1. All the wonderful comments from yesterday made my heart happy. I’m just tickled to death that you enjoy what I write enough to miss me when I’m gone 🙂 I’m carrying the kind words around with me like a pocketful of gold I discovered in Stamey Creek. Sarah ask about the meaning of the name Blind Pig and the Acorn. Here’s a post that explains the name.
2. Last week we got to visit with Pastor Lon, his sweet wife Robbie Lynn, and two of their wonderful children. Along with the great fellowship they sent us home with a box of South Carolina peaches and a South Carolina watermelon. We’ve almost finished the box of peaches off and I ate the entire watermelon by myself.
3. A few weeks back Carole left this comment:
“A friend in Boone forwarded some of Tipper’s videos about her accent. I’m from Kentucky via New York and now Vermont, and that feels like living in a Robert Frost poem. The accent in his “Pauper Witch of Grafton” the way I do it Appalachia style (because I don’t know how a New Hampshire witch sounds), inspired me to put up a Youtube of it: The Pauper Witch of Grafton, a poem by Robert Frost read by Carole Thompson. This is for you, Tipper.”
I greatly enjoyed Carole’s reading and I’m sure you would too if you jump over to hear it.
4. Several months ago I stumbled onto the music of The Local Honeys. They are from Kentucky and I really like their original sound, the lyrics of the songs they perform, and their lovely accents. You can hear one of my favorite songs here.
5. Granny has been crocheting up a storm. That’s not that unusual she’s always crocheting. Especially this time of the year as she prepares for Christmas. But she’s had a few other reasons. In the last nine months the number of her great grandchildren has jumped from two to five. My older brother Steve will soon be a grandpa to five grandchildren. We are all pleased about the new baby that arrived a short time ago, the two that will join us in the coming months and the two sweet girls we already have.
Sunday night’s video: Trying to Get our Beans & Granny’s Peas Picked before the Rain arrives in Appalachia.
Last night’s video: My Life in Appalachia 23 | Putting up Food & Living the Good Life.
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Well now, Tipper you have me wondering if you’re going to be a granny in the coming months. Those crocheted sweaters are down right professional looking. Wonderful! Thank you for sharing about The Local Honeys. I really enjoyed them.
I stumbled upon your blog and am enjoying every post! I loved the story of how you chose the name! I would have been drawn to that one too. And Granny’s sweaters are amazing! I’m looking forward to reading through some of your older posts too. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Tipper, I have just read the post about how you came by the name Blind Pig and the Acorn. I think I found out about you after reading something that Jim Casada had wrote. I look forward to reading your post each morning, especially if about the old days. The old days and the old ways are near and dear to me. A close friend raised at Rocky Bottom, SC tells me I was born a hundred years too late. I also love the music, last Saturday I was on you tube for about 2 hours listening to the Gang singing the old hymns. My two favorite are Until Then and Precious Memories, I don’t know the correct musical terms, but I play Precious Memories over and over just to hear Pap make that 3 note run at the beginning after he says here we go,
This old hog found his acorn when he found about you and the Blind Pig. I know these are just words and they are not worth much, but just like we would joke at work after being given a letter or some other worthless something for perfect attendance or something similar. If we add a dollar and some change to this paper we can buy a Coke Cola with it. But just as I said earlier today, even though I have never met any of you, I think of everyone as a friend. Reading the Blind Pig is one of my five things two others my relationship with God and will He be pleased with what I did today and the amount of time I spend with my family each day.
I also have eaten nearly all of a giant watermelon in the last two days! My dear husband knows how much I love melons and bought me this one from a roadside sale. I could not even pick it up it was so big. It was a seeded one & I think they taste better. I ate the “heart” out of one side standing by the counter with a knife and the salt! We have never been able to grow any good melons here & my best friend from Alabama has been telling me about the delicious honeydews she raised this year.
Miss Granny is an artist with thread. I love the sweaters!
Those sweaters Granny crocheted are beautiful! They remind me of the fisherman style sweaters and indeed they will be heirlooms.
You that feeling you get? The one that tells you something is missing that’s hard to put your finger on? Well, that’s what a day with BP&A is for me.
My 5 things:
1) My new Milwaukee drill that replaces the one I finally wore out.
2) The Bose sound-canceling BlueTooth headphones Darling Daughter and SIL gave me for my birthday (started a new decade, did I . . . and I look a lot like Yoda, too. 🙂 )
3) The Pressleys of Cherokee County (sounds like a book title to me. 🙂 )
4) Having a daughter when I was 41 and finally mature enough to be a Dad.
5) The good sense to choose the parents I did ’cause they already had my 8 brothers and sisters for me.
Let’s try this again.
You know that feeling you get? The one that tells you something is missing that’s hard to put your finger on? Well, that’s what a day without BP&A is for me.
Sure wish I could edit my posts! 🙁
Thank you for sharing such wonderful things! The little crocheted sweaters are so precious! I had also enjoyed your time with Pastor Lon from his video. What a good time you all must have had! I checked out your you tube reccommendations and enjoyed both. The Local Honeys are a treasure…..heart wrenching Appalachian lyrics & music! Good stuff!
