Rose Cottage Ltd

I always look for value and savings when I shop online and today is a great time to get well into your Christmas gift list.

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Just click on the Plow & Hearth banner above for the savings codes…

From Rose Cottage Ltd…

I noticed this past Friday morning that the water in one of my birdbaths was frozen over for the first time this year. Considering the still-lingering drought of 2011, birds are a bit desperate for clean, clear water to drink. My Winter garden purchase this year might just be one of these heated birdbaths.

This All-Seasons Heated Deck Bath tilts up to empty – cleaning couldn’t be easier!

The tilting, steel mounting bracket fits deck rails up to 6 inches wide. For winter use, a thermostatically controlled heating system is contained within the basin and keeps water ice-free to -20 degrees F. In warm weather, the cord tucks under the basin to keep it out of sight. 3-Year Manufacturer’s Warranty.

Basin 20 inches in diameter, 2 inches deep. 150 watts, 6 inch cord.

Wild birds also like to “bathe” not just drink during Winter weather – help them out with a little warm water to use!

Molded of durable resin to withstand all temperatures and conditions. This All-Seasons Heated Bath has a hollow pedestal for weighting with sand or gravel and a heating system that’s built right into the bowl for winter use.

Basin is 20 inches in diameter, 2 inches deep, 26-1/2 inches tall. 150 watts with a 6 inch cord under the basin.

I’ve actually seen birds sitting on a frozen birdbath trying to tap their way through to the water. Water is just as essential for birds as it is for humans – especially during often dry Winter weather…

Take $10 Off Purchase of $85 or more! Shop at duncraft.com.

Depending of course on where you live, there is always a little or a lot of seasonal downtime for gardeners – many of whom will spend some holiday time looking through seed and plant catalogs. Yes, I know you do – so do I!

Here are a few garden items that can either add to the Winter garden, or be great and inexpensive gifts for gardener friends and family. I try to add one new “unnecessary” each Winter season – just to keep my hand in until Spring!

This Double-Spin Wind Spiral is handcrafted of sweeping, shimmery, copper-plated steel strands.

Attract ALL available light to your winter garden!

The double-spiral design creates a mesmerizing spin within a spin. Engineered with swivel hooks for super-spin sensitivity to the wind, motion begins on the slightest breeze. 14″ H

Add this Flower Angel to your garden.

This “Angel of the Woodlands” statue gazes toward the heavens – I like to think she is waiting for the sun to return!

Resin-cast flower angel resembles carved wood with a precision-etched floral design, hewn surface, and a weathered-pine patina.

14″ H

I love the clean lines of these Silver Metallic Angel Statues – hopefully they are “trumpeting” in good news for Summer 2012!

A striking display for covered porch, entryway or beside the tree – the breathtaking beauty of these carefully crafted angels will enchant family and friends.

Large: 50″ tall or Medium: 40″ tall.

Leave it to Thomas Jefferson!

The Jeffersonian Wind Gauge demonstrates how things worked before modern-day technology.

Rain gauge, thermometer, and wind meter. All gauges are crafted of solid brass and stainless steel.

Mounting stakes and hardware included.

Look for more outdoor and garden items – for yourself or as gifts!

UPDATE May 2012: The vendor linked below just – quit.

No worries though thanks to Amazon.

Please visit Rose Cottage Ltd’s new Wood Stove Store for access to all sizes, shapes and colors of wood stoves – brought to you from manufacturers you can trust and often with Free Shipping!

Find your wood stove accessories there too!
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The wood stove here has already been in use, Fall 2011. So far in November, temperatures went from a low one morning of 55 to a low the next morning of 29 degrees. No worries – I was ready!

This does bring to mind though some accessories you’ll need for your own “Wood Stove Winter.” Some are really required and others are “nice-to-have.”

Please remember that ash and coals – even when placed in a closed ash bucket, can stay warm for days. Don’t dump outside until you are sure coals are dead – or make sure you have a hose and water nearby…

Read my review of my wood stove experience – heading into my 5th year of warmth and energy savings!

Cement questions to ask yourself…how much do you need, and how much can you properly manage?

