Tag: cats

• Fugitives, Relocating, and a Possum Named Steve – Thoughts from January 10, 2026

  

  Patti and I are fugitives. If that doesn’t make you interested, I don’t know what will. In case this is the first Thoughts from Life you’ve ever read; I’ll briefly explain the situation. Patti (my wife) and I (me/Brian) have adopted an outside cat (Archie). We would let him come into the house, but we…

  Brian Kirwan

  June 30, 2026

  Uncategorized

  2026, an opossum is in the trap, animal trap, apple pieces, Archie, Brian, bushes to hide, California, cats, Competition ruins everything, cut up apple, fugitives, giant rat tail, illegal activities, illegal to relocate a possum, illegal to relocate a raccoon, meowing endlessly, opossum, outside cat, Patti, Patti’s truck, porch, possum, possum’s open mouth, proper punctuation and grammar, Scout, slim chance of survival, Steve, thoughts, Thoughts from Life, trapdoor closed, undisclosed location, wire cutters, zip-tied door

• Hosting Christmas Eve and Remote Controlled Gift Frenzies – Thoughts from December 30, 2025

  

  Patti and I hosted Christmas Eve, but we couldn’t do it at our house because our kitchen and the rest of the house are not usable. I planned to work on the kitchen on my four days off from work, but rain prevented it. We had our hosting night at Patti’s sister’s house. It’s much…

  Brian Kirwan

  June 16, 2026

  Uncategorized

  2025, Archie, asleep on the floor, battery powered tools, blindfold with eyelashes, blindfolded, cats, cats freaking out, Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas games, cotton balls as snowballs, dietary restrictions, enourmous kitchen, exchanged gifts, gift exchange frenzy, gifts for a child, growling bear, hosting Christmas Eve, kitchen island, kitchen remodel, leftovers, meowing, new carpet, no shoes rule, our cluttered house, outside noises, overflowing cotton balls, packing the car in the rain, Patti, Patti’s nephew, presents, rain, remote controlled Disney characters, Scout, Scout’s kids, shoes off, snoring, stuffed mushrooms, thoughts, younger relatives

• Triggered Traps and Monster Wreaths – Thoughts from December 13 and 17, 2025

  

  December 13, 2025 For those of you who were waiting on an update to the trap in our yard, I have the first happening since we put it out and filled it with apple cores. To catch up, our outside cat, Archie, was having his food eaten by one of the animals in our backyard.…

  Brian Kirwan

  June 9, 2026

  Uncategorized

  2025, animal trap, apple cores, Archie, atheism, backyard animals, bow on the door, cat in a stocking, cats, Christmas, Christmas decorations, Christmas town, Easter bunny, favorite movies, giant Hello Kitty, Jack Skellington, learning from your mistakes, monster wreath, neighborhood cat, opossum, outdoor decorations, outside cat, Patti, plastic coat hanger, raccoon, religious decorations, relocating a raccoon, Santa, smart animals, squeezed out like a hamster, Stitch in a Santa hat, taking religion out of American holidays, The Nightmare Before Christmas, thoughts, trapdoor closed, triggered the trap, zip ties

• Lazy Susans, Black Friday, and Pesky Creatures – Thoughts from December 6, 2025

  

  Patti and I are continuing to work on the kitchen. We have two lazy Susans that are only slightly less difficult than the sink is going to be to install. Attaching them to the wall is the hardest part. You must attach 2 x 4-inch pieces of wood together on the wall and for the…

  Brian Kirwan

  May 12, 2026

  Uncategorized

  2 x 4 pieces of wood, 2025, animal trap, animals under the porch, apple cores, Archie, Archie’s food, base for an upper cabinet, Black Friday, Brian the Builder, cats, convert upper cabinet to lower cabinet, cutting into weird places, future counter, handsaw, kitchen remodel, lazy Susan, makeshift workbench, miter saw, Mommy Dearest, No wire hangers!, old countertop as workspace, opossom, oscillating tool, Patti, pesky creatures in the neighborhood, portable miter saw, raccoon, sawhorses, setting the animal trap, table saw, thoughts, wire hangers, YouTube Videos

• Playing with Mice, the Mean Streets, and Infections – Thought from November 11, 2025

  

  Full disclosure, I wrote this on a different day, but 11/11 is such a cool day. It was at least around this day when these things happened. I could have just said nothing about my rearranging of time, but I like to keep these Thoughts from Life interactive. If I’m fully disclosing everything, I should…

  Brian Kirwan

  April 21, 2026

  Uncategorized

  11/11, 2025, 2026, Archie, Archie’s game, being cruel to the mouse, cat acting like a cat, cat bite, cats, cats from the mean streets, chasing a mouse, chewing on the mouse, distracted by us watching, doing what cats do, drawing blood, four cats, healing slowly, holding a mouse in his mouth, infection from cat bite, infection from the mouse, keeping physically active, large red mark on her arm, losing the mouse, mouse catch, mouser, mousing capabilities, outside cat, Patti, Patti’s health, physical activity, playing with a mouse, playing with a real mouse, retirement, scars for weeks, Scout, staying healthy, thoughts, Thoughts from Life, written by artificial intelligence

