Larada Horner-Miller's Blog, page 36
February 2, 2020
Extreme Costa Rica: Highlights of Our First Four Days!
The travel blog posts for our Costa Rica trip will be highlights instead of daily journals.
Day 1 – January 7, 2020
I was anxious to go Cost Rica! After months of anticipation, I spent a sleepless the night before our departure, too excited. I rose to the demands of the next day, and we had a lovely leisure travel day. We flew out of Albuquerque, NM, arriving in Houston, TX at 12:25 p.m. On the flight, I worked on a book project whose deadline was crunching me. A couple from Albuquerque accompanied us, so we had lunch and enjoyed ample time before our flight to San Jose at 5:25 p.m.
While we waited, Lin and I played a Cribbage hand to show our friends the game. We knew the Colorado contingency of our tour had the same flight to San Jose and wondered where they were. Right before boarding, they arrived at the gate. Again, I worked on the flight to San Jose.
When we arrived, we easily went through customs and were greeted by the organizer of our tour and our guide, Victoria and Enrique. They whisked us off to the hotel. When we arrived there, I thought Lin and I would stay there, but Victoria told us, “You’re going to my mom’s house!”
See, Victoria is my husband’s ex-wife, and she knew Lin and her mom wanted to see each other, so away we went and what a welcome we got. We spent the rest of the evening visiting.
Day 2 – January 8, 2020
I started the second day with an education on how a Costa Rican shower works, but Lin forgot to give me vital information, so the water stayed hot. I was quick in and out!
We started our day with a delicious breakfast, featuring an abundance of native fruit. Enrique picked us up, and we drove to the hotel to gather the rest of the group. We met our driver, William, who kept us safe throughout the trip and quickly became a major part of the group.
[image error][image error]Traditional Ox and cart
On our drove to the Waterfall Gardens, we had a Costa Rican serendipitous moment: we saw a traditional ox cart and driver who posed for pictures for us! The colorful cart and his pride fascinated me.
On our drive, Enrique shared his knowledge of the history of Costa Rica and some philosophical statements: “Time is not important. The weather is the same,” and “Let’s wait until the clouds of the day clear off.”
He noted
Spain forgot them for three hundred years. They never had to fight for independence, but that left them “an abandon child.”The coffee industry received its boost when the Pope okayed it.Their last revolution was in 1948, and they have no army.They have nine active volcanoes, and Volcano Poás is erupting now.Thirty percent of Costa Rica is national parks which has preserved it and gave rise to the eco-tourism boom.Enrique shared a Costa Rican term, “mejenga” which is an informal pick-up type soccer game.
Our next stop was a coffee plantation to relieve ourselves, grab a cup of rich Costa Rican coffee and learn about how coffee is grown and produced. Enrique, our guide, had wonderful stopping points throughout our tour, starting with this one.
The winding road reminded Enrique of a local
sentiment: “You can see your own license plates.” We soon saw what he meant.
[image error][image error]Me with a Toucan and then a Macaw
Our next stop, the Waterfall Gardens, is a
wildlife refugee center where they rehabilitate animals and return them to the
forest. We saw a variety of native animals like toucans, sloths and macaws, but
the highlight for me was the blue Morpho butterflies. Some in our group gently
place their finger next to the docent’s, and this stunning creature moved over.
The enclosure where the butterflies live is a verdant rich garden.
[image error]The Blue Morpho Butterfly
“As its common name
implies, the blue morpho butterfly’s wings are bright blue, edged with black.
The blue morpho is among the largest butterflies in the world, with wings
spanning from five to eight inches. Their vivid, iridescent blue coloring is a
result of the microscopic scales on the backs of their wings, which reflect
light. The underside of the morpho’s wings, on the other hand, is a dull brown
color with many eyespots, providing camouflage against predators such as birds
and insects when its wings are closed. When the blue morpho flies, the
contrasting bright blue and dull brown colors flash, making it look like the
morpho is appearing and disappearing.”
https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/species/blue-butterfly
Being introduced to this butterfly early helped because we saw it in a variety of places.
After seeing animals, we had a delicious lunch of native food and again fruit was the focus for me. During lunch, the rain started—it ended up to be a wet afternoon. We continued through the refugee seeing white faced monkeys, scampering around and playing in their enclosures.
We saw another type of monkey that Enrique did a unique trick with; he had attached a mirror in his bird book, and he attracted one monkey over to him. The mirror fascinated the monkey. Enrique told us about a time he did that with another monkey, and the monkey tried to turn the page in his book—how about that!
I am so sad because I took a picture of a jaguar there, but it didn’t come out. This regal creature curled up like my cat, stretched, arched his back and curl up again!
From there, we hiked in the rain. Victoria told us to bring our rain ponchos, and I misunderstood her, thinking she was talking about the next day, but I bought one in the gift shop. It became a regular part of my daily backpack gear.
We saw the beautiful La Paz Waterfalls (Lin and my picture at the beginning), but I had to take a break, because being sick the last few months my stamina lagged. I loved how our newly formed group ignored the rain and participated!
From there, we drove to Sarchi, the cradle of Costa Rican art craft. We visited an old ox cart factory and bought souvenirs because we had been advised this was a great place to purchase them.
[image error][image error]Lin’s Ox Cart & Our Two Rockers
Lin and I went a little overboard, buying two beautiful leather rockers and a replica of an ox cart. Lin had been anticipating the ox cart purchase for months.
The day ended with a lovely dinner in a roadside restaurant and back to the hotel to drop off the group. I had the first of many guanabana shakes with dinner. Guanabana is a delicious tropical fruit.
A tradition started on our ride back to the hotel—Greg started telling stories of accidents and near-miss events, and these stories continued for days.
Because of the wet day, Victoria and I brought group members’ tennis shoes back to her mom’s house and tried to dry them in the dryer. We overloaded the dryer so it stopped working, so, I dried mine and Lin’s with my blow dryer. Victoria dried some of the groups with a blow dryer, too!
Day 3 – January 9, 2020
Again, my morning started off with shower excitement. This time I had a cold shower. It was at this point that Lin realized he forgot to tell me the key to showering—turning the knob all the way went to cold water.
We ate another delicious breakfast, teeming with fruit. Afterwards we took pictures and loaded up the car and drove to Enrique’s house where his daughter fed us delicious homemade tamales. The rest of the group met us there, and we put our luggage in a second van which followed us whenever we changed lodging.
Then we took the Pan-American highway south. It was built during World War II to link the North American continent and was paved in the late 60’s. The highest point is in Costa Rica.
