Hi...Sat before last the barn was in use by Stacey and friends.  They did their nails...talked...did zumba...talked...found the wine...talked...snacked on bread and cheese...talked...then talked...finally ate a real meal at the table for 10 in the main house...and talked...guess you could say they did what they wanted...all children not under foot...pleasure to have the dads do Sat duty in that regard...home by bedtime...next day Easter...things to do forgotten for 6 0r s0 hours...I heard them say..."let's do this again...Stacey and friends.

I want to give you something to think about from Easter morning in Kabul.  My granddaughter (Peter Dyrud's wife) is with the USAF there for 6 mo.  I will let you in on some of her doings from time to time.  Here is what Felisa wrote and sent ... a gift to us on the DAY of Jesus' greatest gift to us 

SUNRISE COMES SOONER

Sunrise comes sooner here

but the sparrows know the same tunes-

the sorrow

the celebration

The dusty hill takes shape

beyond the walls

upon walls

and I know that today

a young girl will pump water

from a well and haul

the yellow cans up

a steep path, home.

She would prefer to keep

doing little girl's chores.

Growing up is uncertain.

A morning you can see

your breath

Smoke seeping skyward

from the city's nostrils

mingles with our praises

incense blended in 

hope of fragrance

surging from young roses

yet to bud.

to bed to bed why do I start these blogging pieces at midnight maybe I think more quietly then but legs restlessly would walk to the place they lie upon feathers as they will  goodnight

It's that time - so here it comes -

I've a head full of new ideas and there just won't be time for much

since it's late and I'd rather lay my head on my feather pillow

But here goes...

Aside from the Steinbeck Fiesta in the middle of August and

Potting #2 in June, I do want badly to again fill the barn with workshops

(sorry - dates not set - yet)And so since we

are hosting again this coming summer ---

the Cold War Museum as well as the Missile Control Center

in the town of Cooperstown, for every interested traveler, I have an idea.

We lived in Moscow at the American Embassy where my husband, Brig Gen

Jim Wold was the Military Attache from May, 1975 until July, 1977.

These years gave us an involvement in Soviet life among the

Russian people. We absorbed their culture. As a result there is this

farmhouse on the prairie, (a dacha of sorts), housing a respectible

collection of memorabilia - books, art, for starters - which I would like

to introduce to you, in workshop space / time conversations.

I am trusting as I put these ideas on paper that you are already curious

- what is a dacha?

- how many books?

Well you will just have to inform me of your curiosity and we will go from

THERE

MEANTIME I AM MAINLY SNOWBOUND - ( a few minutes ago I listened to a

number of coyoties outside - very close ) - but tomorrow I will be able to drive the

15 miles to town for new tires and other errands -

since the reads have been cleared....including the path to my chicken coop!

Hello and Goodbye...thanks for the visit

I am getting antsy for something

these days the pinwheel pinheads

spin in my brain

they stop me in midsentence so

that I dont know what I was saying

and I'm not sure what I need to tell you

from the B&B bathroom window I count 22 of them

so does the promise of prairie go out the window?

from the corner of the barn at the fence I count 59 of them

Pinwheels

40 stories high and very close very close

and I wish all who believe this is good for people who love open

nature would come and buy my used to be best kind of green farm

for a million greeenbacks

just some wandering thinking going on up here in the sunroom in the dark of the night

when you can see  fl  as  hi  ng rr  ee  dd  li  gh ts ss  ss  

ok this is all for now

JoAnne of the industrial park 

It is now the 3rd of December

and

I want to talk to you about the intervening time since...

I last wrote, or rather, talked.

The barn has been a busy place since Sept-

full of hunters from all over the States.

It's bow hunting for the first two months

and

then in Nov we had a few rifle as well as bow hunters.

There are lots of deer out there and most hunters went home

happy!

Ducks and pheasant hit the dust as well - even some gueese

But I want to tell  you how my life has changed since Aug.

We now have wind towers to the north and east and south.

I've changed where I eat so that I can still look over untouched Prairie.

I now sit on the east side of my table whereas I used to (for 30 or so years)

eat on the south side, which I prefer no longer since the monsters feel 

like they're in my plate!

