Truthfully, my experience is that sometimes I have to walk away from my research for a little while, just to take a short mental break. I have a couple of roadblocks, but my most frustrating one is my Carter roadblock! I feel that I am so close to determining my ancestor's origins, and yet I can't quite get there. Over the years, I've been able to sort through some conflicting information, I have some very strong hunches, and I know that I have made some progress. While that makes me feel good, it's also makes me need to focus on other things when I begin to get a cycle of useless information again. In my opinion, breaks from research or not, it's important to read the information on this mailing list. Every once in a while, something will catch my eye, and I wonder... I'm putting together my roll call for Thornton Carter, VA, (1778), and will post it shortly. I appreciate all of the work that our administrator does, and I'm happy to answer this very honest question. The list is important; sometimes we're just silently watching! Carolyn