Enrique told us it was summer there now and the less rainy season–hard to believe after getting soaked the day before. He entertained us with a story that ended with “My great-grandfather told me, and he didn’t lie.”
We traveled through Cartago with Enrique sharing a story about how San Jose took being capitol away from Cartago. Lin flagged a “Pops” (pronounced Popes) whenever we passed one, and we were told it has the best ice cream in the world!
As we traveled, Greg continued relaying his stories of accidents: scuba, RV, motorcycle and snowboarding events. At one point after a motorcycle accident, a bystander asked, “Is he dead?”
After rising in elevator, we left the Pan-American highway and wove our way into the Savegre Valley on a dirt road, ending up at the Savegre Hotel, an oasis in the forest, for two nights.
From the sumptuous menu, I selected Trout Almandine for lunch, and then we took a long treacherous hike to waterfalls again—water and waterfalls are a major feature of Costa Rica. At various rocky spots, the men in the group helped me. After the hike, we met in the bar for refreshments, then a hilarious scene happened. We all got on our iPhones and AirDropped pictures to each other.
We had spacious rooms there, but it was cold, so Lin and I turned on our portable heater before we left for dinner. Dinner for me was grilled trout—delicious food. After dinner and social time, we returned to our room–talk about cold. The little heater didn’t do the job, so I slept in my warm-ups.
Day 4 – January 10, 2020
We were up at 4:45 a.m. to go on the quetzal bird watching tour—I first heard of this bird 40 years ago on the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. In all my numerous trips there, I never saw one, so this excursion excited me more than any of the others.
[image error]Quetzal Bird
We had a little problem with this excursion, but Enrique handled it. Melboni, our guide, joined us in our van and off we went to the first place, an avocado tree where the quetzal birds frequented.
I was so disappointed. I have cataracts and eye issues, so I never saw one with the naked eye, but our guide had a high-powered binocular where we could see them, and he could take photos on our iPhones.
So, the drill became: the guides for the different groups helped each other, and when a bird was sighted, they shared the location on a walkie-talkie. Then all the groups ran back and forth. It was hilarious to participate in and watch!
[image error][image error][image error]Hummingbirds at the Batsú Gardens and Lin in a perfect frame of grapes¡
When we returned to the hotel, we ate, showered and packed. Enrique had gotten us an extra excursion, so we drove up the hill to Batsú which was a garden the hotel owner’s son made to attract birds. We saw hundreds of humming birds and many other birds.
Afterwards we ate lunch and left. We divided our group up with three people going in the luggage van because of the incline coming up. The Savagre Hotel was at 7100 feet and the main road went up to 9800 feet. We headed towards the Caribbean slope and Guapiles.
Ater we picked up our three travelers, we stopped for relief and refreshments. The camaraderie of the group started to solidify with people sharing their goodies. It rained for most of the four hour trip to Guapiles. We played twenty questions with a person sharing two truths and a lie, and that entertained us for miles.
When we arrived at the Hotel Suerre, we quickly went to our rooms to repack our bags because Enrique and William were going home with our big luggage while we went to Torteguero. Victoria had suggested we take only a backpack to Torteguero because we traveled there on a boat.
After turning over our big bags to Enrique and William, we ate a late dinner, showered and went to bed early—delighted with our trip so far and looking forward to our next adventure!
Have you ever been to Costa Rica? What was your experience? I’d love to hear from you!
~ Take a look at my website, http://www.laradasbooks.com/
~Whitey & Gladys Puerling were playful
friends of Flippo’s who created a Fan Club. I thought it would be fun to
recreate this group. Would you like to join the Marshall Flippo Fan Club
Facebook page? Read interesting posts about Flippo’s life. https://www.facebook.com/groups/328325644382769/
~I HAVE OVER 200 PRE-ORDERS FOR THE
MARSHALL FLIPPO BIOGRAPHY! You, too, can pre-order this amazing
story? You can select which paper format or e-book format you would like. Go
here to order the version you want. Monthly SWAG Giveaways! https://goo.gl/forms/4D4hwbHdme1fvJc42
~Visit my Etsy Shop, Larada’s Reading Loft for digital or paper
copies of all my books: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaradasReadingLoft
The post Extreme Costa Rica: Highlights of Our First Four Days! appeared first on Larada Horner-Miller, Author.
January 26, 2020
I’ve Fallen in Love Again!
We
just returned from a trip of a lifetime—two weeks in Costa Rica, and I’ve
fallen in love again—with Costa Rica and its people. It was perfect with twelve
people in our tour. We traveled in a van, and our luggage followed in another
van whenever we moved to a new hotel.
Enrique
Dodero, a Costa Rican native, guided this group that lovingly became known as “The
Dirty Dozen.” His knowledge was endless about his country, history, animals and
more. He carried a worn book about all the birds in Costa Rica, and he knew the
names of so many.
Victoria
Zempel, a native of Costa Rica, organized the group from the USA with people
from Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Alabama. Most of us didn’t know each other
before the trip but became a cohesive, agreeable group that grew into a family!
She
originally planned this trip for some church friends, but it didn’t work for
them. Victoria was ready to throw up her hands and forget it—after several
months of planning with Enrique.
Her husband, Greg, stopped and suggested, “Call your friends. I bet you could get a group together,” and that’s how this adventure happened! Thank God for the couples that it didn’t work! After we confirmed the trip, there was a space open for one other couple, and we invited friends from Albuquerque who came and enjoyed the trip.
The couple days we spent time around San Jose seeing sights near there. Then we drove to both coasts—the wet and humid Caribbean and the dry and hot Pacific. We also saw the mountains of Costa Rica.
Here’s
our awesome itinerary:
January 7 – flew into San JoseJanuary 8 – visited Waterfall Gardens and SarchiJanuary 9 – drove along the Pan-American highway going south to Savegre Lodge and took an amazing hike to water fallsJanuary 10 – went on Quetzal bird watch. Drove to the Caribbean slope to GuapilesJanuary 11 – 13 – went to Torreguero by boat and stayed at Mawamba. Enjoyed three different excursions seeing so many animals on the canalsJanuary 13 – drove to La FortunaJanuary 14 – stayed in La Fortuna. Saw Arenal Hanging Bridges. Arenal Volcano was cloud-covered. Visited “The Springs Resort,” a beautiful place with lots of hot water pools in the middle of the forestJanuary 15 – stayed in La Fortuna. Experienced the Arenal Sky Tram and Zip Lines—unbelievable experience soaring over the canopy of the rain forest in the rain. Returned to “The Springs Resort” and soaked some moreJanuary 16 – drove around Arenal Lake to El Coco Beach on the Pacific sideJanuary 17 – stayed at Coco Beach and drove to La Playa Las Prisas. Afterwards drove to Tamarindo—beautiful sunsetJanuary 18 – stayed at Coco Beach. Enjoyed shopping and the beach. Went to Country Club and swam and had Greek food. Celebrated Victoria’s birthday with food, dancing and laughterJanuary 19 – stayed at Coco Beach. Shopped and went on catamaran and snorkeled. Delicious meal and then breathtaking sunset on the oceanJanuary 20 – sadly flew out of Liberia home
I was asked at the end of the trip what was my favorite part. It was hard to answer. We saw so much, but I did come up an answer: the Quetzal bird watching tour!
