I just had a soil analysis for my main bed. It found 4.6% oranic matter. Not bad but of course could be better. But everything else seems to be OK. For a time I thought the problem was drainage but yesterday I dug a hole filled it with water and waited for it to drain. I thought this could be awhile but lo and behold it drained in less than three hours. Now as to organic matter. This spring I applied alfalfa meal and cow manure, then I mulched with newspapers and grass clippings that are worn out now with a lot of paper showing. Somewhere along in summer I put some Rosetone. I've meant to put some horse manure but didn't get around to it. I've been wondering how that works on top of my "mulch", I suppose just put in on there. Pictures? Despite being somewhat computer literate a few years ago I still don't know how to do that. Besides most of my rose gardens are a mess. I've been thinking seriously about giving up on roses. Either that or to drastically cut back on the numbers as I can't take care of the ones I have. That may be the best solution what with being 80 years old now. But I have so much invested in trying to grow roses! I have tons of books and I spend hours poring over them. The DK book by the Quest-Risons I have nearly memorized. And then there is all that work, planting, pruning,etc. So meanwhile back at the ranch one has black spot, Japanese beetles, winter kill, poor choices, the wrong rose and all those infernal weeds that manage to tolerate much better the conditions that the roses find not to there liking. Now and then there is a rose that inspires. Lately that has been Baltimore Belle. Hardy, fragrant, vigorous and profuse blooming in Spring. It grows with what I have to give it. Currently has many new 10' canes. Just like that. No intense inspection to see if you can determine what ails a failing rose. Of course you can't.

I fired my PCP today. After months and months of travelling 1 1/2 hours one way to her office or the endocrinologist, I've gotten nowhere. Today a very young office assistant called to inform me that my doc wants to do a 4th 24-hour urine collection for pheochromocytoma...because she can't figure out why I'm having hot flashes@!#??@!! And she'd be happy to make an appointment for me to talk to her in 1 month. I have made an appointment with a menopause clinic closer to my home (still a few weeks to wait for that). In th meantime, I'm trying to hang on through this terrible anxiety, heart palps and headaches. I cry alot because I'm so scared and sometimes just so frustrated. Visiting these forums is a tremendous help to me. I have ordered a Claire Weeks book, and another one called "Your Inner Estrogen". They should arrive by end of this week and I hope to find solutions to get me through until I see the new Doc. My 25-year-old special needs son is coming to stay for 10 days this coming week-end. He is a joy to me, but also a lot of work at times. I need to be functioning better than I am right now. Who knows, maybe having him here will take my mind off some of my symptoms...we will certainly keep busy! In the meantime, I'm keeping up with my Mg/Calcium and B vitamins. Having breakthrough palps last few days, maybe need to adjust the Mg??? Seems like the tiniest hint of stress will trigger them. I can't watch the news or my favorite TV show "Lost"...gets me too worked up! And I mourn for that 1 cup of morning coffe that I gave up 3 months ago. ( and my Chardonay, and chocolate, and sex, etc) I have to believe things will start to get better soon! Thanks to all for listening. Gayle

Thanks for your posts, everyone. I didn't word mine very well, and have to explain that Angel was hit on the road 15 years ago. That's how Jill found her. I love that story. Jill was a teenager, and in her friend's father's car when she saw the puppy on the road. They stopped the car and she got out and picked the puppy up. No one had a cell phone (like I said, it was 15 years ago), so they stopped at a house and Jill asked if she could use the phone to ask her mother to come pick up the dog. The woman said, "You can use my phone, but your mother isn't going to want to drive over here to pick up a dog." Jill replied, "You don't know my mother." :-) I thought about having Angel sleep in my room. The reason I haven't done it is that it's relatively easy to clean up messes in the bare hallway, whereas my room has rugs. And rugs seem to trigger her urge to pee, or at least that's what I suspect. Maybe it feels more like the outdoors. No, Wolfy is the one on arthritis meds. Angel doesn't take anything, which I guess is pretty remarkable. No, waitÂshe actually takes a heart pill, but she's taken that every day of her life since puppyhood. She's done amazingly well. Linda, I like the suggestion about the ticking clock, but Angel wouldn't be able to hear it. I might try bringing her into my room at night after first covering the rug next to my bed with a plastic trash bag (cut open) and newspapers. It's worth a try.

I started taking a multi vitamin mineral supplement to bring magnesium and other minerals up to RDA and it helped my chronic restless legs and asthma. Long time ago magazines were writing that this sort of thing didn't improve overall health but I've found it helps. If only I could eat beans and greens 3x a day I wouldn't need a pill. Beans once a day is great, beans 3x a day not great. If you could add some sort of bean dish a few times a week it could really enhance overall nutrition. It does sound like you are overdoing things with your hands though. One thing that could help is heat. Grease up your hands and wrists with heavy moisturizer and wrap with plastic wrap before bedtime, can really help. I sleep cool rather than hot but even in uncomfortable heat this doesn't bother me and since it's cheap and easy to change your mind no real downside to try it. You might also gently stretch all the joints in your arms and hands a couple times a day, just take a break and do it.