It’s hard for me to believe the month of November will begin next Tuesday. I don’t know where in the world the year of 2022 has went, but it sure has got gone.
Such a wonderful year for the Blind Pig family. The Deer Hunter and I gained a new son. We are so proud of Austin and couldn’t have picked a better person for Chatter if we tried.
Along with the exciting spring wedding there was more excitement during spring when I won an Appy Award for my work on the Celebrating Appalachia channel.
While the wedding and the award may have been at the top of the list, there have been many other blessings this year and we are thankful for all of them.
Another thing I’m thankful for is YOU!
It’s time for my annual Thankful November.
Every November I host a variety of giveaways as a way of saying THANK YOU to Blind Pig and The Acorn readers. If you didn’t know it, you’re the best blog readers in the whole wide world!
Beginning November 1 there’ll be a variety of giveaways throughout the month so be on the lookout for any that you might like to enter. They are all free to enter and only require you leave a comment to be entered.
Last night I started a new book series. Sidney Saylor Farr is one of my favorite Appalachian authors and I’m reading her book My Appalachia A Memoir. You can catch the first video in the series here.
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No we are so thankful for you Tipper ❤️
There are only a handful of YouTube channels that make us feel we are part of a community if not family. Thank you for including us. I do wish time to slow down. Remember as a child how a summer day could feel like an entire summer and Christmas never seemed to come. Cherishing and being more mindful of each day might help?
I agree, 2022 has seemed to be almost over but it felt like it had just begun. Then we think of all the good memories shared and thankful for each of them. Thank you, Tipper for all you and the BPA family have shared together!
Tipper I am Thankful I discovered your blog and You Tube Channel along with the girls channel. Both channels are my happy place to visit were I can relax with the sights and sounds of country living.
This yr I retired from the Postal Service after 38 1/2 yrs, so I knew it would fly by. ….the last 12 yrs were so extremely hard,!!! Postplan taking many Post Offices down to 2, 4, or 6 hrs but making me manage 6 offices instead of just my original one, along with hiring freezes, new bosses every other month and then over a yr of COVID…..nearly did this Postmaster in!!
But retirement, my first grandchild and blogs like yours have really brought unthinkable joy to me! I love how real you seem, I love how joyful you seem, I love how happy you and your husband seem, I love how your daughter Kory spreads the word of Jesus and how your daughter Katie is so funny and creative, I love your dad and brothers Christmas cd, I love how you bring to life, a book reading, I simply love Celebrating Appalachia and The Blind Ping and the Acorn…..so thank you Thank You, THANK YOU!!
Tipper, you’ve helped me through some rough times this year and I love and appreciate the way you share your kindness and blessings with us. I’ve listened to the first chapter of your new book on Facebook four or five times already. I love it!!! Every time I’ve listened to it I hear something I missed previously. Thank you my dear friend. Sure we haven’t met yet but I believe we will meet sometime. My Mother had a saying that went, “There are no strangers here, only friends we haven’t met yet.” I think that describes us pretty well. You have given so much to us and the goodness will come back to you over and over and in many different ways. Keep on keeping on. I “kin” you. Again, thank you, from my heart to yours.
We’re from Nebraska and my husband and I love to read your blog and watch you on YouTube. We’re in love with your area and we may retire there! It’s so calming to see you cook and garden and talk about your family and your observations. Well done Tipper!
Tipper, thank you so much for all of the hard and dedication you put into Celebrating Appalachia and keeping our mountain heritage alive. I may not always leave a comment on all the posts or videos, but they are a blessing! 🙂 I watched the video with Mrs. Hicks yesterday and was so touched with the interaction and conversation between you two. One of the reasons I’m most thankful for your blog and videos is because a lot of the old ways are dying out and you are helping to preserve them and keep them alive. I love and appreciate you and your family! 🙂
Love and Prayers from Southeast Kentucky,
Regina
I discovered BP&A and CA just about a year ago. As I recall, it was not long after the twins birthday. I’m thankful that I did. It has made every day a sight better than it would have been.
Thank you, Tipper.
I do giveaways too. Not in November necessarily. I try to be anonymous but my honesty finds me out. If I can do it, anyone can. If this seems to be a riddle, it’s not intended to be. It is a meant to be a poke, a nudge, a tap on the shoulder to suggest that we should strive to give back more than we receive. I hope someone reads this and understands what I am talking about. Not just one someone but all who are impacted by Tippers efforts.