I’ve been going to Mexico and Central America for forty plus years, and I first learned about the Quetzal bird in Mexico, studying Mayan folklore and mythology.
“The Quetzal bird of Central America (Ket-zal) and the rattle snake shared the position of most revered creatures by the ancient Maya. The feathers of the iridescent Quetzal were used in Royal costume and ceremonial garb for kings and priests. The Quetzal symbolized the movement of Creation and the will of the Creator come to earth. As the Serpent moves side to side on the ground, the Quetzal flaps and glides through the jungle. That is it moves up and down in it progression. The Maya knew that Creation moves from Day to Night or Creation to Destruction in a wave like pattern.”
http://www.mayanmajix.com/quetzal.html
[image error]Quetzal Bird we saw!
On this trip, I finally saw a Quetzal bird after forty years! What an experience that was!
[image error]Larada & Lin soaked on the hike along the Rio La Paz to the waterfalls
It rained and rained the first day, and we were soaked as we hiked. We saw the beautiful Caribbean ocean where it was humid and wet. The Dirty Dozen traveled through the mountains where I was cold. Heading towards the Pacific Ocean coast, the climate changed to hot and dry!
This group spent several hours in our faithful van with laughter and lots of stories. Our driver, William, kept us safe and sound on a variety of road conditions. We rode in a boat in the Torteguero Canals seeing crocodiles resting on the shore. As we walked in the rain forest/jungle at night, the sounds overwhelmed me. We soared above the canopy on zip lines. Some of the group had the opportunity to ride in a ox cart. This experience went beyond and above my expectations!
We saw so many animals: macaws, toucan birds, iguanas, sloths, monkeys, crocodiles, eyelash viper and coatamundis. I’m sure I forgot some!
So, over the next couple weeks, I will share my Costa Rican love affair with you! I won’t do it day-by-day but give you the highlights! Have you ever been to Costa Rica? What was your experience?
~Whitey
& Gladys Puerling were playful friends of Flippo’s who created a Fan Club.
I thought it would be fun to recreate this group. Would you like to join the
Marshall Flippo Fan Club Facebook page? Read interesting posts about Flippo’s
life. https://www.facebook.com/groups/328325644382769/
~I
HAVE OVER 200 PRE-ORDERS FOR THE MARSHALL FLIPPO BIOGRAPHY! You, too,
can pre-order this amazing story? You can select which paper format or e-book
format you would like. Go here to order the version you want. Monthly SWAG
Giveaways! https://goo.gl/forms/4D4hwbHdme1fvJc42
~Visit my Etsy Shop,
Larada’s Reading Loft for digital or paper copies of all my books: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaradasReadingLoft
The post I’ve Fallen in Love Again! appeared first on Larada Horner-Miller, Author.
January 19, 2020
Would You Like to Taste One of My Books?
Taste one of my books, sample it, savor it! Here’s samples from three of my books. Enjoy!
Excerpt from This Tumbleweed Landed
[image error]
“She
Was Born Dancing!”
On June 26, 1953, my folks left
their thirteen-month-old son with Millie,
the family babysitter,
to go to a square dance in Trinidad,
fifty miles away.
Mom danced one tip that night—
She was nine months pregnant
with me.
They left the dance early
feeling something was about to happen.
Early the next morning
Mom had labor pains
that made her stagger across the floor.
It was time!
The fifty-mile trip back to Trinidad
and the hospital
was made in record time.
At 10:30 a.m. I was born.
Dad went downtown
to buy celebratory cigars
and ran into a fellow dancer
from the previous night.
Dad announced his good news—
a new baby girl!
Remembering Mom at the dance
the night before,
the only comment the stunned friend
had to make was,
“She was born dancing!”
Copyright ©
2014 Larada Horner-Miller
Excerpt from When Will Papa Get Home?
[image error]
Chapter 8
Halfway through our delicious, but modest meal, the much-feared event happens. Horses approach our house in a rush of noise from men and animals. The dreaded moment arrives and catches us all clustered together in the dark corner of our small kitchen. Three unfinished meals cover our deserted table.
Several loud men on nondescript
sweaty, panting horses ride up with shouting and cussing. A brisk pounding at
the door sends us further in the corner. Before Papa can open the door, this
mob forces the door open. What a violent invasion of our home! Six gringos fill
our small, modest house of stone and adobe with their foreign language and
foreign smells. One of these invaders is the sheriff of Las Animas County.
Peering from behind Mama’s
protective full skirt, I see the sheriff, now our enemy, argue with Papa in
English. Papa pleads. I don’t understand the words, but I do understand the
tone of his voice and theirs. Grabbing the sheriff’s hand, he begs, pleads, and
cries! And then, they laugh, a communication that crosses all languages. Their
laughter overflows with power, ridicule and anger. And all this is aimed at my
Papa, my hero! That laughter bounces off of our adobe walls and crashes into my
head.
The sheriff and one man get on each
side of Papa and push him outside towards the corrals. The others move back to
their horses, light cigarettes and stand talking. Mama and I move closer to the
closed door, listening and trying to understand what is happening. I don’t
understand their words but I know they feel they have won.
In a loud voice, Papa continues to
argue with the two men who take him to the corral where the horses are. I hear
English words that I do know: “The Rose horse ranch” where we bought
Smokey as a colt. From the conversation, I see in my mind the two gringos
surveying our two horses, especially Papa’s horse. Papa continues his litany of
innocence with his voice growing louder and shriller with each statement, but
they ignore him. Laughter is their only response.
I hear Papa beg about something. The
two ruffians bring him back to the house for our tearful good-bye. The last
thing I remember hearing is his screams as they drag him from our
house. “Mi hijita, mi esposa preciosa–esperame, esperame!” His
screams for us to wait for him echo through my mind. I must have fainted
because the next thing I remember is waking to Mama and our neighbor and
friend, Pablo, standing over me with worried looks on their faces.
