FAQ

I haven't had a lot of questions, but let's just assume I have, so I can explain some things here.

Mittens Morgul is actually a cat. If you've ever read Lord of the Rings, you might recognize the phrase as similar to Minas Morgul, the Tower of Sorcery where the evil Nazgul lived. It was once the Tower of the Moon.

If Minas Tirith is the Tower of Guard, and Minas Morgul is the Tower of Sorcery, than Mittens Morgul must mean "Mittens of Sorcery." I thought this was hysterical.

My cat's name is Morgan. He also has extra toes. It looks like he's wearing mittens (or boxing gloves, more likely). I've always called him Morgul, or Morgul-Worgul, or the like. It bears mentioning that I make up nicknames for everyone and everything. More on that later.

So Stinky got stuck with yet another nickname. And I thought it sounded awesome.

Names I've Saddled my Loved Ones With, which I may reference in this blog:

Lucy, my poor daughter, was saddled with Squidge at birth. When she got old enough to crawl around, she became Scootie. She's almost 12, and still answers to Scootie, Bee (actually short for "Biscuit"), and Scootiebee, even when she doesn't answer to her actual name. She also answers to Lulu.

Tim, my long-suffering husband, has gotten off lightest. He's the Helper Monkey. He thinks it's cute.

Morgan, in addition to Morgul, is most frequently called "Stinky," and a remarkable array of variations. He's been known as Stinkleton, Stinkaboy, Mister Stinky, The Mayor of Stinkleton (with apologies to XTC), Senor Stinkles (pronounced stink-lace), Miggles, Tinkaton, and Tinky. If you call out, "Mr. Stinky!" he'll come running. He also feels kindly toward Morganza and "The Morganism."

If you have a question I haven't answered, by all means, ask!