midnight

 This was almost forgotten. There was the pressing decision to collate the tax documents and then the itgent desire to go to the pub.

Now, in the pub, the memory has come back with barely time to write anything.

Still, there are ten minutes to note the day.

The furniture store in the morning, bought a double hotplate. And a small trolley. 

After assembling the furniture went out for a cup of coffee with the son. Then had a sleep and started to inspect the tax docunents.

Made a meal of sorts using two hot plates. very nice and fast.

And now in the pub, just before minight.

sad

 too hot and tired to make much sense now.  A laxy Sunday morning and then pff to the studio to tale pictures pf a few more of the tiny wooden figures.

Not too many. 

very slow

very sad today, there is no knowing why

After the notes in the pub returned home now, There was nobody there. Young women wearing very short shorts  showing off their very beautiful legs .

Pretty boring stuff.

Now sit in the shop and wonder what to do .

The best thing would be to go to bed.

for a change

The day started startlingly early today, despite the really late night the night before. It  is the same problem again. It is the story of the unsleeping, much like the undead. Make up a few sample prints in the morning and then go the midday meeting at the gallery. Go home after that, and collect the things needed in the studio. Take the car to the builders suppliers and buy a laser device.

Later, this is a help whilst taking pictures of thhe figurines in the studio.

After four hours work taking pictures realise that tiredness is taking its toll.

Go home and rest the old head on the bed only to wake up at ten in the evening to write these notes.

The son returned from Munich  and came into the shop

It was good to talk to him.

He has gone upstairs now.

There will be time to finish the pictures.

Then it will be possible to go to bed again.

Perhaps it will be a good nights sleep for a change.

2 More

 a slow starting day, but then it speedily became utterly impossible to stay in the hot bedroom under the attic of the roof of the old house.

There is a feeling of weakness, but this dissipates with the first coffee and the news that the pictures of Wednesday's  gig were very well recieved and came with the offer of two more jobs

write these notes

 The cat demanded feeding this morning, now that the wife is absent the animal has identified its go-to food source anew. Give it the remains of yesterdays tin on the red cat plate. It is not possible to see if a cat is wrinkling its nose because of the fur, but her general demeanour is an expression or displeasure,

During the personal breakfast there is a message on the 'phone. It is the gallery owner, he has sent a copy of the newspaper article. The article is very pleasant to read, it is nice to be able to read an expert opinion on the own work, it is doubly nice to receive a certain amount of praise as well.

Spend the rest of the morning and half the afternoon too editing yesterdays pictures. There are a large number of them and they need a lot of editing. The lighting at the venue was extraordinarily poor, the contrast between the light and the dark was enormous. 

But there are a few good pictures too. 

At two in the afternoon load the pictures into the cloud space, and whilst the transfer is taking place go the Thai place and have a bowl of soup. Go to the grocers and buy a few things, but there is no real wish to do anything.

The work the night before was exhausting.

Take a rest, and suddenly it is early evening. Go upstairs and listen to the radio. A version of an extract from Wagners Rheingold played on the piano is impressive.

Then come down, to the shop, have a bite to eat and 

And write these notes and drink a few bottles of beer.

all done

 The day was spent quietly resting. Play the classical radio in the morning, listen, and let the time go by. Downstairs, examine yesterdays pictures of the little wooden figurines. They are good, just the light balance is a little bit off.

Take time to water the plants in the yard. They need it.

Pick and chew at food here and there through the day.

It is all ok.

Go out to the cafe and have a cup of coffee and a kücherl, that is very pleasant

At home again consider the pictures again.

Go out and measure the length of the car. It is under five metres. That will be good news for the boat.

Then have a forced rest for half an hour.
Prepare the equipment for the evening gig.

Commitments, an Irish show in Germany celebrating an American musical genre.

Pack the gear and take the five minute drive down to the venue.

It is a packed four hours, and it is a nicely done show. 

And now stay at home and drink a bottle of beer. All is done and well.

write this notes before they are forgotten again.

 The morning was strangely desolate, a constant dizzy feeling after a short sleep. The wife does not appear to be at home at all any more, perhaps she has found elsewhere to surtay. There is no way of knowing bar spying and being uncaring that would be a waste of time.

The cat needs feeding, do this and then go to the shops and, in this process, buy more cat food. There is no need for the animal to starve, its joy for eating may be the only joy that it has left.

In the afternoon the cat comes into the shop and happily jumps upon the human lap and enjoys having her fur stroked. She is moulting like mad, there are now heaps of cat hairs every where. Rub the hands together so that the cat hairs clump together, this makes it easier to remove them from the hands.

