Forgive me if my message is a little disjointed, I just lost my second baby and had to have another D&C and am not quite "with it" yet. I know someone who refused to do the HRT thing because of concerns over the risks of it, and I seem to recall her mentioning the cream form of progesterone. She recommended it to me to help w/ ovulation and it really worked, and she told me that she had used it too, but I think it was during menopause that she used it. (The dr had given me the pill form of artificial Progesterone to help my body ovulate and I hated the very harsh side effects. The natural form cream had none of those side effects, was very easy to use, and the container was still not empty after the few months I used it. My first D&C seemed to jump-start regulating my ovulation,making the cream unnecessary.) (I am unsure of what one needs to replace during menopause so I apologize in advance if I misunderstood what she was telling me and progesterone is not needed then.) I paid a hefty price at a health store for the cream but recently saw it at a WalMart in the vitamin section. I didn't look at it closely so I don't know if the quality was the same as what I had used or not. The same woman recommended the book "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause" by Dr. John Lee. (Yes, I wrote that down; you never know when info like that may come in handy for someone. Case in point--this message!) Hope this is of some help.

The Man for reds = David Kirchhoff! And, no, I don't even have any of his yet. But I've seen BETTY FORD and others in my nearby AHS display garden, and they are stunners. I also second floota on POINT OF VIEW, a Sanford Roberts. One of my top favs in my garden this year. LARGE and BRIGHT. Stunner. The always and deservedly popular RUBY SPIDER. I'm in love with this one. An older, very good red: POINCIANA REGAL. Good, good doer, dormant, I really like this one. I saw HOLLY DANCER, which gonegardening mentioned, at clump strength in a region 3 summer meeting tour garden....one word = WOW! One that was also a clump strength wowser, and that I have and can vouch for is the newer and still pricy RED SALLY, a Gossard beauty. Sunfast! (gonegardening & floota -- that was the eyecatching Gossard red in the Bange garden, wasn't it??? I forgot to write the name down.) Yet another fab one at clump strength and, coincidentally, in the same tour garden as the two above, is Pat Cochenour's MYSTIC PIZZA....now that I think about it, I think you "need" that one! Clump strength wowser but sounds like it'd be too short for what you want: REGENCY DANDY. In fact, that one and another you should look at, ROCKET BOOSTER, a Santa Lucia, tied for first place as best red. One that I got yesterday at the club event and so can't say much about is ROYAL GUARDSMAN, a John Benz red. But I've never seen a Benz intro I haven't loved, and this one's registered as having 35 buds on 4 branches. If I were to go through the little notebook I carry to gardens, I could list WAY too many reds. But say the word, and I'll do it. :)

Not those drapes. There's already way too much black in the room. There's so much in fact that it needs to be neutralized or eliminated. I'd paint that armoire and ditch the headboard. Get a piece of plywood cut to size and cover it with some batting and a pretty textural fabric with lots of orange in it to create an upholstered headboard. That will add more texture and color to create warmth. You need some bedding with some color like this: Or this: Or this: Think about maybe doing a warm brown accent wall behind the bed like the third picture, and use lots of lamps with warm white bulbs. Lighting plays a crucial part of a room feeling warm. Ceiling lights are cold. Lamps are warm.

hermustangs, if you'll read the "new to GW" thread below on this page (or if it's left this page by the time you read this, search for it) you'll find explicit instructions on how to post photos; very easy to do. I think you'll get many more responses if you include photos. I'm not good enough with colors personally to try to answer your questions without seeing the rooms. Good luck!