The peaches, that looks like a painted picture, just beautiful! Please tell Granny those sweaters are beautiful and will be treasured for many years to come. Congratulations on all the new little ones making their arrival. Nothing in the world like a sweet baby to hold and love. I’m so happy Granny is here to see it and I can just bet Pap is smiling from ear to ear. What an exciting time for all of your family!!
Just got back and they are not going to do anything different- no medication just give it time. I teased Tipper about trying her out on one of those big watermelons. Ben also grew some cantaloupes this year, named Durango. They were ever bit as big or a little bigger than a soccer ball. Half of the one I bought had to be stored in a 2 gal ziplock bag, it would not fit in a 1gal bag. Many generations of his family were big time farmers, cotton and soybeans, Ben and his nephew now only grow produce to sell on side of the road. Sweet potatoes are his big money crop, sets out around 30 thousand plants each year and sells out in 4-5 weeks. The watermelon and cantaloupe were planted just as a novelty. He grows other better known varieties to sell. Sorry, I know this is way off today’s s subject. By the way, my eye is slowly getting better, keep me in your prayers and if you look back to yesterday and read my late reply to Denise ,you will get a better understanding of what is really going on with me. Don’t know any of you but have a feeling of closeness and friendship to all of you.
Randy-thank you for the update! I will continue to pray for your eyes.
Randy, hang in there, that eye will get better. Stress does a lot to us. Prayers still going your way. Now, I have a question. If farmer Ben can grow that size of watermelon and cantaloupe, is his sweet potatoes normal size? Sure sounds like he can grow anything. Must be some rich soil down your way. Up here in NC, most the farmers in my area grow the red ones. I like the red, but you can’t beat the white ones if they are stored and have time to cure or mellow up some. I bet Mr. Ben could win a blue ribbon at the state fair with the watermelons.
No there is nothing special about the soil, he does own enough land to be able to choose choice spots. The large watermelon and cantaloupes were a novelty. The seeds for these are easy to find on line. All of the produce he grows to sell are the common varieties. He grows the convenington , I think I misspelled that, sweet potatoes. I may have already said we live in southern Greenville County, ,SC each year in early May. he will drive on Interstate 95 to somewhere in NC and get his plants. These potatoes are red but my daughter liked the white ones. One of her coworkers from Tenn. turned her on to these, but she turned her on to Cherokee Purple tomatoes so I guess they were even. The only trick Ben might know is he comes from a long line of farmers that would reach back to 18 hundreds Thank you for your concern about my eye . 10 years ago on Sept 15 I lost my daughter in an accident and now my wife along with about 10 other members of mine and my wife’s family. A beloved preacher of ours would say the man may be the head of the family but the wife is the neck that turns the head. I have also heard the man is the head but the woman is the heart of a family. My wife was the was the one we all looked to. I am lost without her and my daughter.
I’m rejoicing with these “5 Things” mentioned. Thank You.
Granny’s crocheting is just beautiful. She is so talented. I especially admire the amazing sweater she made herself and wore to the plant nursery with you and Corie. I love listening to her. She reminds me of my own mother and grandmother.
Glad you are back!
Tipper, you are so blessed to have so many wonderful family and friends showering you with support. I know you are beyond thankful for each and everyone of them!
Granny’s sweaters she made are beautiful and will be treasured for generations to come.
Congratulations to Steve and all your family for the joy of welcoming new life to continue y’all’s family name and heritage. Pap is smiling in heaven, I have no doubt.
Five things.
A baby on my chest.
Puppy breath.
Being in the beam of the sunset.
Holy Spirit chills.
The flight of a Hummingbird.
God bless you and your work.
So glad you are back up and running Miss Tipper! We do enjoy your posts & definitely miss them when you are having technical difficulties.
Enjoyed all 5 of these topics, Granny is so good at crocheting and such a blessing to us all.
Thanks for sharing this about The Local Honeys, definitely gonna check them out. We are so glad y’all were able to visit us at the campground in Cherokee NC last week, the fellowship was the best part but we are also grateful for the gifts y’all blessed us with as well. The preserves/jellies are gettin gone fast lol the jar of apples are next and the soap Corie brought us is fantastic!
So glad y’all are enjoying the peaches and you the watermelon!! GOD BLESS YALL!! ❤️❤️
The sweaters are beautiful!! I can crochet, but not like that, those are treasures to always keep and pass down.
Yesterday while working in our garden I found to 2 watermelons growing, one was tiny and the other had a pretty good start, so hopefully we will get to eat these later on before the frosts happen here. Our garden has done well overall, but the watermelons had not produced anything up until now. Don’t know why as there have been plenty of blooms on the vines. We weeded out the herb patch and our black berry vines yesterday, so today it’s putting straw down and later we’ll add mulch on top of that to keep the weeds down for next year.
I don’t always comment, but read your posts everyday and you were missed while your site was down!
I found you on You Tube about a few weeks ago. I love your lifestyle and if I had to move it would be to the mountains. We live about 45 minutes from Myrtle Beach. I love your recipes! So simple and easy. In todays world my family chooses God and a simple lifestyle. Keep making your videos and doing what you do it brings great comfort!
