I'm also an Eagle Scout, a scuba diver, an amateur guitarist, into hiking and exploration, a collector of knives and multi-tools, an unashamed geek and techie, an artist (I'm studying to one day write professionally), and dating a (female) biologist who works with raptors all day, and that's just to name a few of my odd interests! He has no idea what he thinks of me, and that makes him uncomfortable. :P I'm not bothered by it. As long as he respects me and doesn't bother my things, he's welcome to think whatever he likes about me. BTW, the local florist in my hometown is gay (and makes no attempt to hide it) and everybody loves him because he's such a great guy. You might not expect that to happen in a (VERY) small southern town, but it just goes to show you that there are good people and bad people everywhere. You just have to hope that you meet more of the former than the latter. :)

Well stated CelticMoon. I am glad to hear you can help. Your nephews illustrate the point about why evaluating parent participation is important. I cannot understand why some investment bankers kid would be entitled to the same level of aid which is what would happen if parents were not required to disclose their finances. So there is less money available for those who cannot afford it. Do you honestly think the average millionaire would say, oh my kid who got into Harvard will not go since he did not get enough aid and I want him to go to Z College instead so he can work his way through? While there are always the exceptions, the average wealthy person is thrilled his kid is at a good school and is more than willing to write the check. The truth is that a gifted student or athlete in that of Celtics nephews situation has an excellent chance at a good education and a combination of scholarships (usually from the school), grants (school or businesses or government) and low interest loans (not all college loans are). Scholarships and grants do not have to be repaid. Often they are not even based on academics or sports, there are small ones out there for kids from a particular area, interested in a specific hobby, that type of thing. Apparently there are now web sites that identify them. So really poor kids who are gifted still have a shot. Its the ones who are average or are mildly gifted but whose parents are neither poor nor wealthy enough to comfortably afford college that need to worry the most. Even if you make 150k a year, putting 3 kids through college at 40k each, good luck. Also, says this Mother of Five (all 10 and under), schools look at how many kids you are sending to school at one time. I changed my planning after the 4th and 5th were born because now our situation was different! Either he is a child and I am resposible for him or he's an adult and I'm not There is no reason for my child to suffer for a principle. The reality is without filling out an aid application, my child will not be eligible. Bottom line this is the way the system works, accept it or write to your congressman to have universal college education paid for by the government. Some states had almost that when I was in college. Schools ranger from 7k -10k a year while UT at Austin was about 500 (no idea what it costs now). You can argue that he should work his way through and leave the aid money for Celtic's nephews, fine. You can also argue that since it is unlikely he will qualify for aid you do not want to hurt his chances of admission (yes this does happen when a kid is on the fence, they will take the one who does not ask for money) or reveal your finances to strangers. Ok I can accept that. Or that giving him more than X will severly endanger your own retirement, I can also accept that. Unless your child plans a future in the military (which is possible given your background and West Point is free but is not possible or desireable for everyone(no offense different strokes) or has an entrepenuarial bent or a talent in sports or sales or a vocation, the best way I can see to give my children their best shot at money and position and job satisfaction is to encourage them to go to the best college and graduate school they can get into. Sure if there is an equally good cheaper state school, by all means PLEASE attend. To arbitraily say, ok the government says I am no longer responsible for him even though I was responsible for him yesterday and was even willing to pay yesterday but I am not paying today, please. It is arbitrary. I agree with you that it does seem odd that you could no longer access his medical records or school records after that day. But this was not a rule he invented. I believe I have the responsibilty to raise a child until he is a functioning adult in a career that his intellect and education suite him for. If I worked so hard for 18 years to raise him, why would I dump him just as he was nearing the finish line? Why does my child have to reinvent the wheel? Just because my DH worked his way through school and took out loans, why does my child? My parents paid my way and if possible I would like to pay my childs. Frankly my parents taught me a lot more about money management than did DHs. I had a lot of educating to do when we got married. He rarely discussed money with them except to hear what they could not afford. Now that he makes his own he feels a certain entitlement and is sometimes a little overly generous with himself. I keep meaning to read Rich Dad Poor Dad. He had no idea how to use credit or invest. I cannot believe the crap he invested in when he made his first money. As for carrying a balance on credit cards at 15% while paying off his 5% student loans, do not get me started (ancient history now). If anything I would teach children how to manage money, how to invest it and use credit wisely. As for working why would I have them waste hours they could be studying working at some menial after school job making minimum wage. Sure a work ethic is important, summer jobs are a good thing. However as far as I can tell until they graduate from college or start working, they have one job and that is to work on their academics to achieve as much as possible. This is the ideal version. The reality is my kids may have to work to help pay for college but it will not be because of some arbitrary principle but rather because of genuine need Claiming them or not on their taxes has nothing to do with anything

I, too, have a huge amount of wool suiting purchased by the pound as remnants at a local mill store. It has gone into many quilts over the years and I am now finishing one that my mother never got to finish. It's very special to me. I do not pre-wash the wool like I do my cottons, and always dry clean the finished quilts. I have always used the same wool suiting as backing. Because the fabric is not full width, the backing has to be pieced as well as the front so these quilts can become quite heavy even though the wool is light weight. The result is a reversible quilt, however. As batting, I have used flannel, cotton, or wool, depending on the desired finished weight and use. It does get quite cold up here and many people like sleeping under heavy quilts. I have tied several of the thicker quilts, but on the thinner ones I like to use larger quilting stitches (sort of like sashiko) or embroidery stitching instead of just tied knots of crewel or persian wool (I never use plain yarn). You did not ask about binding, but I use the suiting in a double fold binding as usual, but finishing at between 3/4" to a full inch wide. And the only hint I can offer is to be very careful if you have to rip out a seam. The loose weave of the wool can make it very hard to take out stitches if your thread matches too closely. You may want to have it NOT match perfectly, just in case. Have fun, I love working with wool!!

I'm not sure how I came across this post, I think it was displayed on the right side and I clicked on it being intrigued by the tile making. I was at one time interested in working with papercrete and hypertufa. But after enlisting my brother, who wasn't as enthusiastic, and my niece, who poured cement down my laundry room sink, which original to the house had lasted 70 years, and ruining three blenders, my interest waned. True to form, if I come upon difficulty in a project, I think of it as a sign for me not to continue. And really, after all these years of trying various crafts that result in crap, I should know better. I also should have known better than to ask my brother, who always says it can't be done to any of my unique design ideas. And I should have known better than to ask my niece, who once stayed up all night before having to drive to LA for an art show, cutting mat after mat after measuring once, twice, sometimes ten times, but always coming out with the wrong size. I think we both have math dyslexia. I should video us trying anything crafty to see where we go wrong. I think both of us having ADHD might have something to do with it. Sorry for the backstory and run on sentences. So, I just wanted to see if you continued with your venture. And to say sorry for whatever tragedy occurred to cause you to have to move to Florida. Not that there is anything wrong with Florida, but it isn't Panama. Which is one of my favorite places in the western hemisphere. I hope no one is upset that I brought up a seven year old post.