Go to the artists studio and finish setting up the camera. Take a few pictures for a test and then take the chip back home with the intention of making a test print. At home, realise that both readers for the compact flash cards are back in the artists studio. That was careless.

Spend more time stroking the cat and have a short nap. Go to the Müller store and buy a cable for the smart phone, the older one seems not to work any more. There is a very helpful and charming shop assistant there, and she shows me where the low priced items are kept-

Go back to the studio with the computer and when there use the reader to load the pictures done in the morning.

Clean the camera and start to work.

In the late evening the artist arrives, and he starts work as well.

And now, write this notes before they are forgotten again.

unsatisfactory day

The thunderstorm in the night brought a pleasant sleep, listening to the rain was a joy in the early morning. It was almost a form of self-hypnosis  to stay in bed, until all desire for sleep had gone.

It was midday, got up and made a few things to eat.

Gathered a few necessary items and went to the artists studio. Set up the lighting and the camera, everything in preparation for tomorrow and the day after. Tomorrow there will be the evening concert to take pictures of too.

Walk to the studio and start to set the things up. It is all reasonably successful, the new camera body seems to be working well. It is very much easier to adjust the knobs to make all the perspective adjustments. It is a very much sounder mechanical construction than the lighter model. The weight difference is large.

After finishing, close the windows in the studio, and have a chat with the people outside who will be running the pub opposite. They are currently complaining over bureaucratic hurdles.

Return home, and then take a sleep again.

The heat and tiredness and progress of ageing all add up together.

Upon waking up feed the cat. The cat seems bored because the wife is not there. Perhaps the cat receives more food from the wife.

This has just been another unsatisfactory day.

hot sunday

 The curious lethargy in the mornings is unpleasant. Sleep is not possible, it does not work at all. Getting up and going downstairs to have coffee is the only thing that does work well. But once downstairs realise that the pills have been forgotten. It becomes necessary to go bach upstairs and to take the two blood pressure pills and the one that is supposed to calm the bladder and those two vitamins as well. Then lie down and sleep takes over for a few hours. No understanding of this process. It all takes place in a lonely space, there is nobody to talk to. Even the cat has no need to leave the vicinity of the feeding area in the big kitchen.

Downstairs again, resolve to go to the artists studio

work return and get ready for the evening

taxes

 The morning was late and the day is hot. Take a shower, there is only one shower in the house. The technicians failed to install a shower in the upper floor. This is too bad.

Make just a large cup of coffee for breakfast and check up upon all of the things on the comptuter. The news is bad, Iran and Israel, Russia and Ukrraine, both made assumptions as to what the Americans would do, and they went and voted for Trump. They are autocrats and dictators all, each in their way.

Coffee and bread and cheese, an apple too, that makes up the food for the morning.

At the gallery have a cup of coffee in the Italian place next door. The usual crowd are there, at least they are working sensibly on the world's problems today. There are fewer radical comments today.

Now it is four in the afternoon, it is cool in the old shop betwteen the thick walls of the old building Write these notes and hear the wife filling the bucket from the well for the plants in the tiny back yard.

It will be time to do the taxes this evening. And later it may be necessary to go to the pub.

So stay silent yesterday

This post is written for yesterday, the day that went on until today in the early morning, the artist and his friend leaving this sorry mass of drink sodden party goer back home. It was a lovely evening, that was true.

A party for two couples and an outsider on the second longest day of the year.

Yesterday was spent feeling unwell, there was nothing that could be done using the failing concentration of the mind and the constant drone in the head.These things are hard to describe, and complaining about them is one way to turn into a self-pitying nuisance. It was pleasant of the artist and his friend, the pretty teacher, to collect the photographer from his shop.

There was much talk about politics and morals. It is never easy to join conversations like that from the viewpoint of a non-academician. 

So stay silent

cryptic quiet

 Sitting on the step to the entrance of the shop in the evening after a hot day. The day was spent doing small things and getting things into shape.

Now the artist has turned up with a pot and a dish.He leaves again to park his car. He and his friend will come later to copy things on the copy stand. She is an art teacher.

It was such a quiet day.

The wife has returned from wherever she was during the previous days.

And the evening will ne spent doing a bit of work.

nuisance 2

 the early wakening amd then the collapse, it is the same story every day. This is not right, but nobody will explain what is wrong.

Spend the day putting padding into the boxes for the tiny figures, and spend the evening putting the tiny figures into their padded boxes. 

