My Oh My, Brass Band is really stunning with that many blooms! It was new for me last year, so I hope it will do well this summer. My best bloomers have been Brigadoons for the last several years. I am afraid the right one in the photo has crown gall, and they are grouped so closely. Gary Here is a link that might be useful: Brigadoon at HMF

Angelaid, I love potato pancakes but I would say that is is my favourite version. There is no secret to making these pancakes. I've made them with mashed potatoes that I made specifically for making these pancakes and I've also made extra mashed potatoes for dinner and saved the leftovers for these pancakes. When I make them with the leftover mashed potatoes there is also butter in the mix. This is not a stiff or thick batter. I use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop up the batter. Mere Blanc's Potato Pancakes From:www.thedailyspud.com with very minor changes. 2 small baking potatoes 1/4 cup milk 1/3 cup All-Purpose flour 2 eggs, separated 1-1/2 tablespoons heavy cream Pinch of salt Pepper Fresh chives (or green onions) Butter for frying Cook potatoes until tender Mash with a little milk. Let potatoes cool before adding the remaining milk, cream, flour, egg yolks, salt, pepper and chives. Beat Egg Whites until stiff. Fold into potato mixture. Do not over mix. This is a light but thick batter. Heat a griddle or skillet. ( I used a rectangle electric frying pan) . Brush with butter. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup drop batter on to griddle. Cook until pancakes are brown and then flip. Serve with sour cream. Here is a link that might be useful: Potato Pancakes

Just to reinforce the idea of making your home more user-friendly, the ''trend'' is called Universal Design. It's described in Wikipedia this way: ''Universal design refers to a broad-spectrum solution that produces buildings, products and environments that are usable and effective for everyone, not just people with disabilities.'' We did this in 2005-2007 in the kitchen and bathroom. Along with those UD principals like raising electrical outlets, light switches and lever handles, we added some distinct architectural elements to the rooms like picture rails with rope lighting, a coffered ceiling, transom windows, etc. Also very nice are things that add comfort like heated floors, extra lighting (whether you think you'll use it or not, because you will), and organizational infrastructure. One of things I like most in my bathroom is the no threshold, open curved shower. With no glass door to clean, my small bathroom is much more open, not to mention easier to use. The heated floor goes into the shower which dries it quickly so no mold issues makes a nicer space. Regarding stainless steel appliances, I agree they are fingerprint magnets. Ugh. Paneled appliances seemed ''ultimate'' to me, which I knew was the right way to go when I caught an old movie one night called ''Broadcast News''. Charles Grodin had a paneled fridge in his kitchen, which still seemed current for the 1980's. We added our space to the kitchen, and kept the bathroom and garage the same...very small by today's standards. What was ''green'' about it was making one large(r) bathroom more luxurious for the whole house (instead of adding another). As far as the garage goes, we just downsized a car, for More Space, and Better Gas Mileage!

