To repeat some of what I've said earlier in multiple posts, I've taken a multi-faceted approach: sunlight therapy light for 30 minutes each morning during the shorter winter months making sure to eat healthily, esp. lots of legumes exercise (which for me also includes social partner dancing...not only provides exercise but physical interaction and music!) bamboo sheets have greatly helped with night sweats. I sleep much better. join a menopause support group or else start your own such Meetup group (I did, in NYC!) I take Rainbow Light Menopause One make it a point to be social....to get out of the house and be around other people. Go for walks...be around nature. If you are a night owl (like me), try your best to change your schedule little by little. Waking up earlier and going to bed earlier means you will have more waking hours in the natural light, and fewer waking hours in the dark, which in turn helps with serotonin levels and mood. Talk to a shrink if you are depressed and/or try to engage in cognitive therapy on your own. Be aware of how you are able to somewhat impact your own mood. For e.g., I noticed a pattern, whereby I was constantly assessing my mood multiple times per day. 'Am I feeling depressed right now?....Yup, I am. I am indeed feeling down...just like I was earlier today...just like I was yesterday. Ugh.' I realized that in doing that, I was then creating a sub-conscious 'reality' for myself, that if I am feeling down today, and I felt 'down' yesterday, and the day before that, that it stands to reason that tomorrow, and the next day, will also be the same. And how on earth can I expect to be in a good mood, if I believe this to be my reality, for the foreseeable future? Talk about creating a sense of doom for oneself. ;-) So.... I realized that this thought pattern I was exhibiting was not serving me one iota. Of course, we all know the expression of 'living in the moment'. I decided to purposefully try this at every moment of every day. 'Oh, doesn't this cup of coffee taste so good?.... this is so great that I just finished this work spreadsheet on my computer...I can now cross this off my to-do list.... this is great... Oh, this is a great song I'm listening to ...this salad I'm eating tastes so fresh!.... don't my two cats look so cute sleeping together..." And so on. By doing this, at the end of each day I found that I was able to look back and think 'you know...today wasn't that bad actually...'. And if I practiced living in the moment the next day as well, I could say 'this is great...today was pretty good...yesterday was pretty good...'. So that in turn helped to create my own new reality, which then helped me believe that the days ahead would also be pretty good! ;-) (If I assumed the days ahead would not be so good, they usually were not so good. But if I took on a more positive outlook, that my days ahead would be good, or 'pretty good', indeed, they usually were. While we can't control our emotions or mood entirely, much of it IS about perspective, and recognizing the ways we self-sabotage. And on that note....do not believe for one minute that 'older women are regarded with little worth' (as someone else here said). I am so utterly tired of women (and most often, it's American women) making this complaint. If you believe it, so it will be. No one wants to be around an older woman who is down in the dumps about her age. You could take two older women who look the exact same age more or less, and who have a similar appearance. One woman is confident, takes pride in her appearance, dresses attractively, does not feel her age is in and of itself a detriment; she is engaging, curious, outgoing. The other woman goes around believing that now that she's X-years of age, she's washed-up, and that society and men will 'ignore her'. She doesn't bother trying to dress nice, because she figures 'why bother'. Which woman do you think society is going to respond to more favorably. Which woman will more men find attractive? ;-)

With pleasure, nanny----they were purchased online from Grandinroad, the less expensive arm of Frontgate. They were very reasonable, well made, and (surprisingly) actual leather. For the price I was expecting pleather :-) I have linked to them below. Here is a link that might be useful: Grandinroad ottomans

Alas, you can't return fabrics at Beverly's. I'm hoping to start this project next week (I have to get through a big birthday party for my newly 5 year old tomorrow. He requested a "softie toy" themed party, so I have been super busy cutting, and pinning, and sewing, and stuffing, and sewing again these amorphous stuffed toys for all the kids to decorate/embellish. Great practice for sewing around curves!). Here is my plan: 1. Maybe get some super cheap fabric to do a test run, unless my one sewing friend has time to walk me through it, and stand behind me as I start cutting. 2. Go with 2 aprons--both with bias tape. Given the weight of the fabric, and the fact that the back cross over would actually make 4 layers hanging on me in the back, I think it might be too warm. For a simple smock with a button at the top back, both layers would work, but probably not with 4 layers of criss cross. Also, I was playing around with some homemade bias edging yesterday, and it is very cool the way it can curve. I'm now thinking it might be easier to apply that, then stitch together around all those curves (and notch the fabric so it doesn't bunch). Now, I do need to prewash the fabric right? I am pretty tough on my clothes, so they will be washed and dried fairly regularly (though I have some raggy aprons that I wear for the really messy tasks--saving the cute ones for non-staining activities). Also: I've read here that some folks don't cut out the patterns? Why not? I'm sure I will need to cut them out to use them properly. Sooooo, hopefully I could start on Monday. :-) francy

Thank you. As soon as summer comes I put away my nylon bras. Cotton does feel more comfortable, until it gets soaked. Then like you say, it stays wet. When I travel out of town I find it does not dry even overnight. I have to bring several or put on a clammy still wet bra. Ugh. It would be nice if they made some out of the wicking fabric that is being used for exercise clothing. Though I have some of that clothing and I’m not sure it really works. I also tried using my sports bras, but those all seem to be thick and hot even if made out of the special fabric. I have cut out the fabric and started. I bought some sheer lace to use as an overlay on the bodice, just down to and covering trouble area. Though that might be hot too. I’ll just have to see. I have plenty of fabric. If need be I’ll test a floating panel inside.