Day 14 – International Flower & Coffee Festival: Why I Missed Day 13

January 14, 2026January 14, 2026 Larada Horner-MillerLeave a comment

International Flower & Coffee Festival entrance

Yesterday Lin and I attended the much-anticipated International Flower & Coffee Festival, Fería de las Flores y del Cafe Internacional, in Boquete, Panamá. To our delight, it exceeded our expectations. That’s why I missed Day 13 in the Ultimate Blog Challenge. Maybe this post will make up for it—I hope so! Here’s what happened!

What Happened Unexpectedly Beforehand

We had planned to get up early and be gone by 8:00 AM to deal with the parking issues in Boquete because of the crowd for the festival. Neither Lin nor I slept well the night before, but Lin woke up not feeling well. Another part of our plan was to stay at a hotel in Boquete overnight to answer the parking issue and make it all easier. So, I canceled the reservation and luckily wasn’t charged for it.

A Change in Plans

As the day progress, Lin felt better so we altered our plans and went into town at 2:00 PM, a much shorter version of the original plan. When we got there, we headed to the parking lot near the hotel, but the road was blocked, so we moved over one street and ended up in the parking lot of the Tap Out, a local bar, right on the edge of the fairground, the fería.

Surprisingly, there won’t many cars in the lot, but I didn’t want to just park and have a problem later with the owner. So, I went inside and offered to pay to park. The man on duty said, “It’s $5 and if you come back to eat, I will give you your money back.”

International Flower and Coffee Festival

Happily, away we went! I approached one of the ticket counters and showed my e-cedula, a national ID card, and we paid $1.25 per person to enter the grounds. Along with the entrance ticket, each ticket had an raffle ticket to win a car! When we entered the grounds, the woman at the gate told us to look for the green building to enter the drawing—we found it!

Entrance ticket into Festival - International

We spent the rest of the day there until 10:00 PM, enjoying the beautiful flowers, a coffee break, conversations with friends, the culture and live music! What an amazing experience.

My Pictures of the Flowers and Fun

The festival not only has beautiful flower gardens, but fun statutes like the pot flowing into the glass and a grass deer. Lin is sitting on a bench near a watermelon table and chairs!

Lin with Richar Huisa, artist and his daughter

Immediately, we found Richar Huisa’s studio, a dear friend of ours. He paints beautiful nature paintings of the area. He also features paintings of natives that catch your eye!

More Flowers and Fun

This fairground goes on and on with rich vibrant colors and fun statues like the parrots, flamingoes, and the peacock. It was Children’s Day, so kids got in free. Families celebrated this beautiful time together. It’s summertime here, so the kids are out of school. What a lovely way to spend the day as a family!

Lin loved Snap Dragons in his beautiful garden in Tijeras, New Mexico, so I had to capture this colorful bed of Snap Dragons. And Woody welcomed us! Another grass animal, a turtle, and Lin in front of the amazing sign for Boquete!

I wanted you to see the native dresses worn here and see the physical closeness of this lovely family.

The other picture shows vendors on the road into the fairgrounds. Once inside, there are many vendors available to sell you a variety of local specialities—shoes, hats, jewelry and toys for children.

Our Night time Fun—Music and Dancing

The fun didn’t stop! In the evening, we had front row seats for the two musical bands. The first one entertained us with an eight piece band and two singers. I loved the horn section.

Then the main attraction came on stage—Alejandro Torres y Las Estrellas Del Ritmo with a six piece band and three backup singers. Alejandro was the star of the night.

The crowd size grew and went crazy singing every word to his songs and taking pictures like the boy besides us. What I loved about this get-together reminded me of the dances I grew up with—people of all ages! Next to us stood the children above. In front of us sat a elderly women. It truly was an intergenerational experience! We need more of these!

And we got up and dance—the salsa! Here’s a sample of the wonderful music of the night and the proof of our dancing!

Finally,

this was our first year at the International Flower and Coffee Festival, and I’m pretty we’re going back another day before it ends January 18, so we have a couple days! What a memorable time we had!

Larada Horner-Miller - international — Take quiet time in a garden somewhere and read!

My Newest Books

Time Measured Out!: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #2 – $.99 for limited time

Is My Truth Universal?: A Woman’s Poetic Odyssey e-book – FREE

Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #1 – e-book or $3.99

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir e-book on sale for $1.99

Buy My Audio Books:

This Tumbleweed Landed

Let Me Tell You a Story

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Memoir Audiobook

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir audiobook cover

Day 12 – Instructions for Living a Life—Mary Oliver-Style!

January 12, 2026January 12, 2026 Larada Horner-Miller3 Comments

“Instructions for living a life:

Pay attention.

Be astonished.

Tell about it.”

