Hi Sherry, We are under construction and the house is almost totally "dried in". I had some trouble deciding on a few window placements, but we were able to support the structure until we worked it out. Today we placed our window order, and they will arrive in about 3 weeks. I think we're realistically looking at about May before we can move in. We're doing tongue and groove cypress inside rather than sheetrock, so that is going to add to the timeframe. I am also very good with wood, and very fussy, so I will be doing the finishing work on it myself. I might have mentioned before that we are building the old Florida Cracker style house with a full wrap around porch, and log siding. I love it and it is becoming everything we envisioned. I am starting to picture roses and trellises around it. I can't wait to get my hands dirty in the soil again!!!! Things have taken longer than we expected, but it took a long time to design things out and get it the way we want. My husband spent a few months engineering the structure out, and then there is the permit process, etc. I have great plans for gardens, but they have been on hold for the time being. I just couldn't design a house and work on building it and break new garden ground at the same time. I do have a few roses planted and they are doing well. The greatest joy about these old teas is that they are so beautiful despite total neglect. The potted ones have been sorely negelcted and I will be lucky to have more than a handful come out of it O.K. Your Le Vesuve is gorgeous. I wouldn't do a whole lot to him (or her). I think if you just do a little cleaning up and nothing drastic you'll have armloads of blooms this year. I can see some chickens running around in my future too. The locals tell me they are wonderful bug eaters. Sandy

Sorry I took so long to get back. Computer was off for a couple of days, then Halloween. Thanks so much everyone for the great advice. I have cut the plant back and cut the roots.(fingers crossed) I will put it in a smaller pot and put it in a dark spot in the basement. Now can I water this enough if I put water in the planters saucer once in a while, or should I keep water in the saucer all winter? John thank you for the great info. and the offer for the spring cutting. I will take you up on that. Maybe you would like the one I have, but I am guessing that you probably have it. Ruth Ann I am in the Oshawa area. I must say your plants are amazing. If my cuttings root I may try some of them right in the ground next year. Thanks again everyone. I am sure I will be pestering again soon. LOL Here was my baby this summer. LOL ://photo and here is what it looks like now. :O(

The fire or coals would be built in the removable pan, not the base if it were a brazier, Linda. Yes, flower pots do come in copper and brass even if it is toxic to plants. Ask me how I know, I've run a floral business for quarter of a century. And if it were a cachepot there is no reason for drainage. It's just a decorative place to stick the real pot. Yes, it does look like one of those made in India for export items. They're often meant to be more decorative than functional. We've had this baptismal font discussion on the antique forum before. Most private estates don't have spare fonts tucked away for a rainy day ;-) Most fonts have some sort of religious symbolism on them as well. This is about as secular as it comes. Staci.............we're all just guessing at this point because it's pretty a pretty bizarre (uhm novel) piece. I have seen a couple similar ones online identified as baptismal fonts, but one dealer was honest enough to admit it was for want of a better description and asked if anyone could really identify what it was, to please let them know. It's some sort of artistic piece and may be little more than a stand meant to be used to display something else on....that's why I asked for dimensions.

Sounds like the twilight zone to me and I have no idea why internet photos would download and save without your knowledge. All my Adobe programs install to C:\Program Files\Adobe Inside that Adobe folder, you may find the Album Starter, and inside the Album Starter folder, you may find a folder with the photos.