During the afternoon arrangements were made for a holiday in Ireland in September. It is a strange arrangement, costs will be saved by driving over with a friend and her dog.

The Argentine is upset that there os no time to hang around with him any more. He is wrkiting hurt messages.

Messages are a nuisance.

Hope for a quiet evening

 Half the day was gone by the time all the things were ready that were to be brought to the studio. There was a visit from the wife, she requested that the cat be fed during her absence. this would be until Friday. That is no problem. There is no word of where she is going to, but that does not matter.

Drive the car to the house for lading, and when that is done, drive it to the studio for unloading. When that has been done, speak to the landlord of the guesthouse in the same building as the studio. Talk for an hour, then go home.

In the evening, go shopping. All is well and done now. There are still things to be done, but everything is in order otherwise.

Hopefully it will be a quiet evening

six minutes to midnight

 and now it is thirteen minutes to midnight, time to remember the fleeting day. It is the third bottle of beer in the artists studio,!an evening visit.

The morning was spent at home recovering from the night before and realising that age is encroaching steadily.

around midday go to the hardware store and buy eight bolts, some screws  and hacksaw blades. Repair the stand in the studio, go home, and relax.

In the evening go out

why is it all so tiring?

23:53

perfunctory glance

 Stay abed, the watch has stopped. It cannot be that early. Go downstairs to the bathroom, and then return to bed. Then it is brighter outside, it must be later now. There is no point in consulting the watch, it was stopped earlier and will be stopped now too.

Get up, go downstairs, and look at the phone. It shows the same time as the watch, the watch was therefore functional and had not stopped. The glance at the second hand had been to perfunctory.

A short small breakfast later, inspect the case for the camera. Install another piece of padding, the whole construction should be in order now. It is a large box, really too large, but for the time being it will keep the equipment safe.

It is a warm day, but because of the heavy walls in the shop, it is cool indoors. Sort the tax documents, that all goes more quickly than had been expected.

Go for a walk around town with the son. Because of his unusual attire he attracts attention, but then it does not really matter at all. Young people should be abele to dress as they see fit.

There is a message from the artist. We will be under way to inspect frames, frames that will be great for the exhibition. Maybe there will be a print cupboard there too.

It is hot, but cannot stop shivering.

 Stay in bed this morning. This was a decision, not to get up too early. Try to avoid t ollapse that happened again and again in the last few weeks. And then get up, and make a leisurely breakfast. It is all not really worth anything, that is the general feeling. 

Why bother too much? 

Finish the work on the padding of the box for the new camera. At least that works without a hitch.

Start to edit yesterdays pictures of the band in the beer garden. Then go out to meet the people from the gallery. The show is turning into a disappointment, but then maybe it is just because of the terribly bad mood. There is a headache, sudden and nasty, and it goes away suddenly. That is all.

Return home and have an enjoyable conversation with the son. That was the highlight of the day. Then continue editing, make a plate of spaghetti, and have a small bottle of beer. After that is done go upstairs and sleep for an hour.

Return to the shop and continue editing the pictures.

And then look at all the terrible news.

It is not a good day.

It is hot, but cannot stop shivering.

wrong

 Friday 13 is not a good day. There is a feeling of weakness in the morning. The cat is distraught, the wife has been gone for three days now. The means and ways to procure food have changed.

Go downstairs and fill the innocent animals plate.

The day does not develop well at all.

In the evening take pictures at a jazz concert by a local group. Either their playing is lousy or the ears have given up too.

Go home, it is almst impossible to do anything constructive without things going wrong.

collapse

 The watch says that it is four in the morning. This is ridiculous, surely the body needs more sleep than that.That would be only three hours, and there is no understanding that wide awake feeling. It should not be. Still, go to the bathroom, do all the necessary things, go upstairs again and put the clothes together. Go downstairs, have a bit of breakfast. 

Feed the cat.

Then go upstairs to take the pills, the ones that the doctor prescribed.

Now there is a sudden dizziness, lie down.

Awaken at ten, after a sleep riddled with strange nightmares. There is the sound of the workmen renovating houses nearby, the steady clicking noises of their cranes.

Wake and feel awful.

Never mind, go downstairs, gather the bags and go shopping. Buy ten tins of cat food at the grocery shop, and then have a cup of coffee and a cake at the café, the one that the son likes to go to. It is really just a small bakery shop.

Think of the son, and wonder how he is getting on with his studies.

