I've looked a bit more for museum collection management software... and I am amazed at how many different options and solutions there are. Most of them, however, will upload or import or otherwise duplicate an existing file. Most of them are also designed to run on a server (though that is something that I could work with), which makes perfect sense for an accessible database, and are accessed through the browser. (Also workable.)

However, it takes a bit of time to skim the documentation for each of the options to see if it might be suitable for my purposes... and that's where I'm still stuck, skimming stuff and figuring out which one may be worth a try. 

That's all happening in little bits of time inbetween "proper" work stuff, though. With extra help from the little cat today (who has been putting her paw down on the touchpad more than usual...). But I won't complain too much about having a fluffy companion while working!

Having the cat relax and hang out on the desk also means that I get to sneakily shorten her claws as necessary. She's not active enough anymore to keep all the claws short enough through wear and tear, and the tendons in older cats sort of wear out as well and don't retract everything as completely as it should be... and that has actually caused her issues with walking. Plus claw snags, which may look funny, but must be rather annoying and sometimes probably also painful. So we got a claw trimmer (human nail clippers have the wrong shape) and now we're keeping her claws short enough that they don't bother her. 

Fortunately she's fine with having her paws handled; the only really difficult claw is the thumb claw, but even that is unsupervised and standing out sometimes, in some sleepy positions. And then, snip!, it is suddenly a little shorter. And Madame is a good bit happier - not strictly in that moment, but overall, since being able to walk without pain is definitely a great factor in personal happiness!

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...

The weather has been weird for a good while here now, with autumns so long and so mild that the rose in our garden is regularly going for a last flowering in October/November. So I figured that we'd might as well make the most out of global warming, and planted a fig bush three years ago. It's hardy enough to survive the winters here, though it has to be protected against late frosts, because it will otherwise just go pouty and mope around and not grow leaves forever (or until it is pruned back a bit again). 

This year is the first time that it actually made figs that managed to ripen, though! Last year it put out about two fruits, and those were a complete disappointment. But this time around, they are actually nice.

They are not very large, but (since the Most Patient Husband of Them All is not as fond of them as I am), they are all mine :)

Next one up to make fruits will be the passionfruit plants and the fig cactus. Though the latter might still need a year or two to grow...

There I was, telling you I'd be back here on the blog yesterday... and then somehow the day went by, with a lot of things done (catch-up-stuff still left from my trip to the conference) and I completely forgot to blog.

Even though it's on my trusty to-do-and-reminder list... but, ah, that only helps if one looks at it as the workday draws closer to ending. Otherwise... well. Like not looking at the calendar and then promptly forgetting about dates. 

So... what was happening here?

Lots of things. I went off to Romania, for a conference about Eastern European Traditional Textiles... hoping to learn some more about them (as I was rather blank on that topic), and make some new acquaintances to get better network possibilities into the East. Both plans did work out, to my great delight! I had a wonderful time looking at splendidly embroidered shirts, doing a little hemp processing, taking part in a dyeing workshop that included some dyes I'd not had contact with before, and visiting the wonderful museums in Băiţa and Sibiu.

While I was away, the little cat felt a bit under the weather... apparently she managed to catch a cold, which made her appetite about non-existent. She spent a few days just sleeping and eating very little, but she did pull through - and the plus side of her spending a few days only sleeping is that she rested her right back leg enough with that to let it recover from whatever sprain it had. Now we hope the rest of her cold will pass quickly so she can go back to her usual upbeat self.

She's at least fit enough again to conquer her favourite sleeping spots (which all have conquering aids for her now - ramps or steps, for easier access, since the jumping powers of probably-around-18-years-or-older cats are, let's say, limited...)

Meanwhile, planning for the Textile Forum is also happening, there's a demonstration coming up where I will be showing tablet weaving (which has to be prepared), orders have been sent out and more prepared to follow their chums today, and some more planning has been done - which I'll tell about tomorrow. 

Because I have a few pictures left from my recent photography trip to the garden, here you go: 

That are  leadwort flowers. It's a nice plant, blooming blue and rather robust (like, as mentioned, about all the things growing in our garden). They are not getting too many visitors currently, but that's probably because there is a lot of competition... and occasionally, a bee or bumblebee are enthusiastically making their way from one flower to the next.

There's more flowers on the other side of our fence, growing from underneath the willows. I've always found it lovely when flowers peek out of a garden, into the street, making the public space (which is usually drab, grey, and rather boring) a little bit more colourful and pretty. And now our own plants do that too!

And finally, some minstrel bugs doing, well, what they feel they should do: 

Did I mention the many, many grasshoppers also active at the moment? The bee hotels are sort of mostly on hiatus at the moment, with very little activity (most of the slots are taken, and hopefully young bees are developing inside), so there's not much going on there. But the meadow is full of grasshoppers making their grasshoppery noises, a concert that goes on all day and most of the night, swelling and ebbing and altogether wonderful to listen to.

Here's some of the musicians:  

The different species also sound quite differently - it really is fascinating! 

This is, to our very great delight, the first year where something attractive to insects has been in flower at all times - no gaps at all! There were times in the previous years where there was not much going on, flower-wise, so we tried to close that gap. Successfully.

Some of the plants are wild, some are cultured, but all of them are pretty robust, because my gardening style can best be described as "demented squirrel" - plant or sow the seeds, and then completely forget about it. If things go well, I'm then pleasantly surprised about the thing coming up (and usually remember that yes, there was something...) and if things don't go well, that plant obviously has no place in our garden. 

Currently in the prime position of things doing their thing? Wild parsnip. 

The Most Patient Husband of Them All and I both agree that these are, well, not the prettiest of plants. Actually, I find them relatively ugly... which normally would mean that I pull most of them out, and free some space for other things to take over.

But. Oh, there's a big but: The flowers, and the developing seed stands, are teeming with insect life. TEEMING. As in there is a cloud of flying critters around them all day long.

These plants are the preferred meeting-and-mating spot for minstrel bugs.  Plus there's a huge range of different flies, mostly hover flies, hanging out there. One or two hornets are commonly seen around as well, on the hunt for some juicy prey (though I've not seen a successful attack yet).

Which means... we are in total agreement that these ugly green-yellow guys are welcome to stay, and grow, and do their thing. After all, there's space enough for other things as well, and every flower that helps insect life in our day and time is more than welcome, and oh so necessary.