halloween train journey

 The night was as unpleasant as meanwhile always last night. Can make no sense of it at all, Last nights meal was a lovely event, despite not being able to drink anything but a bottle of water. It is always shameful that the people have very expensive water in the restaurants. Their argument is that they have to make a living. This place was run by a very pleasant Italian family.

Took a glass of beer in the pub. That was somehow not nice at all. Even though the bartender knew the name and was very friendly. She is very pleasant, though to slow for some of the customers. A man stinking of smoke took a place at the bar, and that was the end of the night. He stank as if he had spent time in a smoking cabinet for meat, a cabinet that had been accidentaly charged with tobacco leaves.

Today spent time with the cat, this was pleasant. Most of the morning went with one thing and another.

Outside, the street light just went on, at four minutes past five in the evening. It is projecting an image of the window struts across the floor and up the wall in the darkening shop. Earlier in the day a train excursion was made to Mühldorf, this was pleasant. The railway station is well outside the town, the old part of which is down in the valley. It is a town typical for that area of the river Inn. Took a seat in a café there and was subjected to a rant almost half an hour in length from the next table. A younger man of about forty five kept up an almost impossible one sided conversation with an older man in a voice that sounded as if it was driven by very high air pressure, a sort of verbal high pitched siren. He kept it up continuously. The coffee and cake was a waste of money, there was no relaxation with that complaining monologue. But that was earlier today.

The street light in the downstairs shop that is now home will shine on until the light goes out in the morning.

On the train trip back from Mühldorf noticed that many of the young people were decorated with spiders webs in black ink and stars upon their faces. It must be Halloween tonight.

white

 now the time is nearly a quarter past four, another dull day, finding things, making repairs. Spoke with the wife in the morning, and then organised a few small things. The constant buzzing in the head and the interminable tiredness will not go away. The night was spent wide awake on too many occasions to seriously be able to talk of sleep. Things are all so trivial that most of them are forgotten by evening.Found the birth certificate, the birth certificate of the son and the marriage certificate. They were where they were supposed to be, it is just that the tag on the folder had become hard to see. That is why it was overlooked yesterday.

At midday go to the shops, note that they have not repaired the shelving yet. Perhaps they are going to replace all of the stuff with something more modern. Test the voucher supplied by the son, but cannot get it to work. The man behind the till says that it will work simply by being scanned in like any other purchase. Accept his word for this, resolve to try it out the next time.

At home discover that the salami bought in the shop is an addictive combination of salt and fat. That and the pills taken later in the morning result in another of those fits of drowsiness. This lasts a couple of hours, what a waste of time! Take a mop and wash the kitchen floor. Spill the acetic acid on the floor in the bathroom by mistake and mop that up too. The stuff is good for cleaning the grout on tiles, but it stinks to high heaven.

Now it is nearly half past four, and because of winter time it is already getting dark outside.

This evening there will be a pleasant meal with an elderly couple.

That can be looked forward to,

After the barber yesterday the hair is close and smooth, it will remain white.

strange

The cat called from behind the closed door of the shop. She was strident, and it was early in the morning.

Got up and found the black plastic shoes that serve as bedroom slippers. Went to the bathroom first, and then opened the door to the corridor. For whatever reason, the cat is no longer there. 

Went upstairs to have a shower, and then came down again to dress in the day clothes of choice. The cat had appeared on the way from the bathroom. 

Make breakfast and feed the cat.

At ten forty two go  to the barbers and arrive there at a quarter to eleven. The barber is friendly and talkative. In half an hour the haircut is highly respectable again, and thirty six Euros have been spent. That is all well. Go home for ten minutes, and then go to the cafe in the market street to meet up with the tenant for a social chat. She is well and cheerful, there are other people in the cafe who are friendly, they are known from the jobs taking pictures of the musicians. It is a small town. After the socialising is done, go to the shop. Their refrigerated display is still out of service, that means that there is no cheese to be had. This does not matter, cheese is fattening and it would be good to lose weight.

In the late afternoon search for documents. They are nowhere to be found, perhaps the wife has them

Downstairs again, measure the blood pressure, It is high. Take twenty drops of the liquid prescribed by the doctor. It is warm in the mouth and seems to cause a specific hissing sound in the ears. This is strange.