Some of you know that my byline from 1989 in all publicity has been

Come Find Yourself on the Prairie

Now I'm contemplating a "different" byline

COME FIND YOURSELF IN AN INDUSTRIAL PARK

where you will see sprouting for miles on the formerly natural prairie hills 

of the one and only Sheyenne River Valley, 112 white spires or missiles,

poised upward into the sky 360 feet - far above the prairie.

It is no longer quiet here -  with a sound not unlike an airport , and there is

a kind of Circus going on - red "Christmas" lights flashing nightly all year round,

 competing successfully with  stars and constellations.

And when the sun comes up in the morning, we offer flickering, spine tingling

mysterious lighting created by our graceful 90 ft blades spinning 100 mpr - 

again, successfully competing with exquisite sunrises.

HAVE I MADE MY POINT!

Actually, I have only now finished hosting three months of hunters

and they are not impressed (at least not favorably).

The flickering morning light confuse and seem to trick the eye

when watching for moving deer.  One hunter told me that after he

was sure his buck was dead, it still seemed to be alive and moving.

The table talk at every meal includes how it used to be year after year,

and is no longer.

You can feel that this is something to deal with as far as my

emotional acceptance is concerned.  The main problem is that they are too close

to my home.  If we could have known ahead of time and persuaded 

the Public Service Commission that no tower should be 

closer than a mile from where any person tries to sleep,

 I would feel somewhat relieved. 

But such is not the case.  The State feels that 1400 ft is far enough.

I count 57 "pinwheels" from the fence next to my barn.

My Workshops my become "Green" discussions.  We'll see.

Stay Tuned - bye for now - JoAnne  

Now you're maybe wondering what I meant when I referred to, "much much", in my life.

  So here it is...the whole truth...it's the USE of my BARN..something pretty unusual for me..

.and even for N.D.

  I hosted a mother and son for nearly two weeks while they 

turned the barn into a writing workshop.  And not your ordinary writing ....no no

This was Hollywood Style

I'm not kidding or even pulling your leg.

Ana flew in from Madrid, Spain,  and Erik from Los Angeles...

It seems they were needing more contact for their ideas than emailing

 back and forth, back and forth 

...this movie script that concerned things like --  War Clowns ??

and making decisions !! and being young.

 They were pacing and pasting ....( just try and visualize that pair of words).

I saw my barn walls covered, not with paintings and such, but with 4 by 6 cards

full of dialog and whatever words either of them had just heard in their head.

Mind you, life went on for me and even though Ana was giving morning

food to the cats and kittens, I did venture down into the lower barn to check on

chores, so I can tell you SPANISH was bouncing around above my head.

Actually, echoing, would also describe it.

The best part of all was that they liked my food.  

WELL

Can't you imagine what fun I had thinking up the next meal for folks who

sort of went gaga (I thought) over a fresh egg from the coop..

so I decided the barn needed a rest and so did I....and since the JS Fiesta wasn't

drawing even the dozen I'd hoped for

I cancelled ... or rather postponed ... and in a few weeks or even January

 (when the weather is cozy)

interested readers of JS will get a call saying, Wanna come?

What next..........stay tuned

by the way, have you noticed that after 15 months of blogging, I have A Follower.

WOW

bye for now..JoAnne, the dizzy one

It is now the 11th of August and the workshops would have started tomorrow.

I am sad to tell you that due to much much in my life at this time, I must cancell.

There has not been much interest in John Steinbeck, in fact none, so I realize the need for more groundwork, if I want to get it all together.  

After all ,this barn thing is very new and I have not felt ready to go out and do much in the way of broad advertising, so I'm not surprised what the response has been.  I also put a price tag on my JS Fiesta, and that was a risk that I think now was a mistake.  

So let's just accept the fact that I'm a kind of dizzy dame.

Forgive me?

JoAnne

Do watch for word of the concert during the Fall. 

So, here is where I want to be, on my blog, letting you know a little about our four days of JS (John Steinbeck)

 The first three days,  Aug 12, 13,  14,   we will have supper at 5:00 pm and proceed through the evenings as we please, reading the play of,  THE MOON IS DOWN.  - after listening to an intro of the story line.  Actually, I hope you will obtain and read the book before you come.  It is available on Amazon.

During each of these evenings we will also watch a Steinbeck movie of our choice.

It could go without saying, that we'll get into the mood of this writer and speak our piece when it must be said.  JS was a free soul and so can we be.

