old walls

 Went out and got the cats food from the supermarket in the morning. It was a quick trip. Met a person on the way back who insisted on silly chatter, there was no patience with that.

Returned home and attempted to make a sensible print of the pictures taken last week. For some reason they all turned up too cyan, it was tricky to take them back to their normal colours again.

This kind of thing is worrying, there are too man places where the mistake might be.

Spent much of the rest of this very hot day relaxing and reading. The artist had made an appointment, but then he did not turn up. Without any excuse.

Had a pleasant conversation with the son, who's studies are becoming increasingly difficult.

Tried to sit on the doorstep in front of the house, but it was so heated up by the sun that this was impossible. Remained indoors, and enjoyed the coolness of the old walls.

The whole day is depressing in a solitary way.

favourite seat

 A dox not entirely wasted, a day spent relaxing and walking to the shops. There was nobody there really to talk to, but the cat is learning to make do with the writer of these posts as its main food supplier. During the visit to the shop the cat food was forgotten, it will be necessary to buy some tomorrow. The feline is not close to starvation.

The day spent editing the pictures of Aurelia yet another time. Spent time fixing the printer, spend time calibrating the monitor. The monitor is in very poor condition indeed, but now it seems to work reliably.

Sit on the doorstep and relax in the pleasant hot sun. The cat comes out too, she does not go away, but hangs about the doorway with her human. This excites comments from the passers-by.

Feel slightly depressed all day, there is no knowing what is wrong, and having to deal with the constant apprehension that something nasty is about to happen makes things difficult. The only nasty thing is a five hundred Euro bill for fire insurance on the house. This is an important thing to have when the house is built wall to wall with at least five neighbours, all of whom would sue in the case of such damage.

Now the day is turning into evening, the cat is snoozing on its favourite seat.

Today

 Today started with simply not really being able to get out of bed to be early at the vehicle repair place. After clearing up mess left by the cat the night before took the car and arrived at the garage before ten in the morning. It was necessary to wait for half an hour, then the car was raised and it was possible to look underneath it. The damage was obvious, there was a break in the exhaust pipe and that was the source of the extra noise that the car had been making. A further two hours of waiting, the spare part was delivered and the old pipe and mufflers removed.

After this took a meal at the airport café, and watched the small private planes flying in and out of  the small local airport.

Upon returning home find a notice in the mailbox. It is the brown parcel delivery service, it claims to have delivered the parcel to the depot in a neighbouring village. This is just too bad.

Finish the editing of yesterdays pictures and make prints. The artist had said that he would turn up, but he has not. This allows for room for thought, it is not the first time that this has happened. It would be a disappointing habit for him to get in to.

There will be time to finish the order tonight, and then the matter will be done.

yesterday

Waited in the early afternoon and then fell asleep on the comfortable chairs. A knock on the window and awoke and picked up the jacket and the soft box for the flash unit and left the house.

Locked the door, locked the cat in.

The artist drove to his studio.

Set up the lighting and set up the background. There is no space, and the piece is too big. The piece is of a science fiction character called Aurelia.

When all is set up the artist leaves for home, he has work to do.

Finish setting up all of the lighting, and take a few test pictures. Change a lens and take a few more.

Fall asleep on the sofa. The landlords girlfriend comes in and be wide awake in an instant. She is just curious as to why the windows have been blocked off. She leaves, and as it is almost dark, get ready to take a few pictures.

Take the pictures and wait for the artist to return. Change the position of the piece slightly. Take more pictures.

Then tidy all the gear away.

and now it is five past one in the morning.

This account is for yesterday.

Quiet Monday

 Monday was a bad day with no joy. It is still Monday, but the day is not going anywhere special. Perhaps the artist will need help in his studio, but probably not. It is Monday after all.

The cat was insistent on food in the morning, it forced its feeder out of the bed early. After feeding the feline went back to bed until she was hungry again. Now it is evening, and she is sleeping. It is a cat's life. 

Went to the shops and forgot to buy cat food. That does not matter there is still some left, it will do to go on Wednesday. On Wednesday there will be an appointment at the car repair place, they will look and see what is wrong with the exhaust and which parts of the system need to be replaced. It will be a costly exercise, it always is.

