Just some info about how I make the teacup feeders. I don't use them as birdfeeders but use the clear glass teacups and saucers and put a tealight in them for around the patio. Look very nice at night with the candle glowing. Anyhow we use 2 part clear epoxy to glue the cup to the saucer, then glue a copper end fitting to the bottom center of the saucer. The copper pipe then fits into the end fitting and isn't glued, just a friction fit. The pipe can be removed for winter storage. If the cup and saucer needs washing I can easily remove it. We've made and sold many dozens of these. They cost less than $2 each and sold for $8. Most of the cost was for the copper pipe. Only took a few minutes to make a bunch assembly-style so it wasn't bad profit. I've heard of people selling them for $25 but I think that would have to be in a really high-end shop. The ones I have for my garden use rebar cause the price of copper went way up a couple of years ago. I have a few but haven't put them out yet - I'll try to remember to post a pic later. I'm really busy trying to get on top of this gardening so not spending a lot of time on the net.

Stacy, I wouldn't change a thing. Use the same amount of cranberries as well as the same amount of sugar, and don't bother soaking the berries first. You know, you've reminded me that I still have several bags of fresh (well, they ain't so fresh anymore) cranberries buried somewhere in the freezer that need rescuing. Maybe, that's what I'll make today. Sol

I keep mine in plastic tubs like you mentioned. I make sure to keep the lid on when I'm not using it. I did get some snow in the turface bin one day but it didn't really seem to matter. The ingredients come dry so unless you wet them they shouldn't get moldy. I have a lot of bins in my shed, it's a lot of product to sift and sort all at once so I have several bins for organizing. I use tap water. I ordered some bonsai screens from Bonsai Jack on Amazon to use to keep the gritty mix from falling out of the drainage holes and it came with a free pH test. I had used it all along but I figured it couldn't hurt to check it. It came out almost a perfect 7 surprisingly. Honestly I don't really know what it should be but I am almost certain 7 is neutral. I just ordered Foliage Pro as well. But I have a lot of plants already in gritty mix that I haven't fertilized yet. I am going to start once they make the move outside into warmer, sunnier conditions. I would definitely cut down the strength but I am not sure how much yet. I usually buy the Manna Pro bags of chicken grit, 3 at a time. That makes a pretty decent sized amount. So far I haven't used the entire bag of Repti-Bark and I have gone through 5 bags of that chicken grit. I just ordered 3 more so I will probably need more bark soon. To me, buying all these ingredients, sifting it, and mixing it myself is definitely worth the trouble over buying pre-made soil.

It's not worth getting bogged down on words which may refer to many things. Pavlova, which comes from Colleen's part of the world, is usually classed as a type of meringue. When bakers say that, they're using the word meringue to refer to the whole class of sweetened whipped eggwhite confections. There are also at least three ways to make classic meringue: French, Italian and Swiss, which differ by which bits are heated when. The point for Cookie8's layers is that Pavlova is crisp on the outside and chewy inside, whereas, as Linda said, a lot of American pies and other desserts have a layer of French meringue which is often torched or baked high just to brown the top, but is soft and fluffy from the outside all the way through. Which is different from meringues, the piped or quenelled and baked until crisp all the way through "cookies".