“Where’s Papa? Where’s Papa? ¿Dónde está mi Papa?” I scream,
demanding to know and trying to shake the cobwebs of uncertainty from my mind.
Mama falls across me on my small
bed, crying and sobbing out of control, “Papa, se ha ido! Papa’s
gone! He’s gone. Se lo llevaron. They took him away.” The weight of her body
and sound of her wails almost suffocate me.
Pushing Mama aside, I scramble out
from underneath her, search our two-room home and explode. Uncontrollable anger
rages from deep within me and I attack and destroy anything I can get my hands
on. My doll crashes against the hard rock wall; my marbles fly out the door in
all directions.
Mama tries to console me in the
midst of my savage tantrum, but I push her away. I shove open the front door
and collapse on the front step. I scream, I cry, and I wail! Finally, I take a breath
and open my eyes—Paco is staring at me a few feet away. He seems apprehensive
about coming any closer. My tantrum has lost its power, so my little friend
ventures near and I scoop him up in my skirt. I gingerly hold him in my hand
while my sobs are subsiding. He seems to know that I need him close to me. I
sit there with him consoling me.
I look around and see my marbles
strewn around our front door; I don’t pick them up, but go inside, leaving Paco
outside. Mama and Pablo stop their conversation, and I slide into my bed fully
dressed. Pablo touches my brow with gentle rough fingers and whispers,
“Adios. Hasta la mañana.” I appreciate
his good-bye and the hope of seeing him tomorrow. Mama walks to the door with
him and says her good-byes.
She returns to my bed and repeats
what Pablo did; she touches my brow with her long slender fingers and whispers,
“Buenas noches.” I sigh my response and turn to the wall, heart-broken because
the most valuable person in my life has been taken away.
Copyright ©
2015 Larada Horner-Miller
Excerpt
from A Time to Grow Up: A Daughter’s
Grief Memoir
I Want you Back! Or Do I?
January 27, 2014
[image error]
I stand at that mysterious wall
between life and eternity
and scream,
"I want you back!"
I pound my fists.
I scream!
I cry,
but nothing changes.
You slipped
through my finger tips.
I grasped.
You were here one second
and
gone the next!
Nothing I could do
would hold you.
Where are you now?
Sitting next to Jesus and Dad—
smiling
youthful
relaxed
happy!
I hope so!
I am earth bound—
held in place
by time and
my human existence!
I now know more,
realize there's more.
There has to be!
A small peephole
opened into eternity
at your death bed.
Surprisingly, a small kernel of hope was born that day for me.
Life ended here for you
so quickly!
Your shell of a body
lay limp and lifeless
in that hospital bed.
I saw your last breath,
but I also saw something else
slight
faint
Relief for you!
A passing
A knowing
that you are gone
from here,
but will wait for me
there.
In my solemn, desolate space,
I will still cry,
"I want you back!"
But today I know
that
I don't want you back—
I want to join you
there!
Copyright © 2017 Larada Horner-Miller
Maybe one of these samples makes you want more. Visit my website at: https://laradasbooks.com
~ Visit my Etsy Shop, Larada’s Reading Loft, for digital or paper copies of all my books: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaradasRead...
The post Would You Like to Taste One of My Books? appeared first on Larada Horner-Miller, Author.
January 12, 2020
What Does Six Years of Blogging Look Like?
Six years of blogging—yahoo! I’ve
taken the advice of writing pundits that I should blog as an author, so I did
it sporadically and half-heartedly for four years. I didn’t do regular posts. I
wasn’t committed. I didn’t know what to do.
Then in 2017, my husband and I took
a fabulous trip to Ireland and England, and it hit me–blog about every day of
the trip. We were gone for 23 days, so I had topics for twenty-three posts, and
I was off and running. I realized the power in having planned blogs. My
statistics changed, and in 2018, I hit it full tilt. I grew exponentially in 2019!
Now I have a database of topics for 2020 already.
Last year, I looked at my first five years, and the data opened my eyes! Today, I wanted to take this opportunity to look at the statistics of my blogging and thoughtfully consider what’s working and what needs to be tweaked! Let’s look at my statistics for the last six years:
[image error]
For the first two years I had 207 views but my visitors increase. In 2016 views more than doubled and visitors increased also. In 2017 again, views increased but visitors more than doubled. But 2018, my numbers went off the map! My views increased more than six times and the visitors jumped by seven times. Wow!
In 2019, I more than doubled my
views and visits from 2018. I moved my website to wordpresscom so the blog and
website sit together, and I think that’s helped.
Over the years I increased my posts, and last year I posted on a regular weekly basis–some weeks I posted twice a week. Readers like regular blog posts, and they like more. Regularly, I post one blog post a week, but last year I added some at the holidays and did that again this year.
[image error]
Here’s how many posts I have published in six years:
2014 – 72015 – 162016 – 62017 – 222018 – 552019 – 66
Let’s look at specifics from 2019. My most popular post published was “Why Knit?” with 1939 views. Experts say to ask a question in your title and I saw that suggestion improve visitation. “Home” visitation of my website was the second popular, so moving my website is the reason for that!
What was your favorite blog post of
mine in 2019?
[image error]
I love the growth statistics this
last year, but I continue to have two disappointing statistics: likes and
comments.
Likes:
2014 – 02015 – 12016 – 82017 – 452018 – 1362019 – 57
A major decrease from last year shocked me. What do I do to encourage more likes on the wordpress site?
Comments:
2014 – 02015 – 22016 – 772017 – 82018 – 482019 – 0
Many
visitors interact on Facebook with likes and comments but don’t go out to
wordpress.com to like and comment. How do I move the reader to go out to my
blog and respond?
I want more interaction with my
visitors. I end each blog with questions to stimulate conversation, so help me
out. What do I need to do? What would make you like and/or comment more on my
blog?
[image error]
Visitors to my blog come from all over the world which fascinates me, so what countries visited my blog last year and how many did I have from the top countries?
2019
United States – 4893Pakistan – 593Algeria – 520Turkey – 485Nepal – 425India & Mynamar (Burma) – 149
2018
United States – 3962Australia – 108Canada – 103United Kingdom – 69Germany – 36Ireland – 34India – 26Japan – 25Hong Kong (China) – 19Sweden – 8
Notice the directional movement in readership of my blog from 2018 to 2019. It’s amazing the difference.
