Two Loveland Girlfriends Celebrated: After 40 Years!

March 17, 2024January 4, 2025 Larada Horner-MillerLeave a comment

Sherrie, Larada and Lynn on a Zoom meeting - Loveland — Sherrie, Larada and Lynn on a Zoom meeting

Two Loveland girlfriends continue to be a part of my life forty years later! I continue with my Women’s History Month focus. We meet once a month on Zoom, and yesterday we met and I interviewed them for this blog post! Here they are: Lynn Hafer and Sherrie Crandal!

Loveland Friend, Lynn Hafer

Lynn and Larada in Loveland in 2018 — Lynn & Larada Smiling in 2018

Lynn and I met in 1979 when my first husband and I moved to Loveland, Colorado. She worked at a real estate office part time and greeted us warmly. She worked full time as a lab tech. Being hospitable, Lynn asked us about any church affiliation. We told her we had already connected with the priest at All Saints, the Episcopal church there. Excited, she said, “That’s where I go!” And from then on, I saw her weekly and our friendship grew.

Later that year, my first husband and I planned a trip to Mexico, and because of her extensive travel experience, Lynn guided us in our first international trip and a second one later—wise suggestions that helped me a lot then and I continue to use to this day.

After my first divorce, Lynn and I became travel partners, venturing to the Mexican Yucatan peninsula several times. From my first sight of Mayan ruins, I was hooked! After our trips to several sites there—Cobá, Chicken Itza, and Tulum, we decided to visit the biggest Mayan ruin in Guatemala in Tikal which was our last international trip!

That trip turned out to be a trip of a lifetime! On the first leg of the trip, we flew into Guatemala City and caught a boat out to Cay Caulker to spend a relaxing week on the island, snorkeling and enjoying the tropical setting. Then we rode the Batty Brothers Bus service from Guatemala City to catch a plane to Tikal. The oversized ruins overwhelmed the jungle and delighted us so.

Lynn Goofing around on top of Tikal, Guatemala — Larada on top of Tikal, Guatemala

(This afternoon, I grabbed my photo album of our Guatemala trip and would have shared more photos, but the snow has blocked our StarLink connection and I can’t scan them!)

After each trip, we came home with hilarious stories and experiences, like the time we added an ex-nun and ex-priest who married to our entourage to go see Chicken Itza. At that time, Mexico had a gas shortage, and he tried to help us siphon some gas and sucked on the hose too hard and ingested gas—Ugh!

During our first trip to Mexico, Lynn taught me how to compromise. We ended up at Playa del Carmen when we thought we were going to be in Cancun. Some experienced travelers advised us to rent a car in Cancun and enjoy that side of the peninsula, so we did! I desperately wanted to go Chicken Itza, but we had received some advice from locals not to drive the “short cut” there because of “the banditos,” but we were running out of time. The longer route would take more time. Lynn showed me how to weigh the pros and cons, to be honest about what I wanted and to compromise! I had never experienced anything like that in my young life (I was about 28-30 years old at the time).

On our last trip in 1990, we did a “Tony Hillerman” tour of Arizona and New Mexico, camping out at the Grand Canyon and Canyon de Chelly. What a time we had!

Yesterday, Lynn shared a story about me talking in my sleep on many of our trips, but sited one particular event. I raised up in bed and told her there was someone in the room. She told me no there wasn’t and to go back to sleep—and I did!

Lynn has two sons, and I have been especially close to her youngest, Chris, who joined our conversation yesterday!

Lynn and I stayed connected over the years with her a regular at two of my weddings: to Mike in 1992 and to Lin in 2011 when she was one of my bride maids. In 2011, we introduced Lynn to square dancing at our wedding and she went home and started lessons!

Larada, Lin, Lynn & Mom in Branson - Loveland — Larada, Lin, Lynn & Mom in Branson

When Lynn joined me in Branson, Colorado, it was always a treat and Mom loved her dearly. Over the years, I stopped in at her home in Loveland traveling with my ex-husband and his family, with Mom on a couple of trips and with Lin! Lynn’s hospitality always welcomed me back.

