How can one woman get 434 hits on her blog site in one day? It happened to Tipper who owns and operates THE BLING PIG AND THE ACORN. ON JULY 17th , 434 readers clicked on and stayed a while reading, listening to appalachian music or taking the vocabulary test, or maybe they were learning how to grow their tomatoes or how to can blackberries by the Zodiac signs.
THE BLIND BIG AND THE ACRON is one place I visit often. I always learn something more about Appalachia and the people who live here. In my opinion, this is a popular site because it is a friendly place. You could get lost just reading the comments left by the readers. Where my own site focuses mainly on Appalachian and southern poetry being written now, (bringing in few clicks, I admit) The Blind Pig and The Acorn attracts people from all over the world who are holding onto their ties to Appalachia the best they can, or people who have heard tales and wonder, "Is it realy like that in the southnern Appalachian Mountains?"
When I began my blog at the end of October 2008, Tipper gave me a great amount of advice. I had just taken a workshop with our local North Carolina Writers Network West, and later took another one of their workshops where Tipper made a talk and showed us some short cuts. No doubt about it. She knows what she is doing with it comes to managing her site. Her success is not accidental.
SOME WORDS FROM TIPPER.I hope you stop by often as I celebrate my Appalachian Heritage. I am Tipper a mother, wife, daughter, sister , artist, and hopefully considered a friend to many. I consider myself a mountain girl (even though my husband, The Deer Hunter, likes to remind me the mountains here are not nearly as big as the ones he came from a whole three counties away).
A common theme that arises when thinking of past times is a longing for a simpler lifestyle. An unhurried time when families pulled together because hard times demanded they do so. A time filled with joys and bittersweet memories. For me there is something more. I believe part of the longing is related to the fragility of life-to those loved ones who have long gone on. Another part is a primal instinct instilled in each by the Creator passed along to each generation to learn the ways of old as a direct map to our future.
I have always had a love for history, antiques, vintage finds,-basically anything old. As long as I can remember I have craved a connection with my heritage and the creativity that abounds in it. My hope is that through this blog I can begin to understand how the love for the past can be woven into a hope for the future as well as an appreciation for the present.
Blog Features
Appalachia is a haven for artisans of all genres. I believe historically this shows the independence that is often associated with mountain folk. They depended on themselves or their neighbors to supply the necessities of life: clothing, quilts, food, soap and even entertainment. Here at the Blind Pig & The Acorn my endeavor is to weave what went before into my hope for the future and an appreciation of the present. I will feature profiles of Mountain Folk who show an inclination to old time ways, to old time traditional music and to art. Whether someone is detailing how to can green beans, plant corn, quilt, or simply telling about their life, there is a wealth of information to be gathered from the people of the Appalachian Mountains. You can see the profiles as they are posted and on the Mountain Folk page.
Just saying the word "Appalachian" brings to mind music. I grew up in a musical family and was blessed to hear traditional Appalachian music on a daily basis. Pickin & Grinnin will be a regular spot here and will feature my family's music.
For some Appalachia might bring to mind The Beverly Hillbillies and the quirky, feisty Granny. I think Grannies have been, and still are a tremendous asset to the world. Both my Grannies (although one was called Mamaw) were a huge influence in my life-after all they each raised people who went on to become my parents. My mom is now Granny to my girls, niece and nephews. I must admit some of the The Beverly Hillbillies' Granny characteristics, though exaggerated, are true. So I have made a Grannyisms page where you can read about funny, quirky or inspiring things said or done by my Grannies and leave posts about your Granny and the influence she made on your life.
Generosity is a trait that comes to mind when I think of my life in Appalachia. I want to continue the tradition with Spread The Love, a monthly give away. To be entered all you have to do is post a comment to one of the blog posts or to the Grannyism page.
I hope you stop by the Blind Pig & The Acorn often to visit with the past, the present, and gain a hope for the future. So come back soon.
p.s. To post a comment just click on the word Comments. Look at the bottom of each post entry on the main page to see the word. Click on the Grannyisms page to leave a comment about your Granny.
Email me: tipper@blindpigandtheacorn.com
Interests
*folk art *music-bluegrass, old time *appalachian heritage *blogs *gardening *cooking *canning/preserving *clogging *contra dancing *listening to chitter and chatter
4 comments:
Congratulations Tipper. The award is well deserved. Tipper's blog is terrific and she makes blackberry jelly just like my Mama did.
Sam
Tipper, I don't visit often, but find your blog enticing every time I do. One thing, though, by way of what isn't exactly a disagreement so much as a suggestion that perhaps from time to time you might want to emphasize a different syllable. As part of my explanation, I need to say that I'm over 80, and thus am forced into a position with a different perspective from yours. I desperately need (recently widowed as I am) not to look only to the past. Mine has been blessed. If I can't take conscious pleasure in the here and now, though, I will be hourly overcome by what I've begun to think of as the Tyranny of Tears. So while you enjoy the natural beauties around you, look for the cultural and hopeful ones too.
Best wishes--
Thanks for jumping into the conversation, Joan. I hope you will let us hear from you more often. I believe Tipper will read your note because she is one of my faithful readers, like Sam, Brenda Kay and some others. Anytime someone, especially a writer, logs onto my site and reads and then leaves a message, I am full of appreciation.
I see what you are saying, but I must also say, Tipper's Blind Pig and the Acorn hits a cord with me every time. Every time. I do have the heart, brain and soul of an Appalachian although I was not born here. I had never thought of it, but it seems true, all things Appalachian are drenched in a measure of sadness and longing. And, that is me, and that is why I choose her site as THE BEST. I read it every day.
I've lived with the people for forty years now, taught their children and adults. I've been in some homes. I've seen demonstrations of their joy, their
music and dancing. Tipper herself is a folk dancer.
Music fills her home, I know. So I know that she knows and practices joy.
You make a good point, but all I can conclude is that the sadness and longing for the past you experience on her site is what it is, an Appalachian characteristic.
great blog If you are the type to update your blog regulary, then you have gained one daily reader in me today. keep up the super work.
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