Hair cut

 A strange restless night has elapsed. At three in the morning have the absurd desire to measure the blood pressure. It is absurdly high, albeit there being no reason for this. Take twenty drops of the doctors special blood pressure reducing medicine and go back to bed, return to sleeplessness.

Make breakfast at eight, and measure the blood pressure again. It is normal, it is ideal. So much for that.

Fill the washing machine and then go back downstairs. Lie down, relax for an hour and consider pictures that might be made., there is a mysterious view of a young person approaching in the shade of a tall building standing on the left of a tarred smooth street. It is out of focus, yet it would be great. Perhaps something of that sort will be possible some time.

The things for the tax are all done and dealt with. The car insurance is a major figure,  keeping the car on so-called open drive is expensive.

Feeling weak and dizzy will not do any more.

It is now eight minutes to twelve, perhaps going out and getting a hair cut is worth while now. At least an appointment within the next few days would be good.

An appointment was obtained for eleven in the morning, the fresh haircut will be ready for the lunchtime cup of coffee with the tenant. That is good that way.

In the afternoon went to the railway station and took a train to Regensburg. Wandered around the town for an hour and a half and then returned to Landshut. It was just one way of spending this afternoon. Regensburg is a nice town.

Return home, and remove the dried washing from the machine. And now it is a quarter to midnight again, it is time for bed.

simple changes

 The sudden invitation to the fish funeral in the artist's studio came as a surprise yesterday evening, it came after a meal of spaghetti and tomato soup in the own workspace.

It was a pleasant evening, a musician a doctor a teacher and the sculptor. Four sausages were left floating in the hot water for this late guest. The large fish in the aquarium had died after an illness lasting two weeks. The fish was fifteen years old, and because of his age was highly regarded by all. Suggestions that he should have been slaughtered whilst still alive and eaten were dismissed by all.

It was a pleasant evening, and it ended in the early morning.

Out of bed today and see to all the things local. Upstairs, get the pills and then come down again to enjoy a sort of breakfast, 

The strange drowsiness was manifesting again as the computer showed a message from a delivery service advising that a parcel had been delivered. Go out into the rain to see the parcel standing in the doorway. It is a long parcel containing a very large folding reflector for the studio flashlights. It is constructed as an umbrella. And it should have been bought a long time ago instead of other things that have similar effect but cost more and are bulky.

Walk to the shops, and arrive at the supermarket. To the very great surprise see that all of the refrigerated shelving is empty. There is a small notice saying that due to a technical problem the goods that need cooling can not be sold at this time. Buy a salami and a loaf of sliced bread and a bag of apples. On the way out of the mall buy a bavarian meat loaf hamburger.

At home, there is just nothing to do but to lie down. It is miserable, but there is no drive to do anything or to get things done.

Now that evening is here again, wake up and look at the news on the computer. Look at the silly films that people have posted. Note that america is becoming highly politicised, more so than it used to be. People are frightened now that they can see what the consequences of simple changes are.

well fed

 Waking worked better today, what with an hour being saved and all.  Took a shower, took the pill, fed the cat. Tried to organise things but that did not work well. Took a walk around the town, all the shops are closed it being Sunday. At home, a bit of cleaning and fed the cat again..

The son turned up, and the father and son took a long walk about town. It ended at a café, observed that the young man was eating far too little. He ordered a large turkish  type of greek bread well covered in cheese and vegetables and at the whole thing with gusto. It was both good and worrying to watch.

At home again, took an evening picture of him in black and white for his web site. Also shared all the pictures from Ireland with him. He was pleased to see them. He was satisfied with his portraits too.

Afterwards did a forced march through town to the railway station. He ran the last part. leaving his father behind. He caught his train, barely.

Walked back and took the bus into town. Made a sort of evening meal of spaghetti and sauce.

And now, at a quarter past six, receive an invitation to a feed of sausages in the artists studio.

Today is a day of being well fed.

large print

 This morning the collapse came after eating a bit of breakfast and having a shower. It came exactly half an hour after taking the pills. It was horribly noticeable. Set the timer for half an hour, and it was woefully insufficient. Slept on until eleven and still did not feel well.

Walked to the gallery at a quarter to one and had a short conversation with the lady, and her husband helped take the picture out of the frame. The picture may well have already been sold, but the buyer has not turned up yet. The argument is normally that there will be no collection without payment, so perhaps there is just no sale.

It does not really matter at all.

