I'm still on the hunt for a replacement for my photo database software (sigh...), which means that occasionally I'm procrastinating by looking for something. The newest direction that I've been going is museum software. Most of that is tailored to run on an Internet server, but that's something that can be done by localhost.  

It does look like there's quite a few open source and free cataloguing software solutions for museums - so maybe, with a good bit of luck, one of them will be suitable for my purposes. (For most of the things I've looked at until now, one of the dealbreakers is that everything is uploaded into a new folder structure. I have a system for my files that helps me to find them outside of the database, and I'd very much like to keep that...)

While looking for stuff, I've stumbled across a "tagging game" (in German only, sorry folks) where you can look for, and tag, items in medieval artwork. So in case you need something to do and like to look at (and for) old things, you might want to check out the Austrian ThingTag!

It's been a rather grey day here, and that makes me long for a bit of colour. Fortunately that's easy - here, have some small bit of cloth coming out of a cochineal dye bath:

Isn't that a nice shade? I'm quite fond of cochineal - I prefer cooler, darker shades of red to the more orange tones of madder, so I'm more a cochineal girl than a madderwoman, actually. (The combination of the two can be gorgeous though!) 

If you like Origami and are thinking about an alternative to a Chrismas tree, you might find inspiration here: 

That's definitely a very nice idea, and a stunning thing... though I suspect we will stay with our minimal decorating here! 

Well, you certainly can't say that the rose in our garden has not been trying hard until the end... 

She did manage to get one flower properly into bloom about mid-November, but the second of the late blooming attempts was really too late. So it got snowed upon and frozen out when it was just half open.

Still quite a feat, though, and somehow I find it very amusing. Shows that not just human beings can be a little too late...

In case you enjoy a bit of whimsy and don't necessarily stop that enjoyment at the end of the Middle Ages, you can have a look at this collection of fantastical animals. It's an online exhibition with text in German, but images will work in any language - and you'll see interesting critters from graphical artwork from the 15th to the 18th century.

Because we can all use some images of gryphons and dressed-up locusts, right?

Somehow it feels like it should have been Friday today - at least I feel ready for the weekend. Maybe it's because it has gotten quite dark and cold outside? Or maybe because the little cat has been spreading sleepiness waves? Who knows. Tomorrow, though. Tomorrow will be Friday! 

If you're not sure whether it's Friday yet and would like to check, there's the wonderful website isitfridayyet.net to help you. And since I last went there, many years ago, it seems like it has gotten an upgrade - it's not just "yes" or "no" anymore!

Stuff is accumulating here and there, I am checking the lists, getting things ready (such as filling liquids into all kinds of containers), doing a bit of writing work (with a lot of help from the little cat, who is hanging out on my desk and napping on my arm), and generally getting very excited about the things to come.

Most has arrived in time, or gotten finished in time, such as the Equisetum Arvense slurry (which was made according to instructions for gardening use, where it gets to shine as plant-strengthening potion, but in my case it's of course intended for mordanting tests) and the kermes (yes, there's actually a chance I will see kermes being used!) and the bran water (thanks to my trip to Romania, where I got the hints on how to make it). It looks like the bran has a pH of about 4 once it's nicely fermented, which is about what we got when we put the alum into our mordanting baths for the Pompeii dyeing experiment.

There's something like a rough schedule as well - knowing how dye experiments go, it makes no sense to plan it in excruciating detail. It looks like we'll have enough space and enough stuff if we figure out the logistics on site properly. (Run a little practical conference on dyeing, with a bit of an experiment here and there, and you might suddenly find yourself the proud owner of 50 lab glass beakers. You know. As you do.)

With that said... I will be off the blog tomorrow to give me a little more time for getting things sorted and packed up - and then, as you've probably guessed, there will be blog silence for the Forum week and some recovery time afterwards. I will be back on November 22!