman over 60) to do? The fireplace seems to be a somewhat manageable alternative, though it involves carrying armloads of wood up the basement stairs, and basically leading a wood-chip covered life, from clothing to rug.
For cheer, comfort and downright coziness, the fire wins, hands down. I like to believe that it reduces the amount of oil I'm burning, but on nights like tonight, when I fling open the glass doors and reach to release the damper, only to find it wide open, I gnash my teeth, knowing that for over a week, my living room has been leaking heat up and out to the great outdoors, with no fire burning. Ah, me, senility takes another angry swipe. Soon, I'm going to need large signs posted everywhere, telling me to check the burners on the stove, the damper in the fireplace, the thermostat to see if it's turned down or up, are my clothes on, buttoned, is my head screwed on, etc.