Return to the shop, and wait for the artists friend. She wants to choose a picture of the church to our lady on the mount, taken in France some weeks ago. Chat with her for a while, and show her pictures. She has a lot going on about her, and her telephone is constantly active. She talks about many different things. She is a pleasant person. Make a print for her, a large one, sixty times eighty centimetres.

Go to a café afterwards and enjoy a good cup of coffee and a cake with caramel. That is all very nice.

And when that is done, return to the house where she has left her bicycle.

Wave goodbye as she rides the bicycle down the soaking wet street in the dark.

red dot

 The dreariness of daily loneliness. The day started late, as yesterday ended late. There were discussions with the artist, and it was late. The walk home was pleasant enough. And it was early, a late walk in October.

Awakening was strange, The new alarm clock started to make noise at seven, it was strange to try to find the buttons to stop the steady beeping. After setting it to snooze once found the small rearward button that shut the device up.

It is now six in the evening, and the temperature is eighteen point two degrees centigrade. And the moon is no longer new. That is all the information that the clock provides. The potatoes are boiling for an evening meal, something has to be done to keep the body and the soul together.

The questionnaire from the lawyer arrived in the email today. It is all about the reduction of a marriage to figures and dates. These are things that a lawyer may deal with, no more. That is a good thing, all other things are emotional and subject to changes and falsehood.

The day was spent walking a bit. With alarm note that the feet seem to be shrinking or the shoes are growing. Every small change in the circumstances is now a cause for alarm. Avoid going to the café. this would just be another expense. Check up on the position of the car, and note with some satisfaction that the temporary parking prohibited zone starts just after the car. There is no need to move it.

It is a day that is dreary. At the gallery receive the surprise notice that the picture of the bassist has been sold. That is very strange news. The red dot had been invisible.

The woman in the gallery has hurt her foot on the cobbles in the old town. It will be a few days before she recovers.

Spend time vacuum cleaning the dust on the floor in the shop.

And now the potatoes are finished, all boiled.

respect

 The day started with a poor showing in Wordle, the target is three lines and not six.

The short talk with the lawyer this morning was just to arrange a date and the costs. It is not cheap, but then an error could be very expensive.  The date for the conversation with the lawyer herself will be towards the middle of next month.

The day was not spent enthusiastically, there is really not much to be enthusiastic about. Slowly, very slowly indeed, the depressions appear to be going away. It will just be necessary to be very careful with this ancient self.

In the supermarket, purchased an electronic scale in the non food department. This item will be useful for weighing mail, it will save time searching in the mess in the upstairs kitchen. Wander around town, buy a small bag of coffee in the coffee shop. The  town is grey and dismal today, but it is all right to walk in.

At home again clean the bathroom floor. Spend the day reading, after tomorrow evenings entertainment was cancelled for whatever reason. In the early evening make a bowl of spaghetti. It is a day without much to do, it will be necessary to do some housework tomorrow, in order to earn a bit of self respect.

four eight

 Today, wake in a warm bed. The heating in the small back room works well, and there are too many covers on the bed for comfort. Toss the top cover and the blanket on the floor, and continue to try to sleep. The last sleep stoppage was at four this morning,  and now it is eight.

Sleep came, and the time is half past ten. That was too much of a good thing, it would have been nicer to just sleep through the hour of four this morning.

Make breakfast, read the news. Have a pleasant warm shower in the upstairs bathroom, nearly forget to take the pills. But take them, there are only five at the moment. Stay in the shop and the back room a while longer, and then leave for the Neustadt. Go to the lawyers place and knock on the door. A helpful young woman answers the door, listens to the problem and then goes away. She returns and hands over  a card with the advice  to telephone tomorrow morning.

Take a walk around town for an hour, admiring the sights. Perhaps it would be advisable to take a longer walk during the coming days.

Jazz

 This morning a telephone call from the tax accountant. The non transfer of the money is explained. And for the first tine hear that the marriage to the wife is in the process of dissolution. This was not unknown to the self, it is just the first time that it was heard about from others. This was interesting and strange.

It is time something was done about it.

Make the bed and tidy up a few things.

The wife leaves the house for work. She has a late shift today. Apart from bringing the landline phone down and announcing that there was a telephone call she never said a word. Attempts to speak with her later failed.

