Friday, June 29, 2018

White-winged Dove



I am missing seeing these kind of  doves. I took this picture in Magnolia Village last season. They are common in south Texas but this is a bird we would never see up here in Wisconsin. We've been seeing lots of birds but our dove is the Mourning Dove and we do have lots of those. This White-winged Dove is bulkier than the Mourning Dove and I would see them often when I was out on my morning walk. They would often be perched up on a wire over by Cottonwood and Pecos Streets.

Friday, June 22, 2018

Rio Grande Valley Flooding

If you've been following the flooding in the Valley on the news you know that it is quite severe. Weslaco seems to have been hit really hard. You can find all kinds of pictures on line showing the various streets including both the east and west frontage roads with water up to car windows in some places. From what I've been told in Magnolia Village the worst spot was back in the southeast corner where Mike and Patti Reddick live. That always seems to be the case.

If I hear anything more specifically about the park I will post it. As I understand it since we left a couple of trees have come down, or at least parts of trees and I really don't know if wind took them down or if they were in bad shape and were cut down. In any case, as far as I know, everyone's property is okay and if I hear differently I will post it. If any of you hear otherwise, please let me know.

Thursday, June 21, 2018

Wanda Reed Obituary

Wanda Reed Obituary


 Wanda Reed, 86, of Atlantic, formerly of Wiota, passed away Thursday, June 14, 2018, at Atlantic Specialty Care.
Wanda Mae was born at her parent's home on May 26, 1932, in El Dorado Springs, Missouri, the daughter of Herbert William and Ethel May (Begley) Thomlinson. She was baptized at the First Lutheran Church, south of Wiota. Wanda attended Atlantic Community Schools and went to work at an early age for Enockson's Ice Cream Parlor in Atlantic for several years.
On May 28, 1949, she was united in marriage to Lloyd Harold Reed at her parent's home in Atlantic. The couple was blessed with three children, Denny, Ron and Donna. Wanda's priority was raising her family; she stayed home to care for the children and the household. In 1949, they made their home in Wiota, where they resided until moving to Atlantic in 2002.
Wanda was a member of First Lutheran Church, south of Wiota. She loved playing cards; pitch, pinochle, and canasta being her favorites. Lloyd and Wanda took great pride in their home; always meticulous inside and out. Wanda treasured time spent with family; especially her grandchildren and their families. When the family was together there was no doubt that Wanda had a camera in her hand capturing the special moments.
Wanda is survived by her husband of 69 years, Lloyd; children, Denny Reed and his wife, Sherri of Des Moines, Ron Reed and his partner, Chuck Downs of Tucson, Ariz., and Donna Watson and her special friend, Denny Hall of Indianola; grandchildren, Shane Reed and his wife, Tammy of Urbandale, Mike Reed and his wife, Jamaica of Adair, Lisa Munsey and special friend, Matt Alexander of Ida Grove, Jennifer Yerton and her husband, Mike of Cookson, Okla., Shaun Watson and his wife, Jeanette of Ankeny, Brad Harris of Colorado Springs, Colo.; 18 great-grandchildren; four great-great-grandchildren; brothers and sisters, Kathryn Clark of Redding, Calif., and David Wilkins and his wife, Georgia of Truckee, Calif.; brother-in-law and sisters-in-law, Howard Reed of Council Bluffs, Benita Rasmussen of Atlantic, Marlene Andersen of Atlantic, and Norma Reed of Atlantic; and many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Herbert and Ethel Thomlinson; mother-in-law and father-in-law, Frank and Cecile (Mailander) Reed; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Rex Clark, Lucille (Dick) Reed, Russell Rasmussen, Ralph Andersen, Duane Reed.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at 4 p.m., Monday, June 18 at the First Lutheran Church, south of Wiota, with Pastor Mike Bodkins officiating. Following the service, the family invites you to join them for a time of visitation and lunch in the church fellowship hall.
Memorials may be made to First Lutheran Church, south of Wiota.
Roland Funeral Service is caring for Wanda's family and her arrangements. Condolences may be left at www.rolandfuneralservice.com.

Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Chuckle for the day from Peggy G.

Thanks, Peg for sending this along. Brought back memories and made me chuckle.


Down memory lane! This is cute! Your laugh for today!

Murgatroyd, remember that word?  Would you believe the email spell checker did not recognize the word Murgatroyd?

Heavens to Murgatroyd!

Lost Words from our childhood: Words gone as fast as the buggy whip! Sad really.
The other day a not-so elderly lady said something to her son about driving a Jalopy and he looked at her quizzically and said "What the heck is a Jalopy?"

He never heard of the word jalopy! She knew she was old, ... but not that old.       

Well, I hope you are Hunky Dory after you read this and chuckle.

About a month ago, I illuminated some old expressions that have become obsolete because of the inexorable march of technology.
These phrases included "Don't touch that dial," "Carbon copy," "You sound like a broken record" and "Hung out to dry."

Back in the olden days, we had a lot of 'moxie'. We'd put on our best 'bib and tucker' to 'straighten up and fly right'.

Heavens to Betsy! Gee whillikers! Jumping Jehoshaphat! Holy moley!

We were 'in like Flynn' and 'living the life of Riley'.

Even a regular guy couldn't accuse us of being a knucklehead, a nincompoop or a pill. Not for all the tea in China!
Back in the olden days, life used to be swell, but when's the last time anything was swell?

Swell has gone the way of beehives, pageboys and the D.A., of spats, knickers, fedoras, poodle skirts, saddle shoes, penny loafers and pedal pushers. And don't forget Saddle Stitched Pants.
Oh, my aching back! Kilroy was here, .. but he isn't anymore.

We wake up from what surely has been just a short nap and before we can say, "Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle!"       
Or, This is a 'fine kettle of fish'!

We discover that the words we grew up with, the words that seemed omnipresent as oxygen, have vanished with scarcely a notice from our tongues and our pens and our keyboards.

Poof, go the words of our youth, the words we've left behind
We blink, and they're gone. Where have all those great phrases gone? Long gone: Pshaw, The milkman did it. Hey, it's your nickel!           Don't forget to pull the chain. Knee high to a grasshopper. Well, Fiddlesticks! Going like sixty.           I'll see you in the funny papers. Don't take any wooden nickels. Wake up and smell the roses. It turns out there are more of these lost words and expressions than Carter has liver pills.         

This can be disturbing stuff! ("Carter's Little Liver Pills" are gone too.)  We of a certain age have been blessed to live in changeable times. For a child, each new word is like a shiny toy, a toy that has no age. We at the other end of the chronological arc have the advantage of remembering there are words that once existed and there were words that once strutted their hour upon the earthly stage and now are heard no more, except in our collective memories.  It's one of the greatest advantages of aging.  Leaves us to wonder where Superman will find a phone booth.

See ya later, alligator!      Okidoki!

WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE FABULOUS 50'S.  NO ONE WILL EVER HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY AGAIN.  WE WERE GIVEN ONE OF OUR MOST PRECIOUS GIFTS, ...
OUR MEMORIES!


Wednesday, June 06, 2018

Cards for Anita Nelson






 Anita Nelson has been in the Knapp hospital since Thursday. She fell and broke her right arm between the shoulder and elbow. She will be moving to the Weslaco Nursing & Rehabilitation Center soon. She will be there for approximately 3 weeks.  It would be nice to send her a card. She is so good about sending out cards to other people and I am sure it would really brighten her day. You could send it to the house and Dick could take it to her. He goes every day at 6 AM and stays till she is done with supper, as she can't do much for herself. Then he comes home and gets his own supper. They did walk her for the first time on Monday.
Dicks address is
3707 E Highway 83
Lot 353
Donna, Texas 78537

The Rehab is
Weslaco Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
422 E 18th Street
Weslaco, Texas 78596