Tipper, I have really enjoyed being the recipient of your blog. I have enjoyed all the books you have read so far and look forward to this new book too. Time will only go faster the older you become. Appalachia is a wonderful place. Enjoy the rest of the year. God bless you and your family.
This year surely has flown by! Tipper, I have enjoyed your blog more than you can imagine. Thank you for sharing your world with us. It’s a pleasure to be a part of the BP&A family. It’s nice to be with folks that feel like a big family here even though most of us have never met. I look forward to many more wonderful blogs. Oh, one more thing, that book you started last night is going to be great!!
I agree with the other members, Tipper and the BP&A members have been a blessing to me especially since my wife’s sudden death. Sometimes I have spilled my emotions out in my comments. Truthfully this week has been hard, our anniversary would have been on Oct.26. I like to listen to Tipper and her family on you tube. Two favorites are “Precious Memories and Until Then”. I sit, cry and play them over and over. Time does seem to be flying by now. Thank you Tipper for the things you do for us. It gets said by preachers that the man is the head of the household, if the man is the head, the woman is the heart of the household. We all know without a heart nothing else is any good.
Randy, you are so very right. My wife is the heart of this house. I know it and better still the kids know it, whether they ever had the thought in those words or not. There must be a one best way to capture your thought on one of those signs so common in houses today. I’d rather have that than any of the many others I have seen. But it is a great mystery and hard to put in words. I’ll study on it. Thank you.
Ron, I heard another preacher say the man is the head but the woman is the neck that turns the head. I like your comments, sometimes it seems like we have a lot in common.
My first year following your family in Appalachia, and I want to thank you all for inviting us to your quieter, simpler, more peaceful way of living, surrounded by family & nature.
Now, more than ever, we need to stop those determined to divide, to find a peace within each of us & to help create the world that we need & that we all deserve.
Thank you for reminding us of what life can be.
Dear Tipper, I will ever be thankful to my sister, Charline, for introducing me to the Blind Pig. What a joy to be in the middle of your family & Appalachia! I am enjoying all the books you read to us! I just cannot wait till Friday,s & storytime! Lol
I, like the other readers, are already thankful for all you do. We certainly reap the rewards and they are free. Like we have heard and read, that is a trait of the Appalachian people. Those are beautiful pictures. I have the book, More than Moonshine, and feel it is an excellent book. I do not have this one and will look forward to your continued reading. What a treat that you are sharing with the world. Thanks again, Tipper. I am forever thankful to have met you and had the benefit of all the things you do and share. I just wonder how much better the world would be if we had more Pressley and Wilson-type people in it, especially in positions of leadership in this country and world.
You got that right!!! 2022 has indeed gone by like a flash of lightening! But, like you, I’m grateful for every year I get.
I agree with Ron, we should be giving to you Tipper. I can’t tell you how much finding your blog has meant to me. My sister Linda passed away in May leaving only myself and my younger sister Deb. Our two older brothers have been gone for a while now. When my sister passed away and all of a sudden I was the one left with most of the memories and family stories I felt like they would just disappear. Finding the Blind Pig has given me an outlet to share those memories with others and hear similar memories from others.
And like Ron’s grandma, my dad and mom always seemed to send people off with a full stomach and an arm load of something to eat. The first time I noticed this habit was when I was about 8 years old and we had a furnace installed in our house. Up till then we had a large gas stove in the living room to heat the house. So being an inquisitive boy I watched everything the furnace man did. And when he finished the job and was leaving I was surprised to see that he had a large cardboard box full of pint, quart and half gallon jars all full of dad and moms labors. They continued that habit as long as they lived. Once I started reading Tippers blog it’s became obvious this habit seems to be prevalent in Appalachia. I’m grateful to all of you but especially Tipper and her family.
It hardly seems possible that 2022 is coming to an end. I really enjoy reading your blog every morning.
Tipper, I’m thankful for your blog, as it is a ray of sunshine. I have learned so much about your neck of the woods, and I feel like you’re my neighbor. Reading the comments is like talking with the neighbors.
I loved hearing you read this first chapter. It reminds me of my growing up in Eastern Kentucky. We lived off the land and grew everything we ate. My favorite part was the creativity of her mother planting flowers and quilting to add beauty and the making of lye soap. There were 10 children in my family and my mother was so resourceful using everything to feed and clothe her family. My dad worked hard first in the coal and clay mines and then as a carpenter to provide for our family.
As I celebrated my 85th birthday not long ago, I too wonder “where did this year go”. Thank you for jogging and bringing back so many childhood memories of life in the holler and of family gone. In addition to carrying on a great Appalachian musical tradition, you bless us with your wonderful writing skills about life in Appalachia. As such, we all get to be part of a fantastic story. Congratulations on all this year has given to you and your wonderful family. Again, many, many thanks for sharing all your many diverse thoughts, memories, experiences, family, and music, Tipper.
November seems to be the month that makes us focus on all the little things we have been thankful for all year long. Tipper, your readers are thankful that you continue to allow us to celebrate Appalachia with you.
Tipper you have taught me so much about cooking. I use the skills in my everyday cooking. I love your family and lifestyle which is so similar to mine in South Carolina. Keep up the good work and I will keep learning and watching.
I agree with you Tipper. This year just kinda disappeared or got gone or something. Reminds me of a song in an old commercial, “Turn around and you’re three. Turn around and you’re four. Turn around and you’re a young girl going out of the door.”
I am one who thinks we all should be giving to you instead of the other way around. But that it isn’t explains one of the charms of the BP&A. It is also an Appalachian trait that I am familiar with. I know I have posted this before, probably more than once, but visitors could scarcely leave my Grandma’s house without something to take with them and her poor as a church mouse herself, but only by the measure of money. Otherwise, she was rich.
I am thankful.on your behalf for all of your all’s blessings this peculiar year of 2022. And for the blessings of each of the BP&A commenters. You all are a fine community!
I am thankful for Blind Pig – – my “island of stability in a world gone mad.”
You have had an awesome year, Tipper!!! I can’t think of a nicer lady who deserves many blessings because you’re just a genuine and kind person!!! It’s been a week that was so rough and went so fast( every day this week I’ve had business) and I’ve felt so bad, to be honest The Blind Pig and the Acorn blog got me through it by thinking of things outside myself. You’re like Calgon- take me away!!! Lol Much love and many blessings to you, Tipper, and your wonderful and beautiful family! You all enhance our lives and get us conversing and sharing about most everything!!! I really enjoy your hard work and if I was giving an APPALACHIAN AWARD, you’d be the recipient too!!! Congratulations and I wish you rest, health and happiness!!!
This chapter sounds exactly like my family as described by my Mother and Sister when they lived in a holler in Swain County.
I was born and lived in a holler in Swain County for the first 25 years of my live. I would be interested in knowing who your Mother and Sister are.
Love the Blind Pig. Keep on keepin’ on!
Above anything on all YouTube, and email this is the best channel there is. “Blind pig and the acorn & celebrities Appalachian. It fills my evening when my husband works. It bring back memories of my childhood. I love the Presley girls too. Your whole family is a blessing! Keep up the good work!
I agree. Where did this year go?? It really does seem like it was just February. We are very thankful for you, Tipper!!
Donna. : )
What a blessed year you have had, and what a blessing you have been to all of us. You have taught me so much this year.
Loved the start of the new book!
We are thankful for YOU and for you keeping our old ways, our speech, our recipes, the stories of our ancestors ALIVE! We have a saying in our family for those of us who do genealogy, “we’re putting skin on old bones”. Thank you, Tipper, for putting the skin on Appalachia and keeping it alive! We love you!
Oh my gosh…this is gonna be a good one. It started with such a descriptive peek into what is headed for awesomeness. The first thing that ‘peeked’ my interest was the size of the groundhogs…I had no idea they got that large. The only picture I have ever seen is on groundhog day and they sho nuff don’t look that large. With every page you have read, makes me more and more grateful for what we have, modern conveniences, health, ‘stuff’ that we might or might not need…too many things to appreciate and reflect on. Can you imagine rearing that many children on what seemed to be a sparse food supply? I cannot. Just having the room to house them was unthinkable, six or seven children?…where to sleep, how to clothe, and the list could go on. As far as being thankful, there are not enough words for me to list them. Love your new addition, Austin seems to be a keeper and hope Chatter might have found her soulmate, time will tell. As far as your reward???…it goes without say, WELL DESERVED. Already looking forward to next Friday. Stay well and God Bless you all
It has been an eventful year and a good year! A new member of the family but to tell the truth Austin has been a wonderful member of the family for quite some time, we all love him! Tipper, you’re winning the Appy Award for Celebrating Appalachia is quite an honor for you!
We do have a lot to be thankful for!