Take a walk about town, watch workers put up the Christmas lighting. It is getting to be that time of year again. Visit the cafe and have a cup of coffee and a cake.

Then wander about the town thinking.

After one circuit of the historic town centre visit the woman who used to be the tenant in the house, she who's office has been turned into a bedroom and the downstairs shop, now empty.

She is friendly, and supplies the name of a lawyer. The thought of having a divorce at seventy is stressing, but there is no point in being careless. At least, there is a need to know what rights are available and which duties need to be done.

She is a charming lady, and we have a date now for the wednesday after tomorrow in a café. This is something to look forward to.

Go home to the shop and the bedroom and lie down for a while.It is dark now, and the cat is outside the door complaining. She is missing her food.

Put a small amount of cat food on her plate and let her in. She feeds happily enough, and then she wants to leave again.

Turn on the radio and listen to the Australian jazz transmitter.

firearms

The day ended yesterday with a pleasant chat with the barman, he spoke about his pleasure listening to jazz.

Finished my drink, wished him a good night, and went home.

And went to bed.

This morning the strange collapse happened again after breakfast. It felt as if the temperature had suddenly gone down and the legs and the arms were uncomfortably cold.

Lay down and covered up.

After two hours things were all right, took a long walk through town to a shop different from the usual one, but belonging to the same supermarket chain. Bought much the same things as always, but remembered to get some instant noodle soups. They are good when one feels cold. Walked back home along by the river, and ate a sausage sitting on a park bench. Then went home again, and the depression has set in again, as badly as yesterday. There is continuously the feeling that something needs to be done and there is no idea as to what is should be. It will be necessary to tidy things up at some stage.

Stay sitting reading stuff on the computer, and then watch a few films. Whilst searching for news on the Ukraine a film came up showing the activities of American policemen chasing cars. Watched that for a while and started wondering at the prevalence of firearms in private hands in those united states.

done

 Last night turned into one of those strange parties at the artists studio. There was a film shown, this was interesting enough. It was a strange italian film.

Then there were discussions about the big orange fish in the aquarium. It seems very ill. It is extremely old for one of those fishes, almost fifteen years old. It is probably dying of old age. There were discussions as to whether a veterinary surgeon should be called or not. It is strange.

But it was not as abstract as the film was.

It was very late. The return home was at three this morning.

Sleep was long, and afterwards most of the day was spent editing the pictures, The pictures could have been better, the whole thing was done too quickly.

Editing was slow, and by the time it was over, it was evening.

On the other hand, it was a short day. Breakfast was made in the early afternoon, and the house was not left at all.

But the editing is done.

wrong

 Today started at five with a collapse at seven. There was rhe job to be sone which went badly. The band was tired and it was just not possible.

Mistakes were made.

Return home, copy the pictures such as they are. 

Lie down, sleep a while.

What is wrong?

old and grey

 Slept in the back room of the shop downstairs today. it is still a shop without a purpose, perhaps a purpose will be found soon. Awakened in the dark, it was six in the morning. Went out into the front room, there was the cat sleeping on the couch. Stroked her head. She looked up lazily and went back to sleep. Went upstairs to have a shower. At least that was nice.

Fed the cat in the upstairs kitchen.

Downstairs again, changed from sleeping clothes to outside clothes. Made breakfast, three eggs and four slices of toast and a pot of coffee. Disregard the advice of those who want to live forever.

The cat becomes attentive, searching for attention and food.

Leave the house and go to the supermarket in the shopping mall at the other end of the main street.  Going there see that at this time the town is full of octogenarians, some in wheelchairs, some with wheeled walking aids and some with sticks. There are hardly any people under thirty in the street otherwise. Those few younger people wandering about seem to be out of work and grey faced. Some have crutches. This dystopia continues all the way to the mall. Where have all the younger people gone? The whole town seems filled with fugitives from youth.

Returning via the main market street see more of the same. There are hardly any children or younger people to be seen. Perhaps they are all at school or at work.

Maybe they are still asleep. A man with one eye and dog stares with the other one. A gaggle of grey haired bent backed people stand at the corner shouting about the weather. They are shouting because they do not hear well any more.

Walk back home with the tins of cat food. The cat is attentive again, so feed it in its upstairs dish in the slovenly kitchen, It is a shame. It is a nice room.

