Thank you, cynthia and holligator for your reading tips! I appreciate those so very, very much. mazer, you continue to be a font of information! lily316, the way I found our breeder is by first visiting the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club USA site, the American Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club site, and, to a lesser extent, the AKC site. I looked for breeders only listed on those sites. I did NOT use search engines to find breeders. There may absolutely be reputable, ethical breeders out there not associated with the above-mentioned organizations (although why they wouldn't be I don't know), but for me this was a "safety net." I then e-mailed to them a long list of questions, asking if they'd be willing to talk with me and answer these questions: 1) What are the registered names of the puppy's parents and may we have copies of the registration certificates for both parents? 2) What are the birth dates of the puppy's parents? 3) Have you complied with the MVD Breeding Protocol? 4) Have you complied with the SM Breeding Protocol? 5) Have both parents' hips been x-rayed after age two years, and have those x-rays been evaluated and cleared of HD by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA)? 6) Have both parents' patellas been examined and cleared by qualified veterinarians within a year before the date of birth of the puppy we may adopt? 7) Have both parents' eyes been examined and cleared of serious genetic eye disorders by board certified veterinary ophthalmologists within a year before the date of birth of the puppy we may adopt? 8) Have both parents' hearing been tested and cleared of hereditary hearing deficiencies, preferably by the Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER) test, no earlier than at age 2.5 years? 9) Has either parents exhibited the symptoms of episodic falling syndrome? 10) Have both parents' blood been tested and cleared for diabetes mellitus and hypothyroidism within a year before the date of birth of the puppy we may adopt? (see here for information regarding the above diseases / syndromes) I was both surprised and disappointed at how many breeders did not want to answer these questions. They were immediately crossed off my list. To my absolute delight the breeder to whom our little girl was born answered every one of my questions at great length. They also had a long list of questions for me, which thrilled me. This led me to believe they don't let their puppies be adopted willy-nilly -- they wanted to check us out as well! Our breeders are in Wyoming, and they got started breeding Cavs because they'd each (they are two friends) had a heartbreak with a sick Cav. They vowed they would help "clean up" the system and they take fastidious care of their dogs and have all the paperwork / registrations for it. Anyway, this is how I found a reputable, ethical breeder in our part of the country (I'm in Colorado). I was heartsick reading about the Greyhounds dying of bone cancer -- I never knew about that! When I was a little girl living in England the caretaker of my parents' "farm" (more like a weekend house -- as if my parents farmed!) had a multitude of Greyhounds. I loved them. Beautiful, gentle creatures. Fast, and then a couch potato! This is a picture of our little girl from last Thursday, on her seven week birthday. We're naming her Genki-chan. "Genki" is Japanese for "healthy," "peppy," "lively" (although she is a mellow girl -- the breeders decided only two of their litters would be suitable for us [with such small children] -- gentle with their teeth, but still "sturdy" for play with toddlers), and "chan" is the feminine diminutive. My husband is Japanese and our children speak Japlish. Well, more English than Japanese at this point, but we keep it up. My 3.5 year-old refers to Genki-chan as Genki-grill; "grill" is how he says "girl." Our 19 month-old merely says "Genki." One of the breeders gave the laddies a little stuffed Cav doll whom the 3.5 year-old named CiCi-inu -- "inu" is dog in Japanese. I have no idea from where the "CiCi" came!

Well, I was looking for something to read the other day and, while digging through a dusty pile of books in the living room, I found a book I picked up years ago but never got around to reading. I settled in for a comfy and relaxing read. I didn't get it. What I DID get was quite a fascinating read as two of my favorite fictional worlds collided : H.P. Lovecraft's weird, eerie, creepy and just plain unsettling world of the Cthulhu mythos and Doyle's prim, proper, and ultimately logical and rational world of Sherlock Holmes. The book's entitled Shadows Over Baker Street and is a collection of short stories by well-known sci-fi writers. All the stories involve both Holmes (or his world) and Lovecraft's world. All in all, it was a cracking good read -- Neil Gaiman's story (the first one in the collection) was possibly the best and, to me, quite startling. The others in the collection are, if not equally good, at least worth a read. So, if you're either a Holmes fan (maybe a "Baker Street Irregular"?) or a Lovecraft minion (would that be a sub-demon?) then I'd recommend this book.

Am still reading "Bleak House' (C.Dickens) ... still enjoying it. There's just one problem -- the legal tie-ups in the story evade my comprehension. I know Jarndyce v. Jarndyce is *supposed to be* convoluted -- but even the small legal snarls in the story are tough going. . . .E.g. -- the problem between George the gym-owner and his creditor baffles me. Why is his good friend somehow tied into it? Finished "Unbroken" - Laura Hillenbrand, wrote the great "Seabisquit." It's about Louis Zamperini, a very great runner. The first chapters were really exciting. But then WWII takes over -- he's sent to the So. Pacific... lands up living on a life raft for many months-- almost dies. Is rescued and spends years under horrifying circumstances in Japanese prisoner of war camps. This book didn't take off for me after the first quarter because I kept waiting for him to perform some BIG HEROIC feat to escape, save prisoners... SOMETHING. But it's mostly about holding up under terrible, awful conditions for a very long time. While that is "grabbing" to read for awhile, it palls after a point because it's too repetitious. Another thing I didn't like were the last few chapters -- the "Bible-thumping" turn in his life; no mention at all of his sweet, long-suffering parents who were soooo proud of him -- why are they dropped from the book all of a sudden(?)... Most bothersome of all -- how can I believe that after some five years of heavy drinking, terrible nightmares, raging tantrums (against Jap. prison leader who beat him to a pulp over and over), etc., etc. - did he overcome ALL OF THESE IN ONE NIGHT -- simply by going to a tent-shaking evangelist meeting, when all the help, encouragement, psychiatric care didn't do it? I just don't believe it -- AT ALL! For light, non-fiction: "Journey to the South: A Calabrian Homecoming" Annie Hawes I just loved her first book -- "Extra Virgin" -- she and her sister leave England to do work in northern Italy grafting roses ... only to wind up buying a hillside shack (but a roomy, sturdy one!) above the Mediteranean Sea -- for less than US $3,000. [Sigh!] That shack today is worth far, far more than what she paid for it (early-90s). Anyway, this "Journey..." book is no where near as lively and fascinating as that first adventure ... But it's still fun, and has lots of goofy, or charming -- or both! -- kinds of characters.

i love little tiny pebbles/rocks from the beach and nature. i have little tiny glass bowls (from dollar store) all over my house with pebbles from the beach.