Cleaning walls--a snapshot of home happenings...

Someone asked how to clean walls

First of all, it depends a lot on what type of paint surface has been applied to your wall. The hardest to clean is flat latex, but it can still be done!

I like to start with a saucer, some baking soda, a bottle of dish soap (liquid), two clean terry-cloth rags, and a small bucket of warm water.

I make a paste of the baking soda and a bit of water, then use a rag to gently scrub scuffs and fingerprints off of the wall. If there is any oil or grease involved, then dish soap (liquid,--small amount, full strength) mixed into the paste will break it up.

I like to use small, circular motions, then rinse with the water. If it is not quite clean, I try, try again until it comes clean. Be sure to note the condition of the painted surface and take this into account while cleaning.

This will even work on crayon, and most marker. Permanent marker can most times come clean with alcohol, although sometimes it takes a bit of nail remover, but this can also remove the paint (be careful)--just use a tiny bit at a time. Sometimes marker will leave a stain that cannot be cleaned off (bleach can be tried).

Goo Gone is also something that can work if there is tape residue or gum. Remember that something like Kilz must be applied before repainting over marker, crayon, etc. or it will bleed through the paint, no mater how many coats you apply!

I was using this method a long time before magic erasers ever hit the market. You can use these as well.

In other news:

Tonight we are all cuddling, thankful for central heat with temperatures well below zero (Farenheit zero, that is).

Things we have been watching lately:

I Dream of Jennie--the old series from the 60's--the kids love this one, don't ask me why (no, we don't believe in genies, etc., we just think the situations are funny). 

Danny Kaye--Knock on Wood

The Bellboy--classic Jerry Lewis that makes your sides ache with laughter.

What we're listening to:

David Crowder, Lincoln Brewster praise music, The Isaacs (my daddy was a bluegrass player, and these folks love Jesus--wonderful combination!), Handel's Water Music too.

What we're reading:

Our "read aloud" (until this morning when I finished it--bummer!) was Snow Treasure, by Marie McSwigan. This was a well-written novel with lots of adventure and encourages children to have a sense of responsibility and even heroic self-sacrifice. I might just read "Whatever Happened to Penny Candy" next, although the children want me to read Harriet Beecher-Stowe's "Mayflower". 

Olivia is reading The Whipping Boy. Sarah is reading Little Women. Nicole is reading poetry anthologies, Joshua is reading anything and everything to do with world history, Ryan is reading through The Handbook of Nature Study, Eliana is reading The Secret Garden, and Faith has been reading The House at Pooh Corner (with the aid of her brother, Josh).

For Bible time:

We are still working through Job--enjoying it tremendously. One thing about this trek through the Bible--it has made things that were here-to-fore boring and made them come alive! God's Word is so bountifully, wonderfully life-filled! 

We are also re-reading through the book Hearing God by Peter Lord. We go very slowly with this one, taking notes and talking about putting these things into practice. 

As a sort of supplement, we are also using parts of the New England Primer--so much meat in that little book.   

Of course, there are lots of verses being copied down along the way that are assigned with the McGuffey lessons. 

For other activities:

Nicole continues to wow us all with her dress-making abilities (she is taking off in wonderful directions--making her own patterns after spending the last few years studying both pattern creation and anatomy).

Joshua is learning to play the guitar, thanks to some help from our grown son, David, who is very accomplished. Josh also loves to go on nature walks, drawing the scenes he sees in his sketchbook.

Ryan makes all sorts of things for his little sisters--little dolls out of wires and scraps he finds all over. He sketched Anna Botsford Comstock so realistically that it was stunning--he has been developing the technique of using only the three primary colors of pencils to create all others in a composition--I scanned one here (left) to show his work off ;)

I find little bits of Sarah's knitting all over, although her favorite thing right now is just to be with her baby sisters--she seems to know just how to brighten their days.

Ellie, Olivia, and Faith all love to play with paperdolls. They have a 3-ring binder outfitted with protector pages that are filled with different types--from vintage to homemade. All of our children have loved making their own paper dolls through the years. If you hadn't noticed, God has gifted many of us artistically, so that we spend a lot of our time doing creative projects.

Lorilee, 4 years old, spends most of her time with Mom and Dad, as does Patience, 19 months now. Most nights they share our bed with us. They pal around with each other and play together. Lorilee tells us, "God made me sweet"--as if this is her talent--how precious! Patience is perky and cute and just what we ordered--where would we be without this little baby doll?

I made a wonderful find at Sam's Club the other day. I was standing by the stacks of kleenex as my dear husband loaded up a huge box of POM toilet paper (we use up at least 40 rolls a month), when I spied a huge piece of cardboard used to separate the different layers of boxes--it must have measured 3 ft by 4 ft. It struck me what a wonderful tool this was--a perfect board for putting together a puzzle, or even making a poster, or cutting up to use as a paper-doll house, or puppet theater, or anything (we have been known to make our own board games)! So I grabbed one up and took it with me--and no one thought it was odd, and it didn't cost me a penny!

For lots of laughing-workouts (these count, too, you know) we also watch YouTube videos of Tim Hawkins and other Christian comedians (look for "Bananas" to find "safe" comedy). It is amazing that, if you are very careful, the monthly fee for Internet can turn into all sorts of other fun and necessary things, isn't it? We don't own i-anythings, and we don't do any computer games except for solitaire and chess, but it is still interesting how much time one can spend on the computer.

I have also been on a secret mission--a mission to create a whole new set of home binder pages. I just might get my act together enough to be able to share them with my readers--just pray for us as we put the finishing touches on them--for wisdom to put it all together, etc. We hope to turn it into an eBook soon. Here is a little picture:

PS - God spoke a word of forgiveness to my family today...I thought that you might enjoy this link to a wonderful song of forgiveness by White Heart. As always, we hope that this blog is an encouragement to those who need it.