Sat will be somewhat different.  Let's

 meet around 2:00pm for further discussion led by local Steinbeck officianados.  Then after 6;00 we'll swing into a Sea of Cortez party with a great red and yellow spread of edibles...and whatever comparable liquid desired.I think of the Mexico time of  life for Steinbeck and feel it was an attempt to escape.  After all,he did a lot of that.  Maybe we could even swing some on the barn floor......because....the stage is now set for Roger, Merry and friends to tune up for a session of music that will sure fit the mood

JoAnne...and the barn...whoopie

 

You may ask what this will cost.  Here's the scoop.  For the four days,  including  food -  beverage -  movies  -  mental gymnastics.....

$150.00

For the first nights.....

$35.00 per night.....

For just music around 8:00pm....

$20.00

I'm hoping you'll go back to my writing about JS in previous blogs, if you want to see why I'm doing this...happy reading....til I hear from you with a,  "yes,  I'll be

 there, see you then!"  Call me with your questions.

Good Afternoon

The Barn has been a busy spot in the last month

Weaving and Knitting and Potting

FYI

19 participants for the 3 day WE WEAVE workshop

that included the evening performance by three students

from the Cooperstown High School, Kaia and David Lunde

and Christine Berge doing the State Speech Winning

Skits...which we so enjoyed !!!

FYI

basket making was hands on for six "workers"

labeled such because they certainly did put a lot of

energy into this project and produced baskets made with

material from ND Dogwood succors and twigs and twine for 

twisting the handle to the rim--

we did some weaving of wall hung wreaths, mostly from the left

over branches which were unsuitable for the baskets--

our thinking throughout these 3 days was that as we create

together, we are weaving ourselves with each other--

this was a fun idea and all agreed the time was relaxed in

that sharing another's attempt to learn

on May 30--- 11 of us watched and listened to our instructor 

Rene Fuglestad  brought us into the world of CLAY---

and what fun that was---I can't tell about the

many things we attempted to do--except that I did turn a pot

on a wheel for the very first time and it was not bad--and in my own Barn

Imagine!!

next year--2nd annual--we will throw and turn and then fire in a pit

RAKU

if you don't know what that is--come and find out next May or June--stay tuned!

June 7th we successfully served our Master Creator with Worship in

song and scripture and prayer while Rene turned 

many pots on the wheel

in the Barn

40 of us wove our spirits together during this hour unlike any other ever experienced.

centering the pots is vital or they fall apart--and so we thought about 

the need to center our own lives in Christ so we won't be out of balance--

 the POTTER and the CLAY

Isaiah 64:8 " O Lord, You are our Father: we are the clay, You are the Potter: we are all the work of your hand."

I will list the scripture references and you can look them up in the Bible when 

you want: Genesis 2:5-7; Isaiah 45:9,11-12; Jeremiah 18:1-6; 2 Corinthians 4:5-12; Romans 9:20-21; Jeremiah 29:10-11;

So---I've had the clay here since Ren left it for any of us that might want to

fool around...and now I have a bird with old nails and shells and gravel stuck on 

...and yesteray I found branches that resembled a head and a tail

..at least to my eye

...and, oh-my, you should see it

THIS IS WHY I WANT TO SHARE MY BARN WITH YOU

IT'S FUN

FYI

so look here to see some details as we look forward to August, 12-15

we will spend time with John Steinbeck's, "The Moon is Down".  I now have 

a copy of the movie, given to me by a new friend, Dennis Stillings,

and a copy of the play...and you must read the book..you have  2 months...so

get busy

for our never before 

 

John Steinbeck Fiesta

at Volden Farm ..701-2275 ..voldenfarm@ictc.co

voldenfarm.com

til then, JoAnne says dosvedanya

(Russian for goodbye)

Good Morning...here I am again to correct the mistakes I made as I was doing this last night...first of all...the dates for the Weave workshops are the 14th and the 15th and 16th...that is Thurs and Fri and Sat of May

The next mistake is in the phone #..1-701-769-2275...instead of the 760 which I had written...sorry

But the one great thing about blogging for me...is that I can make the change right up front..so to speak...

and I love fooling around with punctuation so that people (friends) will say to me"you know you forgot all the periods and comas" and I can say..."I know" haha

=============

new info on potting WORKSHOP

two dates ... May 30 will be the first day to create lots of pots!

that way Rene Fuglestad who is the teacher, will take them home to Moorhead and fire them so that when he comes back the following Sat the 6th of June ... all of you guys who have potted ... will then be able to glaze ... what you did ...

