Blind Pig & The Acorn

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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Thanksgiving

 

As I think of things I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving Day-seems I keep coming up with Fs:

• faith
• family
• freedom
• friends

Although, there is one other thing that comes to mind... YOU. I'm thankful for you who read the Blind Pig-you who encourage me to continue in my endeavor to preserve and celebrate the rich Appalachian Culture and Heritage which I am blessed to be part of.

Happy Thanksgiving to you-from the whole Blind Pig Family.

Tipper

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Entertainment During The Economic Downturn

 

As folks cut back on expenses during these difficult economic times-often the first thing to change is money spent on entertainment. Movie theaters and satellite/cable tv service are at the top of the cut back list. By the time our family of 4 goes to a movie, buys popcorn and drinks-we could have paid half our grocery bill for the week. Needless to say we don't go to the movies much. A few cheaper viewing options:

• Drag out those movies you haven't watched in a coons age-and watch them.
• Have a swap/borrow party with friends and family. These days most everyone has a video collection of some type-this is a good way to view movies you haven't seen before without having to spend any cash.
• Join one of new movie services like Netflix. A much cheaper alternative than visiting a movie theater.
• For all of you have that glorious unlimited high speed internet service-watch shows/movies online-for FREE.
• Visit your local library and check out movies for FREE.

 

The downturn has given board games a new life. Folks across the country are pulling the games out of the hall closet and remembering how much fun it can be to sit around the table with friends and family-just enjoying time spent together. My 2 favorite games from childhood-Sorry and Clue. Recently me and the girls were introduced to Apples To Apples-a very fun game if you've never tried it before-you should.

 

Book reading is a hobby many people share-as you can see from our messy bookshelf-3 of us are avid readers. Books can be expensive to buy-but there are sometimes alternatives for paying the price:

• Easiest-visit your local library.
• Share/trade books with friends.
• Find a used book store that works as a kind of exchange-they buy your books-then you use the money to buy more books from their store.
• Use an on line trading service such as Paperback Swap.

I'm hoping and praying the economic situation improves rapidly-I think I've shared with you before-I lost all 3 of my part-time jobs back before Christmas. I believe the one upside to the downturn is-it has caused many people to rethink their lifestyles-forced them to spend more time with the people they love-caused them to reconnect to the family and friends who need them.

As you all know-the Blind Pig & The Acorn Family's main source of entertainment-is making music. For this week's Pickin' & Grinnin' In The Kitchen Spot another old Louvin Brothers Song Seven Year Blues. If you watch the video you'll see how much we just enjoy making music-about half way through the boys stop-realizing some rhythms they just found sound good-they talk/yawn a little and start again. You can see the pure joy they get from music-and you can hear some mighty fine pickin' and grinnin' too.

(don't forget to stop the player at the top right of the page)

Hope you enjoyed the song-and the entertainment tips. So what have you and your family been doing for entertainment?

Tipper

p.s. If you subscribe to the Blind Pig by email-and want to see the video-click here.

Economic Downturn Causes A Resurgence In Old Time Ways

Over the past few days we've been discussing how reusing, repurposing, and recycling can be good for the environment-and good for the pocket book. The downturn in the economy has caused a need for thriftiness in most households-which has resulted in a resurgence of lifestyles that hearken from an earlier time.

 

The "backyard chicken" phenomenon is on the rise across the nation. Amazing how many urban dwellers are now raising chickens in their backyards. Frequently they have to petition the local government before acquiring the chickens-and frequently they win the battle due to the sheer number of folks who are exercising their right to have and raise chickens on their own property. (click here to read more about the issue)

 

Hanging clothes out to dry is on the rise among home owners. Two factors are contributing to the increase-the first needing to be "green" for the environment-hanging out your clothes saves on energy-therefore reducing the need to produce energy. The second reason-folks are trying to lower their energy bill. I grew up with a clothesline mentality-it was just something you did-hang the clothes out to dry. I also grew up without air conditioning. With the clothes dryer located in the kitchen-drying loads of clothes = an unbearable hot house. So hanging clothes out for us was a no-brainer, save money and have a cooler house.

 

Sadly the economic downturn has forced many people to cutback on health care. Many folks are trying to treat their aliments at home, to save money by skipping the doc visit and the prescriptions that often follow. Here at the Blind Pig-I've seen an increase in folks visiting my site to read about Appalachian Medicinal Remedies. Although I don't know for sure-I believe the increase in traffic is due to folk's interest in treating their illnesses at home-just like it was done back in the day. (to read more about the health care issue go here)

 

The Horticultural Industry-is one of the few sectors of our economy that is BOOMING. Seeds, plants, and other gardening related items have seen an increase in sales-in some case up 40% in the last year-pretty impressive given the decrease in other retail sales. As folks worry about the economy-and the rising price of food, more and more people are planting vegetables as a way to put food on the table for their families. Even folks like me-who were already gardening and preserving before the downturn-are planting a little extra-and planning on preserving a little extra too. The Deer Hunter and I figure-if we need it we'll have it-if we don't need it we will share it with someone who does. (to read more about this issue go here)

The economic downturn has also increased the amount of meals folks cook and eat at home. We hardly ever eat out-so that hasn't been an issue for us. But we have tried to cut back on expenses in other areas-*we switched over to compact fluorescent lightbulbs-and have seen our electric bill go down *planted a larger garden than usual so we can preserve more food for the coming year *tried to eat out of our pantry instead of buying additional groceries *quit giving the girls spending money *made a greater effort to make do with what we have and quit worrying about what we don't have.

