What a surprise and tasty celebration greeted me as I arrived to chair my final meeting of the Willow Ranch Residents Association June 10th! Many thanks for the flowers, warm wishes, pastries and ice cream. Your friendship and support has been invaluable. Hopefully with time out over the summer, it will become clear how best to move forward as the social organization we are intended to be! In the meantime, enjoy your summer!
WRAMEETING MINUTES
JUNE 10TH
July Celebrations
ALL RESIDENTS are welcome at the July 5th 10 AM ABC/Newcomers event to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries as well as welcome new residents and chat up a storm, while enjoying coffee and light snacks. Join us!
Happy Birthday!
7/7 Dina Bensen (#60)
7/11 Serena Wang (#141)
7/14 Shashi Bhalla (#19)
7/15 Wolf Neumann (#99)
7/19 Marilyn Kroncke (#212)
7/25 Tony Macias (#93)
Happy Anniversary!
7/4/75 Tim & PK Dolly (#91)
7/14 Raymond Szpadzinski & Alma Escalona (#147)
7/15/2017 Joseph and Pat Hillegass (#32)
Coming up -- Willow Ranch Events - ALL residents are welcome!
Tuesday, July 1, 6:30 PM - Residents Meeting
Saturday, July 5, 10 AM - Annivs/Bdays/Comms/Newcomers
Wednesday, July 23, 6:30 PM - Bingo
Friday, July 25, 6:30 PM - Movie Night (“MICHAEL” )
Saturday, July 26, 8:30 AM - Recycle (plastic bottles/ aluminum cans ONLY w/CA CRV or CA Refund on them)
Check flyers (in your Willow Ranch mailtube) re: event details!
Walking through the charming Willow Ranch neighborhood is a truly rewarding experience.The vibrant flowers create a colorful tapestry that inspires a desire to take up gardening. Each stroll motivates me to walk more, , strengthening my body while enjoying the lovely gardens around me. I cherish the moments spent meeting fellow residents.There’s a lovely sense of community in sharing stories and laughter, making our walks feel like enjoyable gatherings.These connections enrich our daily lives and encourage longer walks as we catch up on local news. I’ve included some delightful pictures of the flowers throughout the pages of the WTflourishing in our communityTake a moment to appreciate their beauty!
Join hosts Peggy and Eugene Ludwico on the 4th Friday at 6:30 PM of each month for a movie that is sure to entertain FREE POPCORN and SOFT DRINKS
Mark your calendars for July 25th @6:30 PM to see the movie MICHAEL
Starring:
JohnTravolta, Andie MacDowell, & William Hurt
"He's an angel Not a Saint."
Man in the Kitchen by Jim Benedetti
SESAME GINGER CHICKEN
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon sesame seeds toasted
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 green onions with tops cut into thin strips
In a small bowl combine the first four ingredients: set aside. Pound the chicken breast to 1/4 thickness. Grill over medium-hot heat turning and basting frequently with soy sauce mixture for 10 minutes or until juices run clear.Garnish with onions.
CREAMYPEAR PIE
4 cups sliced peeled pears
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 unbaked pie shell ( 9 inches)
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons butter melted
2 tablespoons brown sugar
TOPPING
In a large bowl toss pears with sugar and flour.Combine sour cream and extracts. add to pear mixture and mix well. Pour into pie shell . In a small bowl mix topping ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle over pears. Bake for at 400 for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350; bake 45 minutes or more until pears are tender.
Man in the Kitchen
by Jim Benedetti
On Friday, May 2, 2025 at 03:31:08 PM PDT, shawn cole <shawn.cole@myyahoo.com> wrote:
TARRAGON SKILLET CHICKEN
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 tablespoons minced green onions
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
Hot cooked rice
Pound chicken to 1/4 in. thickness : cut each half into three pieces. Season with salt, pepper and lemon pepper. In a large skillet saute a third of the chicken at a time in butter until browned and o longer pink. Remove and keep warm. In the same skillet saute onions until tender.Add cream, lemon juice and tarragon; bring to a boil. Cook and stir until thickened, about 5 - 6 minutes. Serve over chicken with rice.Yields 4 servings
CORN SALAD
2 cups fresh or frozen sweet corn
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup prepared ranch salad dressing
In a large salad bowl combine vegetables ; stir in dressing. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
We are looking for assistance in cleaning out the Willow Ranch Medical Shed.
When: Tuesday, July 15 between 10:30 and 3:00 If you are able and want to help come on over to the Travel Trailer parking area ready to work.
Thanks Peggy & Eugene Ludwico
WILLOW RANCH ASSOCIATION INFO UPDATE FORM
$10/person annual 2024 WRA dues payable January 1, 2024
Pay by cash or personal check, payable to Willow Ranch Association. If you have an update to your info listed in the directory, please update your contact information and important dates below. Always include the space # and name and fill in the line that has changed. If you have not been listed before in the directory, but would like to be in the next version, please fill in lines that you want included (space #, name(s), telephone #(s), and emails). Birthday and anniversary info will only be included in the appropriate months of the Waggin’ Tongue, not the directory.
