I posted photos of purple-red blotches on 'Champney's Pink Cluster.' Nobody knows for sure what causes it. The rose also has cracks and blackened areas ("saprophytic fungi" that eat dead tissue are causing the blackened areas), sunburn, weedeater and other physical damage, and "edema", which are blistered areas where too much water has been drawn up into the canes, so it's a mess! Do you have Cooperative Extension/Master Gardeners in your area? You might want to take them a sample, and see if they can diagnose it or send it off to a university lab (that's who looked at CPC for us). Most of our damaged canes were sending out new, healthy-appearing growth, so we just took out the worst, made sure there was air circulation and no rubbing canes, and are keeping an eye on it. I don't think I'd do anything drastic on your BB right now, until you've had a chance to observe it for a while. Just my opinion, though. Anita

It's going to take quite a while for your nails to recover from the damage caused by years of "sanding" down to allow the acrylics to adhere. The best thing to do is keep them coated with nail polish, multiple coats to keep them from tearing or breaking. There is a product you can get at Sally's Beauty Supply or equivalent near you. The one I'm thinking of has something to do with horses hooves. I can't remember the exact name. This brand has a treatment you brush on like polish and also a cream like stuff you rub into the nail bed and over the nail. You just make it part of your nightly bedtime ritual.

I used Blonde in a west facing room and it looked more orange than I was expecting and I didn't really like it. I have seen photos of it and I did like it, but the lighting may have been different. If you're not in a hurry, you might want to get a Color To Go sample, paint it on a foam board and see how it looks in the room at different times of day. If you like green, you might consider neutral gray greens. A few suggestions: SW Grassland, Comfort Gray, or Austere Gray. They all look great with warm woods and you can accent them with a lot of different colors - navy blue, burgundy, gold, dark green, beige or even bright colors like turquoise or orange. Comfort Gray is my all time favorite. If you try the Blonde and it seems too goldish/orange for you, check out SW Ivoire (on the same strip as Blonde, but lighter and less gold) or SW Believable Buff or Whole Wheat. Good luck.

I have a cobalt blue range in my garage waiting to be installed. I say, go for the red Berta! The only advice I have is to limit the red to just your range and then other things that are fairly easily changed. I have seen a Viking ad with a blue range, wall ovens, warming oven, microwave, dishwasher and refrigerator... WAY too much. Why would you want your dishwasher to be a focal point? Just the red range will look great. I personally plan to panel my refrigerator, warming drawer and dishwasher with wood, and the microwave will be stainless. You could also use stainless, since the Berta also has stainless on it. Also, if you ever tire of the red or need to sell to someone who doesn't like it, a range alone can be relatively easily changed. I obviously prefer blue to red, but if that red range will make you and your husband happy, if it will make you smile every morning when you go in to make your coffee, go for it. Why should your kitchen look like everyone else's?