Welcome back, Tipper! Those peaches surely look tasty and sweet! I’m just willing to bet, they will go quickly perhaps in a can, a dessert or right out of hand! Granny’s mommy and baby matching sweaters are indeed very sweet! The craftsmanship and years of expert knitting are apparent!!! From time to time I have worked for Murr’s family- (they crank out custom sweaters on a knitting machine) and my job is to sew up collars and sleeves. I also worked in garment mills (which drove me to college btw.) Also, lil Mikey is withdrawing from engineering college today. Murr said he wouldn’t stay and he’s right. (Mikes a traveler and has 6 years in social services.) I just think we each have a dream and personal trail and to wrap personal dreams into somebody else’s makes for a miserable life…blaze a trail and not on a dead horse… lol.
You never fail to entertain us, with your wisdom and info. You have me interested in the keifer water now. Gotta try it. There is nothing like the sound of rain on yesterday’s episode a beautiful sound to rest, relax and sleep by. With fall in the air, and me down in Florida were we only have one season, it will be interesting to see your changing of the colors you have. Granny is such a talent and I am sure you draw on her knowledge and expertise daily. Please tell her hello for one of your faithful readers and listeners…speaking of, only two more day with more about Alex. Can you imagine being there to hear first hand all he had to say???. I can’t imagine doing and/or knowing all he did. Awaiting Friday for sure.
Beautiful sweaters!
In a hurry this morning, I have got to go for a follower up checkup. Remember the comments from yesterday came from everyone’s heart. Now I have got to pick on you, you said you ate that entire SC watermelon by yourself. Come on back to SC and I will take you to see my friend Ben and buy you another SC watermelon and see if you can eat it by yourself He grows some called Truck Buster. The name comes from their size some weigh around 100 lbs and he has had some to top that. So big they will break truck down, thus the name. Gotta go, catch up later
Randy-those watermelons sound wonderful 🙂
i love the story of the Pauper Witch and Carole Thompsons reading.
Granny is a talented woman, those little swneaters are perfectly done.
Thank you for sharing both.
Love your lists, Tipper! Can’t wait to see other peoples’ 5 things. Mine?
1. The 2013 Harley Davidson Heritage Softail that my husband & I bought. It is a beautiful bike & fun to ride on the back of. But more importantly, it is taking us down the road to recovery in our marriage. We have passed many long years not being able to spend much time together & this summer almost led to a separation. We have now found something we both enjoy & have been making time to go have FUN together. Just riding around together, like the old days of our courtship-on a motorcycle instead of a pickup truck : )
2. My lovely daughters & their thoughtfulness. It was my Birthday, yesterday, & they found/bought some antique china that I collect. They remembered the pattern & gifted me some pieces I did not own. It is a Hall China pattern (Autumn Leaf for Jewel Tea) that came out in the Depression. You bought tea to redeem pt.s to earn china!
3. Tomatoes! Picked 6 bushels, last Saturday. Every day my house has smelled like SAUCE! & My MIL came & helped which gave us time to chit chat. Also been having a yummy tomato sandwich for lunch.
4. Pink yarn with delicate golden thread. Found a bunch of sock yarn in the clearance aisle of Walmart and bought it up. I, like Granny, am getting in the mood to make my xmas presents & people love the socks that I knit. Got one pink one halfway finished. They are a labor of love. Takes about 8 hr.s per sock.
5. Homemade playdoh & watercolor paints. I have agreed to babysit my daughter’s friend’s little 3 yr. old boy, 1 day a week. He is a treasure in our lives! He is so good & is so happy to be at our house. But I only had little girls & they are 18 & 15, now! The toys I have left are like barbie, polly pocket, etc… So we made some playdoh & I dug out some paints. Then I bought him some blocks & plastic dinosaurs. He loves the playdoh and we have fun building things & painting things. It takes me back to when my 2 were little. I had forgotten how fun well-behaved little kids can be. He had us laughing all day yesterday. Lots of joy.
Wishing all of you Lots of Joy!
Patty-so good to hear the good news about your marriage 🙂
Thank U. Must be all of those prayers are helping : ) A counselor has been employed & that has made a huge difference. I would suggest (& pray on) anyone that is having trouble getting along to seek out a marriage counselor. She really has helped get us back on track & we are actually enjoying one another’s company, like we used to, & working through our problems. The personal sacrifices that we each have made in order to raise our kids the way we wanted to led to us not being able to spend any time together. A marriage is too important to just give up on.
Life is good, The Blind Pig is back! The Blind Pig is an integral part of my life. It’s what greets me first thing every morning, always in a cheerful mood!
Sweet sweaters Granny made! She is amazing with her crochet needles, always making something, and now for the new babies in the family!
Thank you for your list of 5 things. It has made me think of my own five things this morning. With not feeling well enough to do anything but lay in bed the last several days, my mind has been full of thoughts. I still don’t feel well enough to articulate my thoughts into written words, but I have been thinking and thinking. Your post this morning gave me some more rabbit trails of my own to wander down today. I enjoyed reading your thoughts. Your mom did a wonderful job on those two sweaters! They are beautiful!
Donna. : )