So how about you-has the economic downturn caused you to go back to the old time ways? Has the downturn caused you to make lifestyle changes?

Tipper

p.s. Drop back by for the next post-to see how the economic downturn has effected entertainment.

Pickin' & Grinnin' Moves to the Living Room on Carolina Crafting

 

I have special treat for this week's Pickin' & Grinnin' In The Kitchen Spot. Paul and Pap's show aired on Carolina Crafting this week. I thought it would be part of their next series of shows-but they squeezed Paul and Pap in to finish out their season.

The podcast turned out really nice they sing a song written by Pap and one written by Paul. Some thoughts that came to mind as I watched the show:

• Wow they are really good!
• Do Paul and I have the same eyes? His looks bigger than mine.
• Wonder where they got the extra footage of the churches and river?
• Why in the world don't Mandolin Man SMILE? He looks like one of The Darlins.
• Jackie made Pap blush and me laugh out loud.
• I wish Pap could "be young" forever.

Hope you'll watch the show and tell me what thoughts cross your mind. Click here to see it.

Tipper

Spreading The March Love & A New Blind Pig Feature

   

I'm sending a great big THANK YOU out to all the acorns who commented in the month of March. You've journeyed with me as I recovered from the flu, planted part of my garden, celebrated the release of Paul's cd and my Carolina Crafting Episode, bemoaned the unemployment rate in my county, went to Kentucky to see the girls clog, and choked out the Whippoorwills. You've left insightful, encouraging, and thoughtful comments all along the way!

Granny Sue,  Sandy Carlson, Rick M., Betty Cloer Wallace, Louise, Farmchick, Cathy, Becky, wkf, Janet, Mary's Writing Nook, Renna, Paula, JoLyn, Kathleen, Amy, Trisha Too, Carolyn A., Just Jackie, The Texican, Patty Hall, Julie at Elisharose, Miss Cindy, Mary , Dejoni, Debbie, TennZen, Applie, Brenda Kay Ledford, Apple, Sheila Bergeron, Mark, Osagebluff Quilter, Dee from Tennessee, Marlene, Ana, Kim Campbell, Terry, Matthew Burns, GrannyPam, Susan, Teresa, Vera, Warren, Threecollie, Helen G., Nancy Simpson, Sara, Razor Family Farms, Lanny, Stacey, The Fishing Guy, Kristi, Mary Traveling Hammer, Denese, Petra Michelle, Egghead, SolsticeDreamer, Lisa, David Templeton, Jennifer in OR, City Mouse, Noble Pig, Finnishwahine, Brit, Brenda S 'Okie in Colorado', Dana, Teresa Atkinson, Shirley, Twosquaremeals, Marlene Affeld, Jenny-Jenny, Marlene, Greta Koehl, Mary Life In a Cordwood Cabin, Tracy, Tammy, Christina, Jeanne Habing, Farmchick Paula, Nancy M., Sablesand, Julie, David "Sumoflam" Kravetz, Holly, Bonnye, Bill West, Sarah, Julie Curtis, Pamela, The Appalachinist, Kathryn, Janet Iles, Carol Roy, Kate, Lori, The Tile Lady, Kerrie Kerns, Jenny, Yolanda, Lisa, Farm Fresh Jessica, Boutique De Laine, and Ellouise Story.

 

I'm excited to share a new feature of the Blind Pig & The Acorn with you today! We have developed an email newsletter for our readers. The newsletter will consist of:

 

Upcoming posts-make sure to drop by for the posts that interest you or forward the info to someone you know would enjoy it.

 

The comments you leave are truly full of wisdom-this is a way I can share some of those outstanding comments with everyone!

 

An easy way to find the Blind Pig on networking sites.

Have a question about Appalachia, an old song, canning, preserving, old traditions, or anything else-ask Pap and Granny and they'll share their knowledge.

 

These days-everyone needs to stretch their money a little further-each newsletter will offer a discount or coupon for an on-line business. (I'm working on a few free items too!)

I sincerely hope you'll take a moment to subscribe to the newsletter and tell others about it as well. Just enter your email below.

Secure-Subscribe to the Blind Pig & The Acorn Newsletter

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Now for the Spread the Love winner for March-

 

Brit wins "Standing Knee Deep In Love" a folk art painting by me! Standing in love is something Brit does everyday-so I hope she likes the painting.

Again-thank you all for another great month here at the Blind Pig & The Acorn-don't forget click on a commenter's name and go for a visit-you'll be glad you!

Tipper

p.s. If you would rather I not showcase your comment in the newsletter-just let me know-email me at tipper@blindpigandtheacorn.com  

My Carolina Crafting Episode Premiered Today!!!

 

My Carolina Crafting Episode went live today!! I'm so excited!

 

I still can't believe I was ever asked to do the show in the first place!! It was a totally awesome experience. And the good news-I don't sound as much like a hick as I thought I would.

Hope you'll go watch it and tell me what you think.

Click here to see the show. (before you click-stop the music player in the top right hand corner of this page)

Tipper

Message from the Deer Hunter

Just wanted to let you all know that Tipper's really sick with a bad case of the flu. We're hoping she'll be better soon. She wishes she could be posting and visiting with you. She'll have the Blind Pig back up and running as soon as she can.

Deer Hunter