Downstairs, sweep the floor, and dismantle the flash system, and pack it away in readiness for the job tomorrow.

nothing much

 It is coming up to midnight once again, and there is the feeling that not much has been done. A few things here and there but the tiredness is making itself felt.

The cat has become most approving of this humans company. It is peaceful here in the corner of the room, occasionally accepting various donations of cat food. It is the absence of all the others, she will have to make do. But she has become very calm and peaceful. Today was spent without talking to anybody at all, apart from going to the shops and placing orders.

Sorting photographs and testing cameras.

The weather outside is getting cool now, it is not really inviting to be outside.

Time was wasted again today, just relaxing. It is a shame that sleeping at night has become so difficult.

flash

 Oh to just get up and go in the morning. It never works well. There was the sound of the cat complaining very early, and then there was a worry about the safety of the downstairs shop. There is much to worry about.

Get up, dress and go downstairs. Feed the cat, the cat is now satisfied. Downstairs, solve the wordle puzzle and make breakfast. Breakfast is now the most important meal of the day.

There is a general queasiness and a lack of momentum to get things done. Take a rest on the bed, and then take a walk around the place. Set up the light boxes to check and see whether or not they are all in order and all complete. They are cheap items, and are most unhandy to put together. Perhaps with more practice this will be easier.

Set the device up on its stand with a flash head. Then start to check whether everything is still working or not. The device for remotely exposing the flash is not working , the batteries are flat. Install new batteries and it works. 

Not ever having used this device with the Hasselblad camera run into a few hitches. But after a while clear all of these up and it becomes possible to take nice flash pictures of the shop window dummy in the corner of the studio.

After this success take a walk about town. Have a cup of coffee in the small bakery. Meet the bandleader whose group is to have its picture taken  on Sunday. Chat with him for some minutes, and then he has to be on his way. He is a busy man.

Then return, feel the cold in the rooms. Turn on the heating, and rest on the couch for a while. The cat comes over to cuddle, this is unusual for that animal. It is probably hungry, and is trying to communicate that fact.

Feed the cat, and put on some potatoes.

Whilst the pototoes are simmering write these notes, now this account is full circle again.

large drone

The morning was much as every day. The inability to stay awake longer than two hours must have a reason.

When finally awake , drive to the  hardware store after measuring the shelves carefully. Go straight to the section where they cut sheets of wood to size. Order one piece of nice wood for the top shelf, and four pieces of plain chipboard, all cut to the same size. After waiting until the man has finished with another customer, lace the order, it is done swiftly. Leave the shop after paying at the exit. Put the wood into the back of the car and then drive to the artists studio. Collect the small strobe lighting unit that has been set up there for several months now and put all of the boxes and bags and cases into the back of the car. It is not such a small unit after all. There is still time on the parking meter, so go to a nearby café. Look out of the window and watch a woman trying to squeeze her car in to the same parking  space. She bangs into the back of the car, probably having overlooked the tow hitch in her nervousness.

It does not matter, there is no damage done. Watch her leave her car with her small child and walk away. She has probably not even noticed. Her number plate now has a small dent where it had contact with the ball of the tow hitch.

Drive the car home and unload the purchased wood and the flash unit. There is a letter in the mailbox, this is the bill for the repairs to the car last friday. It passed its test, but the bill is substantial.

Park the car and return home. Fit the purchased boards into the shelving unit to replace those which had been destroyed by the damp. Then spend nearly an hour setting up the strobe units again. 

Take a walk through the town to the Saint Pius church where the pictures are to be taken next Sunday. Peer in through the windows, and see that they have a dark wooden ceiling. This means that the large light box will be needed for the pictures.

On the way back home watch people who are doing water skiing towed by a large drone.

Back at home notice that the wood has been charged to the card account twice. This is a nuisance. This will have to be checked.

air

 Now it is ten past six in the evening. The day started with the calling of the lonely cat from the next room. The population of the house has gone down to one human and one cat. The cat does not know what to make of it, presumably she is worried.

Got out of bed at seven this morning, it was not entirely light yet. Downstairs, took a show er, and then went all the way downstairs to feed the cat. Then make breakfast with three eggs and two slices of toast. The eggs turned out rather better than expected, they were not boiled just right.

Afterward went to the shops to pick up a few things. Remember to buy a bottle of acetic acid for the tiles in the bathroom with the shower. The cat is very actively following everywhere, perhaps being alone in the house worries her. Charge the washing machine with dirty clothes.

