Hello Status101,

Actually the category description should be showed by default if there is one which means if it is not empty.

Did you try to create a menu item as category blog and select show description to see if its working at all? (There could be a problem in your template preventing descriptions beeing displayed at all.)

What you could do is to enable the display of category descriptions generally (except you have a page where you want no description displayed).
You have to edit the file blog.php which can be in two locations:
Check if your template has an alternative configuration for category blog. If so there will be a folder ~/templates/name_of_your_template/html/com_content/category
If this folder is not there you find the file in the folder ~/components/com_content/views/category/tmpl
Open the file and find "if ($this->params->get('show_description') ...  endif;"
Remove the if clause so that only "echo $this->category->description;" remains. (You can comment the if clause out with /* and */ to be able to undo any changes.) Your category view should now always display the description.

Please make a backup of your site before editing any files

Kind regards,
freakedout Support Team

Ok, I'm back.. I have tried your suggestions and I am just not getting any descriptions - in the initial category list.  Just the link. .. The descriptions ARE showing in the blog layout when I click on the category link.

I have created several category menu links and DO get the descriptions but not with the module ( even after making the PHP changes ) I also tried two other similar extended category modules ( with tables.. yuck ).. one gave me descriptions, one didn't?!?  So it seems descriptions are working.. sometimes.

I have tried reverting back to installed Joomla templates (purity and milkyway)and I am getting the same results.  Just the link, no description.

The rendered page code I am getting using the module in all templates is for example:

<ul class="mod_cat">

<li>
    <a href="/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=category&amp;id=34&amp;Itemid=2&amp;layout=blog">
        Website Portolio</a>
</li>

<ul>

.. nothing rendered regarding the description. 

AND unfortunately I cant give you a live link at the moment as I am working on a local site but will try and get it live somewhere after easter.

Another issues I am getting is:

Initially, when I clicked the category link, I was getting the articles in that category displayed in a blog layout in the order I specified in the article manager.. after some installing modules / installing modules, playing around, etc, now they are displaying in 'date' order ( which unfortunately is not what I want. )

Anyway, I am off to restore some files from the joomla core com_content in case ( my guess ) something somewhere has overwrite some standard code.. but if anything I am describing makes any scene to anyone, any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.  I am sure this is a problem with what I am doing rather than a issue with the module, but am lost and a little frustrated : (

One final question.. Is there a link somewhere that I can see the module working the way is should.  Just to make sure I am not trying to do something it doesn't do, and getting myself confused for no reason.

Thanks again for even looking at my posts : ) and sorry if I am being a pain.