Thanks for your continued interest across my different inquiries. I WILL be putting in a cover crop to be turned in the spring. Thing is, I read an interesting article about the use of deeply rooted brassicas, daikon radish and other cover crops both to reach deeply into hardpan soils and to provide food/vegetative mass if left in the soil. That was an excellent slide show. With rather solid, deeply red, Georgia clay I have both to add nutrients and humus while also breaking up the top layers. The soil is rich in minerals, low in airflow, acidic, and slow to drain. I don't know if I could really ever add enough humus to the top six inches.

Sauce? Chop a big ole onion pretty small Put into a le C dutch oven with about1 1/2 T EVOO....sautee slowly, when soft, add 3 big cloves of garlic crushed... Then add "some" Hinze tomato sauce.....about 1/4 of a food service can Add "some" Cookies BBQ sauce.....about 1/4 of a 2 qt container Add 1 10 oz can chicken broth Add "some" cider vinegar.....about 3/4 cup Add "some" dark brown sugar....1/2 to 2/3 cup Add about1 tsp liquid smoke Simmer.....stir.....simmer.....slosh over meat. SO I went out tonight to a hospital fundraising dinner.....guess what was the main course??? Pork loin!! Over cooked, dry and tough...what a validation!!

Hi theresse, I've been coming to this forum for about 3 years, maybe a bit less and let me tell you it has been a life saver. My symptoms have been too numerous to mention and I hate to tell you this, but I was the same age as you are now. I too started with the overwhelming tiredness. It came totally out of the blue and like you I felt like I could sleep for days. I also had dizziness which at first was so bad for 3 days I couldnt walk anywhere without holding onto a wall. Picking my kids up from school was no fun! I also got it lying down which is really weird. Occassionally, I still have this feeling but it doesn't last long and I still get the head squeezing feeling too. My period was still regular at this time too so I didn't associate it with pre menopause. However, I'm now convinced it was the start of it. The hot flashes and night sweats didn't start till a few years later. I think maybe you should see your GP and ask him to test your hormone level. Its better to know if something is happening and then you can put your mind at rest. You are not a hypochondriac either, though being menopausal seems to make a lot of us feel that way. My GP at the time told me I was depressed! By the way, I'm now 52 so, 10 years down the line and its still not over. I really hope you get through this. This forum helps enormously. Just knowing you are not alone keeps your sanity intact. Wishing you well.

I had what my dr. called a total hysterectomy in in 1999. I still have my ovaries, so don't really understand why they called it a total. Anyway, he didn't want to take the ovaries at that time. He wanted them to work for as long as they could. I am now almost 59. I had a grapefruit size fibroid. They are hereditary in my family. (DB was not happy when I called him and told him he needed to have that conversation with his DD! But I am sure he did, even though he was uncomfortable about it.) I am having no trouble. I would probably elect to have them removed if I had to do it all over again, just so I didn't have to worry about it. I am now taking 1000 mg vitamin C, 400 mg vitamin E, and 3 Evening Primrose Oil capsules daily to keep my hormones balanced, and avoid caffeine, though I do still drink some tea, and definitely eat my chocolate. If I start having more hot flashes or breast pain (caused by the wildly fluctuating hormones, already have seen the breast specialist several years ago for it.) I back off the caffeine again.