Loveland Friend, Sherrie Crandal

In 1982, I went back to school at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado to become a teacher. I bought a mobile home with two extra bedrooms. My God provided me with the best roommates in Sherrie Crandal and her son, Aaron that year.

We met at All Saints Episcopal church and became fast friends. Not having children, I wondered about taking in a woman with a youngster as a roommate. It turned out to be an amazing blessing.

Christmas 1982, I had strep throat really bad, and we planned to go home to Branson. So, Sherrie drove, and I watched a horrible snowstorm following us down the front range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. The storm hit after we arrived, so we celebrated a beautiful, white Christmas. Dad thoroughly enjoyed taking them out on the ranch in the snow.

Aaron & Sherrie in Branson for Christmas in 1982 - Loveland — Aaron & Sherrie in Branson for Christmas in 1982

Sherrie remembered all the food Mom had prepared for just us! And I remember Sherrie getting up Christmas Eve morning and making a Christmas Tree Coffee Cake to die for!

She reminded me of a party I hosted with my international friends from the university with no alcohol and what a great time it was!

Sherrie and Aaron stayed with me for about two years, and this living arrangement helped us both financially and emotionally. I was recently divorced and hurting. They were new to Loveland, and being a single mom, she needed the financial help too. Sherrie and Aaron repeatedly filled my home with love and laughter. They went to Branson with me to visit my folks, and we enjoyed dancing at Branson dances. They left Loveland in 1990 for Arizona to live near her mother.

When I married Mike in 1992, Sherrie and Aaron came from Arizona to the wedding in Albuquerque, but we lost contact for almost thirty years. I sent her my yearly Christmas letter and card, but we had no conversations about major life events.

During those absent thirty years, Sherrie got her teaching degree in early childhood development and a masters degree in special education.

Then the pandemic hit! Because Lin and I took the shelter-in-place mandate seriously, we isolated here in our mountain home. The isolation set me to thinking about key people in my life I had lost contact with, and Sherrie came to mind. So, I emailed her about doing a Zoom meeting.

After our first one, which was full of ohs and ahs about our lives, we added Lynn Hafer and the three of us have met monthly since 2020! During each gathering, we updated each other on our lives. We laugh a lot. We share titles of books we’re reading, and we love each other.

I’ve known both of these amazing women for over forty years. Yesterday, when they were sharing stories about our lives together for this blog, we laughed—I grabbed my face and shrieked at some of those memories I had forgotten. Forty years, they have known me and loved me.

Finally, Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you! I hope you celebrated your Irish heritage today, even if you have none! And remember to celebrate all of your friends, especially those who have known you through thick and thin, like my two Loveland girlfriends!

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Is a Nativity Set Important?

December 12, 2021January 4, 2025 Larada Horner-Miller6 Comments

Stained Glass Nativity Set — Stained Glass Nativity

Nativity sets, trees, lights—what’s your favorite Christmas decoration? Mine is my Nativity collection that I feature on a buffet with white lights, and I want to share why I think it’s an important part of my Christmas decorations.

The Nativity is what Christmas is about—Jesus’ birth is the centerpiece with Mary and Joseph by his side. Three Wisemen bring their gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh. Shepherds kneel close to the Christ Child in humble adoration. And an Angel stands near Jesus glorifying his birth.

I have a fun collection of Nativity sets I’ve gathered over the years I’d like to share with you.

The Beginning to My Nativity Collection

The oldest one I have is a mobile I made in the 70s that I turned into a mobile we hang each year. I also made a set of three Wiseman candle holders made of plaster craft. I had them set up on the mantel one Christmas and a wreath fell off the wall above them and knocked two of them off, injuring them slightly. So, I’ve kept them and loved them every year.

In my early travels to Mexico in the 70s, I noticed a beautiful blue pottery and bought a cup, saucer and plate early on. On another trip, I bought a beautiful pitcher. I found out today on the internet this pottery is called Tonala blue pottery. In the 80s, I bought a fourteen-piece Nativity set of this blue pottery. I place in the center of my collection every year. From an older set, I add some animals to fill it out.

I remember bringing that set home in a carry-on bag. Carefully, I wrapped each piece and worked hard to make sure nothing broke. They arrived safe and in one piece.

