It’s hard for me to believe the month of November is here. I don’t know where in the world the year of 2023 has went, but it sure has got gone.
Even with the death of Miss Cindy and the ongoing sickness Granny is dealing with, there has been much to be thankful for this year.
The Deer Hunter leaving his full time job in August to work with me has been such a blessing. Every day I’m beyond grateful that he is here with me.
The success of mine and Jim Casada’s cookbook has been a whirlwind of thankfulness for us and our families.
There have been many other blessings this year and we are thankful for all of them. From the house we live in to the love that surrounds us there is much to be thankful for at the Pressley house.
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!
Starting tomorrow 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’s video: Matt Made Supper for Me.
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I am thankful for God’s mercy and grace and the GIFT of HIS SON and SALVATION thru Him. I am thankful for my precious family and friends. This year, I am not only thankful for all my blessings from before, but I can add finding your Celebrating Appalachia and the Presley Girls to my list!
Fall and Spring both via for my favorite season, but I enjoy living in Kentucky where I can get a taste of them all…sometimes in one week.
I’m thankful when November arrives. Fall has always been my favorite season. The weather has cooled off, harvest is completed, and food is put up for the winter. Thanksgiving and Christmas are not too far off. That’s when we’ll get to see our children and usually all our grandchildren at sometime or other during the season. They are spread from California to Texas, Mississippi, and the UAE. It’s wonderful when they make it home.
So very blessed
Hi Tipper, my husband Dean and I watch your YouTube videos every time one is posted along with Corrie and Katie’s videos. Thank you for all you do!
Tipper, I cannot begin to tell you how reading your blog and keeping up with your YouTube videos along with Chitter & Chatter’s channel has been a blessing to me over the past year. Your faith has been a testimony and the love that you have shared for keeping the ways of Appalachain history & culture is an inspiration to many of us.
Tipper,
I cannot begin to tell you how reading your blog and keeping up with your YouTube videos along with Chitter & Chatter’s channel has been a blessing to me over the past year. Your faith has been a testimony and the love that you have shared for keeping the ways of Appalachain history & culture is an inspiration to many of us.
There is always something to be thankful fof
This year is flying by so fast for sure. I am thankful for family & home and the love of our Lord and Savior. I feel so blessed to have discovered your channel, along with the girls and your blog. Prayers continued for Granny. Have a Blessed November Pressley family.
Covid wasn’t something I was thankful for except it was the reason I found Blind Pig and the Acorn. Spent more time online looking for interesting things. I’m so thankful I found the Wilson family who now seem like good friends.
Praying for Grannie love listening to she and Paul sing. Wish I could give her a Hug.
Bit of trivia my cousin was in your parts just recently. He posted on fb his location. I ask him if close to Brasstown & Murphy shared they went to Brasstown for the Punkinchunkin event but they didn’t allow pets so they didn’t get to stay. I shared with him my Pressly Family who live in the area of whom I have adopted all of them as my family.
Was a bit envious he was so close to your home.
Take care, Hugs for all
Tipper, you are right, this year has gone by so fast. I agree no matter what we have gone through there is anyways something to be grateful for in our lives. I am beyond grateful for what our Heavenly Father has done in my life through His Son Jesus. No matter how dark life may seem, I can call upon Jesus and He gives me peace and comfort so I can see His light through it all. I’m thankful for you and all the joy you and your family give to us all in your blogs and videos.
Tipper, there’s always SOMETHING to be THANKFUL for. I am thankful for lots of things including the Blind Pig and the Acorn!
Tipper your blog and videos bless me everyday. Keep on being who God created you to be and being true to Him first. Everything else after that will be exactly what it should be.
We are so grateful for what we have. We got an early cold/snow shower yesterday and went out in our car with heated seats and all. There was a time when our daughter was a baby that we had a junker car with no heat at all. In Michigan. We would scrape the ice from the outside, then get in the car and scrape the inside of the windows. We felt as if this was going to be the way it would always be. Today I sat on our new bed folding warm clothes from the dryer in my apartment in a town we never thought we’d live in. I never forget where I’ve been.
And Tipper! We are so grateful for you and your sweet family. And that brand new baby boy who’s on his way!
We all have much to be thankful for regardless of troubles that come our way. I am thankful for you, Tipper. I enjoy reading Blind Pig and The Acorn and your You Tube channel, Celebrating Appalachia. Thanks for sharing your life with us.
I cannot believe it’s November either. But I sure am glad to say good bye to the heat!! Our leaf color this year has been wonderful. Good man, Matt, making supper for yall.
I just wanted to say how much I love your channel as well as the Pressley Girls! Thank you for all the work you put into your videos, and for sharing your lives in Appalachia with us! Praying for y’all!
God bless, Valentine
Thanks to Steve for telling me about blindpigandtheacorn; I enjoy reading the stories and trying new recipes. Hope your Mom is doing well with her treatments. Happy Wednesday and yes we’re blessed beyond measure ‼️
Even when times look rough there’s always something to be thankful for. I might not always have what I want but I have what I need. The good Lord always provides. Thankful for Him above all else
Tipper, I watch your videos and keep up with you practically every day. I’m inspired by your hard-working family and all the love that abounds. I believe cold weather is upon us and I’m not looking forward to it at all. Please take care! franne
Just wanted you to know….
Robin and I were out to dinner and ran into a friend and her husband. The friend used to work with Robin and Cindy at ADATC. We talked about Cindy and how wonderful (and extraordinarily beautiful!) she was. It was pretty neat to hear such fond memories of her…trust me, she will not be forgotten!
We are thankful for you and your family. I’m not much of a commenter on things but I am a dedicated reader and watcher of your videos. With so much disturbing things going on in this world, it’s nice to visit with y’all. Sending you many good wishes and prayers for granny.
A forgiving and beneficent Father is the thing I’m most thankful for.
There are many other things I am grateful and thankful for as well, including the skills of the surgeon who replaced by right knee 4 weeks ago. Proof of his skill is that I went grocery shopping yesterday walking with only a cane.
I am so very thankful for you and your family! I am not sure quite how this happens but I feel that you and your entire family are part of my own. I pray for you all!
This year has flown by. Hard to believe in a few weeks, we will celebrate Thanksgiving. I am so thankful I am a part of the Blind Pig family. With all that is on your plate Tipper, you always wade through it and keep a smile on your face, as all of your family does. You are a faith filled family and it shows. I enjoy watching Celebrating Appalachia, The Pressley girls and all the wonderful music from videos of Pap and Paul singing and playing. Of course, I can’t leave out sweet Olive! I also miss Miss Cindy’s comments, but I know she is in a much better place. Gone but never forgotten and Granny, she’s tough and my prayer is that she will beat the cancer and in March, she will be holding her new great grandson.
Tipper, I am thankful for you and yours. I am also thankful for the folk who post in support of your good words and videos. Thank you, One and All, for the blessing you are to me.
I have already commented about my blessings. This has more to do with Thankful November. When growing up and through a large portion of my life, by November, I would be “chomping at the bit” – very anxious for Thanksgiving Day not only for the food and being with our families, but because of the rabbit and bird (quail) hunting seasons opening in SC. This colder weather we are having makes me think of the days in my past when it would soon be hog killing time.
Tipper I find peace in your BP&A blog I just lost my aunt last month and I miss her terribly since she was my last link to the Carter side of my family but reading some of your posts and listening to Pap and Paul has really brought peace to me I appreciate you and your family Thank you so much for that, continued prayers for Granny and all of your family.
I’m so thankful for so much, it’s hard to relay to others. God certainly knows my thankfulness and the number one reason is the health of my husband, my children, grands, great grands and our number three greatgrand that will be born next spring. I believe the thing I’m thankful for though, mostly this year is God letting my son have his life back and the young physician who was there when my son needed him the most. God bless you all this coming season of thankfulness. Miss Tipper and family, I’m so grateful too for your blog and YouTube programs. Y’all have given me a sweet time of peace in your stories and all the wonderful family things you have together. It reminds me of my own life in childhood and all my precious family. Most have passed on to a greater realm, I give thanks for them all. Prayers to you all and especially your dear mother and Miss Katie and child.
Watching your family reminds me so much of my Tennessee family. Thank you for sharing your family and love!
Tipper, I too, along with everyone else here is so, so grateful to have found your vlog! It was during a rough patch in my life and you and your vlog/blog helped me through it! I have so many things to be thankful for, too numerous to mention. But the top of the list is a loving Heavenly Father and knowing one day I’ll be able to see and talk face to face with Him! Amen
Happy November Tipper and to all! I am grateful for all my blessings. One of my blessings Tipper is you and this beautiful community. You and your family have brought so much happiness to my daily life. Thank you so much and I hope you have a wonderful day, Kelly Carlson from a little town of 150 on the backside of Lake Tahoe, California ❤️
Always thankful to be able to read The Blind Pig and and the Acorn, plus to be able to watch all of y’all’s videos. It’s is such a blessing.
Like everyone else there’s a myriad of things I am thankful for. One thing is finding this blog and meeting you and the girls at the Knoxville book signing. Thank you for all you do in helping us reminisce about our youth in Appalachia.
Blessings to all.
It is hard to believe November is here. Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Much Love and Prayers for Granny. God has blessed so, just being able getting up everyday and doing what I have to do. He blessed us a week ago with a new Min Pin puppy. I’ve had my hands full, their just like a child.We are very thankful for the family we do have and thankful for you Tipper. God Bless in everything you do.
I am thankful that God has blessed me in so many ways. One of them being the BPA and celebrating appalachia. You are a light in a dark and confusing world. God bless you. Still praying for Granny.
Happy November to you and yours! It is cold at the foot of the mountains this morning and I thought of your Deer Hunter. Hope he is enjoying it. I am enjoying it sitting by the fire, my memories enjoy the feel of the cold air…..not so much my bones anymore. Prayers continue for your Mother and all of your family. Thank you for providing a peaceful place to spend a few moments. The world doesn’t seem to have many places like yours these days…..glad you share yours.
Blessings,
Freida Pearce
I am thankful for the joy this blog brings to my day, and for all the nice comments from the readers. I feel like we’re a group of neighbors talking over the fence.
Cynthia and all, I feel so blessed to have this blog and YES we are all like neighbors talking over the fence. I am thankful for this blog and wish God’s many blessings on everyone here! You are loved <3
We all have many blessings to be thankful for and should always remember that, though it is sometimes hard to do. My Granny used to say something (and I don’t know if it was her own saying or something she derived or misconstrued from others since I’ve heard similar sayings)…but she always said, “Count your blessings before your sorrows.” And it’s true that while there’s often a lot of things to worry about in life, you have to look at all the GOOD things that God has made possible for you first. It also reminds me of that old hymn, “Count Your Blessings” — I haven’t heard it in church or sang it in ages, but the words hold a lot of truths…
When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Refrain:
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God hath done;
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
Logan, I have mentioned my church still being old fashion. We still sing the old time hymns and hear the older style sermons. The hymn “Count Your Many Blessings” is often sung.
I just discovered your youtube channel a few months ago, and subscribed to your blog. I love them and your family. Thank you for all your hard work! I immediately loved Granny and I’m praying for her!
I see some common things in the posts thus far today. Taken together, they tell why BP&A readers are thankful for you and your family. One that I relate to is that you reconnect people to their Appalachian roots. A simple way you do that is with your vocabulary tests as just one example. But another, less obvious one, is that we trust BP&A to be “real”; that what we read or see is sterling metal to the bottom. And commenters come across as being the same way.
Ron, wouldn’t it be great for all the BP&A people to have a homecoming style get together this spring or summer. Tipper’s mom will be better and the grandson will be here. I would love to meet all of you. I consider everyone a friend.
Tipper, you give your readers a gift every day when you share your love for Appalachia with us. We are thankful for you!
You and your family are such a blessing to me!!! I watch your vlog, read your blog and watch the girls vlog!! I am thankful for all yall!! And I am always holding yall up in prayer especially Granny during this most difficult time.
Good morning Tipper! I’m like the others, so thankful I found your blog. I enjoy reading it and I enjoy listening to your utube channel. Y’all are just so genuine and down to earth it’s a pleasure to “visit “ with you. I pray for the Lord to bless you even more! ❤️
November has become one of my favorite months for the season of Thanksgiving that it brings. Tipper, I love this blog. You and your family are wonderful ambassadors for Appalachia, and reading it is like sitting around the table talking to family members.
I am thankful for your family. You have introduced some joy, thoughtfulness, serenity, common sense and friendship into many lives. Mine included. You reenforce that God, family, and respect for those are still important. Your channel is a place of retreat and I am so grateful you have the time, energy and willingness to keep it up. God bless and THANK YOU!
Love your blog!
Tipper, I’m thankful for you, your delightful family, your blog, the friends I have here and of course every day and every topic is an adventure we discuss. We chew the cud I do guess. Lol I’m thankful for getting my anemia diagnosed and worked on. I’m thankful I don’t drink the Koolaid raging on social media. I’m thankful I’m saved and I’m thankful there’s a big yellow sign and cones all around me proclaiming “ caution: a work in progress!” I’m saved, far from perfect, so there’s that! I will be thankful to put a ham and Turkey on the table. I am thankful there is still hope as we as a nation swirl the drain. God bless granny, Katie, you, the husband, Corey and her husband, your brothers and their families in JESUS name!
I am thankful for you Tipper! I found your blog a few years ago and I read it faithfully. At a time where I was missing my grandparent’s who passed away, here you were to bless me with Celebrating Appalachia! Thank you for helping me feel a bit closer to Appalachia. May God bless you, and your family this holiday season!
Tipper you have many gifts…..your writing skills, the natural way you articulate when filming your Vlog, the genuine love you demonstrate for your family radiates with ease through your written and spoken words, celebrating the simple things in life that many of us so desperately crave in our crazy world, and demonstrating a thankful attitude despite the challenging circumstances you may face.
I am so thankful for your posts about life in Appalachia and sharing your joys and sorrows. We all have
them, but sometimes we forget to be grateful for the dark times as well as the bright spots of life.
Thank you, Tipper.
I am grateful for your blog and the ability to reconnect with my heritage both through the stories and recipes you share. It is a blessing I can share with my adult children who did not have the privilege to share in the lives of their Appalachian great grandparents.
Thank you
Tipper, I’m so thankful for this blog and for you YouTube channel. It sure helps me out when I’m feeling homesick or lonely. I just love your family! God bless ya’ll!!!
I have been up for awhile, and I thought what better to do than jump on the BP blog where I feel at home. I have become acquainted with many fine people through your blog, and I look forward to their posts. What a great thing to feature in a month many dread, and that is “Thankful November.” At a time when summer ends and no gardens to tend, we must make plans for a winter that can be unpredictable. I will miss gardening, but I am thankful to take a break from all the hard work. I find it is being thankful for the small things that really keep us rooted and at peace with the world. Since my move I will miss the deep snows and snow covered landscape, but being thankful that my snow shovel is rarely if ever used. I also miss the drives on uncrowded roads, but am so thankful for all the exciting different shops and stores I can visit. I am extremely thankful at my age I still have enough sense left drive around wherever I wish. In a world where the news seems to throw us a curve ball daily, thank you, Miss Tipper, for always showing us the peace and beauty of another day. Thank you this morning for reminding how very much there is to be grateful for.
Good morning Tipper. We woke up to cold 25 degrees here in central eastern WV this morning. Brrr—And there’s a couple inches of snow in our yard!!! I have two little granddaughters who had a sleepover here last night who are gonna go bonkers when they wake up and see this snow. We will be out making tracks in it later on—no matter how cold it is. They like to look for animal tracks too. Today, I would say we are all thankful for hot chocolate!!! Have a blessed day everyone!!
Brenda, I identify with your granddaughters and the excitement of fresh snow and animal tracks. As a teen with an old shotgun and two or three shells, such days were made for rabbit hunting. I remember tracking a cottontail to a brush pile. I knew it was in there because there were no tracks going out. I cocked the old 12 gauge, kicked the brush pile, and missed the departing rabbit clean. I bagged my share of rabbits and squirrels on other hunts, but I’ve never forgotten that snowy afternoon that the bunny won, fair and square.
Gene,
Thats a sweet story—especially for the rabbit. Lol. The girls have already been out early this morning with their Pap, even though it was still only 25. They had a blast trying to throw snow on him. When they came back inside, one asked for hot chocolate and one asked for ice cream. Go figure! I promised to take them out again this afternoon. Maybe we can check near our brush pile and see if we can find any rabbit tracks of our own!
I’m just thankful I found this blog, all the commenter’s seem like really nice people, people that you would want to be friends with, good down to earth folks and of course you and your family Tipper that makes THE PIG TURN. I enjoy it very much. Blessings to all
I am thankful for the Pressley family! Finding your blog and YouTube channel has been a blessing to me. Y’all really do feel like family to me and my family!
November is a blessed month. I’ve had snow the past three days, and I had to give thanks for seeing it fly another year, because it is so beautiful and somehow quiets this noisy world. God bless you and yours, and much love to Granny and Katie.
Watch the dinner being prepared…whoa, where were the suspenders???…I think my family is much like yours and most if we will just stop and count them. I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count them all. Beginning with God and our health, at the top of the list, and less important but still Blessed are others. Stay well and safe and WARM for sure, keep them thar home fires burning. Prayers for you guys and Granny. God Bless
Tipper, we are thankful for you and your family! It’s such a blessing to read and listen to positive and peaceful things. I enjoyed Paul on the video last night explaining the music. It’s a wonderful legacy to have and leave behind for your family, but an even greater gift to share Christ with others. I’m excited to receive my cds. I love praising our Father! I can’t sing as I sound like a cat caught in a fence with its tail on fire, but I love to try. Blessings to all y’all!
There’ a lot to be said about Thankfulness. It gives a doorway to Hope. My prayer and Hope is that by Christmas, we have news for a clean bill of health with the Hope of a few more good years for Granny to meet her first great grandson and see that he has a good start in life.
Yes the year has passed so quickly. I have a multitude of things for which I am thankful. Top is my salvation, my husband, son, family and church family. One big thing is finding this blog, and all the channels associated with the Bind Pig and the Acorn. You don’t have to give away anything! Just sharing your life is enough for me as well as reading interesting stories from your readers. God bless you and prayers for Granny.
Tipper, you, the BPA and the members are a blessing for me. I have to remind myself of this, especially since my wife’s death, no matter how tuff things get God is with us and blessing us in someway. Just waking up each day is a blessing. Right now I am laying here with my right ankle aching can hardly stand the cover to touch it, gout I guess, but I am still alive.
Randy-I hope your ankle feels better. I’ve heard gout is almost unbearable.
(((((Randy))))) Yes, God is at work in and through both the good and the bad of life (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%208%3A28&version=NLT). May God heal your broken heart and your sore ankle soon.
Randy, I tried the medications the doctor prescribed for my gout. It helped for about three days. A friend told me he used tart cherry juice. I drink about four ounces every morning and it works. I first tried black cherry juice and couldn’t feel any effect – it is less costly. The tart cherry juice works for me. I can wear my shoes and walk without limping. Give it a test and good luck.