In the course of the day look at various things that need to be done, and move the clothes to the dryer. Fill the washing machine with the bed clothes.

Take a rest downstairs, never forgetting to feed the cat. The cat is eating quite contentedly, always finishing its smaller portions without mishap.

Clean the bathroom floor with acetic acid, to remove the unsightly dirt in the grouting of all those tiny tiles. Tiny tiles on floors are not to be recommended to anybody ever. 

The smell of vinegar is unpleasant, open the window to air the place.

silent Sunday

 It was a late and pleasant evening yesterday, after an initial unpleasantness at the venue of the small concert. It was a band of three who were playing, a group that specialised in celtic music, whether it be Scots or Irish or Welsh. It was hardly possible to take pictures in the overfilled room. There were paintings on the wall.

The paintings all depicted filled circles, reminiscent of tie-dye things from the sixties and seventies. They had a higher intent, this was just a superficial assessment. Along with the seating arrangements in the room, they made moving difficult.

Went to the artists studio after the concert, and had a pleasant chat. That was that, and it went on until two in the morning.

It was eleven by the time that the bed was abandoned, the pleasant warm bed. Downstairs there was a small breakfast, and started to adjust the pictures taken of the band. As almost always, the distance between the musicians on stage was simply too great to allow for frontal pictures that made any sense. It was possible to finish adjusting all the pictures by three in the afternoon. It took long enough, didn't it?.

The cat appeared regularly, looking for food, Kept up the policy of feeding the animal smaller portions regularly. The cat seemed happy enough and could not overeat as it had done on the day before. 

Sent a link to the pictures on to the customer, hopefully they will be happy with the pictures. And if not, then it is a shame and there is nothing to be done about it. 

Have a longer conversation with the brother in Ireland. He seems to be doing well. Understand that he may be visiting Germany in the next few weeks. That is something to look forward to.

Now it is time for a small Sunday evening meal.

take a rest

Out of bed and then downstairs, after snoozing the alarm twice.

Drinking beer in good company last night was a bad idea in the light of the morning.

And now it is ten past three, and the small chores have been done. There were two prints sold yesterday, and they were paid for. That is a good week, Checking the bank account shows no change yet. Look at this blog, it is garnering some interest. It is only there for psychological reasons anyway. Then play Wordle, that is moderately successful today. Then the cat needs feeding. It is that sort of a morning.

The cat is very attentive. But really, all it wants is to be fed. Provide it with the remainder of the food from the small tin. After yesterdays experiences decide that it is better to feed the cat with small amounts to prevent the animal from greedily overeating.

Leave the house and go to the weekly meeting. There is much talk about traffic planning, an easy subject for those not directly involved with it and with no responsibility for the conception and execution of the relevant plans. Drink the usual one cup of coffee and then leave after an hour.

Return home and start to write these notes.

Receive a phone call from the son, and spend ten minutes on the phone with him.

And that's it, take an afternoon rest now in preparation for the evenings work.

disperse

 Attempted to get up early, succeeded in part. Took a shower, that was quite all right. Downstairs had coffee and a light breakfast. The cat started calling outside the closed door. Let her in, she goes straight to the place where the cat food had been placed yesterday.  Open up another of the aluminium containers. The cat commences to feed. Set the alarm for half an hour and lie down on the studio couch.

Wake up to find the cat has eaten all of the food, and has vomited. Put the cat out into the hallway and clean up the cats leavings. This type of luxury food must simply be to fatty for the cat, unlike the other stuff that she is used to. It will be necessary to feed the cat smaller doses so that it does not overeat in such a disgusting manner.

Walk to the shop, take a walk around the small town. At midday ring up the car repair place. The car is ready, and has passed the official test. Look up the next train, and take a walk to the bus stop. As luck would have it, the next train will be in fifteen minutes.

During the train journey a young woman will not stop staring. She is extraordinarily good looking despite the marks of acne on her cheeks. Perhaps what she sees reminds her of some uncle or something. At seventy years of age it will not do to start imagining things. Perhaps she likes the jacket that this old man is wearing. Still, she is lovely.

Leave the train at Bruckberg and take the short walk to the repair shop. The car is ready as promised. The hydraulic lines for the rear brake had to be replaced with new ones. Look at the old lines, they are really in very poor condition.

The car smells inside of oil and brake fluid.