Now this seems like rough info cause it is ... so here's more ...  Rene will have a couple of other teacher/potters with him and they have different specialties ... that sounds like fun to me ... and you too ...

W want to cover all the expense of their driving and also the materials, so there will be a charge of at least $75 a day ... to also cover a couple meals.  This will be an estimate until we get a better handle on reservations ... OK?

So get back to me on all this ... plus ...

HERE IS THE REAL HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEKEND

The Sunday 3:00 PM Service with Music and Words glorifying God

REN THROWING POTS ALL THE TIME 

while we watch and listen 

I cannot believe my barn will be the locale of all this creative energy

all for now ... bye ... JoAnne signing off

PS ... I forgot to say that we will have a chance to see the pots that Ren makes and they will be on exhibit and offered for sale in the barn

I do have some in the house for you to enjoy seeing as well

the latest on May Workshops

Hope you are thinking about coming to the barn on either the 13th, 14th or 15th of May.  "We weave" will be a combo of days,crafts, music,time for yourselves if you need to just enjoy quiet in the Prayer Chair or some other corner of the space we have for you here at Voldenfarm.

So here's a brainstormer for a barnstormer!

we gather together to weave together as we gather we gather to be woven together as we weave what we gather together to gather to weave together what we gather - waving weeds or bending branches

for each weaver

now we consider knitting together and to be knitted as we gather together to knit

it remains to be seen what will become woven

baskets wreathes placemats purses 

we will see

Cost will be by the day:

    night stay with 3 meals and the full day and evening offerings

   $150

    full day with 2 meals and evening $75

For this workshop supplies will be found or provided as I see now -

evenings will be music and readings as we choose..weaving creatively the variety of old and young and you and me and all

Exodus 31:3-6

"And I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge and all kinds of craftmanship."

Exodus 35:35

"He has filled them with skill to perform every work of an engraver and of a designer and of an embroiderer, in blue and in purple and in scarlet material, and in fine linen,and as a weaver,as a performer of every work and makers of designs."

workshops in a tabernacle or a sanctuary

Call JoAnne at 1 701 760-2275

or voldenfarm@ictc.com

we would like to have at least a half dozen

OK?

Hello, My plans are formimg.  This Workshop is called -  TO WEAVE !

Hopefully, May 14 will be a day to gather from the hills and woods - grasses and twigs for making baskets and wreathes, as I mentioned in the previous blog.  Together!

May 15 will be a day of weaving, using strips of favorite fabrics, into whatever, maybe pads to use at table or on seats or wall.  Maybe to frame, to do whatever comes to hand.

In the evening we will weave poetry, speech, music, young and old doing what our skills allow.

Come and be...Come and see...Come and do...Together!

May 16 will be a day of knitting...to learn or to let fly the needles into bags or ? Together!

These works will be crafted along with Spiritual encouragement, using Biblical words that

describe our need and/or ability to create, be alone in God' Word or world here in our gardens or any corner we may choose during the days or day we spend at Volden Farm.

Cost will be negotiated whether time - bed - food - involved - so that there will be cover 

charge or rather charges covered.  In other words - expenses appreciated.  Thankfully.

Actually, minimal suggested costs will be posted closer to registrations.

My barn is intended to serve a purpose for increasing realization of who we might become by being together in the air of country and basics.  We all can learn  creatively by watching and doing - from each other.

Remember, " Salads to die for " and eggs of all sizes and colors..fresh for the picking from 15 gorgeous finely feathered friends.  How I love my chickens!

So here also is a date in June for the Potter and Clay, Rene Fuglestad and Us.

Sunday, June 7 at 3:PM in the Barn..we will begin a service like no other.  Music and Words for our thoughts about creating our lives for a best possible path.  Think about what that could be molded?  Anticipate?  Come.

Bye for now...JoAnne 

And this is a day of bright sun in my windows even though it was -20 this morning.

