A black and white cat sits in front of a computer. He's wearing a blue and white bow tie and looks both fancy and elegant.
Two cats in an armchair. The same black and white cat is on his back, rear paws akimbo and his front paws looking like they're attempting some kind of dance move. His white sister looks down on him disadainfully.
The many faces of Smudge, elegant gentle kitty and utter doofus.
Good morning! Yes, this is he
Many thanks to @hkinfinity.bsky.social for making it possible for me to pay my respects to David Lynch last week in LA: orlawritesthings.com/2026/03/03/l...
Just home from my LA adventure. While I was away the kitties were minded by their lovely Uncle Paul. Smudge even deigned to accept pets from him. Kaliyo is so happy to see me that she has not yelled at me yet and is sitting inches from my elbow as I type, purring madly.
I'm about a third of the way through The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy. Interesting structure, great characterization.
Interesting use case! Kindle is fine from my pov though.
The cats were amused by watching me spend half an hour wrestling with sisal twine to do a spot repair on the cat tree. It didn't have twine all the way up its legs (odd design decision IMO) and has been punished for it.
Smudge has just now tested the repair and found it satisfactory.
Had one of those "why am I paying for blog hosting when I never blog???" moments so here is a round up of my favourite things from 2025: orlawritesthings.com/2026/01/03/g...
Bradley Cooper is Temu Ralph Fiennes. Yes, I just rewatched Strange Days. No, I will not be taking any questions on this my first opinion of 2026.
RIP David Heap who once shared a pesto recipe with me that involved wearing a baggy jumper to Morton's on Dunville Ave. (pine nuts being expensive at the time). Absolute gent. Condolences to Olwen and his friends and family.
Call on Media Minister Patrick O’Donovan to scrap plans that would force people to use a state-run Digital ID card to access social media. I've signed, will you? my.uplift.ie/petitions/no... @uplift.ie
These days the word kinky is more descriptive of my neck and back than my sexual exploits.
And this is the same mum who spent YEARS trying to convince me to play with dolls when all I wanted was Lego and action figures, so it made my heart happy to see her grow past gendered toys for the grandkids.
One of my fave things this Christmas was my mum (at my sister's request) buying my nephews matching baby dolls and pushchairs (strollers). They are almost 2 and almost 4, and they were screaming with excitement when they opened them. My mum went from being baffled to being overjoyed in 30 seconds.
Huge shout-out to AIB for spotting someone trying to use my credit card details and alerting me both by text and in-app. No idea where the card got skimmed but at least it's disabled now.
(Also, boo scammers for thinking a 176 euro charge at Tesco wouldn't raise any flags at this time of year)
A small white cat looking confused and disappointed by the existence of possums and me inflicting them on her when she thought I was going to play her a cat video. It's okay, she got her cat video, but not gonna lie I'd been hoping the possums would enchant her.
Showed Kaliyo some possums on YouTube. Her reaction was basically "WHAT?!"
The Last Dinner Party onstage at the 3 Arena in Dublin last night. Left to right" Aurora, Emily, Abigail, Luca the drummer, Lizzie, and Georgia.
That orange weather warning in Dublin last night was no joke; the wind was super-strong and it was pelting rain. Worth getting drenched and nearly literally blown away to see The Last Dinner Party live tho. Divorce was an excellent support act too.
Mega thanks to the lovely 401 driver who pulled in after the stop to let me hop on. It's pissing rain here and he was an utter gent. Definitely getting a cab home from the vet with Smudge who is awake and fine after his extraction.
If Smudge wasn't already mad at me for bringing him to the vet for his annual check-up this morning, he's gonna be extra mad now because they've kept him in to remove a tooth.
Luckily (?) Kaliyo ate half his gabapentin dosed food this morning so she is just napping and oblivious.
Would have loved an aul bitta rhubarb tart and a cuppa after voting this morning. But sure I voted all the same.
i like when the road becomes a train and also a ladder appears, and then the train is the platform, also when the guy just jumps in the air for some reason
A chonky black and white cat lying in the doorway of a mini-house on the first tier of a tall grey cat tree. A pompom is dangling above his left ear. He's trying to look tough and unbothered but he should know by now that I know he's a big ole grumpy wuss and I love him all the more for it.
Despite his chonkyboi concerns, and after several days of concerned investigation, Smudge has learned that he does indeed fit (on all the beds and platforms and in the little houses) on the new, bigger cat tree.
So here he proudly sits, a smug Smudgey.
They are both a little mad at me for removing the old dilapidated tree (which I now have to disassemble for disposal) but hopefully they'll get over it. Smudge really does not like change, bless him.
Spent a couple hours finally putting together the new (taller with more beds) cat tree and Kaliyo loves it. Smudge, on the other hand seems to be skeered of it. He has required many pets and to be reassured that he is a big brave boy, and even then he sat on it for ~three~ seconds before fleeing.
A chonky black and white cat lying in an armchair with his front paws casually off to one side and his tail wrapped around himself. He's looking at something off to the right of the camera with an extremely interested expression and perked up ears.
Smudge is very interested in what you have to say and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
10 years ago I put on my regular clothes for Halloween and won a costume contest for dressing up as “The Target Boy’s Department.”
The cover of the ebook of This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman featuring several people and creatures (Carl, Imani, Mongo and Rend are most visible) running from an explosion. There's a tall tower in the background with a dragon flying beside it. Samantha the demi-god in a disembodied sex doll head (long story) is in the foreground with her chin resting on the author's first name.
Happy Monday! I'm on a comfort reading kick so finally started book 7 of Dungeon Crawler Carl: This Inevitable Ruin. Pathos, silliness, action and heart. Sure what more could you want?
The next door neighbour has been doing some shite to the exterior of his house that involves a droning power tool for several hours every day for the last few days and I'm about at my limit for patience and tolerance. Hopefully he finishes whatever the hell it is today.
That's right, jogger, you run, I'll stay back and be a heavy lump of delay to the attackers. Live well, friend.
