January--named after Janus, the two-faced god who is (was) considered the patron of beginnings.

January--a month with 31 days immediately following another 31 day month. (And what is the other 31/31 sequence?)

Things are still a bit noisy around here--the fireworks stands don't close up immediately, and it will probably be about two weeks before the children (of all ages) have used up all their spare cash for firecrackers to set off.

My big achievement for the day was to get the Jimmy started. It's been just sitting for almost a year now and I really want to get rid of it. Unfortunately, it is stuffed to the gills with (mostly) junk. I shall claim the carpet shampooer, but there is so much other crap that might be of value I hate to throw it out. Several books about writing, some ammunition, a big stack of CDs, etc. etc. etc.

A secondary achievement was to get some more weeds pulled up while my Escape was helping the Jimmy get charged up. The part of the lawn where I pulled up the weedy stuff is almost clear of weeds. The places where I tried to mow them has weeds again. So, I'll keep at it, little by little. I'll dump the weeds into the pool where they will eventually decay. I keep the water chlorinated, so mosquitoes can't breed there. And the pool already has a ton of leaves and other tree-drippings in it.

Last night I looked outside and there was a big fat possum nosing around in the lawn. I suspect that the dry cat food I set out for BadCat may be possum food also, not to mention snackies for the two cats that visit regularly.

Tomorrow it's back to work. I'm trying to decide whether to work Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, or Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. My inclination is option 1, but the weather forecast currently says there will be rain on Thursday and maybe Friday. Well, I don't need to make a decision till Tuesday evening. And the Intellicast forecast has Friday clearing.

The only "holiday" or other December task I haven't yet done is greeting cards. I bought cards this year that say "Peace," and there's no rigid time frame for that wish. I've done a few, but there are about a half dozen more to write notes on.

So, all in all, were it not for the Jimmy starting, it would have been just another IUD.

(I changed to this color because satsumas are plentiful right now. They're a sort of tangerine-type citrus, with bright orange skins and absolutely delicious.)