Tried all day to make a concept for the artist's book. This is a failure, it is not working.

This is sad and too bad.

Now it is evening and the eyes hurt after a full day at the computer. Perhaps a visit to the pub would be in order.

things to do

 The day did not start well at all, sleep kept on coming back all morning. Walked out of the house for a while? used the car with the meanwhile very noisy exhaust to drive to the studio and to collect the card reader. It is quiet in the studio and noisy in the pub next door.

After finding the small device returned home, finding a barely legal parking spot at the end of the street in front of the old Jesuit church. Returned home to start printing out the latest pictures after simply editing them.

Stayed at home with the vat for company. It has started

to use the chairs from Burghausen as a place to sleep when she is not begging for food.

In the evening there was a call from the artist, there are things to be done in the studio.

loud noise

 The computer screen that worked yesterday is dead today. It will not show a picture . Try the external screen, that works well. At least no data has been lost, and it will not b e necessary to buy a new computer in these hard times. It is a nuisance, no more.

The weekly meeting at the gallery was pleasant enough,  one of the little books was sold.

A quick visit to the building suppliers and ten dowels were bought. They will be used to hang the flags with the pictures on them.

In the evening drove to the artists opening celebration inGeisenhausen. The event was wildly overfilled, prune faced indivduals everywhere spending their money on ceramics. There was a small band there, but they were loud and of simple taste.

On the way home realise that the exhaust on the car is defective, it is too noisy.

again

 Walked through the market this morning, and went to the supermarket. The farmer's market is no joy, so many of the things on offer are clearly imported from far away. For example, there is no local olive oil production in Landshut.

Buy the usual products in the discount store, by the by. Walk home again slowly, passing the postman on the way. There should be a few packages coming today, that is worth looking forward to. Return home and pack away the bit of shopping.

Later there is a knock on the shop door. It is the parcel delivery service, the two packages containing the flags are there. Why there are two packages is unclear. It was all one order  really. There is no point in being concerned by the firms methods, their postage is free. There is also a small package contains a jacket, a mistaken purchase from China.

Spread the flags out on the floor, they look good. Try on the jacket, apart from being a silly glossy blue, it is too small. It is a Chinese XXL size, perhaps the factory is in a place where people are not so big as people here. That thing was a waste of money.

Feed the cat and make something to eat, then walk over to the studio and  hang the flags. The flags have photographs printed on them, photographs of tiny wooden figures. They are now enlarged to thirty times their size. There is a plan to use these flags at an exhibition in Moosburg in the near future.

Drive out to the artists place in Geisenhausen.

When there realise that the exhibition will be tomorrow, not today.

At home, finish printing the work of the last few days.

And now, get ready to go to the artists studio again.

night work

 Hanging around hme all morning until an email arrived saying that due to problems the packages would only attive tomorrow. 

That is dissaponting.

A woman calls by, and she starts to show interest in the shop. The silly cow thinks that it will be cheaper because she knows names. It is not for rent, not now and not to her.. She has a small dog which has a simple interest in cats. 

On the way to the studio visit the health insurance people and ask them to witness a form saying that the recipient of the insurance is alive and well. The pension people send that notice every year, as do the Irish national insurance. The Britons have not bothered yer.

At the studio set things up

and wait for the daylight to fade.

Do a good evenings work.

from one to the next

 Out of bed today at nine, the cat jumped in through the window and wanted food. Cats are not complicated in that respect. Fed the animal and made coffee for breakfast. Took a bowl of muesli to go with it.

The brother wrote a thank you note for the little book of photographs. That was very pleasant of him. His business appears to be being very successful.

Spend the morning arranging things and making prints. Then take a walk to the studio and, after chatting with the people in the pub, set up the camera gear. After a while, notice that a few parts are probably back home. Turn around again and return home. At home make a mid-afternoon meal of a few boiled potatoes. Throw out an old package of cheese which has gone mouldy.

There may be more interesting things to do this evening. The new flags are supposed to arrive tomorrow.

rainy day

 Stayed indoors today, remained in the back part of the shop and listened to the rain fallinheg on the leaves of the trees in the small yard at the back of the house. The rain made noise on the leaves and fell on the concrete ground, a steady patter.

