Stats

Posted on December 2, 2013December 2, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Yesterday started a new month and as I usually do, I reviewed my stats for the month and check to see how I was doing compared to last year. My goal is to improve the traffic to my blog so as long as my numbers beat the previous year I figure I’m going in the right direction.
One of my favorite stats to check is where my readers have come from. WordPress has not only a list, but a map and I think this is so cool.
This is what the map looks like since I’ve been blogging on WordPress.

Country	Views
United States	47,422
Canada	1,065
United Kingdom	451
Germany	285
France	281
Russian Federation	259
India	209
Australia	179
Italy	134
Netherlands	121
Taiwan	120
Brazil	104
Indonesia	75
Philippines	68
Croatia	68
Greece	67
Finland	65
Republic of Korea	65
Slovakia	65
Spain	64
Mexico	63
Malaysia	62
Bulgaria	59
Argentina	58
Poland	54
Thailand	53
Portugal	51
Sweden	51
Czech Republic	51
Turkey	50
Japan	48
Belgium	46
Switzerland	46
Romania	45
Denmark	40
Pakistan	36
South Africa	35
New Zealand	34
Ireland	34
Israel	32
Hong Kong	32
Hungary	32
Ukraine	31
Singapore	28
Colombia	27
Ecuador	25
Serbia	24
Puerto Rico	24
Chile	23
Trinidad and Tobago	19
Norway	17
United Arab Emirates	16
Lithuania	16
Saudi Arabia	14
Viet Nam	13
Nigeria	13
Austria	13
Egypt	11
Dominican Republic	11
Peru	10
Moldova	10
Kuwait	10
Iceland	9
Qatar	8
Iraq	8
Malta	8
Bangladesh	8
Latvia	8
Costa Rica	7
Slovenia	7
Belarus	7
Venezuela	7
Guatemala	6
Algeria	6
Guam	6
Barbados	6
Georgia	6
Albania	5
Bosnia and Herzegovina	5
Kenya	5
Sri Lanka	4
Bolivia	4
Estonia	4
Jordan	3
Cyprus	3
Jamaica	3
Paraguay	3
Cambodia	3
Oman	2
Tunisia	2
Lebanon	2
Panama	2
Lao People’s Democratic Republic	2
Bahamas	2
Rwanda	1
Cuba	1
China	1
Palestinian Territory, Occupied	1
Guyana	1
Senegal	1
United Republic of Tanzania	1
Mauritania	1
Macao	1
Myanmar	1
Yemen	1
El Salvador	1
Faroe Islands	1
French Guiana	1
Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic	1
Turks and Caicos Islands	1
Luxembourg	1
Syrian Arab Republic	1
Antigua and Barbuda	1
Uruguay	1
Cayman Islands	1
Fiji	1
Uganda	1
Honduras

So , my fellow bloggers, do you check your stats too? Which stat is your favorite?

It’s That Time of Year

Posted on December 1, 2013December 1, 2013 by Dusty Roads

It’s the most wonderful time of the year
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you “Be of good cheer”
It’s the most wonderful time of the year
It’s the hap-happiest season of all
With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings
When friends come to call
It’s the hap- happiest season of all

This is the week that launches the holidays. Already there have been tree lightings and parades and I’m not talking about the Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade. I’m hoping to get into Boston to check out the tree and decorations at Faneuil Hall. There was a 30 minute TV presentation for the lighting of the 95 ft. tree!

No snow yet. The weather folks were saying it was snowing on the south shore when I turned on the TV yesterday morning. I’m not sure where they were looking because here the sun was out and it was a beautiful, if cold, day. This morning, rainy and gray.

I think I might like the snow this year. I don’t have to drive in it. Working from home lets me relax and enjoy the changing New England weather without worrying about maneuvering through traffic to get to work.

Some of my neighbors have their holiday decorations up already. I’m still dragging my feet. It took 10 years before I was able to get a small Christmas tree up and keep it up with 2 curious cats. Each year they would systematically dismantle the tree. In the early years they pulled it down faster than I could put it up. Last year was the first year it really survived the whole season. Now I have a new cat and I’m debating if I really want to start the battle of the Christmas Tree all over again.

It’s not like I have little kids to impress. It’s just me but I did enjoy it last year. And the antics of 3 cats might make for an entertaining post.

Yes, I’m thinking I should at least try it out and see how Buddy reacts. See that’s why I write these posts. It helps me make decisions.

