NOTES FROM THE HOLLER

                                               Precious Memories from Waylon and Jessi   As many of you know, I am the family historian.  From the time I was a little girl, I loved sitting with my Grandmothers and looking through the boxes of photos and keepsakes they kept.  I still love to hear others tell their stories of days long past.  Most of the elders in my Kiper, Stewart, Mudd and Phelps families are gone, so I have pretty much taken it upon myself to get as much as I can down on paper and in photos.  My genealogy database, although I have neglected it seriously for the past year, has over 100,000 names in it...people that are related or connected to me in some form or fashion. I have created and printed several he...

Since our Mother passed away (she died of Alzheimer's Disease in 2008), my brothers and I promised to continue the tradition of visiting with each other and going out to dinner together every two weeks, just as we had done when she was living.  Previous experience, had led me to believe that this promise would be soon broken as most all family traditions had fell to the wayside with both the Kiper Family and the Stewart Family since the death of our Grandparents.  With Mama and Daddy both gone, I suspected and feared that my brothers and I would follow the footsteps of most all our aunts and uncles, and only see other at funerals.  Thankfully this has not happened, for the most part, as we really try to make this a priority in our lives.  Its a shame to admit but it really does require effort to keep such simple traditions alive, for often, I find that there are other things I would actually rather do but I usually go, none-the-less. Last night was such a cas...

Since I began my new Facebook page, Grannynky's Recipes, Tips& More ,  I have been reading all the information out there for make-your-own cleaners, laundry detergents, shampoos, etc.  They are all things I would like to try out but let's be realistic here...it can be really expensive to 'go green'. Case in point...for years I used only Tide laundry products but it kept costing more and more, and finally I just could not rationalize paying that much money just to wash clothes.  I have had to try several less-expensive products before I finally found one that I am satisfied with.  I would really love to make my own laundry detergent but every time, I go to the grocery store and pick up the ingredients to make it, the total cost of the ingredients is more than my usual product.  Now granted, if I make my own, I will end up with more actual laundry detergent but I only have $10.00 to spend, and what if I am not satisfied with the finished product I have made......

Growing up, it was always a thrill for the new Sear & Roebuck catalogs to come in the mail.  I would spend hours and hours going through the catalog, page by page, and making wish lists.  I would write down all the ordering information: product name, product #, shipping weight....everything just like I was really going to order it.   I would "order" clothes for my brothers and parents, as well as for myself.  I would wish for Daddy new tools, and furnish Mama's house in the things I knew she would love, and when the Christmas catalog came, my brothers and I would have had everything we saw on television on Saturday mornings!  I loved wishing.....I guess that is where my Daddy first noticed that I was wishing my life away!  I have heard that phrase more than once in my lifetime, and usually it held negative connotations  from him or someone else who was frustrated with me! I can't help it; I like to wish!  Mama made most all my clothes, ...

June 12, 2013 I have a new page set up on Facebook! Its like my own little recipe box to store all the wonderful recipes, home remedies,  and household tips I find. Check it out www.facebook.com/GrannynkysRecipes Just click the posting links to find wonderful recipes, home remedies, DIY instructions, household tips and much more that I have found while reading Facebook posts and blogs from all over the country!  To help locate an item for future reference, photos are in albums.   Many times in the past, I went to search for a great recipe or tip I saw on my Facebook page that I wanted to try, only to discover it had disappeared off into a black hole within the world of social networking never to be seen again.  Hopefully, this will never happen to me again! Recipes and tips are now categorized in my "photos"  Just click on "photos" and then "albums" Then find the category which would be most appropriate for the information you are s...