One and One and One and One is Four

Everyone, meet Hamilton Culpepper

You can call him Hammie (or Ham) for short.

His family was going through a divorce, and somehow he ended up on my brother's back porch in need of a home, so Brandon and Jen brought him to us last weekend. We had been planning to adopt another pup in the next couple months or so anyway, because Sawyer does so much better when he has a playmate. (As in, he sleeps in the evenings instead of biting my slippers, etc.) Hammie is six months old and almost full-grown (and he only weighs 18 pounds, as opposed to Sawyer's 55 pounds). Andrew took him to the vet last week and he got all of his shots, was de-wormed and basically had the works done.

 So far Hammie has been ...

Learning to walk on the leash (he was previously an outside Beagle)

Getting used to the sights and sounds of the big (to him) city

Playing in the snow

Remember when I told you big snows were rare around here? Apparently, they're not.

 Playing with his new big brother

And, of course, figuring out the biggest flaw of our house: that the stairs run by the counter. Last Sunday night we found Hammie in the sink—he had walked across the (cold) stove, through some pans (he had olive oil on his little paws) and over to the sink. We promptly put the baby gate up, but he jumped over it.

Sawyer is a proud, slightly confused, big brother. He seems to be adjusting well, so let's hope that continues.

If only they would do this (sleep) more often.

Hammie, meet the blog world!

OMG Snow!

Yesterday Nurse A and I got up early to run some errands all over North Mississippi. We had to pick up my car in a town a couple hours away. (I left it at a friend's house when I rode down with her for Christmas.) Then we stopped at the mall on the way back (fun fact: Oxford doesn't have a mall) for some party supplies for an upcoming bachelorette bash, and lingerie for said bachelorette's shower. We were in a rush to get home before 2 p.m. when the snow that was predicted for our area was rumored to begin falling and we made it home pretty much on the dot. The snowfall didn't start right at 2 p.m., but fall it did. All night long.

This morning we woke up to an estimated eight-to-10 inches of snow--right in our front yard! I've never seen anything like it in Mississippi. Normally we have to travel to, say, Highlands to see this kind of snowfall.

We took a walk and watched bulldozers try to clear the roads. It didn't seem to be working very well.

Sawyer felt very sophisticated because he had already experienced snow, unlike many Mississippi pups.

For reference, this is the "snow" we usually get in North Mississippi. At home on the coast, even this little dusting only happens once every few years and lasts for a couple hours.

So after a failed sledding attempt and a cup of coffee, I've got some work to do before playing in the snow again. Gloves would be nice. Happy Monday, everyone! Stay warm!