• Old Cassette Recordings, Bad Playing, and Editing – Thoughts from November 9, 2025

  

  The main thing going on in my life right now is music. I should mention that Patti, the cats, and a few other people are always in my focus, but when I’m alone, music is my focus. I’ve spent more time working on music than writing. What you’re reading is my attempt to not completely…

  Brian Kirwan

  April 14, 2026

  Uncategorized

  2025, 4-track cassette, 8-track ADAT audio tracks, 90s, ADAT machine, audio cassette tapes, bad playing, cassette tapes into the computer, cats, composing songs in the computer, connecting things together, copy and paste, deafer, depressing, editing, experimenting with sound, forgettable moments, getting tools, lack of space in my office, learning something new, Life is Horrible, live music, live recordings, lyrics, mix of delight and irritation, more forgetful, multiple tracks, music, music recordings, older, one flawless take, Patti, recording audio on the computer, repetitive playing, song version, spare time, tape is linier, thoughts, VHS tapes, working on music, writing, writing duties

• Kitchen Remodel, New Tools, and Outside Cats – Thoughts from August 23, 2025

  

  I had my appointment to check on my throat after my surgery to remove the polyp on my vocal cord. I knew it didn’t feel like it used to years ago. Seeing the image the doctor took with the camera down my throat was disappointing. The polyp was smaller than the last image before the…

  Brian Kirwan

  February 24, 2026

  Uncategorized

  2021, 2025, action figures, adjustable poles, Archie, being efficient, big vacation, birthday, camera down my throat, cat pictures and videos, cats, checkup after surgery, creative tools, damaging my throat, discontinued cabinet set, drill bits, Funko collection, giant boxes, goodbye to Rally, having the right tool, installing new cabinets and drawers, kitchen remodel, kittens, male orange cats are vocal, measuring tools, new tools, outside cats, Patti, polyp on my vocal cord, Rally, remembering Rally, scary stuff happening, screwdrivers, staycation, stud finder, thoughts, Toyota Tundra, wood-working tools

• Senior Birthdays, Cats, and Alcohol – Thoughts from July 2, 2025

  

  This is the day of my birth. I’m 55 years old today. In many places, I can now get a senior discount. Patti and I are both seniors. I’m not normally off on Wednesdays, but I took off this birthday Wednesday. As with every time I got to choose what to do for my birthday,…

  Brian Kirwan

  February 17, 2026

  Uncategorized

  2025, alcohol, animated movie, Beatrix, being a senior, birthday, cat breath, cat likes water, cat tongue, cats, cats drinking from the sink, cats licking my hair, dowsing her head, food adventurer, furry entourage, ginger, green tea, licking my ears, licking my skin, Luna, newly inducted senior, Patti, plum wine, raining down with fur, reusable bags, sake, sake buzz, sandpaper tongue, Scout, senior discount, smell of sushi, soy sauce, splashing water, stay at home, stretching, surrounded by cats, sushi, sushi on my birthday, sushi rolls, thoughts, too fishy or had tentables, turning 55, Willow

• Post Surgery and an Organized Tool Shed – Thoughts from June 1, 2025 – Part 2

  

  June 1, 2025 – Part 2 As I told you last week, I had my first surgery on May 22. We pick up the story after the surgery and my post-surgery days. For at least the next few days, I would be in Patti’s hands and the cats’ comforting paws. Patti had to drive me…

  Brian Kirwan

  January 27, 2026

  Uncategorized

  2003, 2025, bolts, cats, clean up tool shed, container with little drawers, couldn’t talk, creature poops, didn’t sound normal, distracted driver, electronic tools, first surgery, heavy trashcan, knowing where things are, lawn table, mask for the dust, nuts, only think about pictures when its too late, organized shed, organized tools, organizing, Patti, plumbing tools, post surgery, read words I type out loud, rusty tools, screws, storage containers, sweeping, thoughts, time off, toolboxes, tools, washers, Word document

• My First Surgery – Thoughts from June 1, 2025 – Part 1

  

  I used to have times when I struggled to find subjects for my Thoughts papers. Recently, I’ve had to make lists of subjects to write about, so I don’t forget things. When I started writing these back in 1991, I had less happening in my life. Who would guess I had more going on in…

  Brian Kirwan

  January 20, 2026

  Uncategorized

  1991, 2025, anesthesia, anesthesia technician, cat claw marks, cat scratches, cats, clown miming skills, do not talk, dressing gown, ellipsis, giant beret, inability to speak, leave wedding ring at home, medication, my first surgery, naked behind a curtain, nurse asking questions, opened in the back, parents had any surgeries, Part 1, Patti, polyp removed from my vocal cord, reliving younger days, show of my life, stint into my vein, surgery cap, surgery veterans, thoughts, Thoughts papers, tying a dressing gown, undressed and hearing people, welcome distraction, Willow, writing