Little Horse Rides Again

Little Horse is traveling again this Christmas including stops in Missouri, Pennsylvania and then on to St. John's Newfoundland, Canada. Newfoundland represents a new place and I so much would like to have been with her. At least she is keeping me busy. I am happy newspapers are inviting her into the home of their readers this holiday season and do wish them all a happy holiday season. A few books of her story is being read and I appreciate that so much. Next year I will be working on illustration to include in her second story, Little Horse Wears Antlers.



Sorry I haven't entered more blogs for readers as I miss their messages and encouragement. In the next few weeks I am enjoying the holiday music and once we get out of our snow drifts I will do some christmas shopping. The snow is beautiful this morning as the sun appears and snowflakes gently fall across already crystal white in our winter garden. We are in Iowa, but believe me there are winter gardens and we have one. Snow hangs on the many grasses that stand taller than I and poke through swirling patterns of snow. I guess I'd better get the camera out and share some with you. This for another time soon.

Merry Christmas to you all and yours. Janice

Little White Christmas Horse

It time once again for Little Horse to make tracks into the homes and hearts of boys and girls once again. The little horse story is brought to readers for the past three years through a book, newspaper serials and an audio CD. You can find out about details of all this by visiting my website at www.janiceabel.com. Read or listen to excerpts.

What I am focusing on here is the audio CD and the great way I have found as a writer to not only get my story out but to improve and change my writing. Reading aloud really makes you articulate clearly and listening to yourself. It has really helped me in editing for clarity.

And it isn't hard to get a mini- recording studio set up. I found beside it being laborious, its fun! Using Audacity freeware - you can get it easily over the internet- plug in a mic if you don't already have one inhouse on your computer and you are off and ready to go.

Granted it can and still is frustrating for me at times, but Audacity has good instructions and support help. On Little Horse, I started out recording each chapter and found out where I needed to really articulate - "s's a's especially- word endings. Also I changed some of the text copy.

Once you get onto the basics of Audacity, it really has some easy but quite sophisticated features. It allows you to stop, go an then cut and paste. First off I put together a reading of each chapter and then added sound effects. Audacity allows you to have different tracks going on. I created voice track with several sound support tracks. You can cut and paste and move the sound effects around the track as you like. You can fade in out, change pitch even if you like. You mix them all at the last. I kept each original audacity track so I could go in and change details as I liked. For example, change a text phrase or two - extend the interval and add in a horse whinie as I wanted.

Creating sound effects was fun. For little horse, I found myself recording horse snorts etc at Waverly horse show- Many sound effects I found on the internet. I was very careful to use only those free to be use as public domain, as I did want to sell the CD. In most cases I ended up creating my own effects. For example, the shoes step clicking on the walk. the sleigh bells ringing.

At any rate I highly recommend reading and recording your work aloud!

I am off and trotting now to get little horse ready for her christmas trek into the homes of familes once again. Until next time - stay well - keep writing - do something you love.

Red Wing with Judy Collins

What a great weekend with friends- following the fall follage, strolling through an art craft show on mainstreet Red Wing and ending with a wonderful Judy Collins concert.

The art craft show was stellar. Mary Lou bought a couple pieces of glass that adds a lot to our living space. The sun was out and we took in everything, including good Scandianvian Almond Cake. Mary Lou is making some right now as I write this. The UFFDA shoppe is a great store on main and many others. As you can see we found shoes big enough!

On Judy Collins - we waited at the back entrance for a short time. The day was crisp but we were still warm with her songs when she appeared. I would say - all of the same vintage. Better with time. Her new CD is mellow- but a good change. entitled Portrait of an American Girl. She had a good reception at the concert and the theatre was a good one. Small- with outstanding features- a good venue.

Gardens and Glass

On Vancouver Island at Buchardt Gardens Mary Lou and I have a wonderful day. Flowers all around us as we walked through acres of annuals and perennials. A feast for the eyes and then tea and lush cookies and pasteries at the end of the day before we headed to Victoria where we enjoyed the wharf, took a horse carriage ride and ate at our Royal Scott Hotel.

Leaving Victoria headed for Tacoma where the Glass Museum shows off in great splendar with Dale Chihuly Glass cascading over highway. The steel colored cone you can partially see is the hot shop in the Museum where they have demonstrations . On the day we were there, there was two glassblowers making a fabulous glass piece with complex swan design. Great demo with kids there as well. Galleries are filled with glass art like I never imagined. What a sight- and thinking of nature and glass all in one trip.

