Decided!

Okay, got that out of my system.

Tapestry of Grace is off and we will now return you to our regularly, loosely-scheduled programming. I still think Tapestry is a solid curriculum and very handy, but I prefer to use the books I have selected and collected over the years for our primary and supplementary sources rather than many of their recommendations. What's the point of using my own choices when their questions, worksheets, quizzes, etc. are all geared to their specific book choices? Not cost efficient.

So, for the time being, Larie and I will continue to slack off. There is so much else going on. I am still not even unpacked. The ceilings in the first house are redone and painted, the walls all retextured, the kitchen cabinets painted and crummy tile stripped off, two of the three bedrooms and the hall painted -- it's nearly ready to move back into. Oh, and let me set the record straight, it's not like I am doing any of the actual physical work aside from comparing thousands of paint chips and running for additional supplies, but I am supervising and analyzing a new stack of shelter magazines for kitchen design ideas and have been given the task of listing and showing our old house whenever someone wants a look (which hasn't actually happened yet, but that's good because technically my license is still inactive.)

Sarabelle and her best friend are planning to move into this place, our present location, the smaller of the twin houses, when we make the swap to the renovated one possibly in about three weeks, and experience a little taste of independence under the watchful eye of mom. They are excited to pay rent (ah, youth) and have a list of rules to be followed, number one being that neither of their fourteen year-old sisters be allowed inside. Sarabelle is considering a start at the local college her friend attends with plans to transfer either to her art college or a larger university later. She is overwhelmed with all the choices she has to make, and I am allowing her a bit of breathing room to make her decisions. College Without High School: A Teenager's Guide to Skipping High School and Going to College has been added to her reading assigments. There is a terrific section on setting, mapping, and achieving goals, and all the ideas in the book can be applied to someone interested in self-education at a higher level, skipping college altogether to continue on their chosen path. It will be interesting to see where her interests lead her.