It was sad when it stopped.

The wife has an early shift this week, and the cat comes down similarly early and wants to be fed. The animal is really quite insistent. 

Lie in bed and listen to the rain, and then go up and take a shower. Put away the clothes that are still in a heap from the washing machine, since yesterday. In the early afternoon the rain ceases and take a cloth shopping back out to the glass container. It is glass and bottles from the previous six weeks, and note that there are five empty wine bottles. This means that there is an average of about one seventh of a bottle per day. Is that too much?

It was pleasant to just remain at home yesterday.

Now it is late afternoon. and it will be possible to read a book. That is a nice thing to do.

tomorrow will be better.

 was awakened unpleasantly early today and do not know why. It does not matter, but it would be more pleasant to wake up properly. 

Do the work for the artist, setting up his flags for the printer. there are problems that come from a lack of routine for doing this kind of work. But it works on the second attempt.

Go for a short walk and deal with the shopping.

The cat is very reserved after the accident yesterday. It seems to have affected her deeply, and she is not in her usual good humour.

In the afternoon settle down and just rest. It is strange, but there is no understanding the leaden tiredness.

There will be no further work today, just a small matter of paying a large sum to the taxman.

and now it is back to bed, an early night and a hope that things will be better tomorrow

the poor thing

 Last night a drunk individual forced his way into the artists studio and started assuming authority over the place.

It was unpleasant.

Went home and went to bed.

Woke early today and had a shower, that cleared the dirt of the night before away.

Tried to find a picture on the basis of the number, and discovered that it did not exist.

Answered emails, and walked over to the artist's studio to check the numbers which were on the catalogue. The number provided by the artist was wrong, it was not part of the collection.

The pub's landlord provided a cup of coffee, very nice of him. The others present just  looked strangely. The annoyance last night must have been great and visible.

After checking all the numbers, and looking about the studio, returned home. The town is filled with tourists, wandering around in groups listening to the guides, or singly eating ice creams from cones. They seem mainly to be older people.

At home return to bed, allow midday to pass.

The son comes in to chat, and then finds the cat's harness and lead. He succeeds in fitting the harness to the cat without serious injury. Then he goes out into the street with the animal. The cat is not particularly interested in exploration, it just lies down in the dead leaves in the gutter and basks in the sun. After a while it starts to wander about with the son at the end of its lead.

Sit on the steps in front of the shop, and enjoy the sun. Suddenly the cat races past into the house at the highest possible cat speed, the lead and the plastic holder trailing behind . The plastic holder makes a loud noise on the street. The cat, in an expression of pure terror, races through the shop, through the back room, down the corridor, up the stairs and then hides under the sofa.

The son follows and, as he later says, released her from the lead and the harness. An hour later the cat was prepared to forgive him.

the poor thing

as promised

 For no apparent reason, woke up wide awake at five in the morning. Padded around the sleeping house, the sleeping dog, and took care to wake neither him nor his mistress. Went all the way downstairs to the toilet and then went back upstairs again.  The dog opened eye, then closed it again.

Some more sleep, and then at six got up and had a shower in the downstairs bathroom and then went back upstairs again. Put on the clothes, went downstairs and both the dog and his mistress were awake.

A small breakfast was enjoyed, and a few last minute things were packed, and the journey back to Landshut begun. 

Started to feel very tired, and it was difficult to concentrate.

At about one quarter of the distance the oil level warning lamp lit up, a silly symbol with an oil can. Drove on slowly and carefully. Forty kilometres further on, at the first service station, pulled in and searched for the details relating to the last oil change. This documentation was not to be found. Looked at the oil on offer in the garage and saw that there was one type marked as universal and suitable for all types of cars. Bought one litre and poured half of this into the engine. Checked the dipstick, everything seemed all right now.

It was easier to drive now, the dizziness and unwellness had receded.

Upon arrival in Landshut unloaded the gifted furniture and then parked the car in a free spot in the area reserved for residents. Back at home again, lay down and let the dizziness take its course.

At one go to the gallery. They now express interest in having a copy of the little booklet of the Dublin exhibition. Wonder who has been talking to lead to this change of mind.

