first issue.. is the pots themselves .... fired or ceramic pots should be ok .... but water expands as it freezes ... and when the ice forms.. it can break them ... so perhaps the easiest thing.. would be to heel them into the garden .. and repot in spring ... as the buds start extending ... compare to the plain old terra cotta clay pots.. they themselves suck in water.. and they will surely crack when freeze hits .. so first.. if you have the wrong pot ... you have to remove the hosta.. and figure out how to store the pot ... DRY!!! now.. move to the hosta ... the roots can NOT survive.. if they freeze into an ice cube ... so as per above ... margo.. they need to dry a bit.. and if a plastic pot.. its as simple as placing them out of ALL WINTER SUN.. so the pot itself does not heat in the sun.. and laying them on their sides ... in late november ... i even had about 500 of them stacked on top of each other against the wall of the polebarn .. once frozen ... on their sides ... out exposed to nature.. in the shade they should be near bullet proof ... next.. they do NOT come in the house for 'storage' NO MATTER WHAT .... finally ... [probably not.. lol] ... any structure is easily.. 2 or 3 zones warmer ... since it traps day heat.. and doesnt get as cold at night ... which means your hosta will start coming out of dormancy a month or 3 early .. which will excite you early on.. until you realize you are not frost free until nearly june .... you have 2 options ... you could bring them in the house at that time for an early 'forced' display .. but the furnace will make the house very dry for them.. and they might be spent by late july [ugly] ... their season will be early.. and over fast ... or when the snow melts.. and they are still in full dormancy.. you could just line them up on the north side of the house.. so at night they stay cold.. and stay in full dormancy.. until the more proper time. ... but if rain is possible.. you would lay them on their sides.. again.. because a pot with frozen media might trap the water.. and a frozen hosta will not like trying to breath with its roots in an ice cube ... there was something else.. but the caffiene rush is addling my brain.. will report back when it comes to me .... this topic has been covered many time.. and by using the search function within GW.. you may find many more posts .... if you care for more ideas .... wintering over pots is not specific to hosta.. so the type of plant discussed does not matter ... oh ... i recall ... if you have just a few.. and you line them up in a structure... come about xmas or so ... put a couple ice cubes.. or a snowball on each ... such will melt when the temps warm.. offering a LITTLE moisture as necessary ... w/o drowning them .... do this once a month or so .. NEVER FORGET.. in the cold white north.. winter is the driest season of the year.. near desert ... in that almost all water is tied up in frozen form.. so though we do not want to 'water' them.. we dont want them getting so dry.. they root rot and die ... think a piece of chicken poorly wrapped in the freezer .. and extend such logic to the roots ... good luck .. believe it or not.. its not that hard ... ken

There ARE definitely a few things to think about when it comes to safety. However, if you think about it, most of it is just plain common sense and it is truly not that difficult at all! Unfortunately, though, some folks have not been thinking and have made some really stupid mistakes when they've attempted this and have now given the whole thing sort of a bad rap. Our family has done it many, many times and it is very, very easy and safe as long as you follow the directions on your fryer and you think a little bit about what you are doing! Here are a few tips: * Absolutely, positively, DO NOT fry a turkey inside or even close to your home - like on a deck/patio or in the garage. We always fry ours in the driveway. * Make sure the turkey is COMPLETELY thawed and patted dry before putting it into the fryer! This is the biggest mistake people make! Putting a partially frozen/wet turkey in oil that is 350 degrees can cause a fire or even an explosion. * Do not overfill the fryer. This can cause significant burns. * NEVER leave a frying turkey unattended. Even after you are finished frying, the oil remains hot a very long time. Be very careful with kids and pets around it. * EVERYONE should have an All-Purpose fire extinguisher for their kitchen! This will come in handy when you are frying a turkey. As most of you probably know, absolutely NEVER, EVER put water on a grease fire! It only causes the fire to spread faster. If the fire is manageable, you may try to use fire extinguisher. If not, call 911! * Make sure no one who will be at the dinner, and especially eating the turkey, is allergic to peanuts! Here is a link that might be useful: Safely Deep Frying A Turkey

don't go with wall mounted fixtures, just have a nice floor standing light and ask your electrician to have remote control of the outlet that you going to use for the floor standing light. I like bedrooms and office space with indirect lighting.

If it were my house: Hand washing with scrubbies, sponge, detergent. (no pressure washer). Sanding problem areas with a sander hooked to a HEPA vacuum (to keep the lead contained) or wet-scraping and the necessary plastic sheeting to contain the mess, then double-bag in 6-mil black trash bags, seal w/tape and off to the landfill) Sanded areas get primed the same day (or as soon as dry if wet-scarping) to prevent any weathering of the exposed wood/feathered edges of paint/wood. Primer is as important as good prep: I use a thinned oil primer for outdoors. If it is not a linseed oil primer to begin with add a couple ounces of it per gallon, and thin with turpentine. Caulk and fill all your nail holes after priming. Perhaps spot prime over the nail holes if the spackle shows through as a dull or shiny spot. You want to avoid the freckles. Don't over caulk. There are discussions about where and how to caulk. Never caulk the horizontal seams of woodwork. They must remain unsealed to allow the wood to dry out and breathe. A house never fell down because of too little caulk, but great damage can occur from overuse. For speed roll on (4" roller) and brush it in. Or use an airless sprayer and brush it in for large areas. Don't ever simply spray on and walk away. Make sure painting happens after the dew is off, and stop painting an hour before dew could fall. The quality of the topcoat, then, is only going to determine how long before the paint fades, as a prep job I have described will give it every chance of adhering to the substrate. If your colors are light, you can get away with cheaper paint, but make sure dark accents are the best you can buy so they don't fade. Also, try to keep to the natural pigments and avoid colorants that are synthetic/dyes, they fade the worst. Casey