We wandered down the coast of Oregon and on to Crater lake and then found our way home through Idaho, Wyoming, even hit Utah before getting back into Iowa. Many things, and at least one more blog post to finish the trip off. And all that is much to short. A trip to enjoy for many years to come, and planning more. Janice

You Haven't Seen Blue

until you see Crater Lake. Spectacular- Stupendous- Not words to describe it. Hope you can all see this sometime if you haven't and if you have let me here from you. Mary Lou and I just returned from great trip. Flowers - Buchardt Gardens-Victoria - Dale Chihuly-Glass Art - Tacoma- Ate seafood on Seattle wharf- Pikes Market - Wow - Art Musuems in Seattle and Victoria- Stories to tell traveling down Oregon's beautiful coast- Ate wonderful cheese of Tonnsumck? A bit of history with Custer and Lewis and Clark along the way- Wonderful forests that touch the stars- Mt. St Helena- Volcanic cones near Bend - and winding home - renewed and new stories to write. More later---

Dear Friends write - join my blog - I know you must be reading some of it.

Hey, Listen to this Kid

Thanks to cousin Sharon. She called my attention to this great little trumpet player. His name is Geoffrey Gallante. Trumpets are of course close to my heart, being a lifetime player and student. Aren't kids great? They can do so many things. When I hear and see our kids, that's when I know our world is going to have a bright future.

School is about to start here in Iowa and though not directly involved with kids now, I hear their giggling and play time laughter at our school in the neighborhood. Also noticed this morning, Luke our neighbor is getting ready for another year of college. Wow-can't hardly believe he will be about ready to graduate soon.

Hats off the all the kids - Hats off to a new year of great things to come. I am always happy to hear from you - about stories and times with kids.

Falling Waters - Frank Lloyd Wright

Summer is going, going, going. In June Mary Lou and I traveled to Pennsylvania where we spent a Sunday morning touring and having brunch at Frank Lloyd Wrght's Falling Water shown above. It was my birthday, so what a celebration. Traveling back to Iowa we went by way of West Virgina and visited their capitol at Huntington and an art museum. In Kentucky we found a wonderful folk art museum in Moorhead(Picture above) Look at all the great wood carvings, and can you find Mary Lou!! Then on to Frankfort, (we have done the horse's at Lexington many times before) we stopped in Frankfort and toured Buffalo Trace, a bourbon distillery. I don't even care for it, but it was a wonderful tour. Got to talk to people on the line with their best of the best. Good pleasant experience. Needless to say we left with some samples including bourbon chocolates-delicious!

We stopped for lunch at Nashville, INDIANA. yes I did say Indiana. Brown county- great countryside and at Nashville had lunch on the porch at the Art Colony Inn a great place for more art and also music, country, bluegrass etc. I must admit to a bit of nostolgia. Southern Indiana is close to my heart, that is, at Indiana Univsersity in Bloomington where I did my doctoral work and where I met many good friends and colleagues from all over the world.

Now back in Iowa, I will write more later. Do let me all know what you are doing.

Writers! Let me here from you. Next I will include more of about that in my blog.

Janice

A Writers View

Hello friends- As I sit in my writing studio looking out. I have a feast of a garden to get my creative juices flowing. This spring has been a basket full of blooms for deciding metaphors to use as I do free writing on poems. Poems, something new for me this spring. But am getting into the groove and going with it. For you gardeners, here is a snap of part of our garden. For Mary Lou it is a workout, but right now the hostas and flowers are winning over the weeds. As the warm air blows across our land we will see how the weeds do. And believe me the wind is blowing today. Hey, maybe, a wind blowing, whispering something, maybe that's what I will write about today. At least I'll try to keep the weeds out of my writing.

The top picture is of our Lilac tree, about ready to bloom. The second picture is of a primarily hosta bed around our garden house. It was a play house we won some years ago, and now with the play gone from the house, we keep plant materials inside along with dog training jumps, bikes, and what not. Mostly not. That's one of our summer cleaning jobs.

Friends have a good day. Get your creative juices flowing.

Japanese Maple - early snarly branches

Hi- Couple of other views of Daffodiles with sillas- You can see the spareness of the garden in between but looking closer I can see beginning of even some of the hostas. Mary Lou's Garden is full of different hostas. The first picture shows sillas with the snarling branches of the Japanese Maple that is yet to begin to green. We have it in a very protected location. Have had it for several years and it has grown. Looking forward to more of it and will share that as we go along.

Write your comments and or send me email about your garden. Please do put in the subject line- Garden- I get alot of email. Have a good day.

Early Flower Garden Close Ups

Hi- With good weather last week Mary Lou was in the garden planting peas and tilling the south garden. What I want to share with you today is some of the color we have in our early garden.

Pictures are worth more than words so here goes. Write us about your garden or interests.

Will tell you more about ours and us as we move along. Have a good Day.

Plant Potato Day

Hi! Today was plant potato day. One day before Good Friday. Not waiting. Good weather today. I didn't do much to help but took a picture! Hey how about that. Mary Lou is the Gardener. I am the writer. And Tasha our 8 pound doggie. She's been our garden dog past few summers after retiring from the Ring.

More about that latter. Posting a picture. An Iowa early spring garden picture. With my Nikon coolpix. Here goes.