~Mary Oliver, “Sometimes”

Mary Oliver’s Instructions for Living a Life resonated with my heart and soul the first time I read it. Because of that, I have quoted it at the beginning of both of my poetry books in the Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry series.

So I thought I’d share the Introduction to my new book, Time Measured Out!: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry.

Introduction With Instructions

Life’s all about paying attention and not letting the world pass you by. Some call it mindfulness. That’s a big order, but I see that’s what I did over the years with my poetry by being present and seeing the specifics in my life around me. Prior to writing poetry and taking note of my life, years escaped me! The poet arose in me, and this is what transpires: I write poetry when I’m happy, when I’m sad. I write about what’s important—and about what’s trivial.

And now you’re getting a peek into me. Not only am I sharing the vulnerability in my poetry, but in my life.

This is the second book of poetry in a five-book poetry series that chronicles my journey from 1986 to the present, showcasing both diﬃcult times and, ultimately, my most fulfilling era. It all changed at fifty-eight and my fourth marriage, but that’s much later, in book #5.

My first book in this series, Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, which covered my life in poetry from 1986 to 1998, won a Gold Award in the Global Book Awards and second place for poetry in the Next Best Reads Writing Contest, which felt so aﬃrming.

When I choose a title for my books, I consult my husband. I gave him the list of poems chronicling my life from 2000-2003, and he quickly came up with Time Measured Out. I love how this title captures not only the transformative time this was for me, but my playfulness in poetry, as well.

So much happened in the years this book covers, not just for me personally, but also globally. Because I worked as a middle school teacher, I did a lot of my writing during the summer, sitting in the passenger seat, my ex-husband driving down the road to the next square and round dance festival. The summers were my time to write, to travel, to get away from the crushing schedule of teaching, and to see our country near and far—and to dance!

Introduction Continues with Instructions

In 2000, my ex-husband, Ted, and I bought a Four Winds Majestic Flyer Class C motorhome in preparation for our 2001 road trip to Alaska on the Al-Can Highway. I dubbed the summer of 2000 “The Majestic Flyer Summer,” after our RV, as we tested it out while traveling to dance festivals.

We spent hours planning our Alaska trip, and my excitement grew as we prepared. We traveled north to the Canadian border then followed the Al-Can Highway from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, to Delta Junction, Alaska, via Whitehorse, Yukon. The rough uneven roads made it an adventure for me, but Ted as the driver grew tired of it. But our journey didn’t go how either of us expected. We broke up in Homer, Alaska in one of the most picturesque spots, the ocean surrounding us. Ted took me to Anchorage to my cousin, then I flew home, leaving him to drive the RV back.

After our breakup, I sought refuge at the Santuario de Chimayó for the second time, but how diﬀerent my experience was this time compared to my first visit in 1991 (see book #1)!

My ex-husband and I tried to resolve our diﬀerences for seven more years, but our reconciliation didn’t fare smoothly. We did have some good times sprinkled in, but it was mostly trouble, chaos, and agony. We struggled until 2008, and I share our final breakup in book #4. Amid this, I continued to turn to poetry to make sense of life—my writing comforted me and helped me survive, and survive I did!

Introduction & Instructions Ends

Though there’ve been deep struggles in my life, my positivity always weaves its way through. In this book, you’ll see me repeatedly struggle with my relationship with my ex-husband and how I viewed myself because of it—a dysfunctional relationship at its worst! Yet I bounced back, resilient. If you’ve had similar experiences, resilience saved our lives!

The book will draw near its end with poems I wrote in celebration of my niece for her thirtieth birthday and, lastly, a tribute to my mom. Ending this book with my thoughts about Mom brings a smile to my lips and an ache to my heart! Yes, Mom, you end this second book—so apropos!

Just a reminder! Someone wrote this comment in a review on Goodreads about Was It a Dream?: “There were a few places where these poems felt amateur. In some ways that adds to the charm, but I can’t help wanting to poke at them and try to use one of the many tools we have to make poetry more eﬀective.”

Please remember this poetry series dates back to 1986, and I didn’t polish any of the poems. I wanted you, the reader, to see my progression through the years as a poet. Refraining from “fixing” them felt risky, yet I committed myself and you to this journey. And, yes—it’s been hard!

Step into my world of poetry, and don’t look back. You might decide to grab a seat and linger or even stay.

Finally,

These three short lines of instructions have become my motto in life. I always want to remember them and be sure and adhere to them—otherwise, I lose essence of the life I’m living! My poetry will direct me!

Larada Horner-Miller - instructions — First I have to pay attention!