Cher Eulogy for Sonny Bono delivered 9 January 1998 in Palm Springs, California http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/chereulogytosonnybono.htm Please excuse my papers, but I've been writing this stupid eulogy for the last 48 hours. And, of course, I know that this would make Sonny really happy. It's like Den said: "He got the last laugh on you." So because I've had to write some of it down doesn't mean that I'm unprepared. It just means that I'm over prepared in that this is probably the most important thing I've ever done in my life. Don't pay any attention [weeping]. This is probably going to happen from time to time. And I also know that he is some place loving this.... Also, I have to wear the glasses that I made so much fun of him. I called him Mr. Magoo. I said, "You know, you've got to get some better glasses. You know, I don't care if you're Republican or not, you've got to look cooler than this." So now I have to wear the glasses that I make fun of him for saying. There are a couple of things -- I want to tell some stories -- but there are a couple of things I really want to get perfect for him. So I have to read.... Some people were under the misconception that Son was a short man, but he was heads and tails taller than anyone else. He could see above the tallest people. He had a vision of the future and just how he was going to build it. And his enthusiasm was so great that he just swept everybody along with him. Not that we knew where he was going, but we just wanted to be there. He was also successful at anything he ever tried. Not the first time he tried maybe, but he just -- he kept going. If he was really -- But if he really wanted something, he kept going until he achieved it....Once he told me that, when he was a teenager, he got his nose broken six times because he used to get into fights with guys that were much bigger than him. And he said that they would just be beating the crap out of him and would just be keep going back and going back and going back. I said, "Well, why?" And he said, "Because eventually I would just wear them down." And if you know him, we all got worn down. Some people thought that Son wasn't very bright, but he was smart enough to take an introverted 16-year-old girl and a scrappy little Italian guy with a bad voice and turn them into the most successful and beloved couple of this generation. And some people thought that Son wasn't to be taken seriously because he allowed himself to be the butt of the jokes on the Sonny and Cher show. What people don't realize is that he created Sonny and Cher. And -- And he knew what was right for us, you know? He just always knew the right thing. And he wanted to make people laugh so much that he had the confidence to be the butt of the joke because he created the joke. When I was 16 years old, I met Sonny -- Salvatore Philip Bono. And the first time I ever saw him, he walked in this room. And I had never seen anything like him before in my life. Because he was Sonny way before we were Sonny and Cher. He had this thing about him. He walked into this room, and I swear to God I saw him and like everybody else in the room was just washed away in this soft kind of focus filter -- kind of like when Maria saw Tony at the dance. And -- And I looked at him, and he had like this weird hair-do between Caesar and Napoleon. As a matter of fact, one of the first things that he ever told me was that he was a descendent of Napoleon, and that his father had shortened the name of Bonaparte to Bono when they came to this country. But that he didn't want to make too big of a deal out of this. Now you have to realize, at this time, he was talking to a girl who thought that Mount Rushmore was a natural phenomenon. So we were definitely a marriage made in heaven.... I lied to him about how old I was. I've told this story, but somehow it always keeps coming back. I told him that I was 18, and of course I wasn't. I was the most bizarre 16-year-old that you probably would come across. I had all kinds of phobias and all kinds of insecurities and all kinds of energies that just couldn't be harnessed. Except Son saw something. And I didn't have a place to stay and he said, "You know, you can come and live with me because I have twin beds and really I don't find you attractive." I didn't really know how to take it, but I was really glad to have a place to stay. And when people would call or come over and say, "Who's that girl?" "Oh, that's just Cher." We spent this whole time together and I was just Cher. I was this kid and he kind of took care of me. I told my mom I was living with a stewardess. And every time that my mom would call, I always said, "Mom, call me before you come over." Every time my mom would call, I'd grab all of Sonny's clothes and run down the street and throw all his clothes into my girlfriend's living room window. And I lost most of his clothes that year. One time he came into the house and he had his jockey shorts in his hand and he said, "Cher, you've just got to stop doing this. I found these on the street." So nothing happened with us romantically until my mom made me move out. When I was packing my things, we both just looked at each other and we started crying and I didn't even know why. And then I just realized once I was there that I just missed him so much -- I was so used to him being a part of my life. And I also had to tell him at that time that I wasn't 18. That I was 17, but I was about to turn 18. And when we were crying -- he actually cried too -- I said, "Well, I'm not 17 about to turn 18. I'm 16 about to turn 17, but I can't go through the rest of my life without you. So if my mother threatens to put you in jail, could you just do it anyway." So my mother kept threatening him all that year. But then I turned 18 and everything was all right. I want to close...but I wanted to tell Mary and Chesare and Chianna how proud I am of what he made himself after we were separated and his accomplishments. And I know that a person just doesn't decide to become a Congressman in the middle of their life and then be one. But it's so typical of Sonny to do something so crazy like that. And also it puts my mind at peace to know that in the end of his days that he had such a wonderful family life. And I know how much he loved Mary and Chesare and Chianna. And I know how much they loved him. And also I know how much he loved his friends. He was the greatest friend. And if you'd seen our house for the last five days -- Mary's house for the last five days -- we can't get rid of everybody. Everybody's just there, you know. And it's the way he would have wanted it. He would have been in the middle cooking -- not eating, just tasting. And making everybody else eat. So the last thing I want to say is, when I was young, there was this section in the Reader's Digest. And it was called "The Most Unforgettable Character I've Ever Met." And for me that person is Sonny Bono. And no matter how long I live or who I meet in my life, that person will always be "Son" for me. Thank you.