All info__ Name/Space _____ Phone ____ Email _____ No information_____
SPACE #_______ NAME(S) ______________________________________
BIRTHDAY: NAME MONTH DAY_____
BIRTHDAY: NAME MONTH DAY_____
ANNIVERSARY DATE (MONTH/DAY/YEAR) __________________________
When you complete this form, please put it in the Association’s white mailbox to the right of the calendar/bulletin board in the Willow Ranch clubhouse.
Tongue --
WR Facebook presence > A reminder from Barb Rathbun (#177), to join our Willow Ranch Facebook page by following the steps below:
*To join, follow these steps:
1. Send an email request to Weedram@sbcglobal.net with your name, space number and email address
2. Wait for an email invitation link from the group admin
3. Respond back to the invitation and receive a prompt with the word “join”
4. Tap the “join” button
5. You will then receive an email confirmation of your request
6. Respond back a second time to the confirmation email and wait for the approval notice to join the group.
7. Once approved by admin you can start interacting with the group’s posts and members.
8. Be sure to adhere to the group guidelines to avoid being blocked.
Participation is voluntary, and this group is “private,” which means it is only open and visible to residents of our Willow Ranch Community.
Linda Barclay has graciously agreed to be our very own Willow Ranch Facebook Administrator! If you need help, just let Linda know and she can walk you through the process.
Contact/Admin: Linda Barclay, # 74, 408-306-4343, Weedram@sbcglobal.net
SWIMMING AND PLAYING IN THE POOL
Dina was able to join in since her medical recovery. Linda Stookey came along after a long absence from swimming. Riz ( the shark ) swam the most and Pat also comes on a regular basis
Shirley attempts to inspire more of this kind of behavior from those who are enjoying one another AFTER Hand and Foot active card games
Join us EVERY Thursday from 1:30. To. 3:00 ish
It's really fun AND healthy
Where Did That Come From?
by Lynn Killitz*
Quiz
The word “quiz” came into being because of a bet. A man named Daly made a bet that he could introduce a meaningless new word into the English language within 24 hours. Daly set out and chalked “QUIZ” on every wall and accessible place in Dublin. That day all of Dublin was inquiring what it meant, the people saying to each other: Quiz? Quiz? What does that mean? Daly won his bet - and the word has remained in our language. It is quite probable, however, that his choice of letters was influenced by the similarity in sound and meaning to “inquisition.”
Close but No Cigar
This phrase refers to making an attempt but failing. It originated back in the 1920s when carnivals would hand out cigars as prizes. On the same vein relative to Cigars; Sigmund Freud was an inveterate cigar-smoker. A curious student once asked him if his cigar smoking carried any particular symbolic meaning for him. He puffed reflectively, then replied, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."
Salary
The word literally means “salt money.” A Roman soldier was originally paid in salt; then he was given money for the purchase of salt. This was called a “salarium” from “sal,” meaning salt.
Heard It Through the Grapevine
The term came from “grapevine telegraph.” In 1859 Col. Bernard Bee constructed a telegraph line by attaching wires to trees. Over time the lines sagged in loops that looked a lot like wild trailing grapevines. During the Civil War similar loosely strung “grapevine” telegraph lines were used by the troops. More often than not messages were conflicting or no longer relevant. The term “grapevine” was used to refer to rumors which had no definite source and were generally false.
Black Sheep
The wool of a black sheep cannot be dyed, and so does not bring as high a price as regular wool. And yet a black sheep eats as much and takes as much time and care as any other; therefore, hardly worth its keep.
Bitter End
This phrase comes from the timber to which the anchor rope or chain of an early sailing ship was fastened. It was called the “bitt”; and when the anchor was let out as far as the line or chain could go, it was played out to the “bitter end.”
*Selections from Dictionary of Word Origins by Jordan Almond and other sources
Do you know…
Richard Kade
.. who the youngest First Lady of the United States was? Or, for that matter, who was the only First Lady other than Jacquelyn Kennedy Onassis to remarry after becoming a widow?
As this is an Independence Day issue and since the role of First Lady is a non-paid yet often highly visible position, a few brief observations seem overdue.
Before going too much further, the answer to both questions is the same: Frances Clara Folsom. She married the gruff, portly Grover Cleveland in 1886 at age 21 when he was 49, and the public quickly came to admire her for her poise and élan. Frances had been Cleveland's legal ward since the death of her father, Oscar Folsom. He was Cleveland's legal partner and, when he died, he put his daughter as well as his business affairs into the care of his friend and business associate. Frances was only 11 years old at the time.
