So last weekend I decided to just blow through the rest of the dry firewood and have one last nice fire. We still have maybe half a cord or so, now that the snow is mostly gone, but it's been essentially under water all winter, so it's not gonna burn anytime soon. (I have since brought some of it in anyway, in the foolish, foolish notion that it could conceivably "dry out" in a week, even though I know in my heart of hearts that drying out firewood takes MONTHS. But let's leave Mojo to her delusion and hope there's not a subzero power outage within the next month or so.)  MORE Mojo! »

I've been thinking about this all weekend, and now I have to blab about it.

Mojo is rather lucky in that she has always been a fairly good writer. She gets attention for it. She enjoys it, so she occasionally does it for other people who do NOT enjoy it, and they pay her a decent amount of money for the privilege of exploiting her gift.  MORE Mojo! »

There are some peripheral figures in Mojo's life that Mojo somewhat vaguely wishes weren't there and would just move on to happier pastures. But Mojo is lazy and does not wish to offend, so as long as they don't inconvenience Mojo too much and they are content to remain in the shadows and only pop up once in a while Mojo is content to let things be. None of this "wind beneath my wings" crap, more like a tick, or some other blood-sucking parasite that's not doing enough damage to scratch out of there once and fer all.  MORE Mojo! »

Today (Tuesday) I left the house in the morning. Mrs. Yellowthroat wasn't on the nest, so I took a peek, as is my custom. Three eggs.

I came home mid-afternoon. Mrs. Yellowthroat wasn't on the nest, so I took a peek.

Surprise! No eggs! Just three ugly little spudlings!

 MORE Mojo! »

While Mojo usually tries to conduct her life with the patience and tolerance befitting a Role Model such as herself, there have been times when she has felt that others have treated her Unjustly and hence she desires Revenge against said transgressors. This does not happen very often, but when it does, watch out!  MORE Mojo! »

Okay, how's THAT for a teaser?

What follows (surprise, surprise) is a long, boring digression until you get to the good stuff.

Christmas was nice. The whole family was there. Among other things, Mojo got a plain white envelope with fifty bucks cash inside. Her Favorite Mother said it was so she could buy herself some DVDs.

Meanwhile, what do the Favorite Parents receive? Well, one adopted brother who works as a flight attendant (Mojo's Favorite Mother is always adopting our friends when she decides she likes THEM better than US, and then starts inviting them to all the holiday get-togethers, and said adoptive children further outclass us biological ones in this fashion) gave them buddy passes to spend a weekend in Amsterdam. Mojo is plumping for the Parental Units to stay at one of those Urban Legend hotels that leave joints for you on your pillow in lieu of chocolates.

And then the Favorite Younger Sister--okay, I'm not sure if this is part of their Christmas present or just bribery/largesse on her part, but the talk of the day was their impending cruise with the Barenaked Ladies, for my Favorite Younger Sister, who actively stalks the band, has insinuated my Favorite Mother among the fan base (where she is known as Barenaked Grandma) and I THINK paid for both Mom and Dad to go on the cruise with her. Well, Mom because she is Barenaked Grandma, and Dad because, well, if you think for a moment he's going to let his wife go on a cruise surrounded by nubile young men in various stages of undress alone and unchaperoned you've got another think coming.  MORE Mojo! »

Okay, so recently I was involved in a vast conspiracy to surprise a five-year-old--an undertaking that apparently requires four or five adults working full time for a couple of weeks trying to get everything to come together at the proper time. My job (no doubt because Mojo is intellectually incapable of handling anything more complex) was to keep him quiet and occupied for several hours before the surprise was sprung.

Easy enough, sez I. We'll just eat lunch and watch videos. But of course being a five-year-old, he got to pick what videos to watch. And he decided there was nothing in the world he wanted to see than his new DVD, chockablock full of over two and a half hours of vintage Popeye the Sailor cartoons.  MORE Mojo! »

I happened to glance out an upstairs window just in time to catch the little stinker doing this. We have this old dilapidated shed on the property and Ratty has never before given it much notice. Until today. He balances on the edge of the trailer, jumps up to the little overhang above the window, and then up to the roof.

Ratty is very proud of himself and came in the house yowling with pride. And then yowled me outside so he could show off in person. It drives the dog nuts because she cannot follow.  MORE Mojo! »