Dam Camping Trip!

With school on Thanksgiving break for the week I finally got a chance to go camping with Abby and Ziggy. I've discovered that hiking trails in Mississippi are few and far between. Despite the fact that there is a national forest just down the road from us, it seems that there is literally no hiking in the entire thing. The whole area and most of the recreation areas in the state seem to be managed for hunting, fishing, and RV

camping.

Luckily, Abby and I discovered a couple of hiking areas in the nearby Sardis Lake area that is managed by the Army Corps of Engineers. Between a couple of short hiking trails and an outdoor "fitness" trail we were able to put together about 4 1/2 miles of hiking. Ziggy loved this and proceeded to run away from us to chase an animal and go for a "swim"' in a muddy swamp.

After the day of hiking, we pitched a tent in the Sleepy Bend camp ground in the Lower Lake Area. I finally used some of the cooking gear I got for graduation last Spring and we made stir fry with rice. After dinner we build a fire and roasted marshmallows. All in all it was a great first camping trip in MS!

Going to Memphis

I've been to Memphis several times in the past year, but I haven't had too many great experiences. The first time included the stress of driving to grad school interviews in a rented car. The other time was just missing getting my parents to the airport in time for a flight home. And the last time I was there, Abby and I got lost trying get back on the interstate after we had dinner.

But last Thursday when I made the trip I finally got the chance to really experience Memphis. Abby was training for her new job as a Memphis Teaching Fellows interviewer (it's an awesome gig and I recommend contacting Abby to hear more about it) and I decided to tag along with a couple of my friends Jared and Eu Gene. With 4 1/2 hours of free time until Abby was done with the training we had plenty of time to see some sites.

We started with Sun Studio. Sun Studio is probably most famous for being the first studio to record Elvis, but they actually have recorded many great artists. Just to mention a few: Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, B. B. King, Howlin' Wolf, and U2. Most of the artists were blues or rock fused with the country sound that permeates the South. It was a really fun tour and the tour guide happened to be from Charleston, WV!

Next we headed to Beale St. in downtown Memphis. Beale St. is to the blues what Bourbon St. is to New Orleans Jazz. There's lost of clubs and shops and the street is blocked off so that you can walk through, carrying your beer of course. We ended up at one end of Beale St. in a pool hall. It was a lot of fun to just hang out and shoot a few games with Jared and Eu Gene. It's amazing how you can go to school with someone for a few months and not get to spend much time just hanging out.

After a couple of beers at another bar, we met back up with Abby. We headed to a local resturaunt, Memphis Pizza Cafe for dinner. I had a pizza called the alternative (imagine that!) with no sauce, just the way I like it. Abby had a delicious cal-zone. Overall a great trip and a wonderful way to start the Thanksgiving break.

The Hill Country Blues

It might be hard for some of my West Virginian friends to believe this, but where I live in Mississippi is actually consider "hill country." Hills yes, mountains no. Can't wait to come home for Thanksgiving!

One great thing about living in hill country in Northern Mississippi is taking in the Hill Country Blues. Most people are more familiar with the Detla blues (if you're not you can check out Eric Clapton's Me and Mr. Johnson for a contemporary take on classic Delta blues). The hill country blues are more up beat and more fun to dance to if I do say so myself!

Abby and I got a chance to experience the local blues seen first hand last Sunday at the Foxfire Ranch in Holly Springs MS (about 1/2 hour from Oxford). Thanks to a tip from one of my professors we made it to the event that featured country cuisine, a bonfire, and some serious blues. It was great to spend the evening just relaxing with a diverse crowd and enjoying some music. Can hardly wait for next summer when the Foxfire Ranch let the blues roll again.

I didn't recognize hardly any of the music that was played that night (besides a cover of Bad Bad Leroy Brown). But with the blues it's not about specific songs or words. It's a style, a feeling, and a way of life down here. One that I hope to become more familiar with will I live in the beautiful Northern Mississippi hill country!

Ziggy Speaks!

Hey all. This is my first blog post. Abby and Chris don't usually let me use the computer, but they are eating dinner right now and they haven't noticed that I came over to the couch and started typing.

Anyway, perhaps a little background is appropriate. My name is Ziggy and I am Abby and Chris's new dog. I'm five years old I think (the time at the pound just seems to all blend together). I moved in with Abby and Chris a couple of months ago and man, this is the life!

Usually I hang out in the morning with Abby before she goes to work. If she has time we go to the park together. She tries to keep me on the leash, but she is a softy and lets me run free.

Recently Abby brought home a squeaky toy, which is pretty much the coolest thing I have ever seen. Every time it squeaks I get so excited! I could run and get it over and over and over again!

On the weekends or evenings Chris will come to the park too, which is always pretty fun. Sometimes even he will let me off the leash so we can just play around.



But in the end I'm a Momma's boy!

So, like I've been trying to say, it's a dog's life. The best any dog could have.

- Ziggy

Trick or Treat?

This weekend Abby and I celebrated our first Halloween in Oxford. Overall, it ended up being a great weekend with plenty of celebrating, friends, and candy!

On Friday Abby and I hosted a pumpkin carving party. Unfortunately, there was a pumpkin shortage in Oxford, so although we had around 10 people come over, only three pumpkins were carved. Luckily, Abby and I had bought a pumpkin a couple of weeks early from a church in downtown Oxford. I let Abby take the lead with the carving (she has all of the artistic talent between the two of us!) Here is the result (Abby did the Witch on the left!):

On Saturday night we went our friend Lauren's house before heading over to another graduate student's house for a Halloween party. The party was awesome! It featured some great decorations, over the top costumes, and local beers on tap! I was a psychiatrist who was handing out pills (m&m's) to whoever needed them and Abby was my mental patient.



Hope everyone had a great holiday!