Throbbing, that’s not what you want under one of your teeth as you put your head on the pillow. So, I got up again and took two Ibuprofen, and tried again, somehow I fell asleep, I must have been really tired for that to happen, but it did. In the morning, I woke up and my tooth was still throbbing. I went to the loo, took two more Ibuprofen and again I managed to sleep and slept till 1 PM. When I awoke, my tooth wasn’t throbbing anymore. Somehow the nerves had calmed down and I went into the day pain-free, aware that I had to be careful not to provoke my tooth with irresponsible abandon, but at this moment all was well and I went out into the day confident but wondering how to avoid eating anything till August 30th.

How do you suck potatoes? Or cereal? I’m going to have to abandon toast. Eating only using your front teeth is quite a skill, but I’m worried that the filling is just going to fall out again. So papaya for breakfast and soft bread for lunch. For dinner, Olivia cooked one of her specialties, mushrooms with hummus, soft food, but I still had to be careful with the potatoes, the cauliflower and cabbage were a challenge, but I managed a whole meal without pain and breakage. But it seems there’s a delicate balance between sensitivity and calm. It’s all good right now, and I’m just hoping that the throbbing was just the first day’s reaction.

It was a lovely day and with Olivia and Rohan we all three took a Bolt to a small record and book fair where Pedro and Carolina were going to be. We’d met them at the Marquês market, they have our spare keys and helped us move. They sell amazing old books and today I bought a lovely copy of Salomé in Portuguese from them. It was the first time we’d seen them since Texas but after chatting, we needed to look at the stalls before they closed, we hadn’t exactly got there early. Carlos, who works at the music store, has records for sale, his partner Margarida was there to sell them and I found some gems. Khruangbin’s third album Mordechai (2020), Goldfrapp’s Silver Eye (2017), McCartney’s New (2013) on vinyl, Kate Nash‘s My Best Friend Is You (2010) and a mad Portuguese Beatles cover band double album (1978) by Sgt. Peppe’s Lonely Hearts Club band, better than it sounds. Then I found an album by Scottish/German band Message, self-titled (1975), mates with Nektar and similar in style.

In the corner of this odd mini market was a dark shop with antiques all piled against the wall but at the back, two painted wooden vase stands, simple but with lovely curves, perfect for the Archive vibe, we just need to find the right corner. We took a Bolt back and Olivia cooked while I listened to some old demos of unreleased songs. After that I listened to the Arktik Lake album and the album I made with Jerome Froese, if all goes well they will be out in the world asking for your time.

Music today was Khruangbin’s Mordechai (2020), dinner music.

Music Of The Daze