In 2019, other countries who
visited my blog were Venezuela, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Libya, Ireland, China,
Egypt, Philippines, Bolivia, Tunisia, Japan, United Kingdom, Chile, Canada,
Argentina, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Iraq, France, Australia, Brazil, Albania,
Nicaragua, Afghanistan, Mexico, Bhutan, Ecuador, Germany, Somalia, Colombia, Guinea,
Georgia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Italy, Serbia, Sweden, Malaysia, Romania, South
Africa, Paraguay, Russia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Honduras, Hungary, Mali, Surname, United
Arab Emirates, Netherlands, Thailand, Cambodia, Palestinian Territories, Saudi
Arabia, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Ukraine, Peru, Austria, Macedonia, Namibia,
New Zealand, Guatemala, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Poland, Haiti, Finland, Costa
Rica, Senegal, Armenia, Hong Kong SAR China, Tanzania, Singapore, Kenya,
Croatia, Cameroon, Laos, Mauritius, Lebanon, Fiji, Tonga, Niger, Cote d’lvoire,
Spain, Samoa, Lithuania, Taiwan, Malta, Greece, Vietnam, Zambia, Kyrgyzstan,
Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Maldives, Barbados, Benin, Liberia, Jordan,
Sierra Leone, Vanuatu, Congo – Brazzaville, South Sudan, Timor-Leste, Yemen,
South Korea, Belgium, Uzbekistan, Panama, Qatar, Portugal, Czech Republic,
Uganda, European Union, Belize, Mozambique, Congo – Kinshasa, Comoros,
Madagascar, Bahamas, Iran, Denmark, American, Samoa, Trinidad & Tobago,
Gambia, Chad, Norway, Cape Verde, Rwanda, Kazakhstan, Burundi, Puerto Rico,
Kuwait, Uruguay, Brunei, U. S. Virgin Islands, Moldova, Caribbean Netherlands,
French Polynesia, and Reunion.
In 2018, readers from 29 countries have
visited my blog in 2018; in 2019, it grew to 150 countries! OMG! I changed
something this year—I paid for an ad, but at the beginning of March, I selected
“Worldwide” when forming my audience, and that made all the difference.
So, why did you come to my blog
from such far-away places? Let me know.
I continue to add quality photographs and graphics because of good blog design.
Over 84% of all marketing
strategies use images, popular GIFs, graphics, animations, and signs among
others to pass information. Visual communication has more impact in passing
information to people.
In 2020, I plan to include these
topics this year:
Our TravelsSquare DancingMAJOR FOCUS: Marshall Flippo and promoting my new bookPersonal life stories Being 65 and fully aliveHolidaY highlightsRanch life in southeastern ColoradoMy 16-year-old cat, Jesse
What would you like to hear about?
I’m open!
All-in-all, my blog has become a
major focus of my writing career, so stick around and see where we go this next
year!
~Whitey & Gladys Puerling were playful
friends of Flippo’s who created a Fan Club. I thought it would be fun to
recreate this group. Would you like to join the Marshall Flippo Fan Club
Facebook page? Read interesting posts about Flippo’s life. https://www.facebook.com/groups/328325644382769/
~I HAVE OVER 200 PRE-ORDERS FOR THE MARSHALL FLIPPO BIOGRAPHY! You, too, can pre-order this amazing story? You can select which paper format or e-book format you would like. Go here to order the version you want. Monthly SWAG Giveaways! https://goo.gl/forms/4D4hwbHdme1fvJc42
~Visit my Etsy Shop, Larada’s Reading Loft for digital or paper copies of all my books: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaradasReadingLoft
The post What Does Six Years of Blogging Look Like? appeared first on Larada Horner-Miller, Author.
January 5, 2020
How Do You Cut Any of Marshall Flippo’s Stories?
If you knew Marshall Flippo, you know he wiled you with his stories and he had many—not surprising with the longevity of his 91 years! So, after 40+ hours of interviews, stories galore and 258,000+ words, I faced the dilemma of cutting some of his stories as I prepare the manuscript to be published, but which ones?
Early on in this project, Flip told me he wanted to tell stories about his caller/cuer friends and include them in his biography—an interesting reflection of him. He saw himself through his relationships.
[image error]
So, originally, we made a list of seventy-one names of
callers, cuers and dancers, and it was amazing to listen to how he listed them.
After Flip identified the names that came to him easily, he geographically
traveled the United States and added to the list, saying, “northern California,
northern California. Around and Around. I thank I’ll have a funny story for
each one of them.”
That was the criteria—a funny story! So he eliminated some of the names based on that criteria.
Next, he moved to those who called frequently at Kirkwood Lodge where he called for six months out of the year for 42 years. Then Flip moved to his home state of Texas to add more names. Next, he went to “around St. Louis, and oh, Memphis, Memphis, Memphis!”
Regularly he instructed me on how the chapters should be set up, “That’s going to be quite a few in a chapter—headline like Gary Shoemake. The next one would be Ken Bower.”
As we progressed down the list, Flip moved west to Reno and Mesa. Then he jumped back east to Chicago, then East Coast, North Carolina, and then down the East Coast, Alabama and Georgia.
At this point he emphasized, “Put Georgia down thar. I have a story about Georgia.” Be ready for this hilarious one included in the book. He returned to Texas and listed his mentors and dear friends there. He headed to East Texas and then New Mexico, over to Arizona. Then he went south and northwest.
Quickly Flip announced, “I’m down in Houston again.” He added from San Antonio, Amarillo, Lubbock. This went on for weeks!
After we compiled this list, we went back through it, and Flip told his stories, crossed off some names and added some. Again, I saw the importance of relationships to this man.
When Flip first stated he had a list of callers he wanted to tell stories about, with a snicker, he added, “I have another list but it’s short: Callers I’ve Slept With!” I gasped when he said that but laughed when he told me the story. You’ll have to look for who that is in his biography.
Always involved in the layout of his biography, Flippo later requested I separate out the stories and have a section at the beginning of the book, “Before Marshall Flippo was born in Tuscola, Texas,” identifying the callers who have passed away and had helped him, so these people and their stories hold a premier place at the beginning of his biography.
So, back to my dilemma of cutting stories—I’m still deciding
which stories will be in the book, and which will land up on the website, but
it doesn’t matter because if you purchase his biography, you’ll have access to
all of them.
~Whitey & Gladys Puerling were playful
friends of Flippo’s who created a Fan Club. I thought it would be fun to
recreate this group. Would you like to join the Marshall Flippo Fan Club
Facebook page? Read interesting posts about Flippo’s life. https://www.facebook.com/groups/328325644382769/
~I HAVE OVER 200 PRE-ORDERS FOR THE MARSHALL FLIPPO BIOGRAPHY! You, too, can pre-order this amazing story? You can select which paper format or e-book format you would like. Go here to order the version you want. Monthly SWAG Giveaways! https://goo.gl/forms/4D4hwbHdme1fvJc42
~Visit my Etsy Shop, Larada’s Reading Loft for digital or paper copies of all my books: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaradasReadingLoft
The post How Do You Cut Any of Marshall Flippo’s Stories? appeared first on Larada Horner-Miller, Author.
