Five for My Fifth Year of Blogging

Walking to His Spot in the Den

I will give you the five most popular blog posts by number of views this fifth year of Plant City Lady and Friends. As usual, you can click on the red to find that post.

September 7, 2013. Hubby walks. I think that having an article in two local newspapers which give mention to this blog bumped up the views to 433.

February 4, 2013. The post on GERD got the second amount of views this year (335). I would have thought that the post on my hearing aids would have gotten more hits. I am not suffering from GERD any longer.

October 16, 2013. Dealing with stress (315 views). Actually I like the part two stress post better on 12/1/13--very practical for me, but it had much less views. 

June 14, 2013. Granddaughter's quilt (278 views). More quilts are coming.

January 7, 2013.  The fourth area of The House That Cleans Itself series was a popular post with 218 views. Shortly after that I had a genuine Southern hissy fit with Google because pictures on blogs were not going to be free. In short, they won. So now I am paying $2.49 a month for the privilege of posting my messes for you all.

As I review 2013, many things happened or haven't happened.  

1. We have a volunteer caregiver, Kenny, to enable me to continue to work.
2. Hubby survived UTIs and was not placed in a nursing home as his doctor expected. 
3. We have a volunteer for yard and home maintenance, Pharis. Essentially he is covering the front and back yards (areas 8 and 9) in the home organizational project I started in 2012. 
4. Hubby is walking thanks to our chiropractor.
5. I did not turn out to have thyroid cancer and I got hearing aids. 
6. We solved my husband's shaving and showering routines.
7. I was put on YouTube as MC AC The Rap Lady. More raps need to be put up, but I am not skilled in doing this. My niece and nephew videotaped me and are producing this YouTube channel. 
8. I kept my weight down, although I need to lose more. 
9. I have not finished two areas (10 and 11) in The House That Cleans Itself as other priorities crept into our lives. The workshop is next. 
10. I started my seminary counseling dissertation on being a dementia caregiver. 

Thanks 
for your prayers, everyone! 

How can I pray for you in 2014? 

Hugs,

Carol

Incidentally, one of the most viewed blog posts ever 

on December 31, 2009 features Southern New Years Recipes. 

Giving Thanks For Fifteen Again

1. Hubby is walking again around the house. He willing uses a walker when we go out. When we seniors fall, it can mean broken bones and I am grateful he accepts that walker. 
2. Chiropractors that helped hubby walk.
3. Kenny who has come into our lives last spring. Kenny is a remarkable volunteer caregiver who enables me to continue to work. At the beginning of November, despite his own surgery, Kenny has continued to be there for us, and has even brought his mom into the picture. We are so grateful for these neighbors.
4. Wayne and now Pharis who have taken up the challenge of our 7/10 of an acre. Hubby doesn't think a wife should mow the lawn, and the front and back yards were the place where in my blogging through the book The House That Cleans Itself  I have been hung up. 
5. Professionals such as Carole Larkin and Dr. Mary Newport. 
6. Support from The Alzheimer's Association.
7. Our friends Sally and Jake (not their real names).
8. The Plant City Senior Center where Jake and hubby go one day a week. 
9. Bloggers who regularly comment on this blog and who provide fun and inspiration for me when I read their blogs. I would name you all, but I might forget someone. 
10. Students I substitute for who provide such hope for the future and who have encouraging my becoming MC AC The Rap Lady. 
11. My niece and nephew who started my YouTube rapping channel.
12. Progress on my seminary counseling dissertation on caregiving even as I battle caregiving issues myself and people who provide feedback for that dissertation. 
13. Having out-of-town guests for Thanksgiving.
14. Having a great dog, Ziggy, that is a wonderful companion for my husband and me.
15. My faith that sustains. For example, I am so grateful for the LORD's sustaining us through hospital trips for me in 2012 and for hubby in 2013.

Last year I posted 15 I am thankful for HERE  and I continue to be grateful for items on that list.

Also last year I posted 15 things a caregiver can do 

to be joyful HERE 

and it has received over 750 views. 

That's a lot on JOY this lowly blog 

has spread around!

The House That Cleans Itself: Rugs in Areas 2, 4, 5, and 6

Looking down the hall
to the master bedroom

When I have finished a room, I have had to report that the unclean, stained carpet wasn't done and I would have to go back to that. The history of the horrible stains is that once a "professional" group came in and cleaned quickly with lots of moisture. In several months the stains appeared as the moisture came to the surface revealing the mud that was imbedded.

Today our carpets were cleaned with the help of Melody, whom we employed. In order to do this, she started with the master bedroom about 11:15 and she worked hard until 5:45 until she had done what I asked her to do. Now ceiling fans are running drying these rooms and I am sitting on the only chair in the den as I type.

"Where are our chairs?" hubby kept askinig.

"I moved them to the garage, the workshop, the guest bedroom and even the front porch," was my reply. Then he would ask again where the chairs were. At one point he moved to our bedroom to watch TV so Melody could clean the family room. His celebrated Ikea coffee table with his prized DVD collection was rolled to the kitchen. Ceiling fans in the rooms that have them are running at high speed as the carpet dries.



Products Used

Melody picked up my vacuum cleaner from our repairman, her brother, and brought it to our house. It worked well and so I have no excuse but to keep up the vacuuming. She also said I can use the stain removers to clean spots. I need to do that. She used Rug Doctor Oxy-Steam Carpet Cleaner in her carpet cleaner (my carpet cleaner is waiting for a part according to her brother). For stain removal she used Resolve Stain Remover and Bissell Big Green Commercial Heavy Traffic Precleaner you see above.

Now, my three weeks for "no sweat" after my eyebrow procedure I wrote about earlier will be up on July 22 so then I have to get busy. Also, you may notice the weights in the above shelf and my birthday treadmill in this post. Next week I need to exercise, keep up with the house and get back to weeding. Those weeds have been growing! Tentatively a yard sale will be coming up also.

There were two other wonderful blessings today beside the carpet cleaning. First, a student I had in fifth grade 35 years ago messaged me on Facebook and thanked me for the impact I had on her life. Second, I received my notice that I will be substituting again next week. (I had gotten the substitute test in late due to my husband's hospitalization recently.) 

Thank you, LORD, for such rich blessings.