More Additions

So slowly over the years, I’ve added to my collection. I have a Native American set, a music box, a Peruvian candleholder, and a small happy kids’ set. In 2020, I picked up a small set in Spain that looks very Gaudí!

Why do I gather a multi-ethnic Nativity sets? Jesus was a dark-skinned middle East man, yet many people only see him as they are—whatever the color of their skin! His nationality doesn’t matter; therefore, He can be a Native American, a Mexican, a middle easterner, or an American!

More Additions — My Outside Nativity Set

I’ll end with one more Nativity set—our outside set I inherited from my parents. I love looking out our kitchen window and seeing it lit up every night on our patio.

Finally,

Here’s one of my favorite Christmas saying, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” That’s why I set up my collection each year—to honor who this holiday is about!

Do you put up a Nativity set? What do you think?

Here’s Christmas greetings from Flippo & Neeca, featuring his song, “When Its Christmas Time in Texas”: https://youtu.be/mpJCUGffU3A

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Costa Rica · Ireland & England · My Thoughts · Scotland · Spain · Travel

World Explorer—Why I do it!

August 22, 2021January 4, 2025 Larada Horner-Miller3 Comments

World exploring and its wonders! Souvenirs, pictures, reminisces of fun-filled travels remind me daily of my experiences in this big beautiful world. Because of the pandemic, we canceled our travel plans for later in 2020 and have nothing planned for 2021. So today, I wondered why I love to travel so much. The packing and planning put many people off, but I enjoy every part of a trip.

I grew up in a small rural ranching community fifty miles from the nearest doctor and grocery store. I lived in a small town though, but the world out there seemed so big and unattainable, beyond the prairies and canyons of southeastern Colorado. Granddad Horner subscribed to the National Geographic magazine, and I thumbed through each issue, mesmerized by that world out there and its mysteries. I blushed at the foreign women’s bare chests, yet yearned to see that world.

Granddad and Grandma Horner took annual vacations touring the United States, and I relished their slide show of pictures from places I dreamed about in the United States—the Grand Canyon, Bullhead City and so much more.

My dad, a high school graduate and world thinker, read voraciously and kept educated about world matters so much so I gave him a globe for Christmas one year so he could find that faraway country he’d read about.

Little girl pointing at a world globe — Little girl holding index finger on Earth globe

So, I inherited a large worldview, bigger than Colorado, bigger than the United States. My first husband and I discovered Mexico: Mazatlán and the Yucatan peninsula in the 70s, when tourist hadn’t discovered both areas yet. When I saw my first Mayan Indian ruin, I felt captivated by the mystery, and I was hooked.

After we divorced, I traveled with a girlfriend back to the Yucatan peninsula to see many more Mayan Indian ruins and then on to Tikal in Guatemala, the Mecca of Mayan Indian ruins to me.

Then in 1999, Mom and I took our first European trip to do an Eastern Europe tour, basically to find her lost grandfather who had immigrated into the United States, but we had no record of his entrance here. That trip opened me up to a larger world—the wonders of eastern Europe with so many historical sites and cities.

In Berlin, we looked in a phone book for Mom’s granddad’s last name, Ulbig, and found several names listed. Neither of us spoke enough German to call any of our possible relatives. So, we tore that page out of the phone book, and that became Mom’s favorite souvenir of our trip. I cried during our tour of Auschwitz, the infamous concentration camp, a horrible example of man’s inhumanity against man. I will never forget that sight.

In 2001, my third husband and I drove the Can-American highway in our RV to Alaska. What an adventure that was! We saw Denali, Alaska’s tallest mountain, usually shrouded in clouds. We took a small airplane ride up to a glacier and walked around on it, surrounded by absolute white.

During our years together, we toured the United States in an RV, dancing and sightseeing all over the United States. We went up the west coast in 2003, promoting a national festival. We traveled to the Midwest and east—so many adventures.

In 2007, I joined the cruising world doing an inside passage tour to Alaska on a square dance cruise. I feel in love with cruising.

My present husband and I love to travel and see the world. We have taken several cruises—what a relaxing vacation they are. On one, we went through the Panama Canal and marveled at that amazing engineering feat.

