Well you could add sugar... that would be good for your plants and prevent a freeze. However is a freeze going to be hard enough to do some damage? I could see it damaging what ever you had connecting your site-glass to the barrel but an open air barrel should be fine in a freeze.

Hey All, here's an update on the project. I found an old wine barrel that had been living under a deck and so had lost resale potential. We carefully halved it with a circular saw by holding the saw relatively still and rolling the barrel over the wheels on the bottom of a cart. This was around Apr 2014. The staves stayed relatively tight for 6 months, but have since loosened a bit. I lined the insides of the bins with newspaper, partly to maintain moisture in the bin and partly to keep The Wormies inside. I also keep a few layers of newspaper and cardboard on top of the castings and water the paper itself once a week or so. If we go on a longer vacation, I have a worm sitter come over to wet them. I put each half on bricks in a thick box or boot tray, but haven't experienced any leaking. Besides getting the hang of moisture maintenance, the only quirk in the system is that moths got in one bin for a short time. Turns out they just made it through the lid (wood propped on top, but not totally sealed) and not through the cardboard and paper into the worms' sanctuary, so it resolved quickly by me taking the lid off and removing the moths before they got too comfortable. The Wormies seem really content. Thanks for your enthusiasm, All! Sam

The table near the chair will be used for a drink and as an accent for that space. mareda, small skirted tables are a great idea, but I don't think I would like that look in this room. Below is a photo of the whole room (as it was a couple of weeks ago - but chair is moved back to the left side of window rather than the right). The room is more contemporary with only this side chair as an accent. I feel skirted tables fit better in more traditional rooms, although the ability to add some different colored fabric and softness is beneficial in lots of circumstances and as patricia43 said - you can hide lots of stuff. les917, thank you so much for the link, you always have such good ones. I do like the shape of the mango table, but am now thinking something with a bit of color - rather than more brown in the room - I feel the wood would be lost on the slate floor. The mango table has a similar sheen to the one I was mentioning I saw at World Market the other day. It was a barrel shape but is made out of wood, was smooth, and opened up with a small lid on top but is flat so a drink could be placed. Last night I had a vision (I see I am becoming obsessed with decorating when I have visions at night - uh oh - the bug has bitten) about getting a inexpensive pottery vase and covering it with mosaic glass - I was thinking of the amber glass that came out of my front window - see photo below - I had told a stained glass artist she could have it - but another no show for a free item. Perhaps make the whole thing with amber glass but add in an occasional blue tile or contrasting piece of glass. Maybe cut the glass in long strips so it doesn't look so busy - I am thinking out loud here. Below is a drawing I drew quickly to explain what I am thinking of. Can you picture the long strips in the gold and the little black squares in an irridescent blue glass - what do you think? (I know a lot of work). I am going to a studio today to sign up for a glass jewel box class and I will ask them if this is feasible. I just have to find a form to adhere the glass to. Plywood would do and I could make a wooden top so stuff could be stored in it. I could build it an octagon shape so it wouldn't be square. I would change the top so I could put a top on it or a small platter as les suggested earlier. Now I just need about 40 hours in each day to do this. Does anyone understand what I am trying to explain? What do you think? Living Room Mosaic Form Mockup and Amber Glass

I drive the same thing winter and summer. My 2002 Hyundai Sonata. Years ago when front-wheel drive first came out, I was driving a Camaro. Stupid thing would get stuck on a newspaper! Hated that car. Got rid of that thing after owning it a year. I bought a front-wheel drive car, and it would churn through anything. Have driven front wheel drives since. All cars, no SUV's or anything fancy. In my dreams I would like an SUV, but funds are limited. My car is still running fine, with 290,000 KM on it. I just got it checked for my bi-annual Drive Clean and it passed. This post was edited by jasdip on Tue, Aug 6, 13 at 9:02