Chat with a teacher about education. She is retired, but she knows what she is talking about.

Return home and assemble the furniture from Burghausen. The big printed flag has arrived, and it makes a really good impression. The quality is unexpectedly good. One of the ordered jackets has arrived too, the color is unfortunately not as expected.

Now it is time to wander over to the studio and to show off the new flag. Let us hope that the costs will be covered as promised.

defective wheel

 It is so extremely civilised here that it is hard to understand the people who made it all wanting to leave. But they left the building one month ago today. They will not be back.

It is ten in the morning, now why was sleep so deep? There is no idea why at all. Go downstairs, go to the lavatory and say good morning. The dog seems entirely happy and looking for food as usual. 

The daughter has a doctor's appointment, and she has to leave for an hour. Make a small breakfast finish the coffee. Read the news, and see that there are so many horrors in the world.

After the hour is up she returns, and we go for a drive to buy 1) a crate of beer and 2) look at a grill. The beer is simple enough, but the grill is problematic. Carry it forward from the display, then see that there is a screw missing. Whilst returning the device to its display a wheel fell off.

Enjoyed time in a cafe on the banks of the Salzach after filling the tank of the car with cheap Austrian petrol.

In the evening had a meal of some quiche, and then dismantled some furniture. It can no longer be used here, and now it is a present.

Put it in the back of the car.

It is dark, drink beer and talk.

walk by the river

 It is just about two in the afternoon, the weather is good, and there are red roses on the table in Burghausen. It is now a month since the parents of the friend died, and it will take a long time for her to get over the shock. She made breakfast today, a continental form of a full Irish breakfast.  It was almost midday.

Fall asleep on an armchair, the same kind of exhausted shuttering of all functions experienced in the last months. Fall asleep for an hour, then go upstairs and lie on the bed. After a short nap there get up and go downstairs. The friend is in her room with her dog, she is reading.

Go downstairs to the big room, and start to write these notes. See that the light on one of the sculptures outside is good, take the camera and take a picture of it before the light changes.

We will go out now, the friend, and the dog as company, to see the sighs and to take a walk by the river.

moving

 Going to bed early without having worked late leads to early rising today. Up at six, make breakfast and feel great. Then realise that nothing is packed for the journey over to Burghausen. Start putting together the necessities, then lie down and dose for a minute. No, it was quarter of an hour. The breakfast coffee has chilled.

Upstairs, find a few ironed clothes, bring them downstairs. Downstairs again, take the coat out of the wardrobe.

The cat has disappeared. This is normal cat behaviour, but since a journey of some days is planned go back upstairs and check those rooms to make sure that the cat is not locked in.

Downstairs again, finish the packing. The cat turns up and wants to be petted. She is getting older, her life will probably end before that of her owner.

Decide to have another cup of coffee, why not.

new and very smart

 Yesterday ended strangely, a woman came by to watch the work in the studio. She tried to convince the artist that some rock and roll singer would suit as a guest to the occasional parties in the studio. Step well back and let the artist decide. It is his studio, after all is said and done. He seems to like and desire the woman, he is easy to convince.

Stay well back, as said in the last sentence. There is no conviction from this point of view.

Today's awakening was a long and weary process, finally managed to arrange a few things, to bring the clothes up to the washing machine. Scrub the collars on the shirts, and wash them with the bed covers

Set up the picture selected by the artist to make a banner. The file size is huge, it takes a long time to be downloaded and uploaded. Make sure that all of the parameters are correct and upload the file. The banners are quite cheap, but still set the payment to be due in a months time. What with taxes and so forth there is not much money available this month.

Relax a while, and then accidentally go to the wrong cinema. But with a quick text message correct the error. In the other cinema they show so many advertisements and trailers that it is easily possible to walk across town and to be in time for the show. The film was about a Scottish man who suffered from the Touret syndrome.

Afterwards had a beer in the pub. It is a new and very smart pub.

cold on a hot day

 The  first of june

was mainly spent in bed

everything sore including the head

in the evening out to the studio, sharpenn a fewchisels and drink a beer

The wife asks for why a pullover on a hot day.

cold and sick there is no reply

Later today a post for the day