Yesterday was a quite long, and quite busy, day - but also quite successful. The preparations for the Forum are going well, I have procured almost everything that I need, and the presentation is finished apart from a few more pictures to put in.

Which is very, very good, since I have to visit the library today and bring back a book or, if I manage, even two.

Not much other news from here, though - so you might want to look at the medieval tiles collection that recently got linked to in the comment section here (thanks!).

Or you might want to try and draw some circles after you've seen this:

Yesterday was, again, quite busy - the taxes for the last quarter are taken care of, there is plenty of stuff to do on my laptop, I have packed spindles and wool for the demonstration, Textile Forum organisation has been taken care of as well... and now I am on my way to London.

Meanwhile, for you, there is a link to the charades or riddles from Jane Austen's Emma; and one to a German-language article about two children's graves, recently discovered.

I'm back from Tannenberg, which was lovely and sunny and a lot of fun - we ended up one evening hanging out with our friends, who had their tents right next to ours, reminiscing and singing old and silly songs from our childhood.

Now there's a stack of things to take care of before I rush off to London to the Collingwood conference - among these trying to get the online shop back onto track. There seems to be a bug related to the shipping-cost calculation, and I have not been able to exterminate it yet. So should you have tried to reach the online shop and had no luck - sorry, I'm working on it!

I like games. I like board games (especially cooperative ones), and I also like computer games. Most of the ones I play (or we play together) are not very deep - more like light entertainment to pass some time, such as hidden objects or lightweight adventures.

Recently, though, I stumbled across two very different games. Both are online, both are free to play, and neither of them can be called lightweight.

The first one is called "Depression Quest", and it lets you explore the life of a person with depression. Depression is a nasty illness, and the game captures very nicely how it takes away perfectly sensible choices that seem obvious, easy and attainable - unless, that is, you are too depressed to be able to make them. DQ is a pay-what-you-want game, and it might be a good help in explaining to someone else how depression works.

The second one is called "Buried" and you play an archaeologist, newly returned from fieldwork, grappling with burial and death in both personal and professional circumstances. ("Buried" is not intended for the archaeologist, but more for the lay person. Plus, according to the game, it's possible to write a short paper in one evening even when starting out tired. Talk about game superheroes!) 

Both are not recommended if you are currently struggling with depression or grief, or if you have problems with death and burial as game items; but if you are not, and willing to explore these topics - I do hope you have a memorable experience doing it, and I'd love to hear what you thought of the games in the comments!

It's the time of year when everyone is on summer holiday, or travelling, or caught up in stuff that needs to be done, urgently, before or after holidays or travels or whatever. And I am, of course, no exception...

The next few weeks, for me, will be a wild mix of preparation for LonCon with a smattering of vacation thrown in. Which means it's time for a summer blog hiatus here.

Though I might post an update before LonCon, regular blogging will be taking its summer vacation until August 21. