Blind Pig & The Acorn

Blind Pig & The Acorn 2012 In Review

Every January for the last couple of years, I've taken a look back at what I've written here on the Blind Pig during the year. It helps put things in perspective for me and I'm always surprised at the various subjects I wrote about-many of which have completely fallen through the cracks of my memory by year end.

One of the highlights of 2012 for me was-I wrote a book! Actually I took part of my Appalachia Through My Eyes series and made a book titled Appalachia Through My Eyes. It was very well received-and you can still buy a copy by going here. 

I've listed my favorite posts for each of the last 12 months below-one regular post-one post from my Appalachia Through My Eyes series. (if you want to revist any of the posts-just click on the words in orange)

 

January-My favorite regular post for January was I'll Fly Away-because it captured us as we really are-when we were filming the song we had no intention of sharing it with you-it was only supposed to be to help the girls practice their harmony. 

Appalachia Through My Eyes - Evil Flowers is my favorite of the series for January. I like it because the old saying is so thoroughly Appalachian in nature. There's the warning-the religious overtones-all with a touch of humor.

February-Was full of sweet stories. Looking back it seems appropriate they all appeared during the month of love even though I didn't plan it that way. My favorite post of the month is Brand New Tennessee Waltz. I've come to love the song-mostly because of Pap's story of his one time waitress girlfriend who wore the prettiest apron with blue strings.

I like the post Appalachia Through My Eyes - Music In The Same House because it makes me feel hopeful for the future. My generation of roustabouts who played in that house turned out ok-and I'm positive this generation will too.

March-A crazy conglomeration of posts filled up this month. My favorite-The Czech Come To Brasstown. Such an amazing night when 2 dance teams from both sides of the globe came together-it was truly magical.

Appalachia Through My Eyes - Alpha Omega Evans is not only one of my favorite posts from the series for the month of March-but for the entire year. The day we saw the gravestone was a truly magical day. A day spent with friends we love-and the image of Chitter running back to kiss Alpha Omega Evans goodbye will forever be burned into my memory.

April-A month full of dancing-with Mountain Folk Festival 2012 being my favorite post. 

Appalachia Through My Eyes - Rooster Fighting With Violets is my favorite from the series. Not a very popular game throughout all of Appalachia-but for sure between my mountain holler and the Pinelog-Gumlog area just over the mountain.

May-Was an exciting month-I taught a cooking class at the John C. Campbell Folk School-what fun! I had the best students in the world-and a co-teacher who taught me so much! My favorite post is-The Heartland Series. What an amazing group of people we got to hang out with during their visit. 

Appalachia Through My Eyes - The Perfect Arrowhead is another post I can say is one of my favorites for the entire year. 

 

June-2 Knitters Moved In is my favorite post for the month of June.

For the series-Appalachia Through My Eyes - Way Back In The Hills. Both highlight the great opportunities the girls got to be part of over the last year.

July-We finally got chickens in 2012-and in my favorite post for July-I introduced you to them-Meet The Chickens.

Appalachia Through My  Eyes - Barelegged is my favorite from the series-the term barelegged is totally representative of Appalachia and is used in many different forms-just ask Granny if you don't believe me.

 

August-Fishing With Pap was my favorite for this month-and I noticed another neat coincidence-I published it on my birthday-but never noticed till I was looking back over the year. 

Appalachia Through My Eyes - Give Him Down The Road is my favorite of the series. I tried acting out the old saying-and actually ended up sending the girls down the road because of their lack of cooperation.

September-The month I finally told you the truth about my secret fairytale in my favorite post for the month-The Princess Tree-the post is one of my favorites for the entire year as well.

Appalachia Through My Eyes - Mean As A Striped Snake was my favorite from the series. 

October-My favorite post-Mountain Sayings.

Appalachia Through My Eyes - Fall Is Here is my favorite from the series-I love the changing of the seasons here in Appalachia and celebrate each one. 

November-Hunting Rocks tops my list for November.

With Appalachia Through My Eyes - Teenagers being my favorite of the series. 

December-I Dream Of Christmas is my choice for this month. Actually-it's Granny's poem so she did all the work on the writing end. Her poem speaks to one of the bittersweet things we love about Christmas-memories of Christmases past spent with those we loved the most but no longer have with us.

Appalachia Through My Eyes - Mr. Art Teacher was my favorite of the series-because I like for people to know we have smart kids in Appalachia and fantastic teachers too.

I hope you enjoyed looking back with me. Looking back helps me see the road I'm headed down in a clearer light. And I hope each of you stick around for the ride in 2013!

Tipper

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Blind Pig & The Acorn News

Many of you-almost 2,000 of you-visit the Blind Pig & The Acorn through some form of RSS feed-which means you get an email update telling you to click on the title header and come visit me or you get an update via your Google Reader or other reader program.

All that is made possible by Feedburner-which is owned by Google. Feedburner is a free service that sends out notifications when blogs and other websites publish new material.

Feedburner is having issues. You might have noticed my subscriber count down lower on the right side of this page has said 0 for a number of days-even though all of you are still here and still reading the Blind Pig.

Feedburner has put out a statement that they are working hard to fix the issues, however there is much speculation on the internet that Google may be about to shut Feedburner down. As you might imagine, bloggers who have worked hard to increase their subscriber list, are scared silly to see their numbers back at zero.

Hopefully the shutdown of Feedburner is only a rumor and Google will have all their glitches fixed before long. But just in case I wanted to tell you a few things you might not know.

If you don't receive a Blind Pig update and you still want to visit me all you have to do is go to www.blindpigandtheacorn.com You can type that into your browser or you can go to your search page and search for the Blind Pig & The Acorn-and you'll see me in the list of of links. Just click on one and there I'll be.

If you land on a page of the Blind Pig and you notice it's an old post-just look up at at the top of the page-just under the banner and click on home. That will take you to the most recent post published-and you can see all the other posts lined up underneath the most recent one.

You can also go click anywhere in my Blind Pig & The Acorn Banner at the top of the page-and that will take you to the most recent post published.

If you pick up the Blind Pig through facebook-everything should continue to work just like it is now-since Typepad pushes my feed to facebook not Feedburner. (If you didn't know the Blind Pig was on facebook-you can go here to like my page and add it to your facebook 'likes' so it will show up in your facebook updates)

I've been searching for a new way to send out notices just in case Feedburner bites the dust-but thus far haven't found anything I am pleased with. I just wanted to tell you about it-so that if you stop getting emails/updates from me you'd know I'm still here and you can still find me!

Tipper

p.s. Tomorrow-drop back by for a chance to win tickets to the JCCFS's Fall Festival! Sorry I put the giveaway off for a day-but I was afraid you might not find me to enter if Feedburner quit!

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Bringing Appalachia To Your Livingroom

Earlier this week someone asked me how long I had been running the Blind Pig. Without hesitation I answered "March will make 5 years." Then I sat there and thought wow 5 years! I thought about the friends I've made-about all the fun I've had since I stood barefoot in the snow on a cold March day in 2008.

I remember how excited I was to start my endeavor of celebrating and preserving my Appalachian Heritage through a website. I studied on my idea for a good 6 months before doing anything. I wanted it to be a success-I wanted it to be right.

I'd tell people about my plan and folks would look at me like I was crazy saying things like "well that sounds real nice" then they'd change the subject. But I had supporters too-people who were as excited about my plans as me: Paul, Miss Cindy, Granny, Pap, Beverly, Dana, Cecilia, Jamie, and of course The Deer Hunter.

As I look back over the years, I realize I've reached the Promise Land-if there is such a thing in the world of blogs. I haven't gotten rich in monetary terms-but the wealth of friendship, love, and camaraderie I've found far exceeds my greatest hopes of being a successful blogger.

I'm not good at tooting my own horn. I mostly keep compliments to myself, pondering them in my heart, using them as a fuel of encouragement to keep my fingers busy typing for you.

All my blog related thoughts this week reminded me of a post a fellow blogger, Cassie Sanford Clark , wrote about me a while back. Cassie is a genealogist who blogs at The Sanford Family Misfit. Cassie has several NC lines in her family, and you can read about the purpose behind her blog by going here.

Here's what Cassie had to say about the Blind Pig & the Acorn:

Blind Pig & the Acorn: Bringing Appalachia Into Your Living Room written by Cassie Sanford Clark

Two years ago during some research I stumbled across a blog called Blind Pig & The Acorn. At the time I was missing home pretty badly. My daddy had been gone for less than a year and I found myself wondering when I would ever go home again. With both my dad and papaw having passed away and mamaw living with family in Wilmington – there was no longer anyone in Haywood County for me to go home to. I felt like half of myself had disappeared along with my daddy, because who was left that understood anything about bluegrass, clogging, hiking, fishing, or loving a place as viciously stereotyped as Appalachia?

The Blind Pig & The Acorn turned out to be exactly what I needed to make myself feel better that night. I scoured Tipper’s blog for hours. I watched video after video of her daughters clogging, I listened to every bluegrass song on her playlist, looked at every photo she had posted, and read pretty much every post that she had written. I sat in front of my computer screen that night soaking in every tiny bit of heritage that Tipper offered up and didn’t go to bed until after the sun had long since risen. I continued this trend for a couple of weeks until I felt inherently whole again.

It was around this same time that I began to consider what all of my genealogy research was leading to. Ultimately, it was the Blind Pig & The Acorn that supplied me with an answer. I wanted to share everything I knew, I wanted to reconnect with my roots, and I wanted to do the one thing I knew I was good at:  write. I’m infinitely grateful that I ran across Tipper’s blog that night for many reasons, but mostly for inspiring me to do something.

If this is this first time you are hearing of Blind Pig & The Acorn – I’m telling you that you have to check it out. It’s an incredible blog that has a wonderful way of bringing Appalachia straight into your living room.

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I may never get rich from the Blind Pig & The Acorn-but my dream of preserving and celebrating the rich culture and heritage of Appalachia is now a reality. Not just because of Cassie-but because of her and all of you who offer your support in a multitude of different ways-as you walk the steep mountain ridges and the deep dark hollers of Appalachia with me.

Tipper

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Is 2011 Really Over?

Seems like only yesterday I was looking back over the year of 2010. I really enjoyed the year in review post I did last January-so I decided 2011 deserved a look back too.

Once again I was amazed at the posts I had totally forgotten about. As I looked back through the year-the posts below were the ones that caught my eye (if you want to read any of the them-just click on the words in orange).

January 2011

• The month of January was all about make do cooking-you know the dishes you make when the groceries are mostly gone and payday is still a few days away. We ate light bread, pinto beans, Granny's homemade potato chips, cornbread and milk, and we even made microwave popcorn in a paper lunch bag.

February 2011

• Since we'd been making do with food-I started February off with a song about making do: Poor Man. Me and Pap are still crazy about that song. February was also the month I started my photo series Appalachia Through My Eyes. I worried myself to death over the series-I have a tendency to want things to turn out exactly as I planned them. The photo series didn't turn out exactly like I wanted it too-but I think it's been o.k. My plans were to do the series for a year and then move on to something else-but I've grown quite fond of it. I think I'll continue with the series Appalachia Through My Eyes-but I won't worry about it near as much.

March 2011

• March was a busy month-we made biscuits, swung on grapevines, burned the garden, and marveled at the maple blooms of spring. 

April 2011

• Another busy month-full of the unlikely duo of dancing and ramps. Me and the girls made the trek back to Berea KY to celebrate the 75 Anniversary of the Mountain Folk Festival, and Charles Fletcher took us all on a Ramp Tramp.

May 2011

• The beginning of May brought me a greenhouse, the least May Pole Dancer, and the story of Maggie Collett Martin. The middle of the month was tasty with Granny's Biscuits and chocolate gravy. May was also the month our 3rd Annual Planting By The Signs Test sponsored by Hometown Seeds got started-and I'm ashamed to say I haven't even shared the results with you yet-and it's almost time to start another test!

June 2011

• The Blind Pig Family went back in time and took you along for the ride. Pap showed us how to string greenbeans, and 2 Blacksmiths moved into my house.

July 2011

• Granny showed us how to make kraut in the jar, I learned a little more about Fred O. Scroggs (a fellow Brasstownian) by way of David Anderson, and as the corn began to come in we went with Pap to the cornfield.  

August 2011

• This was the month my Ola Belle Reed and Little Cataloochee Baptist Church project came to fruition-with the story of Cora Lee Mease and the video of Undone In Sorrow. Other highlights from the month included going back to Hazel Creek with my good friend Mildred Johnson and telling you about the old biddies-better known as Queens of the Meadow.

September 2011

• As fall of the year arrived we had wild hazelnuts, pawpaws, chinquapins, molasses bread and pear preserves to eat. September also brought us the fun Week Of the Crow with posts like Uncle Joe's Pet Crow and Crows on the Ridge.

October 2011

• My Spooky October Series made another showing during 2011. The series was full of spooky tales from Blind Pig readers and a special edition Spooky Appalachian Vocabulary Test.

November 2011

• We started the month out with a sweet smelling plumgranny then filled our bellies with Granny's Pumpkin Bread and a batch of lunchroom cookies. After catching a ride on a North Wind we finished out the month with a well written essay about the Leaves of November.

December 2011

• The month of Christmas started off with a heartwarming story about a pocket knife and ended with Interesting Weather Lore to guide us through the forecast for the coming year. Along the way, were 2 sweet voices singing O Beautiful Star of Bethlehem.

When I try to pick a favorite post for the entire year-its impossible. But the story of Cora Lee Mease and the video for Undone In Sorrow would be hard to beat out of the top 5 for me. How about you-did you have a favorite Blind Pig & The Acorn post for the year 2011? Maybe one I mentioned above-or one I failed to mention?

I'm giving away another digital download of my book today-if you missed the new book hoopla go here to read about it. All you have to do to be entered in the giveaway is-leave a comment! The giveaway ends Friday Jan 6th.

2011 was a great year for the Blind Pig & the Acorn-and I know 2012 will be too. I hope you stick around for the ride!

Tipper

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Coming Soon

 
I'm excited about a few things that are upcoming on the Blind Pig-and thought I'd take a few minutes to tell you about them.

 
First up-the John C. Campbell Folk School's Fall Festival is just around the corner-the first weekend in October. The girls will be clogging both days-and the Blind Pig Gang will be performing too. I'll be giving away 2 sets of free passes between then and now-so if you live close enough to come-be watching for the giveaway.

Have you noticed the new graphic over on the top right of this page-the one that says "Come Cook With Me?" I still can't believe it myself-but I'll be Co-teaching an Appalachian Cooking Class next Spring at the Folk School. I'd love for you to come if you could-you can click on the photo for more details.

 
Second: Do you have a favorite bird? I do-its a Crow. Don't ask me why-but for some reason I have always liked them (don't tell my older brother Steve-he'd never understand). Earlier this summer I heard 2 delightful stories-true stories about crows. I decided I had to share them with you-but why stop at 2 there has to be more crow stories out there. Got one? Send it to me at tipper@blindpigandtheacorn.com and you can be part of the week of the crow. Maybe you don't have a story-but you have a photo-then by all means send me the photo-and you can be part of the week too.

 
Third: If you've been a Blind Pig reader for a while-you may remember a few years ago I hosted a Spooky October Series-I'm bringing the spooky series back for this October. So if you've got a spooky story-and would like to be part of the series send it to me at tipper@blindpigandtheacorn.com. If you have a blog and want to post it on your site-go for it. Grab my picture above-and let me know when you post it and I'll send folks your way.

 

Fourth: Last but not least-actually the most important to me. It's all about you. Several weeks ago my number of subscribers went above the 1,000 mark. I still can't believe that many folks are interested in what I have to say. But I can believe that many people-and more care about Celebrating and Preserving the Rich Culture and Heritage of Appalachia-and that makes me very happy!! Since we typically think of the month of November as being the month of Thanksgiving-the entire month will be full of giveaways-for you the readers of the Blind Pig. To enter any-and all of them-all you have to do is be a Subscriber and leave a comment-thats it. What will they be? Well hmmm. I'm sure they'll be some cds, a little folkart, and some other great items. And hey-if you want to donate something or sign on as a sponsor for the giveaway month-that would be super! Just email me at tipper@blindpigandtheacorn.com and tell me what your thinking.

Whew-sounds like I'm going to be busy for the next few months-I sure hope you all will stick around for the ride.

Tipper

p.s Oh and one more thing-if you' don't have plans-you should so try and attend the Folk Art Center's Heritage Weekend on Sept 17-18. For more details go here.

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The Blind Pig Gets Interviewed

 
I was recently interviewed by the Writers Circle-click here to read it. If you're a writer-you should check out the Writers Circle's writing tips-and if you live in the Western NC/North GA area you should for sure check out the classes.

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Hope you enjoyed reading about why and how I started the Blind Pig & The Acorn.

Tipper

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Happy New Years

 
This is the time of the year most folks figure out what they need to change in their lives and make a renewed effort to do so in the coming year-makes me think of wiping the slate clean and starting fresh.

While I'm not one to make New Year's Resolutions (not that I don't need to) I do like to look back over the year that's gone and remember-especially when I think about the Blind Pig.

Over the last few days, I've been looking at all the different subjects I've written about during 2010. I've been surprised at the things I'd forgotten. I felt kinda overwhelmed when I looked at the posts as a whole-so I tried looking at them month by month and seeing what jumped out at me. (if you want to read any of the past posts-just click on the words in orange)

January

• I was wrapping up my series of posts about hog killing. One of my favorites was Granny and Pap rendering lard. January was also the month Arley Phillips died-better known as The Wild Man of Cataloochee. The post about Mr. Phillips stands out-because he was a legend that was true-and now he's gone. January was also the month the Blind Pig Gang was singing Merle Haggard's Silver Wings. I still think Merle would enjoy our company no matter what Paul says.

February

• We all debated the wisdom of canning sausage in the old time way-would it kill you-and if so why are so many folks still alive and still canning it that way? I was jamming to Paul and the boys version of Fergus County Jail-and all these months later-I still must listen to it at least 3 times a week or maybe an even dozen-it's just that good. Especially when you think about it being recorded live-off the cuff at the end of one of our Sunday pickin' and grinnin' sessions.

March

• The Blind Pig family started on our Mushroom growing enterprise. I went back in time-back to when I was little skinny girl playing at the edge of a burning garden. We finished up the month by heading to Berea KY for some dancing.

April

• Violets took over the Blind Pig-I even made jelly with them. I took you along as  I climbed up a ridge as steep as a mule's face and found myself.

May

• We debated the difference in Mountain Laurel, Ivy, and Rhododendron-don't know about you-but the debate didn't change my mind on which is called what. I taught the girls how to do 'one potato two potato three potato four...' even though Chitter thought it was lame.

June

• I interviewed David Grier!!! Still can't believe it. I had his voice on my answering machine for months "Hey Tipper it's me David Grier" until someone erased it-though whoever did it still won't own up to erasing it. We all had a good laugh at the first ever Blind Pig Gang bloopers video.

July

• We made kraut-along with a few of you who made it too. I took you along on one of our treasure hunting expeditions and at the end of the month I fed grass to a grasshopper with a bittersweet heart.

August

• The month for blueberries and the best ever blueberry pie. Along with the blueberries there were sawbriers, spiders, grape hull jelly, sinners and saints-weird combination uh?

September

• Oh the distress I felt when I discovered my heirloom tomatoes may have cross pollinated-we had a great discussion about that issue. I was grateful for your input on the tomato issue and when you helped me solve 2 mysteries.

October

• We ate up some of Granny's 'fried' pies and scared ourselves with haunted houses and scary songs.

November

• I introduced some old friends to you-they just happen to be Black Walnut Trees. Pap was in the ICU at the VA Hospital in Otten for Veteran's Day-his stay stirred my thoughts and I shared them with you. 

December

• The month of Christmas-there was good food-outstanding stories-and lots of snow.

 

The year 2010 also brought some firsts for the Blind Pig & the Acorn:

• The first Blind Pig & the Acorn Planting By The Signs Calendar for 2011-remember how I published a calendar each month last summer? I developed an entire calendar for the coming year-set up in a similar way-it's easy to use-the best days for planting are marked along with pickling info, and weeding days. You can check it out by clicking on the LuLu buy now button in the top right of this page-just because you click on it doesn't mean you have to buy it-but you can check it out and see if you're interested.
• I was interviewed on the blog radio program at Salt Creek Life  -I don't believe they've got over my accent yet.
• I made a joint Partnership with The Learning Center! called the Proctor Project-where the students learn about the displaced community of Proctor-visit the area on a field trip-write essays on the subject-and then the best ones are published here on the Blind Pig. The Proctor Project is a perfect way to ensure the heritage and history of western NC continues to the next generations.
• I held a Spotlight On Music In Appalachia-and although I didn't get the big sponsors I started out hoping for-I did get some really great folks to sign on-and giving the guitar Paul bought away was for sure one highlight of the spotlight. I'm still amazed at all the folks who pitched in by donating something, writing a guest post, allowing me to interview them, or leaving heart felt comments along the way. And as I look back over the spotlight-I think it turned out just like it should have-after all it's everyday folks who make music what it is-not the big wigs at Gibson or Martin Guitars.
• I introduced a facebook page for the Blind Pig & The Acorn-and it's been a huge success. You can check out the posts from there-and other tidbits I share.
• My Twitter followers and Youtube subscribers continue to grow.
• The number of folks subscribed to the Blind Pig & the Acorn is nearing 1,000! I still can't believe that-I remember when I first started in 2008 I was tickled with 10 subscribers-and most of them were family members.

While I can't deny a little bit of pride at the things I mentioned above-the best part to me-is it means what I'm doing is working. I truly am celebrating the heritage and culture of Appalachia-and others are joining in on the celebration and that is something to celebrate in itself.

 

But don't get on the bus yet-the new year is just beginning and I've got some big plans. I'll share 2 of them with you now:

1. Hometown Seeds has once again signed on to sponsor the Blind Pig Family's garden and the 3rd Annual Blind Pig & the Acorn Planting by the Signs Test. So be deciding if you want to participate in the test this summer-and I'll be gathering the details to share with you soon.

2. I'm looking for 'make do' recipes. You know when there's nothing much left in the cabinets what do you cook? I know when Pap was growing up he said many is the night they had fried cornmeal mush for supper when there wasn't much else to eat. Around here-an example of making do cooking-is scrambled egg sandwiches or a pot of Granny's Soup. If you have a recipe to share-even better if you have a few words to go along with it-send it to me at tipper@blindpigandtheacorn.com or leave it in a comment here.

Happy New Years to you and yours!! And thank you for helping make 2010 a banner year for the Blind Pig & The Acorn!

Tipper

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Spring & Summer On A Snowy Day

Like much of the country Western NC has had it's fair share of snow this winter. For those of you who live farther north-all the hoopla about snow down south seems silly I'm sure-I admit, we do get excited over the white stuff.

As we headed out to do a show, The Sweetheart Festival, early Saturday morning-this is what the roads looked like-I still don't want to think about the ride down the driveway. Lets just say we've been walking in and out since that morning.

After a long day of talking to folks about the Blind Pig-and selling a little folkart, I was ready to head home-even if I had to hike a bit to get there. 

Once I reached home-I found Spring and Summer were waiting on me. My garden seeds had arrived. This year the kind folks over at Hometown Seeds are going to sponsor the Blind Pig garden in addition to, round 2 of the Blind Pig & The Acorn Sign Test.

Hometown Seeds specializes in providing quality seeds to home gardeners. They offer vegetable, flower and herb seeds-and guarantee their seeds to be top notch quality, true to type, shipped right, and to be great producers. Hometown Seeds does not sell GMO-genetically engineered seeds-to their customers as they do not believe enough research has been done on the subject.

 

Want to play along with the Blind Pig & The Acorn's Sign Test this year? Basically-it goes like this:  I mail you some seeds-you plant a few on the best day according to the signs-and you plant the others on the worst day according to the signs-informing me through out the season how each 'days' plants are doing. Last year I got a late start and used corn-which is kinda hard to grow in itself. Martina, Nancy, WKF, and Helen are the only ones who made it to the end. The rest of us got attacked by either rain or chipmunks.

For our test subject this year, Hometown Seeds has provided me with yellow crook neck squash seeds. If you're interested in playing along-send me an email at tipper@blindpigandtheacorn.com -and I'll send you the details.

If you haven't picked up your seeds for the coming summer-jump over to Hometown Seeds and look around-I think you'll be glad you did. I found their Survival Seeds Packet especially interesting.

Tipper

p.s. Coming up in a few days-I finally ate the Leather Britches.

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Turn Your Radio On

Are you a radio listener? If Chatter, Chitter, or The Deer Hunter are in my car-the radio is on and turned to some honky tonk country station. But if I'm alone, I'm listening to a cd-and if I do turn the radio on-it's usually to a news talk station.

Back in the day, as a teenager, I listened to the radio a lot-remember Casey Kasem's weekly top 40? I looked forward to the countdown all week and rarely missed it. If I was at home-I'd lay on the bed and listen to see who hit number one or if I was at Granny Gazzie's little house by the highway, my cousins and I would listen to see if our favorite song made it to the top of the charts.

This week my house has been all about the radio-strange for someone who seldom listens to it.

First up: Paul and Pap were invited to perform live on David Brose's radio show this coming Saturday. If you'd like to listen you can-the radio station streams live over the net. Go to: WYHG  (click on WYHG and you'll see Listen Live in blue at top right of page-click that to listen) David's show "The Mountain Valley Homecoming" airs from 12:00 till 2:00pm. Paul and Pap will perform during the first hour of the show from 12-1pm. (the times mentioned are eastern standard time-so depending on where you live you may have to convert to your time zone)

Second: I was invited to be a guest on a live radio show this Sunday by Paul Ward of Saltcreek Life. Paul's promo sums it up better than I can: Tipper from "Blind Pig And The Acorn" blog joins me as co-host for a call in trivia show. We will cover her site, Appalachian heritage, and give away some prizes. Be ready to call in! The Salt Creek Life radio show starts at 6pm central time. To listen and for more details about the show go too: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/paulsw

Third: Last night I listened to the radio as one of those cousins from Granny Gazzie's did his job. Clint is anchor for the Malone Sports Network broadcast team. Last night it was all about girls basketball. Clint did such a great job announcing-I felt like I was right there on the court-wincing at the fouls, jumping to my feet with the crowd and urging my team on to win.

If you have time this weekend I hope you'll listen in to David Brose's show-I know Pap and Paul will do a great job. I also hope you'll listen to Paul Ward's great show-who knows how good I'll do-but if nothing else I'm sure the contrast between my Appalachian accent and Paul's mid-west one will be interesting.

So are you a radio listener?

Tipper

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Happy New Year

As I look back over 2009 I'm happy with the progress made here on the Blind Pig & The Acorn site-mostly I'm thankful I have such great readers who have made 2009 a banner year for the Blind Pig.

Each post I write in an effort to promote, preserve, and celebrate Appalachian culture and heritage is made better by the comments you leave. Maybe you don't realize it-but each of you are part of the effort too.

Here's an example of how: 

• say someone googles medicinal remedies
• they click on one of my posts relevant to the subject
• read what I have to say
• then continue reading your comments

Maybe you shared your experience with a specific remedy-maybe you knew something that worked better for the ailment-what ever you shared-it helped the person who came looking for information-in many cases it may have been what brought them here in the first place. To me-that process is fantastic-and it's most definitely progress for preserving my culture.

My mind is always at work thinking, planning, and scheming about what I want to write next. Although once I write about a subject, it seems to slip to the back of my mind, pushed into a corner to make room for new ideas. This morning I took a moment to look back over the posts from 2009. A few stood out as my favorites for one reason or another:

1. Have You Got The Blues -one of my all time favorite songs-and everyone gets the blues at some point
2. Quilting Bee Then And Now-great juxtaposition of technology and old timey customs
3. My Carolina Crafting Episode Premiered Today -still can't believe I was chosen to be on this fabulous show
4. Pap And The Big Rock -it's about Pap-what else can I say
5. Economic Downturn Causes Resurgence In Old Time Ways -one good thing about the economic mess-it's brought many folks back to their roots
6. Three Indian Princess Move To New Territory -the joy of childhood
7. Pickled Beans And Corn The Old Time Way -shows it's easier than you think-and my how good they are with cornbread
8. Treasure Hunting In Appalachia Just A Touch Of The Past-I'll never forget the weirdness of this day
9. The Moving Wall Memorial -I'll never forget the emotion of this day
10. Gathering Corn -I learned how to gather corn for people and animals-I also found out a few of you still do it this way

Each of you made 2009 a great year for me-and I thank you for it. I'm hoping you stick around for 2010. A few things I'm working on for the year: a series of essays written by local students on part of western NC's history, a month long spotlight on music-which ends with a free guitar for someone out there (I've already interviewed David Grier for it-that was for sure a highlight of 2009), coming up soon-a series of posts about hog killing, and we can't end our journey of corn without making a pan or 2 of cornbread.

Happy New Year!

Tipper

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