Return home and greet the cat. Wonder what is to be done next in the course of the day.

dead an hour ago

 It is fifty-nine minutes past midnight, and now the bell tolls once. The day was long and a bit deathly deadly, a visit to the studio to fix a few things up and then a long stay at home. There is a note from the wife advising that she will be gone for three days, and please to feed the cat. Upstairs, discover that there is no cat food left except tor the opened can of same in the fridge.

Later today it will be necessary to buy cat food.

Today is done, it was an enteresting evening in the studio. It will be necessary to return to the own work at some stage soon.

At some other time, later today. Yesterday, the subject of this post, died an hour ago.

just relaxing

 the day is a weak week day, a day upon which nothing much happens. A Tuesday, arrange tmhings, tidy things, but it is entirely unclear what is going to happen.

Go  to the shops in the morning, and be so confused

at the checkout that payment is forgotten.

Go back and pay the amoumt.

Spend the day doing small things. Build the metalworkers bending machine for the son, it is a cheap

machine and its functionality is not

easy to understand.

Spend time resting, then go downstairs and attempt to tisy things

up.The artist turns up and collects the old workbench.

And now spend time in his studio, just relaxing

let things pass

 Laziness has good things going for it. When affordable, it is pleasant to do nothing. Stay at home up until now just at peace and doing nothing. Never mind boredom, listen to the tinnitus his and the people busily pass and chatter on the road outside. They are all searching for entertainment of some sort or another, and who cares. There is the busy noise of cars and the occasional motorbike. The roar of tyres on the cobblestones, that is the way things are. It is business, people are even so hurried that they will honk their horns.

It is a holiday, and the free time has to be used for something.

The cat inspected the big empty shop at the bottom of the house, she wandered about sniffing in her leisurely way, checking out things that had not been there yesterday. She looks out of the window with a longing, but she does not know that she is a house cat, doomed to remain indoors with only the enclosed back yard to exercise her freedom in.

The amount of activity outside is quite amazing considering that there are no businesses open today.

Oh well, sit down and let things pass

forgot

 Today was strange, and this important ritual was forgotten.

The morning spent mooching

The afternoon spent working on pictures with a teacher who needed them on Monday

The evening spent chatting and sharpening chisels for a wood carver

He does not have the patience to sharpen his own

radio

 A further day of slow recovery

recovery from what?

that is unknown, the only known thing is that the darkness in the mind takes its own sweet time to lift.

Start to fiddle about with things to get them into order, assemble the gear for the restarting of the work on the small figures next week. There are at least another thirty to be done, and it could easily turn into one hundred. It all depends upon whether or not the items on loan or sold or given are returned for a photograph or not.

There are successes with the tidying work, and failures too.

There is a 'phone call with some work that needs to be done. Then go out and wander by the gallery. There is a quantity of visitors there, some are impressed and others are silent.

Return home in the evening and make a plate of spaghetti. That is filling and satisfying.

Resolve to take an early rest this evening. It would be pleasant to just listen to the radio.

silence

 a lovely quiet day, a Friday to sleep to. Woke early and slept late, that seems to be turning into a fashion.

Downstairs, walk about for a while, make a decent breakfast, it is a lovely day and there is nothing specific to be done. Wash down the stairs, from top to bottom, it is good to have them clean again. The wife and the son do not care, and there is no knowing exactly what the cat thinks.

Do more small things, go to the bank and make an inquiry about a few things. They are both helpful and friendly.

Go to the gallery and see if everything is in order. It is, but there are hardly any visitors. That is the way it is, it would be unrealistic to expect otherwise. Talk to the co owner, she is the owners wife.

Then go home and relax. Examine the new camera thoroughly, and establish what can and cannot be done with it.

Upstairs repair the internet radio, so that it is possible to listen to the radio station transmitting Jazz from Australia.

It is good to be international.

Today

 Downstairs in the morning, examine the camera with all of its knobs and fasteners. All of the parts fit perfectly, even the feature missed yesterday is found today. It is possible to tilt the front of the camera exactly on the centre of the lens, making this adjustment so much easier.

Walk about town just a bit, and then return. Put clothes into the washer, press buttons, clothes wash.

Shop, see a young girl shatteringly beautiful. Never mind, look away, to old to even think of looking. Carry on shopping, buy an extra cheese.

At home again

In the afternoon a man comes by and buys two prints.

That is nice

Sleep for a few hours, and then make a meal of potatoes,

that is nice too

Spend the evening in the artists studio discussing a new project

yesterday

 Got up at five in the morning and accompanied the brother to his car. It was a day of strangeness, seeing the town so early in the morning again. Returned home after taking the long way around town. It was a day of simple forgetfulness. Returned home and climbed into bed. All done, back to sleep for hours.