All That Poo

Posted on November 30, 2013November 30, 2013 by Dusty Roads

I bet we’ve all been there, stepped in that pile of dog poo that some inconsiderate dog owner failed to clean up. Yeeeew! It can ruin a person’s day.

The condo complex where I live wants owners to clean up after the pooches but in frustration they cleared a corner of the property where we had lovely trees and bushes and made it a doggy potty. Although the owners are still supposed to clean up I wouldn’t walk there without carefully looking. Even so I stepped in a mushy pile only a few days ago when I was taking pictures around the property and I wasn’t anywhere near the Doggy Potty.

I like dogs myself but stepping in a pile of poo is not my idea of a minor problem. I can see why there can be a back lash against dog owners. So far dogs have not been banned but it has been discussed in the past.

Now another condo in Braintree, MA. has gone high tech and I like the idea. You want to have a dog and live there. Ok a one time fee of $60.00 is assessed and you have to give a cheek swab from your dog so a DNA test can be done. If you don’t clean up after your dog the maintenance crew sends a sample off to the same lab and first thing you know a report comes back identifying the offending dog. If that DNA sample ID’s your dog you get to pay $150.00… a $50 testing fee plus a $100 fine.

What a great idea. It’s a shame it has to come down to that but now the owner can’t say it wasn’t their dog or say “prove it”. The association just did. According to the lawyers there is nothing illegal about requiring the DNA test and if an abandoned pile is tested, nothing illegal there either. I think it’s brilliant.

Kerry Weidner, a pet owner in Devon Wood, (That’s the condo complex in Braintree) says the service has transformed life at the sprawling complex. “We used to see dog poop almost every other day. You had to worry about where you walk on the grass because there was dog poop, a lot of different places,” Weidner said. “Now, you don’t really have to worry about dog poop. You can walk where you want, the grass is now ours again, we don’t have to worry about it, and that’s just a great thing.”

The DNA testing service is offered through Tenn.-based BioPet Vet Lab under the brand name PooPrints.

Post Trashed/ The Day After

Posted on November 29, 2013November 29, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Good Morning Friends!

Anyone with a Turkey Hangover?

I had quite a post planned for today all about my thoughts on Black Friday. Comments and opinions about shopping on Thanksgiving. Those poor people who had to miss Thanksgiving with their families because the big, greedy retail stores wanted one more day to put their paws in our pockets.

Then I thought whoa! Until this year I was one of those “Poor people” who had to work and it wasn’t so bad. Before I worked in Plymouth I seldom worked alone and we all brought holiday food to work. Our workplace became a Thanksgiving meal and the folks working celebrated with each other. It was nice. I still celebrated on my own when I had my next day off. The extra money that I got by working the holiday certainly came in handy.

Once they moved the office to Plymouth and went “Virtual” I found I didn’t always have anyone working with me in my office. Oh I had co-workers, just not at my location but again, I didn’t mind. It was usually a quiet day and it was in Plymouth that some of the nicest things were done for me.

One Thanksgiving 2 different co-workers drove to the office to bring me Thanksgiving Dinner because they knew I was alone there! I was amazed and thankful to even be thought of once, but twice. That’s pretty special.

Another holiday when just 4 of us were working one of the 4 brought in a whole meal; ham, baked potatoes, veggies…for all of us. All home made. He got up early before work, cooked up the feast and surprised us all!

Come to think of it, I have more good memories of working holidays than bad.

And judging from the interviews on the news, these workers were happy too. They talked about earning extra money for Christmas, about break rooms overflowing with food, of happy friends that were shopping and saying hi; people they wouldn’t see if they were at home.

So I don’t know if opening on Thanksgiving is really so bad. I worked because a telecommunication company that offers phone service has to have people on in case of emergency . It’s the law in Massachusetts, maybe even Federal law but here were people working retail, laughing and singing the praises of their employers for being open and giving them the opportunity to earn a little extra for the upcoming holiday season.

Maybe having a retail store open on Thanksgiving isn’t as bad an idea as I first thought.

Happy Thanksgiving

Posted on November 28, 2013November 28, 2013 by Dusty Roads

It’s Thanksgiving! This is the first time in years I haven’t had to work. My new company is a strong believer in a balanced work and personal life. To help us all achieve that balance the offices are closed today and tomorrow.

I am thankful for an employer that recognizes and supports quality of life. 🙂 (I’m watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for the first time in years!)