In the 20th century circumstances unexpectedly thrust several First Ladies into the limelight. The first was the stroke that rendered Woodrow Wilson incapable of performing many of his normal responsibilities. Since then-Vice President Thomas Riley Marshall admitted to not being up to the job, Edith Wilson took control by limiting access to the White House by cabinet officers, and she even forged her husband's signature on a number of official documents, presumably at his request.
A little over a decade later Eleanor Roosevelt became the "eyes and ears" of her husband Franklin, whose polio-induced paralysis kept him wheelchair-bound. She was much in the public eye and was often an object of derision by political opponents dating back to his days in Albany as Governor of New York. Towards the end of the 20th century First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton vigorously lobbied for issues like health care reform (remember "Hillary-Care"?). She drew the ire of so many critics that she felt as though she were channeling the spirit of Eleanor Roosevelt.
Hillary's White House experience eventually thrust her into such prominent roles as US Senator, Secretary of State and, in 2016, presidential candidate.
Now is far too soon for any meaningful assessment of more recent First Ladies so, to conclude of this brief stroll down the faded "memory lane," the other forgotten footnote to history who merits mention is the second husband of Frances Folsom-Cleveland: Thomas J. Preston Jr. an archaeology professor and academic administrator. They wed in 1913 when he was 50 years old and she was 48 and were married for 31 years until her death in 1947 at age 83. Thomas died in 1955 at age 93.
Caption for photo:
(Left) Frances Folsom-Cleveland ca. 1886 and (Right) ca. 1945 at the White House with President Harry S Truman and former President Herbert Hoover.
Willow Ranch Association
Treasurer’s Report/Jim Burrmann
Period Ending May 31, 2025
Directory Update
Move ins #200 and #140
New Maintenance Tech:
Alisa Yang Space # 90 James Cirivilleri
MAY POTLUCK
FRIENDS, FOOD, AND FUN
Know Your Neighbor, by Dina Bensen
SHARDA VISH
Born and educated in India in engineering, Sharda left to come to the U.S., to work with Trans World, then AT&T in Chicago (too cold, she said!) where she married and raised two kids. The family moved to Austin, Texas for a short time (too hot!) and she went into health care work. Her move next was to Cupertino where she lived for 10 years working as a consultant and then healthcare. She got laid off and felt she was in a transition phase, and her father died so moved to Willow Ranch with her mother who needed her care. She is enjoying her ‘empty nest’ as her last child finishes college. She loves the forests we have around here, and she goes frequently for long walks. In Willow Ranch you can find Sharda playing games like dominoes, Hand & Foot, or shooting pool. She wishes she had time to do all the games. She loves the various gardens and flowers and plants here. This adventurer did go around the world for four months. You can ask her what countries she visited when you next meet up with her.
July2025
Keep Tasman 2 Lanes in Each Direction
TheTasman Bicycle project wants to reduceTasman Drive from 2 lanes in each direction to 1 lane in each direction and implement “No right turn on red” at each intersection.
(Currently it is only no right turn fromTasman to Lawrence)
My first time ever in any part of Africa. It’s gonna be interesting and fun.
We started our SouthAfrican travels in CapeTown at 33˚ south. We are now making a big curve due north of Durban, and are at about 29˚. Yesterday and this morning we were in Eswatini, a Monarchy completely within SouthAfrica.The Swati culture is what we know as the Swazi culture, and the British named the protectorate Swaziland in 1967. When the King turned 50, 7 years ago, he renamed the country Eswatini. We see both names used on maps and traffic signs.
On our drive exiting Eswatini, we stopped at a glass blowing factory.Their raw material is recycled glass. Most of the glass is found by the children from the village.The sign says each recycled bottle could power a 100 watt bulb for one hour.They employ workers who are skilled at creating attractive products.
Next, we visited the village of Matsamo for a cultural tour and show.The Swati dancers have a high-kick dance to drum music.They invited Kris and Deac to join the fun during the last dance.
Our stay tonight is at the Hazyview resort. It is very close to Kruger National Park, so we are staged for our next game drive tomorrow.
In the late 19c and early 20c, when big game hunting was the rage, hunters were on foot in the bush.The five most dangerous animals to encounter were called “the big 5”.This refers to the elephant, rhino, lion, leopard, andAfrican Buffalo. Good fortune smiled on us about 10am, when a leopard came out of the bush and walked right in front of the bus! He just sauntered across the road as if he owned the land.At that moment, he did! It was an amazing sight. We felt so lucky—it is very unusual to see leopard that late in the morning.
We were on the bus at 5AM and were the first group at the entrance to the park. What a great day! We saw many animals and made three excursions from the Rest Camps. It must have been 50˚, but in an open truck/carriage it was chilly.
Today we finished our Big Five when a young male leapord crossed the road right in front of us. It’s so hit or miss! Ha!