My Newest Books

Time Measured Out!: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #2 – $.99 for limited time

Is My Truth Universal?: A Woman’s Poetic Odyssey e-book – FREE

Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #1 – e-book or $3.99

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir e-book on sale for $1.99

Buy My Audio Books:

This Tumbleweed Landed

Let Me Tell You a Story

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Memoir Audiobook

Memories · MY LIFE · My Thoughts · Politics · Self-publishing

Day 11 – A New Year—Here’s My First Book, An Old Friend!

January 11, 2026January 11, 2026 Larada Horner-Miller4 Comments

We face a new year, so I want to acquaint or reacquaint you with my first book, This Tumbleweed Landed. Even though I published it eleven years ago, its message is timeless.

In Day 5 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge, I told you the back story of this book. Read it here: https://laradasbooks.com/2026/01/05/day-5-dont-wait/

Here’s a summary

I wrote This Tumbleweed Landed in 1992 or 1993 in a teacher’s workshop and then it sat on my computer—no really. It sat on a 3 1/2 disk from an older 2E computer. I returned to it after my mom died in 2013. After attending a writing workshop, I added some essays I wrote and published it in 2014, liking what the combination of poetry and prose did. The funny thing—this combination has become by trademark in most of my ten books!

In 2014, my husband, Lin, and I had a delightful day photographing the cover picture. It was a cold March day with the wind blowing as only it came on the prairie in southeastern Colorado. I wanted a picture of a tumbleweed stuck in the fence, so we headed east to our ranch. We took several pictures facing northeast, so I had several to choose from when I selected one for the cover. A serendipitous moment happened when I realized we had Mesa de Maya in the background, a notable volcanic mesa in our area that dates back to 1893.

My reaction

After I opened that first box of books and sold them, I reordered more, absolutely in shock! When I wrote and published this book, I thought it would sale to local friends and family only because it was about life in my hometown. But interested expanded. Being on Amazon, people easily bought it.

What made this book special

I love all of my ten books, but what made this book special besides being the first I published is a dear friend drew four original drawings for it. Jackie (JR) Gilstrap was the artist. When I asked him to do it, he said yes quickly—no second thought. He captured the thought and emotion of the poems he illustrated, so they add so much to this book. Here they are: https://laradasbooks.com/j-rs-drawings/

In a later book, A Time to Grow Up: A Daughter’s Grief (And Growth) Memoir, I had my niece illustrated that book. The idea came from my collaboration on my first book.

Recognition this book received

At the beginning of my writing career, I didn’t know to enter books into contests, but I joined the New Mexico Coop which met monthly. There I learned about the New Mexico-Arizona book awards. So, I entered my book in 2016 and became a New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards “Finalist” in one category: Biography (Other). When the banquet came around, Lin and I went all excited, and I was scared. I didn’t win, but the process taught me what to do, and I have followed in continuously. In fact, I have only not entered two of my books in this contest: the last one, Was It a Dream?, because of our move and Is My Truth Universal?: A Woman’s Poetic Odyssey because I use it for promoting this five-book series.

Finally,

A new year brings so many new things, but I thought revisiting a dear old friend was a great way to start the year.

Larada Horner-Miller - new year — Always be willing to visit an old friend!

PS – I have been participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge, posting a blog post every day the month of January. If you have missed the previous eleven, you can see the list here: https://laradasbooks.com/ultimate-blog-challenge-january-2026/

My Newest Books

Time Measured Out!: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #2 – $.99 for limited time

Is My Truth Universal?: A Woman’s Poetic Odyssey e-book – FREE

Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #1 – e-book or $3.99

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir e-book on sale for $1.99

Buy My Audio Books:

This Tumbleweed Landed

Let Me Tell You a Story

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Memoir Audiobook

MY LIFE · My Thoughts · Panama

Day 10 – Volcán Barú Tour With a 97 Year-Old Tour Guide!

January 10, 2026January 10, 2026 Larada Horner-Miller2 Comments

Today we toured the back side of Barú Volcano with Paul a 97-year-old geologist on the way to Volcan. What an explosion of information!

Started in Boquete

Twenty plus people rose early this Saturday morning to go on a much-anticipated tour with Dr. Paul Myers, retired geologist who just happens to be 97 years-old! Because of safety issues, they had to downsize the group by half because of stopping on roads with no shoulders. So several people agreed to go on the next tour!

Then we headed towards Volcan, down a windy road through the jungle. We had several stops where we gathered around Paul, Michael and Marteta, his assistances to hear his detailed description of the way the volcano had affected this area and their input. He described Volcano Barú, as “a half-ass volcano” because of the way the volcano cut away part of the mountain. Also, Paul let us know that it erupted every 400 years and we are now at 500, so watch out!

Geology Terminology

Immediately we learned about the lahar plain that extends all the way down to David. I had to learn geology terminology immediately.

