I'm sorry I didn't write more while I was visiting my parents in South Carolina. These first six months in Japan have been very trying, on so many levels: feeling so foreign, not working, missing my friends and family and of course struggling with miscarriages. I hadn't realized how badly I needed a time out, and by golly, I took it.
So what did we do for entertainment? A lot, really - we took a day trip to Asheville, cooked elaborate meals and baked fancy desserts, visited Dad's work and had friends over for girls' day. Mom and I made and bought jewelry (woohoo!), mixed custom aromatherapy fragrances for ourselves and others, and knitted up a storm.
But most of all, we cuddled the puppies.
Can you blame us?! See, a couple years ago my folks moved from their Florida Keys stilt house to an utterly charming farmhouse in upstate South Carolina. The house, unlike most of the McMansions in the surrounding area, sits on three acres of land: land which, I mentioned to them when I visited, simply begged for a dog. So one night in 2006 we watched a dog show and heard a description of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. This dog weighs less than twenty pounds, was bred as a companion and bedmate for royalty, and is generally thought to have the most agreeable disposition of any pure breed. Oh, and they need one walk a day and lots of hugs, and that's it.The stars aligned. My parents The Cat People fell in love with the breed (after, shall we say, some gentle prodding from me), found a reputable breeder in the area, and procured their first-ever dog, Rudy. Here's his baby picture:
I know. I KNOW. He's still that cute. And less than a year later, they decided he needed a baby brother, Nemo, the blenheim.
Then their breeder called one day to tell them that she had a five year old mama dog who was ready to retire, so Madison came into the picture. 
Zero to three dogs in two years - mwahahahaha! My little plan is working!
So there you have it, folks: a month of R&R and good old care for the soul, wrapped up in sixty pounds of sweet puppy. How could anyone resist?
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