Cynthia, it was always bobbins and tension for me. Every item had one HUGE mistake: the leg in the sleeve hole or some such nonsense. Knitting was easier somehow. I hear more about bum knees these days than ever before. It must be the ailment du jour. DD's FIL just had one repaired and is due for the other at the end of the month. DSIL now has problems as well. My good friend Joan, 87, is delighted with her new knees and is back in the garden planting this year. Such a woman! I can only hope to age as perfectly in mind, spirit, activity level and kindness & generosity. Paddle to the Sea and others by Holling C. Holling were favorites of our kids too. I know that Skyler has them already. Whether or not he is up to reading them solo I'm not sure. DD & DSIL visited the nearby school today. Here's her opinion: My goodness, it's a beautiful school. I never thought you could say that about a modern school. Hardly any of the rooms are rectangular. There is bright light all over the place. They have a huge library and a GREAT (according to the principal) teacher librarian. They have a huge special needs program (which Skyler wouldn't fall into - it's for people with learning disabilities - called "learning strategies" - who are generally 1-2 years behind who are separate classes). They have a huge ELL program (ESL for people who are BRAND NEW to the country, as in know NO English). They have two regular classes for each grade, and the ELL students are mixed in. There are animals (REAL ONES!) in the school - an 8' boa, a finch, some gerbils, a bearded dragon. They have a brand new computer lab. The teachers are really involved with making the school fun - they do a year long study of something (example government) and spend a week at city hall to learn how things work. They have an "artist in residence" program where an artist comes through for 2 weeks and works with the students on whatever their specialty is - dance, music, watercolours (the artist that just came through is actually the native artist who painted the picture I almost bought for DH for Christmas). There is artwork by the students all over the building. The kids were happy and excited about whatever they were doing (we walked around for 1/2hr). They have a serious focus on behaviour and treatment of each other, something that I think would be GREAT for Skyler. They have FM (for Skyler's hearing aid) systems in every classroom. They have tons of clubs like choir, running, robotics (they build a robot and program it to do stuff like go through mazes), TV (they do the daily announcements broadcast, interview staff about what their healthy snacks are for lunch, what they do for physical activity), they do a daily morning 10 minute exercise in the classroom (another thing I think Skyler would greatly benefit from). They have a Friday morning coffee for parents association - who happened to be there while we were there so we got to talk to some of the parents. It's right next to the ravine. All in all, it seemed like a great place. I want to go there. Can I go to elementary school all over again? But I fear it was simply an exercise in frustration because "SHE" will simply say "NO". Oh well. At least we know what one option is for Reed! It is really frustrating for both of us to deal with the crap .................... And so it goes.

Hi Kristy, Some of us have hormonal headaches that we just can't get rid of, even after trying different types and amounts of estrogen. I am wondering what drugs you use for your headaches. I got in a bad situation using Fioricet too often, and it made my headaches worse ("rebound headaches") and sometimes other pain meds have the same tendency, if used more than 2-3 days a week. Have you been worked up by a neuro doc who specializes in headache management? That might be a good thing to do. I am in perimenopause and have been on premarin in the past, which, in retrospect, caused alot of my headaches. I am presently on combi-patch, but I still get headaches for about 10 days around my period (or even when I'm due for a period, but don't get one). I take Exedrine Free and when that doesn't work, I use Maxalt. There is a good headache forum at Braintalk.org. There are several women there who have really bad hormonal headaches who have tried tons of medications. They might be good people to ask. I haven't tried many different meds or hormones. It's a great site and you might get some good ideas there. Some of us there have found that during about 2 weeks around our periods, lots of things become "triggers" for our headaches, and we have learned to avoid them around that time. I have a friend who has migraines and she thought they would go away after her hysterectomy, but they didn't. My neuro doc said that this is often the case......That there are so many other things involved (like your pituitary and hypothalamus), that just by removing your ovaries and uterus many times doesn't stop hormone-related headaches. I hope you find something that helps.

I am so sorry you have had this suffering from going off your HRT. I too, have had a sudden onset on terrible symptoms from an inability to be able to buy my HRT lately. I have been on HRT since my hysterectomy in 1991. I started on premrin, changing the strengths until we knew that was not working for me, went to estrace, then patches, then injections; all making me feel like a lab animal, going through too many changes over the years. It was 3 years ago that I read about Estring, and asked my Dr if I could try it. It was PERFECT! No more dryness, no more remembering to take my meds (it lasts 3 months) and most of all, no more worry about the breast cancer threats from all the other ones. This was my magic ring, and the amount that was absorbed into my blood was so insignificant, that I knew I had found the answer to all my problems. I had balanced out perfectly, and needed nothing more than my ring once every 3 months. 2 months ago, I came into a situation that prevented me from being able to buy my estring, and have not been able to buy it yet. Since then, I have entered, SUDDEN, full blown menopause, and this is not a joke. I have become a basket case; emotionally and mentally, physically I cannot sleep, am stressed constantly, and have tension headaches that overwhelm me. I am looking forward to when I can resume buying my estring, and will NEVER go off it again, if I can help it. I do not want to have to go through this again, for any reason. I'm afraid I have lost all quality of life in my state now, and just want to get back to feeling like a normal, and sane woman again. After having found such a safe HRT, I would never even consider the thought of going off it on purpose. I agree that "quality" of life takes precedence over trying to be a model of healthy intake at this stage of the game. I do everything else I can to be healthy, and being ON HRT gives me a far more healthy brain, body, and emotional state of being.

I can see saying "That's a great question" when talking to a group of people, some of whom may have good questions and some of whom may not, but when it is a one-on-one interview, it sounds like stalling and also sounds insincere. In a one-on-one interview, it sounds to me like saying "You've asked a question for which I do not have a good answer." The point is that when it is overused, it loses meaning or sincerity. I think "no problem" in response to "thank you" is possibly a translation of "de nada" from Spanish. People sometimes say "no problema" in Spanish in response to someone saying that they are sorry. I really, really hate hearing people say "You're welcome" when no one has thanked them. If anyone did that to me, I would say, "I'm not thanking you and have no intention of doing so." In Russian, the word for "please" (пожалуйста) is the same word for "you're welcome." That way one could not say "you're welcome" in Russian before being thanked, which is helpful. Does the "C" word rhyme with "cap" but with an "R" in it? That would perhaps describe what goes into a fanny pack.