rugs, carpets, bedding, mattresses, and
other items would be hung up or leaned
against something so the sun could
bleach them and we could beat them
with a stick to get excess dust out. It was
hot work!” Grandmother said, sighing as
she remembered those long ago days.
“;en what?” Lucie asked, frustrated
by the delay in the story.
Grandmother laughed. “I’m getting
there, Lucie. Just be patient, little one,”
Grandmother scolded lightly. “A;er the
whitewashing and the furniture were
done, everyone would start on the ;oors.
We had un;nished wood ;oors and we
would wash the ;oors, then take sandpaper and wrap it around a block of
wood and sand down the ;oors. We did
that because a;er a year of walking on
the ;oors, some areas would get worn
or rough and need to be smoothed out.
Each room would get mopped again so
that all the sawdust from the sanding
would get wiped up, and then the ;oor
was allowed to dry while we ate dinner.
A;er dinner, the ;oors would be
rubbed with linseed oil. Sometimes we
used walnut oil or another kind of oil, but
you could watch as the wood soaked up
the oil and became darker and rich and
the pores of the wood swelled shut. It was
a fascinating process to watch when I was
little,” Grandmother explained.
“Like the wooden spoons a;er we
wash them several times!” Lucie said,
excited to link Grandmother’s story with
something she already knew about. “;e
nice wooden spoons Momma gets from
Whetstone Woodenware. A;er we use
them and they get washed, sometimes
they get a little rough and we use the
green Scotch pads to sand them down before putting mineral oil on them to soak
in overnight. ;at makes them smooth
again!” Lucie said, bouncing with her retelling of the kitchen tale.
“Absolutely!” Grandmother said as she
reached out to touch her ;nger to Lucie’s
nose. Lucie smiled back.
“So let me think,” Lucie said, furrowing
her brow thoughtfully. “If we do two bedrooms a week, that means it would take
two weeks to do Daddy and Momma’s
room, your room, my room, and ;omas’s room. ;en what?” Lucie asked.
“;at’s plenty for now, Lucie. When
we ;nish those rooms, we can sit down
again and plan on how to do the living
room, dining room, kitchen, bathrooms,
and garage. But for right now, let’s go get
the cleaning solution recipes from my
hope chest and you can practice your
cursive writing by copying them onto the
pretty recipe cards I have saved for you,”
Grandmother said, rising from the porch
swing and holding her hand out to Lucie.
As Grandmother passed by Momma, she
winked and Momma began to laugh.
Rebekah continues to homeschool her eight
children, one having earned a bachelor of
science degree by age 18. All her children
have moderate to severe learning disabilities; four are autistic. Rebekah is the former owner of Hope Chest Legacy, which
closed in 2009. Rebekah is nearly ;nished
with a dual degree in elementary and
special education and is already working
on fantastic products for homeschoolers
with learning disabled and special needs
children. She knows it, because she’s lived
it! Contact Rebekah at sta;@cahome
schoolisp.com.
Priscilla (Ector) Bell is 22 years old, resides
in East Tennessee, and is the proud wife of
Nathan Bell. Priscilla was homeschooled
all the way through high school, graduated in 2006, and is currently enrolled
at Liberty University. She has taught
homeschool art classes to elementary-age
children since high school age and enjoys
working with children in any area. She
enjoys spending time with her husband,
cooking for Marines who miss their mamas’ cooking, reading, painting, learning,
good times with family, and witnessing the
work of God in the lives of His people. ;
www.; eHomeschoolMagazine.com