While the cement for the paver stones shown on prior posts was mixed by hand, the desire for a concrete slab near the new back door meant more and faster concrete production would be required.

Time to ponder a cement mixer.

Although most portable cement mixers are rated between 3 and 5 cubic feet we found our actual batch sizes were typically about 2 cubic feet or 3 bags of Quikcrete.

To put this in perspective, a 4-foot square of sidewalk, 6 inches thick, requires 8 cubic feet (4′ x 4′ x 1/2′) or 12 bags of Quikcrete. You can see that even a small concrete slab takes a surprising amount of cement – and work.

If you’re looking at a driveway or patio, hire the ready-mix truck to come in and pour your concrete. We did not have that option here since no local truck having the pumping capability, in this instance – long distance from the main street, was available.

Your first online research may have you believing you’ll need to spend $1500+ for a cement mixer. Not true.

We selected the Kobalt 4 cu ft Multi-Use Portable Mixer from Lowe’s. It has a 235lb mixing weight and a 2.3 cubic foot mixing capacity. This is about all a 2-person crew can manage.

The lightweight plastic drum will be both durable and easy to clean. The 1/2 hp electric weatherproof motor was sufficiently powerful to mix the cement batches we needed. Knowing this was a once-in-awhile use item, the $350 +/- price tag seemed acceptable.

You’ll need to have an assembly-line plan to complete this project. Multiple mixes, spins of the cement mixer, pours, finishing, start the next batch, and over, and over. In this case, an extra pair of hands or two will be welcomed.

The other time-consuming part of this task is concrete finishing. It is not as easy as professionals make it look. Start with a small area and work it until it is as smooth and level as you can possibly make it. This finishing skill does seem to get better the more you do – like so many other DIY challenges. But with concrete pours, you just need to learn and improve quickly!

Plan on spending 30 minutes plus cleaning the unit after use if you want to be able to ever use it again! Once concrete dries, it stays!

Today is the last day to order at a 25% savings. Place your order today for delivery during the Thanksgiving holiday…

25% OFF SEAFOOD SALE, Have a Maryland crab feast tomorrow or order early for Thanksgiving Day. Valid Thru 11/13/11.

Lock in your low prices now, click here….

Buy ~
Seafood Gift Packages
Seafood Gift Certificates

Temperatures are dropping in many parts of the world and Summer-type activities are winding down. If you spent time in Summer 2011 wishing you had an outdoor kitchen for entertaining, Winter offers the downtime you need to start planning for next year.

Here are some outdoor kitchen design books – Great for you and also great as gifts since none will break the bank!

Very limited time offer – Good through noon CST, November 14th, 2011

Only from Shop Irish, the Premier web site for Irish
Gifts, Jewelry and other items.

Here’s one of my personal favorites:

Search for:

Claddagh Jewelry from Ireland –
Wedding and Family Rings, Pendants.

Celtic Gifts – The Premier web site for Celtic Gifts, Jewelry and other items.

As part of the stucco series I’ve provided some images of the homemade paver stones that started it all. Here’s a good example of some of the color variations found.

Neither of these stones have had a coat of polyurethane. The stone on the left was made with standard cement. The stone on the right was made with a premium white cement – which took a bit of research to find. White pigment powder was also added. The concrete slab these stones are sitting on is the whitest you can get just by using white sand. Yes, it can get confusing for the novice, but we’re here to learn…

I’m still partial to the large, round stone with the Celtic knot design. Here are two – one with black powder colorant added and one with what I call an “antiqued” stone appearance:

You can probably guess by now that sprinkling some white pigment powder in the mold gave this effect.

Each of these pavers have received two coats of polyurethane. A previous post showed a gold, white, and rust-colored Celtic stone.

We’ve studied a LOT of stone designs for patios, driveways, walkways, etc. and found that we prefer a pattern of larger stones for our patio. The use of smaller pavers tends to get too “busy” too quickly while also making the patio layout that much more time consuming. You can view our basic pattern along with the molds used here.

I’m off this week in search of the perfect “blue” for a few new architectural elements I have in mind. Don’t forget to visit The Mold Store for a good start on your homemade paver stone project.