If you're looking for a nice exhibition to visit, you might want to go to Halberstadt. In the Domschatz there, you can see the special exhibition "Stoffe mittelalterlicher Vogelwelten" until October: 

You can find more information here on the website. 

So this was a little longer blog absence than planned - all went fairly well, but then in the attempt of catching up on other things and getting stuff done that was delayed last week, "start blogging again" somehow fell by the way.

So. Current state of things: Possible solution for the big Textile Forum food question (please keep your fingers crossed for me, or whatever you do in your cultural circle). Future model figurine for an exhibition in an art museum has arrived (as yet unpacked, because I managed to not throw out but somehow piss off my back with a stupid move when bouldering, and though it's okay again now, we didn't get around to unpacking today because we had to run errands and then make a fresh batch of cat food.) New batch of cat food is made and now freezing in the freezer. I have a desire to eat chocolate. The cat has a desire to eat her cat food.

She's also a little under the weather, because she had to go for a checkup to the vet today, and unfortunately taking her blood pressure was much more stressful than anticipated. She was a little unwell yesterday already (we don't know why, but then she's well above 20 years old, so she has all right in the world to feel a little off for no particular reason) and now she has a stress-induced bladder infection. Sigh. It's been a longish while since that happened the last time, and we hope it will be over soon again. She'll get probiotics for the next few weeks as soon as these arrive to help with her other digestive issues, and lots of fluid to rinse the system back to okay-ness.

Also, the Alpirsbach hose is almost finished; only thing left are the feet and a few small finishing touches (such as the last pair of eyelets). It was a joy to make, even though it was a joy that sometimes felt very daring and exciting. Marie and I are thinking (yes, also dangerous, I know) that we should write down some stuff about the project so others can read it and hopefully enjoy our shenanigans with us. (I've also realised today that it might be something for the next NESAT. We'll see.)

Also also, the website needs some work before the next bigger update, and it might be... interesting. Fortunately there's no real hurry, so I can look at all the bits and pieces bit by bit and figure out how to handle it.

Rest of this week will hopefully be spent finishing the hose, tweaking the website thing some more, and (uuuh it's that time of year) preparing the next quarterly taxes.

For tonight, though: Chocolate, and hanging out with the cat and the Most Patient Husband of Them All.

After yesterday's public holiday, I'm getting ready to go up to Berlin for the "Wolltag" in Düppel on Sunday, where I will be spinning on the Great Wheel. Most things are pre-packed and sorted already, and the rest will be done tomorrow, and put in the car and then I'll be off.

And then I'll be off the blog for a few days to visit my parents, so regular posts should resume on Monday a week after...

Inbetween cutting and stitching, and the usual background noise of emails and complaining cats and such, I finished the last few rows on the sprang piece this morning, and now it's blocking.

It was not quite a complete success: There's still a few rows too few and a little too much length in the piece, but at least there's not too many mistakes and the two halves are quite similar in length. Phew. 

So now it can dry in peace and quiet while I am wrangling other linen (that of the hose, of course). And then there's bits of linen somewhere waiting to be turned into a cap Lengberg-Style! 

It really feels like summer currently - and it's definitely "thirsty weather". We've started placing a flat bowl of water outside every night when we stack the hedgehog snackhouse, and it has definitely been appreciated: 

Quite a few of the guys go for a snack, then a drink; some only come for the water. The Early Hedgehog, who turns up sometime between nine and ten, usually only eats and runs away, but it's quite possible that he has some other source of water.

The pointy guys are definitely enjoying their tiny pool, though! Some go on to drink for the full two minutes that the camera records at a time. By contrast, the birdbath that we installed already last year gets pointedly ignored...

This year, the season was not too short or too awkwardly placed in the year (as it was last year, due to some weird reason...) and there was the traditional rhubarb cake. 

It's not quite as big a thing as asparagus in Germany (but then, there's few things that can aspire to that), but I really like rhubarb. Especially if it's in combination with Streusel. In contrast to strawberries, which I like just as much or sometimes even better on their own, rhubarb also profits from getting baked, or cooked, so there's no issues with too much of it disappearing before touching the cake base.

Last year there was too many other things going on, and too much being away, so we didn't get around to baking The Rhubarb Cake, which is a firm favourite here. Unfortunately (as otherwise it would be too good to be true) it does require a little bit of work, and some time to make it, so it's not a quick thing you throw together inbetween other stuff. And then you also need to eat it ; ) 

Anyways, there was rhubarb and time this year, so we now have the best of rhubarb cakes (in our opinion). If you're curious and would like to know the recipe... I've blogged about it before, so here you go.

It's so hot here, by the way, that we now have nightly sightings of hedgehogs taking a drink from the flat bowl of water we are placing out for them. Which, now that I'm thinking about it, would make a grand excuse to get some iced coffee and a piece of cake and sit outside here. Mh. Right now. 

There's a new ressource online - a study platform and archive about French and Italian fashion terms. If that is for you, head over to the Modarchive and enjoy! I have only taken a short look yet, but it includes a dictionary/glossary called ModTERM and an image search tool ModSCAPE. All platforms are free to access; for ModSCAPE, you will need to get a password through a simple procedure.

In other news, Pentecost is right on the doorstep, and so I will be doing what every good German does on Monday: Have a day off. (Yay!) The weekend needs to see some gardening done, as it's time for the tomato plants to move out. 

So with this butterfly image, I wish you a lovely (long, if you have it) weekend!