At midday start to worry about the train and being there on time. It was the day upon which the camera was to be collected. 

The previous tenant sends a message on the insufferable WhatsApp communication service. The service is a stupid pain in the neck. She is finally turning up to pick up her collection of typewriters which have been resting in a shelf for almost a year.

Delay the departure. The attention had been to be in Nürnberg early in case the train was late. Forget that, it will be necessary to take the last possible train to get to Nürnberg before five.

The woman turns up with a two gents, one definitely elderly. They discuss for a while, then they start to carry out the collection of old typewriters that have been stored in the hall on a metal shelf.

Two remain, they will be collected by the ex tenant at another time. When is unclear,  this remains unspoken.

Take the bus to the station and the train to Regensburg. Change in Regensburg for the train to Nürnberg. Arrive in Nürnberg at four minutes to five and go to the meeting place.

The man is waiting there, everything is working perfectly. Go to his car, and look at the camera, the purchase of which is the object of the exercise.

The camera is in very good condition. It is a studio camera of some considerable weight. But this does not matter, it is uncompromisingly precise.

Deal with the formalities and go into Nürnberg town for a cup of coffee.

The cup of coffee is expensive, but this is worth it. The professional waiter is delightfully dour. Admire the town from the cafe seat, it is all so restored after its destruction eighty years ago.

Take the train back to Landshut. It is a new route now, the service goes all the way to Landshut and proceeds to Munich Airport.

At home again, all is as it was,

driving day.

 Awakening at six in the morning in a strange bed in a strange house under especially clean sheets. It is the house of the parents of the girlfriend from long ago.

Go downstairs to the toilet, some things do not change, and go back up again to try and get some more sleep. The woman and her father have not yet risen, they sleep well. 

Wake up a bit later, there are sounds in the house. Go downstairs and wish a good morning. it is a sunny bright morning now. 

Join the father at the table. His daughter arrives with the coffee. They read the daily news.

Such a nice family scene.

Later take the car back to Landshut, a short and unimportant drive. Check the mail, install a new light bulb with a blueish color in the kitchen.

Make a cup of coffee, then lie down on the borrowed couch and sleep for a while.

Then there is a call from the brother, he is in town. Meet him at the church.

Take him back to the shop, then show him the gallery.

He appears to be impressed.

Then take a longer walk down to the gallery and wait for the artist. They meet, we have a few beers, and the brother falls asleep. He has had a long drive today. He has come all the way from Frankfurt via Würzburg. In Würzburg he visited a dentist.

comfortable chair

 the second of June is nearly done and these notes ate written by thumb into the tiny keyboard

on the 'phone. It was a pleasant and most relaxing day, theactivities of the last weeks all coming to a head and leading to tiredness and sleep. The small town of  Burghausen with its long castle is a quiet place where a significant part of the worlds silico substrates for logic chips is produced .

Take a walk around the lake by the castle with a now older girlfriend and her dog. It was a pleasant time with her long ago. Her father is older now too, he spends much of his time on a comfortable chair.

fall asleep

 At sic in the morning wake up again. That is only four hours sleep and that is insufficient. Go to the toilet and then lie down again. It is not possible to sleep, so rest for a few hours and then get up. Dress for the day, and wake the son to remind him of the breakfast date.

Later walk on down to the cafe. It is pleasant there, and the girlfriend from thirty years ago is there. She and the son get on well together.

Breakfast is plentiful, it is all most pleasant. Return home in company, gather the toothbrush. and drive the old girlfriend down to  her ageing father. 

He is in good spirits, and gives an invitation to visit a country testaurant.

The meal is good, and the drive home pleasant.

Afterwards, reat on the guest bed and fall asleep

23 minutes after two

 yesterday was spent the morning getting things in order.  There was an early walk to the artists studio to collect the forgotten mobile 'phone. It was pleasant to look at the mild colours in the morning with the bright accents provided by those sporty humans. This is a thought for further pictures at another time.

At home again, take a rest. There is the exhibition to be done in the evening. The grand opening. Go to the gallery for the Saturday meeting of all those culture vultures first. Listen to a strange insult from an ignorant member of the round, nearly lose the short fused temper. Walk fifty feet up and down like an angry gander until calm sets in again. He will apologise later in the day.

Return home to try and produce a few last -minute prints. The printer realises the urgency and does its best  to not work as it should.

At seven in the evening the show starts. It is a resounding success.

It was worth while

At two in the morning it is time to go to bed. It is now twenty three minutes later.