In 2017, we traveled to England and Ireland. Lin drove in both countries and we had a delightful time. In Ireland, we saw the Cliffs of Moher, enjoyed dancing in Irish pubs and enjoyed staying in bed and breakfasts. While visiting England, we based ourselves in London, alternating between a tour one day and a free day the next. In London, we visited the British Museum, realizing we could have spend days there. We saw Stonehenge on a tour but were so rushed; I didn’t buy one souvenir there. We saw a Broadway play, Les Misérables, on the West End, and Lin vowed never to attend a play in the USA again since the production was so outstanding.

In January 2020, we went to Costa Rica with my husband, Lin’s ex-wife who is Costa Rican. The group was small, only twelve! She knew everyone in the group; we knew her, her husband and one other couple. Lin had told me repeatedly he wanted me to see Costa Rica. We had stopped at a Costa Rican port on one of our cruises, but his ex-wife shuddered when he told her where. She said it wasn’t a great example of Costa Rica. On our tour with her, we saw animals galore, ate delicious food and saw many gorgeous sites. I saw a quetzal bird in the jungle, a bird I had heard about thirty years before on the Yucatan peninsula.

At the end of February 2020, we went to Spain with twelve square dance friends and fell in love with Spain. We saw several major Spanish cities, starting in Barcelona and ending up in Madrid. We traveled through Don Quixote land, and I could see him mounted on his trusty stead, Rocinante, a long side his trusty companion, Sancho Panza.

So why do I enjoy traveling so much? I love seeing that world Granddad and Dad introduced me to so many years ago. When I stand at a site like Strafford-on-the Avon, Shakespeare’s home, I can’t believe this little country girl is there. The tour guide hugged me there as I cried. She remarked, “I wish all people responded like you.”

In my travels, the big world has shrunk, because I now know people in Scotland, Ireland and England. We sat and chatted, and I realized we have the same hopes and dreams—we’re really all the same.

In March of this year, Lin got a little cabin fever and had received several brochures promoting cruises next year. So, we signed up for two cruises in 2022 and one for 2023. The first one next year is a Transatlantic cruise going from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Barcelona, Spain. Our next one goes through the Mediterranean. And in 2023, we travel to Japan.

In conclusion, I travel to discover what’s out there—my dad used to look at a side dirt road going up over a hill and out of view. He always commented, “I wonder where that goes!” Obviously, I inherited his wanderlust, but he never traveled outside the United States, so I do it for him.

Do you like to travel? What is your favorite travel memory? Why do you travel? (Scroll down below to make a comment!)

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My Thoughts · poetry · Travel

Haunted by a Favorite Poem of Mine

July 25, 2021January 4, 2025 Larada Horner-Miller4 Comments

Larada at the top of Uxmal, 1991 - Haunted by Coba — Larada at the top of Uxmal, 1991

Thirty-five years ago, I wrote a poem after my memorable adventure in Cobá, Mexico, in the summer of 1985. Laying solemnly unattended in a folder on my computer, it has haunted me over the years. Today, I recalled my surreal experience when I wrote the poem, remembering the physical parts of the Cobá experience, and then the magic I added.

In 1986, also, I was finishing up my coursework at Colorado State University. We studied magical realism in my Spanish classes, looking at the works of Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel García Márquez. This genre fascinated me—reality with a dash of magic.

So, what is magical realism:

Magical realism is a genre of literature that depicts the real world as having an undercurrent of magic or fantasy. Magical realism is a part of the realism genre of fiction.

Within a work of magical realism, the world is still grounded in the real world, but fantastical elements are considered normal in this world. Like fairy tales, magical realism novels and short stories blur the line between fantasy and reality.
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-magical-realism#what-is-magical-realism

For several years, the Mayan culture and the Yucatán peninsula captured my attention, so I visited many Mayan Indian ruins there: Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Tulum, and Cobá. During tours at each ruin, I took copious notes. I bought several books and read about the Mayans, their culture and beliefs and absorbed details.

During our 1985 trip to Cobá, much of it lay overgrown with heavy jungle vegetation. Lynn Hafer, my travel companion and I stayed at a Club Med hotel nearby, but it wasn’t a “Swinging Singles’” Club Med infamous at the time but a research facility with a full library and a quiet, somber setting. Because of its remote location, the Mexican government had not commercialized Cobá yet, so what a raw jungle experience we had!