Lahar plain is “also called a volcanic mudflow or debris flow. A mixture of water and volcanic debris that moves rapidly downstream. Consistency can range from that of muddy dishwater to that of wet cement, depending on the ratio of water to debris. They form in a variety of ways, chiefly by the rapid melting of snow and ice by pyroclastic flows, intense rainfall on loose volcanic rock deposits, breakout of a lake dammed by volcanic deposits, and as a consequence of debris avalanches.”

https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vsc/glossary/lahar.html

Another geological term I learned was debris avalanche, “Moving masses of rock, soil and snow that occur when the flank of a mountain or volcano collapses and slides downslope. As the moving debris rushes down a volcano and into river valleys, it incorporates water, snow, trees, bridges, buildings, and anything else in the way. Debris avalanches may travel several kilometers before coming to rest, or they may transform into more water-rich lahars, which travel many tens of kilometers downstream.

A debris avalanche rushes down the side of a volcano to the valley floor. Many such debris avalanches transform into lahars and travel tens of kilometers from the volcano. Typically, the scar created by the avalanche leaves a horseshoe shaped crater on volcano’s side.”

https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vsc/glossary/debris_avalanche.html

As we traveled to Volcan and stopped along the way, we saw evidence of both of these. Near the Cuesta de Piedra, we experienced a lahar plain on one side and a debris avalanche on the other.

Paul kept sharing so many details about how the volcano affected the area. He dazzled us with his unending knowledge and pleasant personality. I took notes on my iPhone, but they probably won’t mean as much to you as they do to me.

A Highlight

andecite rock - Volcán Barú — Sample of antecite rock

Paul told us the rock here is andecite which I had never heard of before. He showed us a sample and identified the different components of the rock. It looked so different from the lava rock I grew up with.

Paul’s Poetic Comments

Baru is a “half-ass volcano.”
You can read the landscape.
You need to geologize your vocabulary.
This scenery is telling its own history.
Give or take a million years!

For lunch, we stopped in Volcan and had a traditional Panamanian meal which I love. It cost about $5 a plate.

When we arrived below the Volcán Barú Parque Nacional, Paul slowed us down to listen to the quiet and enjoy the serenity and spirituality of the place—no loud music, no jet streams overhead, just peace and quiet. He encouraged all of us to return by ourselves and enjoy the place in a more solitary manner. A lonely tree grew out of a rock!

Volcán Barú Unclouded

After a short hike, we returned to the visitors’ center and took pictures of Volcán Barú, but the clouds covered the summit. But because we waited, the clouds moved on and I got this gorgeous picture. Here we stood at 6000 feet—Volcán Barú stands 11,000 feet at its summit.

Finally,

I grew up near Capulin Mountain, a volcano in northeastern New Mexico and had visited it often with family and visitors. It has a crater to go down into and the area is surrounded with lava rock, so different from Panamá. This all felt so familiar yet so different.

Now I live facing Volcán Barú with a magnificent view of it out our living room window—another volcano, but now I know so much more about this unique one. A delightful day with friends learning about the major figure in our area, Volcán Barú. Paul called him, grandfather-abuelo!

Larada - Volcán Barú — We all need to get outside more! Nature is calling!

My Newest Books

Time Measured Out!: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #2 – $.99 for limited time

Is My Truth Universal?: A Woman’s Poetic Odyssey e-book – FREE

Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #1 – e-book or $3.99

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir e-book on sale for $1.99

Buy My Audio Books:

This Tumbleweed Landed

Let Me Tell You a Story

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Memoir Audiobook

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Category: My Thoughts

Day 14 – International Flower & Coffee Festival: Why I Missed Day 13

What Happened Unexpectedly Beforehand

A Change in Plans

International Flower and Coffee Festival

My Pictures of the Flowers and Fun

More Flowers and Fun

Our Night time Fun—Music and Dancing

Finally,

My Newest Books

Buy My Audio Books:

Goodreads reviews for Coronavirus Reflections

Day 12 – Instructions for Living a Life—Mary Oliver-Style!

Introduction With Instructions

Introduction Continues with Instructions

Introduction & Instructions Ends

Finally,

My Newest Books

Buy My Audio Books:

Goodreads reviews for Coronavirus Reflections

Day 11 – A New Year—Here’s My First Book, An Old Friend!

Here’s a summary

My reaction

What made this book special

Recognition this book received

Finally,

My Newest Books

Buy My Audio Books:

Goodreads reviews for Coronavirus Reflections

Day 10 – Volcán Barú Tour With a 97 Year-Old Tour Guide!

Started in Boquete

Geology Terminology

A Highlight

Paul’s Poetic Comments

Volcán Barú Unclouded

Finally,

My Newest Books

Buy My Audio Books:

Goodreads reviews for Coronavirus Reflections