I want to look beyond winter into the month of May in my barn.  Maybe by that time the 12 foot Winter Tree covered with lights and toys, will be taken down and out.  And for a couple weekends we hope to consider other types of gardening, even as we did last May

Now, I like to plan on gathering  the fresh branches of Red Dogwood and working together to twist and twine them into either a basket or a wreath.  If you would want to come with us , please E-mail me at voldenfarm@ictc.com

and ask about the dates and availablilty of first come first get a bed in the B&B

while you relax and have fun.  Remember to look up my website as well

www.voldenfarm.com

And above all, please be patient with me as I now have a digital camera which is bursting with pictures to share with you.  I only need to learn that new tech..

Some news...my chicken house has winter inhabitants since all summer I asked around for enough of them so they (the two remaining after the slaughter by a couple of huge Raccoons) would not freeze.  You see I need at least 15 to keep each other warm without heat in their house.  I was able to get 15 new( to me) ones and they are being named and they are also giving me 1 or 2 eggs a day in spite of the cold.  One Rooster is Lazlo and the other, Big Red.  As for the hens, I'm waiting to share their names until they are all named.  For now, suffice it to say that they are gorgeous.  I love my chickens.

More news..An old large wood stove with nice art deco designs is installed in the barn for cooler days as Spring comes around.  I have tried to warm the barn now, but have realized I will need more insulation under the floor and tighter windows and doors if I want to use it in the dead of winter.

Oh well..this is almost all...but to say music and probably a Potter are in the calendar for June.  Tune  in for more as the ideas come.  OKay?   

Bye...from me, JoAnne

Christmas

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Day

At least I hope it is a good day for anyone who is looking at this.

I am connecting with you by trying to make my wishes for this coming year come to life on this page.

Wishes for me and for you. I,m satisfied to tell you that I have ideas and plans that only God as given me and only He can bring to fruition. Do you feel that way? The impossible can become possible. I am the person who can say this with living conviction and experiences since my husband Jim passed out of my life.

I'm in a really new place due to God becoming my "sidekick" and showing me He is ready and waiting to give and care before I could even dream of what has happened in the last six years.

The barn is only a beginning of this story.

So HERE is my blue. It showed up on my third try. (I need blue since it is the color I use for inspiration in the barn). Oh well, persistence is the reason for all we accomplish in life.

Now my need for persistence is the calendar year of workshops in 09. The one thing I know that we will be doing, is the second Wednesday in August the barn will host a 5 day John Steinbeck Fiesta. We will do theater, readings, discussion, spending time out in the field, eating, feeling the dry air of North Dakota in August, maybe even sleeping out in that air.

Probably September might be more dry, but the summer is better than the fall to get together with folks who teach when Sept comes. We hope to have some of these experienced Steinbeck experts along with us for our benefit.

After all, CA is dry in summer so that is why Aug in ND seems the time to do it. If you like JS, let me know. I do have limited B&B space for eating and sleeping. It is my decision to keep the number of attendees to 12 or under. I have not formulated the cost as yet. It is different if you are here as B&B, or driving in each day from whereever.

This idea changes if we have theater or movies.

JS wrote two books that we will concentrate on this summer. THE MOON IS HIGH, and MY RUSSIAN JOURNEY. The first takes place in Norway and I am Norwegian. The second takes place in the cities where I visited while we lived in Moscow from 1975 to 1977. Please keep this in mind if you're interested.

Enough hard work for tonight. I will sign off. JoAnne of Volden Farm Bed and Breakfast. website voldenfarm.com. And my Email is voldenfarm@ictc.com.

HELLO

The time has come for a few words of life in the barn.

This past 8 weeks there have been hunters using the barn.

They have come from places distant, such as PA, WA, OR, WI, LA, MI, MS,

AND MORE.

Did you know that their reservations are made through Cabela's?

They get what and where they want.

Ducks, Pheasant, Bow for deer, even fishing.

All this right here where I live and breathe and cook.

Sleeping is done in the main house and napping in the barn

while they watch TV on the new 50"(owned by the outfitters).

I've learned there is rest needed and allowed between the forages

into the wilderness of the wild!

Yes, they also eat in the main house and snack in the barn..not to forget

some liquid refreshing. Spacewise the old made new barn is

just plain good for the mountains of stuff their sport calls for.