January 2, 2020
2020 is Larada’s Year!
Happy New Year! 2020 is here and I’m ready! 2019 was a hard year for me health-wise, so I’m ready for a change, and Lin, my husband, and I have dubbed 2020 as my year!
Yesterday, I started the new year off with a Cribbage game with Lin during breakfast, and he won. We jumped into the Rose Bowl parade—a tradition Lin and I both enjoy.
Since I have been in recovery, I try to attend a meeting on New Year’s Day, and I did yesterday. It was a glorious celebration of life, and exactly what I needed. Afterwards, I bought some black-eyed peas to serve for our lunch for good measure to start the year off right, southern style.
After our late lunch and between football games, we played two more Cribbage games, and I won. I started off the year ahead 2 -1. For years, LIn and I have started each morning off with a couple Cribbage games during breakfast, and he has beat me over the last two years like crazy. Three years ago, after losing a lot, I told him, “You win more than I do.”
He denied it, saying, “No, you win as much as I do!”
So, to prove my point, I created a spreadsheet of wins and losses, and he has been relentless: in 2018, he beat me by 43 games, and 2019 wasn’t much better. He beat me by 44 games.
We played this morning, and in 2020, I’m already ahead—I’ve won 4 games and he’s won 2! Yahoo! So I’m keeping track again this year!
Yesterday, after my wins, my wonderful day continued with cleaning out the refrigerator and freezer. Because I was sick a lot of last year, I kept bypassing this chore. But I felt it was a good way to bring in the New Year, and metaphorically it felt right—cleaning out the old to make room for the new!
After some relaxation time, I worked on my current project, the Marshall Flippo biography and assigned ISBN numbers to the different versions I will publish. I also investigated Ingram Sparks, a self-publishing company I’m using to publish the books and e-books.
My biggest goal of the year is publishing this biography. I’ve been working on it for two years, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The manuscript is with the editor right now. I’m busy doing behind the scene work because I self-publish my books, so I design the cover, adjust the pictures and lay the book out, so I’ve still got a lot of work to do, but I see that it is going to get done. The release date is April 6, 2020 at the annual CALLERLAB Convetion in Reno, NV.
Here’s my favorite Facebook cartoon as we face this new year! Yes, I plan to take advantage of all 365 opportunities ahead of me–how about you?
[image error]
Yes, I started 2020 in a fulfilling way, and it promises to be fantastic. I hope your start to this new year was as a great as mine!
[image error]
~ NEW Christmas Chapbook—A
Colorado Country Christmas—Full color paperback
chapbook or digital version. Visit my Etsy Shop, Larada’s Reading Loft to
purchase: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaradasReadingLoft
~40% OFF END OF THE
YEAR SALE–All Digital Copies of my books are yours at a reduced price. PRICE
GOOD UNTIL JANUARY 5, 2020. https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaradasReadingLoft
~30% OFF END OF THE
YEAR SALE-All Paper Copies discounted until January 6, 2020. https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaradasReadingLoft
~Whitey & Gladys
Puerling were playful friends of Flippo’s who created a Fan Club. I thought it
would be fun to recreate this group. Would you like to join the Marshall Flippo
Fan Club Facebook page? Read interesting posts about Flippo’s life. https://www.facebook.com/groups/328325644382769/
~I
HAVE OVER 200 PRE-ORDERS FOR THE MARSHALL FLIPPO BIOGRAPHY!
You, too, can pre-order this amazing story? You can select which paper format
or e-book format you would like. Go here to order the version you want. Monthly
SWAG Giveaways! https://goo.gl/forms/4D4hwbHdme1fvJc42
The post 2020 is Larada’s Year! appeared first on Larada Horner-Miller, Author.
December 29, 2019
Why Celebrate Twelve Days of Christmas?
You hear this song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” every holiday season many times, and it’s a mystery what it means. Let’s look at a possible explanation.
The Christmas song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas, has strong liturgical ties to the Catholic and the Anglican church which is my church, the Episcopal church. I cherish the celebratory nature of stretching the Christmas season out for twelve days instead of one day only. I mean, we work so hard preparing for it, it should be more than twenty-four hours!
“The 12 days of Christmas is the period that in
Christian theology marks the span between the birth of Christ and the coming of
the Magi, the three wise men. It begins on December 25 (Christmas) and runs
through January 6 (the Epiphany, sometimes also called Three Kings’ Day).”
https://www.vox.com/2015/12/25/10661878/12-days-of-christmas-explained
Another explanation for this song is based in the Catholic church: “The Twelve Days of Christmas” was written in England as one of the “catechism songs” to help young Catholics learn the tenets of their faith – a memory aid, when to be caught with anything in *writing* indicating adherence to the Catholic faith could not only get you imprisoned, it could get you hanged, or shortened by a head – or hanged, drawn and quartered, a rather peculiar and ghastly punishment I’m not aware was ever practiced anywhere else. ” https://www.catholic.org/advent/advent.php?id=2
I love this song and idea that Christmas lasts for twelve days, so when the rest of the world takes down their decorations and folds away their favorite Christmas leggings, I continue enjoying my decorations twinkling and wearing my colorful Christmas outfits.
Here’s the
traditional words of this favorite song:
The 12 Days of Christmas
[image error]
On the first day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me:
A partridge in a pear tree.
[image error]
On the
second day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me:
Two turtle doves,
and a partridge in a pear tree.
[image error]
On the
third day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me:
Three french hens,
Two turtle doves,
and a partridge in a pear tree.
[image error]
On the
fourth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me:
Four calling birds,
Three french hens,
Two turtle doves,
and a partridge in a pear tree.
[image error]
On the fifth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me:
Five golden rings!
Four calling birds,
Three french hens,
Two turtle doves,
and a partridge in a pear tree.
[image error]
On the
sixth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me:
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings!
Four calling birds,
Three french hens,
Two turtle doves,
and a partridge in a pear tree.
[image error]
On the seventh day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me:
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings!
Four calling birds,
Three french hens,
Two turtle doves,
and a partridge in a pear tree.
[image error]
On the eighth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me:
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings!
Four calling birds,
Three french hens,
Two turtle doves,
and a partridge in a pear tree.
[image error]
On the
ninth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me:
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings!
Four calling birds,
Three french hens,
Two turtle doves,
and a partridge in a pear tree.