On the way back home open the windows in order to allow the smell to disperse.

not a gun

 Perhaps there would be sense in just getting up and walking. Getting up in the morning and going on a ten kilometre walk. That might lead to recovery from all these attacks of tiredness. Certainly, this morning there was a walk taken, and it seemed to do some good. But it was not great, at midday there was a midday sleep, like some old git. It is true, the seventy year mark has been passed, but still, it is not fair to age this suddenly. In the afternoon read the instructions for the Hasselblad H camera, again a few details of the operation of this electronic marvel had been forgotten. Try them out on the machine itself. It is all perfectly logical. But being used to mechanical cameras the logic is just ever so slightly different.

Later , walk over to view the location for the pictures. It is in the hall of a modern church nearby. The note from the man who wants the pictures say that it is in house No. 3. After a few queries, work out that it is actually in house No.6. They are preparing for a party there, but it is possible to view the hall and to take a look at the piano which is supposed to be part of the  picture.

On the way back admire a work in the river. It is a plastic human hand holding up a  European Union flag. The hand looks real, just like a shop window dummies hand does. It looks like a take on a film. Only, it is not a gun, it is a flag.

worse

 Getting up early and trying to force the day failed miserably today. Breakfast and everything went well, and then it was just a collapse onto the couch in the studio. It is probably all on account of those pills. But collapsing like that is no fun at all. Shivering with the chill and wrapping up in a blanket and sleeping for a couple of hours. It is a poor way to waste time.

Spend the hours around midday setting up the shelves. The two metal struts that need shortening are shortened with a hacksaw, and the whole construction fits. Now there is room for everything there., all the photographic bits and pieces.

In the afternoon take the car to the repair place in Edlkofen near Bruckberg. It is not very far, only about fifteen kilometres. Arrive and leave the car there. The proprietor of the place kindly takes the car to the nearest railway station, arrive just in time for the train to take the return journey to Landshut.

All in all, the operation took a couple of hours all together.

Buy cat food, and spend time organising the calendar. The cat is being attentive again, liking attention and jumping up onto the knees to have its coat stroked. It seems to have recovered from its bout of illness of a week ago. It is doubtful that it has forgotten the force feeding of the pills though. The cats abscess appears to have healed, and hopefully it will stay that way.

Spend the rest of the afternoon into the evening relaxing.

Not much of a day, but things could be worse.

tomorrow

The current habit of getting up too late is wasting the day. Perhaps it would be sensible to set an alarm clock and to just get up regardless of any discomforts and to make the best of things. At least the day will not be entirely wasted. This is a theoretical concept.

Today started a bit late, but things got done. The wife came down to say that the cat needed feeding in the coming week, she will be off somewhere. It is no trouble to feed the cat.

Bought four bags of cat litter and carried them back home. Age is taking its toll, four bags of the stuff used to be no problem, but now they are. So much for that, it was all possible it was just necessary to take a five minute break.

Took the car to the building suppliers and bought a cheap metal shelf. This will do to keep order in the back room, where all the camera gear is being kept. Work at putting the parts together, it will act as an extension to the shelf that is already there.

Make a dish of boiled potatoes, that is a pleasant light evening meal. It is simple and tasty, with a few knobs of butter and some salt. The salt is bad for blood pressure, but so what. Make a test print on the printer, to make sure that it is working all right. Hopefully it will print streak-free for the upcoming job.

It becomes evening, the light is fading, and this is where the realisation comes in that the shelf construction is taller than the room. The metal posts will have to be sawn to fit.

That is a thing to be done tomorrow.

no social

 During the night sleep would not come again, not until the early morning, and then sleep would not let go any more. Got up late, and struggled to waken. Made coffee downstairs as almost every day now. Downstairs needs tidying and cleaning, but the concentration to do this work just was not there at all. This is not good.

Checking the accounts on the computer was a pleasant surprise, the building society transferred the money as promised after a three week wait. It is now just in time to pay the demands of the tax people.

There is a novel occurrence on the online platform. Put on a jacket and out of door shoes and go to the bank, just for the sake of safety. They impatiently give their reassurances, and all is in order.

Return home and finish the office work, then take the pills which had been forgotten. They should have been taken in the morning, but so what. Go to the shops and do some shopping, a few groceries and a few items of personal hygiene from the drugstore.