Who could guess a year ago that my days would be made cheerier

by these folks who think North Dakota is great!

I love them all. Especially the small family from Las Vegas who

brought along their kids, Hunter, 4 and Hannah,6 --who named my 4 new kittens

--after themselves, adding also Sarah, (coincidentally the day McCain brought his

VP to our political stage), and Mattie.

Last Friday as we waved off the last couple we went into party mode, getting the house under control and then attacking the barn, carting things hither and yon to

celebrate Halloween with book club and neighbors and guitar and mandelin.

At 5:oo I slipped on a step coming down from upstairs and proceeded down the rest

of the way thumping and rolling til my body hit the cement. Only a toe is hairline fractured but the rest of my body is black and blue in all the expected spots. Enough.

That was Friday and this is Wednesday and tomorrow I fly direct from Fargo to Pheenix-Mesa where I'll continue to heal with fun and fancy and friends.

Can you believe that was all? I was happy to discover when I got untangled from

the stairs, that I could walk.

The best news of the last month is that I have a great-grandson. Kate and Nick produced

him, Kaj Delys Naujokas, (you should see the red lines under those 3 misspelled words!!)

--nine pounds seven ounces and twenty one inches long

with a pug nose and beautiful hair. Two days later he fell asleep in my arms.

It feels like a fresh breeze - a new start - and a reason to keep an

eye out for those toys that my eight grandsons didn't quite wear out.

God is good in each day and each minute of each day. It's like getting up on

my tiptoes to see over into the day to come, because I always wanted to

know ----- what next.

Photo and Music night

Here's hoping that I can make this blog do what I want which is to have my message centered like it was from the first until the last couple.  But to get to the point, the evening of  the BARN was a success to my way of thinking.  About 50 or so turned up and that was after only two weeks of advertising in the local paper, the Courier.  We did have about 30 classy posters in strategic spots around the county.  Merry made those and she used the great photo of a new colt twisting around her mommy's legs..stunning, I think.

There are over 20 pieces in the show, which will hang in my barn for a few more weeks, in case any of you want to come look at the Elk, and the eye of the Buffalo, and numerous black and white cows as well as horses.  The prices range from $125 up to $255 for the show centerpiece.  I want some of them, to put it lightly, because at least one of cows and one of horses should stay here where we opened the barn to the public for the first time.  

And the excitement was huge for me to have such a mix of neighbors from all directions.  I was gratified and honored, really, that this effort was recognized  and enjoyed by so many. 

The food was fun.  Blueberry, Cranberry and Wild Rice sausage cut into bite sized squares and eaten with Olive bread covered with  a smear of Basil Pesto.  Havarti cheese on flatbreads, as well as crisp Flax crackers.  Citrus water and wine filled out the menu.

It was good to hear Merry tell how she found the animals she has captured, even as

this is  a new venture for her.  At least in this venue.  Her many other forms of "fun" are too many to mention or even remember, but do include writing in many forms, historical research, gardening seriously ( dozens of Iris ),   Creating  screen and music  work..etc.  We are just  fortunate tonight to have her share with us

 So that was Merry's intro, but more than food and photos, came when Roger began to play one of the three guitars he had on our Zebra covered "stage".  His intro, was to chat some about the difference listeners feel when they hear new music for the first time,  instead of the comfortable oldies everyone knows.  We actually did singalong on the choruses of a few that caught our ear.  Roger and Merry have voices that are together in tone and intensity whether soft as a whisper or belted with gusto.  So much of their music is complex in it's intent to tell a story with both voices cutting in and out in a manner which surprised and pleased me.  This was an event that would have been  worthy of having saved on a video.  Oh well.   Especially in the barn which is set up for a 10 week Hunting Lodge.

I could go on,  but better quit this blog now.  I'm happy happy to have the barn move this far in only a matter of months.  Steps and a porch of steel with holes and some other touches have come  into reality for more happy happy.  Next year -  ramp and some color - red oil stain, will add even more...and perhaps some bunk room and small kitchen and small bath???? On the lower level where cats and kittens now live.

I want and need! to sell more Russian Art so that I can do all this for family and hunters and friends!!

Whee.....for now....Jo Abigail...who is 75 in a couple days and will be on a plane to DC and then NC and the beach with some kids and grandkids...hang gliding and hours of swimming.

BYE