In 1991 I continued my Mayan treks. To celebrate my completion of my master’s degree, Lynn and I went to Guatemala to one of the largest Mayan Indian ruins, Tikal, a dream come true for this Mayan ruin lover. However, my experience, noted in this poem at Cobá, regularly surfaced and haunted me, so I thought I’d share it with you. In looking at it today, I felt the call to revise!

Cobá—I Was there!!

Written – March, 1986

Revised – July 25, 2021

The year was 1985.

Walking down an overgrown jungle path with my friend,
	toucan birds squeak above my head
                nestled in the canopy.
A turn in the road, thick over-growth blocks the sun 
        for a minute.
		Shadows, sounds, smells--
			transported me back to 900 A.D.
      
A shiver pierces my soul.
I stare at crumbled ruins
        while an iguana lazily poses on a low step,
	       large but approachable.
Colorful in dress, Mayans step out 
        of the past and the bushes,
	       brush my arm.

I strain to see their faces 
        and 
               to hear their voices.
Is it real?

The bees buzz in the tops of the
        Trees among the orchids that
	       Decorate the canopy
		        With their color.
The bees’ hum above
	Joins the voices below.

Where am I?  
When?  
       With whom?
               A step back in time, yet caught between
                        Two worlds—then and now!

Had I been here before?
       At this spot,
       Centuries before,
              Standing at the foot of this Temple, 
                        surrounded by my fellow Mayans, 	    	    	        
              Worshipping the god "Chac" and 	   	    	    	    	
              Listening to the familiar
	    	    	Squeak of birds
                               and the laughter of howling monkeys.
   
The smell of Copal, sweet incense, fills the air
      The mingled 
             Odor of honey and grain,
                       My sacrifice to my god.
A bright fire illumines the scene
      With reflections and smoke.

The drums beat—beat—beat a familiar steady cadence.
      Draw me to them.
The Mayan priests chant—chant—chant soft sounds that join the 	    	    		
      Bass beat of the drums.   
The Mayan language a mystery to me,
      Yet I know it’s deep meaning.
I sway to the beat—the chant.
      It vibrates in my soul calling me forth
              Through the ages,
                      Past time’s illusive barrier!

Dark bronze skins glisten in the firelight.
      Brown eyes search our faces for safety.
             Flat heads surprise me with their symmetry.
I marvel at the feathery headdresses with multiple colorful gowns.	  
      I join the celebration,
             The ceremony!  

Small sturdy people crowd around me, 
      Greet me in a soft rhythmic tongue.
            Gently, friendly—a spark shines in
                     Their eyes with recognition!

THEY KNOW ME!  I'm among my own.  I'm home!!!

But it can’t be!
      I grew up in Colorado
            Not Mexico
	    Not centuries ago
	    Not Mayan

"Did you hear that?  What was that?" my friend grabs
      My arm.


TRANSPORTED
     BACK
            TO REALITY, or is it?  
I'm back—1985.
	    
The summer's heat presses in,
     The sun's scorching heat
           Eerie sounds and hums flow 
                   Through the air.
Eerie, yet familiar.

I strain to hear it better
     To hear the beat of the past
          To see those familiar brown eyes.
	    	    	    	    
I want to return!
     But can I?

Déjà vu? A poem capturing my experience or a fictional treatment? I can’t explain what happened that day so many years ago, but I know it was surreal. My poetry helped me express what I felt, not exactly what I saw. When I wrote the poem, the total experience happened. For years, this poem haunted me with its expression of possibility. I believe there’s unexplainable mystery in this world. Maybe that’s why I am attracted to the genre of magical realism and the chance that I witnessed a Mayan ceremony so many centuries ago.

A mystery happened this afternoon. I planned to use pictures from that 1985 trip to Cobá, but I couldn’t find my photo album. I found pictures from our second trip to Cobá 1986. Historically, I take lots of pictures on any trip—what happened to that album? Another puzzle added here—I wonder?

Have you ever had an unexplainable experience like mine? What happened? How did you honor it and record it? (Scroll below to make a comment)