[image error]
On the
tenth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me:
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings!
Four calling birds,
Three french hens,
Two turtle doves,
and a partridge in a pear tree.
[image error]
On the
eleventh day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me:
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings!
Four calling birds,
Three french hens,
Two turtle doves,
and a partridge in a pear tree.
[image error]
On the
twelfth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me:
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings!
Four
calling birds,
Three french hens,
Two turtle doves,
and a partridge in a pear tree.
http://www.chiff.com/home_life/holiday/christmas/12-days-lyrics.htm
Listen to the traditional song for a moment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8
I live in New Mexico, so here’s a regional humorous take on this familiar song:
12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS LYRICS (NEW MEXICO STYLE)
[image error]
On the first day of Christmas, my
true love gave to me….
A roadrunner in a piñon tree
[image error]
On the second day of Christmas,
my true love gave to me…
Red and Green chiles
And roadrunner in a piñon tree.
[image error]
On the third day of Christmas, my
true love gave to me…
3 lift tickets
Red and green chile
And a roadrunner in a piñon tree
[image error]
On the fourth day of Christmas,
my true love gave to me…
Four hot air balloons
3 lift tickets
Red and green chile
And a roadrunner in a piñon tree
[image error]
On the fifth day of Christmas, my
true love gave to me…
5 turquoise rings!
4 hot air balloons
3 lift tickets
Red and green chile
And a roadrunner in a piñon tree
[image error]
On the sixth day of Christmas, my
true love gave to me…
6 sopaipillas
5 turquoise rings!
4 hot air balloons
3 lift tickets
Red and green chile
And a roadrunner in a piñon tree
[image error]
On the seventh day of Christmas,
my true love gave to me…
7 bowls posole
6 sopaipillas
5 turquoise rings!
4 hot air balloons
3 lift tickets
Red and green chile
And a roadrunner in a piñon tree
[image error]
On the eighth day of Christmas,
my true love gave to me…
8 bright red ristras
7 bowls posole
6 sopaipillas
5 turquoise rings!
4 hot air balloons
3 lift tickets
Red and green chile
And a roadrunner in a piñon tree
[image error]
On the ninth day of Christmas, my
true love gave to me…
9 margaritas
8 bright red ristras
7 bowls posole
6 sopaipillas
5 turquoise rings!
4 hot air balloons
3 lift tickets
Red and green chile
And a roadrunner in a piñon tree
[image error]
On the 10th day of Christmas, my
true love gave to me…
10 pork tamales
9 margaritas
8 bright red ristras
7 bowls posole
6 sopaipillas
5 turquoise rings!
4 hot air balloons
3 lift tickets
Red and green chile
And a roadrunner in a piñon tree
[image error]
On the 11th day of Christmas, my
true love gave to me…
11 biscochitos
10 pork tamales
9 margaritas
8 bright red ristras
7 bowls posole
6 sopaipillas
Five turquoise rings!
Four hot air balloons
3 lift tickets
Red and green chile
And a roadrunner in a piñon tree
[image error]
On the 12th day of Christmas, my
true love gave to me…
12 farolitos
11 bisochitos
10 pork tamales
9 margaritas
8 bright red ristras
7 bowls posole
6 sopaipillas
5 turquoise rings!
4 hot air balloons
3 lift tickets
Red and green chile
And a roadrunner in a piñon tree…
https://www.newmexico.org/nmmagazine/articles/post/12dayschristmas-79060/
Take this information to heart and keep celebrating Christmas until January 6 this year, and you will be in the real spirit of Christmas, then next year when you first hear this Christmas carol, remember my blog and plan on twelve days of celebrations.
[image error]
~ NEW
Christmas Chapbook—A
Colorado Country Christmas—Full
color paperback chapbook or digital version. Visit my Etsy Shop, Larada’s
Reading Loft to purchase: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaradasReadingLoft
~40% OFF END OF THE YEAR SALE–All Digital Copies of my books are yours at a reduced price. PRICE GOOD UNTIL JANUARY 5, 2020. https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaradasReadingLoft
~30% OFF END OF THE YEAR SALE-All Paper Copies discounted until January 6, 2020. https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaradasReadingLoft
~Whitey & Gladys Puerling were playful friends of Flippo’s
who created a Fan Club. I thought it would be fun to recreate this group. Would
you like to join the Marshall Flippo Fan Club Facebook page? Read interesting
posts about Flippo’s life. https://www.facebook.com/groups/328325644382769/
~I HAVE
OVER 200 PRE-ORDERS FOR THE MARSHALL FLIPPO BIOGRAPHY!
You, too, can pre-order this amazing story? You can select which paper format
or e-book format you would like. Go here to order the version you want. Monthly
SWAG Giveaways! https://goo.gl/forms/4D4hwbHdme1fvJc42
The post Why Celebrate Twelve Days of Christmas? appeared first on Larada Horner-Miller, Author.
December 22, 2019
How about our Christmas Letter?
One of my favorite Christmas traditions is writing our annual letter. Here’s our Christmas letter–enjoy!
[image error]
[image error]
~ NEW Christmas Chapbook—A Colorado Country Christmas—Full color paperback chapbook or digital version. Visit my Etsy Shop, Larada’s Reading Loft to purchase: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaradasReadingLoft
~40% OFF END OF THE YEAR SALE–All Digital Copies of my books are yours at a reduced price. https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaradasReadingLoft
~Whitey & Gladys Puerling were playful friends of Flippo’s
who created a Fan Club. I thought it would be fun to recreate this group. Would
you like to join the Marshall Flippo Fan Club Facebook page? Read interesting
posts about Flippo’s life. https://www.facebook.com/groups/328325644382769/
~I HAVE
OVER 200 PRE-ORDERS FOR THE MARSHALL FLIPPO BIOGRAPHY!
You, too, can pre-order this amazing story? You can select which paper format
or e-book format you would like. Go here to order the version you want. Monthly
SWAG Giveaways! https://goo.gl/forms/4D4hwbHdme1fvJc42
The post How about our Christmas Letter? appeared first on Larada Horner-Miller, Author.
December 18, 2019
Do You Own a Pet?
The answer for me is a resounding “Yes.” I rescued a Siamese silver tip cat ten years ago, and his name is Jesse. At the time, I was going through a divorce from my third husband. We had a dog I loved, and the Ex got the dog, so I yearned for a pet.
Petless, I floundered. Friends said I needed to get a cat instead of a dog because I traveled a lot and they’re easier to leave. One afternoon, one of my colleagues who pushed this idea repeatedly, called me and said, “Where are you?”
