Here's the link to a similar thread. Scroll down to see photos of different drill bits. I use a one inch diamond bit like the one in the bottom photo, which is about $30 at HD and Lowes, but will drill a couple of hundred holes if you don't let it overheat. If one inch doesn't make a large enough bird hole, they come in larger sizes. These bits are simple to use and drill through china, ceramic, glass, pottery, just about any material pots are made from. Follow the directions on the package to minimize breakage. Linda Here is a link that might be useful: Drill bit info

Kathy, her garden and setting were very nice. And she displayed everything very appropriately throughout the garden. I saw sold stickers on 3 of the very small totems ($45-$50 ones). I was there rather early in the sale, so don't know how she did the rest of the day. I often think that people ooh and aah over this type of thing, but only a small fraction actually buy (especially at those prices!!). A lot of times I think it's people like all of us who go to these looking more for inspiration and ideas than to buy. I may advertise my things and say that my prices are half of hers!

The question about whether to pot small roses up for a while until they develop a fairly good size root system before planting out can depend on the rose in question. For example, I think Monsieur Tillier and Mrs. B.R. Cant would take off no matter what. I found that potting roses up until they have reached a full 3 or 5 gallon root system guarantees more success. I'm not sure why, but they seem to take off better. Potted plants do require more careful attention to watering. In addition, I found that by putting some Mills Magic Mix slow release food on top of the soil in the pot seems to keep them well fed and happy. Liquid fertilizer would also work, but I found I was too lazy to deal with it all the time. No food equals unhappy roses! However, if you don't want to care for potted plants, or your enthusiasm abbout potted plants runs out during the heat of the summer, your roses may be better off in the ground. Sometimes I reach that point, but again, some of the roses sat there and did much better after being re-potted until larger. They then seemed willing to take off once in the ground. I had a long discussion about this with Pat Henry (one of the owners of Roses Unlimited), and she feels that roses usually do better by potting them up for awhile, and shared what she added to her potting soil. I should have written it down! Sandy

I use an infuser that fits into a mug, I love it. I think Lipton's loose leaf tea is pretty good. Not the bags, ugh, but the loose leaf. I can get another brand of loose leaf tea in the local grocery store called "Swee touch nee" which I also think is pretty good. A far better cuppa than bagged tea, but not as good as you might get from a high end specialty store. "Orange pekoe" is the standard black tea but I think even that comes in grades. A high quality orange pekoe makes a great cup of tea. I'm not a fan of iced tea, so I can't help much. I like a malty tea hot, so I drink loose leaf assam, but I don't think it would make good iced tea. Not sure though, different tastes. Tea offers a lot of taste options other than the ones I've mentioned. Sadly, I can no longer drink my favorite beverage due to my bladder going to pot! Here is a link that might be useful: Mug tea infuser on Amazon