Buy a sandwich at a shop, and watch a woman pick a complaint with the man behind the counter. She accuses him of not knowing his job. She storms off in anger. Laugh with the man about her rage. This happens once or twice a week.

Return home and feel cold and miserable. It is cold, but there seems to be some infection causing bother again. Try to relax by playing a game, but this does not work. A sociable drink with a pleasant person would be very good, but all the pleasant people are elsewhere today.

morning music

 Now it is twenty past eleven, and after the late rising caused by the return home early this morning breakfast is only half done at this late hour.

There are cars stopping outside, they are parking illegally, but there is a low chance of them receiving a parking ticket this Sunday. They are probably people going to celebrate Mass in the big church,

Turn on the radio, they are playing bombastic orchestral music today. Tiredness and a lack of concentration will not allow identification of the music.

a post for the forgotten yesterday

 The post for the fourth of October is missing because it was forgotten. Time was spent during the day shopping and nurturing back pains.

Late last night there was a visit to the artist in his studio. The police were there, they had been called to the neighbouring pub to warn them about closing times. This had been at the behest of the neighbours. The neighbours there do not want a gastronomic organisation in their neighbourhood. The reason being that they wanted silence all around them after eight o'clock in the evening.

The long listening to the pub owners woes meant that the return home was at one thirty this morning.

It was good to see the artist again.

It was a shame that the tiny space used to store the photographic gear had been turned into a mess.

Sanatorium

 Awake at half past sis and turn off the alarm on the mobile 'phone. Shave, take a shower, get dressed,  take the pills. There are messages on the 'phone, the friend in the sanatorium near the Tegernsee has written, he wants to have some soda brought. 

Go to the car at eight and start the journey. Stop for petrol, and buy two bottles of different fizzy drinks. 

The journey is fine until the motorway junction south of Munich is reached. There are thousands of cars all heading into the mountains and down to Italy for the weekend. Traffic proceeds at a snails pace..

Finally arrive at the sanatorium. Work out how the parking system works, and then go upstairs in the very modern Bavarian style building. Wait outside the door number  one hundred and thirty two.

The friend does not look well at all. He has lost a lot of weight, and his face is haggard. The operations that he has undergone have left him as a bit of a wreck.

The first thing that we talk about is that the projected journey on his part to collect his car in Munich is not possible in the state he is in. His plan to drive his car back to the clinic would probably overtax his abilities. The complex operation on his heart that he had undergone only two weeks ago would surely need more time to heal.

Took him to visit a friend of his. He spent some time inside a stone circle, some ritual that is supposed to support healing.  They just appear to be stones resting on the lawn. The man of the house offers a strong Schnaps of his own distilling.

As the driver of a vehicle, refuse the offered glass. The spirits have a very strong fruity odour.

After leaving the friend take the car to Tegernsee and have a small meal in the Tegernsseer Hofbrauhaus.

Then drive him home to his sanatorium, have another cup of coffee, and then take the drive home. Get home at six, almost ten hours after starting out this morning.

dreary day

It was a very cold morning, now that summer is ending. It was pleasant to remain in bed and listen to the wind and the remaining birds and animals outside.

Organise things downstairs, then go outside and take a walk .

Pay a visit to the café.

Make prints from the pictures taken in Ireland.

Worry about the money needed to pay the tax bill

These are all things that need to done but are no fun.

A plate full of new potatoes was a worthwhile end to the day.

There really is not much to say today.

acetic acid

 Sleep was bad last night, lying awake in the dark seemed to take up hours and hours.  Perhaps the cup of coffee in the late evening was a very bad idea.

Awoke all drowsy und unwell, went downstairs and made breakfast. That was all right, but the drowsiness only left slowly. Did the world puzzle and read about the closure of the Government in the united states and the earthquake in the Philippines.

Read about the speeches which the military had to listen to from a draft dodger, and wonder how they felt about it.

Read and wondered about it all,

Took walks through town and collected the car from its distant car park. It is now parked closer to home, in one of those residential parking spots opposite to the police station.

It is a quiet and entirely uneventful day apart from these things.

At eight in the evening clean up the shop's bathroom floor with acetic acid. It smells nasty, but the dirt in the grouting of the tiles dissolves. Another wipe over tomorrow with plain water should deal with that and make the floor presentable.

And now listen to the news, and then make a meal of some boiled potatoes.