“I’m leaving a training and will be back at the office in about thirty minutes.”
She proclaimed, “Your cat is here!”
When I got there, she ushered me out a side door outside, and I saw this compassionate lady’s work: she had food and water out. She lured the cat with treats out of the bushes, and I was smitten.
The night before I had left the office late after doing a teacher’s training, and as I closed my door, I heard that eerie Siamese cry. I stopped to see where it was coming from, but it stopped, so I went home. I guess it was this cat.
But wait a minute! As an adult, I had never owned a cat! I was a dog person! I have had dogs my whole adult life—a cat??
We admired this sad, scared animal. She urged me, “Take him home tonight!”
My immediate response, “No, way! I’ve got to think about it,” so I went home catless, and felines ran through my dreamed all night.
After my restless night, I succumbed the next day, and this enthusiastic cat lady helped me buy a litter-box, scoop and cat food, and home I went with my new companion. I named him, Jesse, a name I was almost given as a child.
After he settled down and l examined him, I realized he had recently been cared for and wasn’t a stray. I waited until Saturday and took him to VetCo to see if he was chipped. He was! The veterinarian called the chip place, got the owner’s name and called them, then they called me and relinquished ownership of him to me! Jesse was officially mine.
Over the years, Jesse has been an angel for sure. He has made me laugh. He used to like to do late night antics after the lights went out like throwing my shoes around the bedroom and walking all over me.
Since Lin and I married, he’s not allowed in the bedroom because Lin has cat allergies, so needless to say, Jesse doesn’t wake me up with those crazy cat behaviors, but he loves to meow first thing in the morning! Lin and Jesse have a meow fest to start the day!
At first, Jesse wasn’t a lap kitty which I preferred, but I had shoulder surgery in 2012, and his instinct told him I needed extra love and care, so now he takes up residence in my lap anytime I’m relaxing in front of the TV, and I love it. In fact, he’s such a habitual kitty, he parks himself on the arm of our loveseat in anticipation of TV time.
In 2015, Jesse was diagnosed with feline diabetes. He was so sick at the time. Normally he weighed around 20 pounds—fat cat, but he lost down to 13 pounds! At first, we changed his food to diabetic cat food and that helped some, but then the vet added insulin and now has increased the dosage to 3 units twice a day.
As Lin and I prepared for future travel plans next year, I texted my pet sitter about watching him. She is so conscientious about Jesse’s care. She related her concern about me leaving him during the winter with the possibility of a snowstorm and her not able to get him his insulin shot! Wow! So, we’re coming up with contingency plans. What an awesome pet sitter for sure!
[image error]Jesse Curled Up & Sleeping!
I love this 16-year-old senile fat cat! He’s gained up to over 16 pounds now, and we have managed his diabetes. He’s aging before my eyes, sleeps curled up in a favorite place and moves slower. He loves the sunshine and follows it wherever it is during the morning. He’s just precious! I’m a committed pet owner through and through!
What are your feelings about pets? Cats? Dogs?
[image error]
~ NEW Christmas Chapbook—A
Colorado Country Christmas—Full color paperback chapbook or
digital version. Visit my Etsy Shop, Larada’s Reading Loft to purchase: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaradasReadingLoft
~Whitey & Gladys Puerling were playful
friends of Flippo’s who created a Fan Club. I thought it would be fun to recreate
this group. Would you like to join the Marshall Flippo Fan Club Facebook page?
Read interesting posts about Flippo’s life. https://www.facebook.com/groups/328325644382769/
~I HAVE OVER 200 PRE-ORDERS FOR THE MARSHALL FLIPPO
BIOGRAPHY! You, too, can pre-order this amazing story? You can select
which paper format or e-book format you would like. Go here to order the
version you want. Monthly SWAG Giveaways! https://goo.gl/forms/4D4hwbHdme1fvJc42
The post Do You Own a Pet? appeared first on Larada Horner-Miller, Author.
December 15, 2019
Christmas Traditions or Not?
Do you have repeated Christmas traditions in your family? We did—my Mom, Dad and I! During my lifetime, I often helped Dad shopped for Mom’s Christmas gift over the years, but this one was special.
[image error]Mom & Me in the mid-1980’s
In the mid-1980’s, Dad asked me to pick out a dress alike for Mom and me and started a tradition that continued while he was alive and after he died for seventeen years until Mom’s death.
Any time we wore of outfits alike with Dad, his chest swelled, and he smiled a lot and made a point of letting everyone around him know the history of this tradition—he was so proud!
When Dad died, Mom whispered to me in her grief, “You don’t have to buy our look-alike outfits for Christmas anymore.” We both sobbed. I shook my head, and I never wavered. I continued this heartfelt idea.
Our first outfit was a dress, then during the years Dad was alive I bought us dresses. After he died, I bought us a variety of outfits: slacks and sweaters, warm-up suits and dresses. One problem I faced when I bought slacks was my Mom’s height. She was short; I’m short, too, but she was shorter. So, I always had to buy her petite size slacks so she didn’t have to cut them off. Often that forced me to have to look hard for outfits in two different departments or I would buy petite for me and just deal with shorter slacks than I preferred!
So, we wore
our outfits together proudly and often explained why we were dressed alike. We always
gave Dad the credit for starting this tradition.
When Mom passed away, getting rid of our look-alike outfits broke my heart! I couldn’t imagine seeing them on someone else. Then I had a brainstorm! I shipped them off to a girlfriend in Virginia, wanting her to have them, and I didn’t have to see them again. In fact, those outfits were the first of Mom’s clothes to go!
I did continue wearing mine, celebrating the connection to Mom. This tradition blessed my heart for many years. Do you have anything like it in your family? Share yours with me!
[image error]
~ NEW Christmas Chapbook—A
Colorado Country Christmas—Full color paperback chapbook or
digital version. Visit my Etsy Shop, Larada’s Reading Loft to purchase: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaradasReadingLoft
~Whitey & Gladys Puerling were playful
friends of Flippo’s who created a Fan Club. I thought it would be fun to
recreate this group. Would you like to join the Marshall Flippo Fan Club
Facebook page? Read interesting posts about Flippo’s life. https://www.facebook.com/groups/328325644382769/
~I HAVE OVER 200 PRE-ORDERS FOR THE MARSHALL FLIPPO
BIOGRAPHY! You, too, can pre-order this amazing story? You can select
which paper format or e-book format you would like. Go here to order the
version you want. Monthly SWAG Giveaways! https://goo.gl/forms/4D4hwbHdme1fvJc42
The post Christmas Traditions or Not? appeared first on Larada Horner-Miller, Author.
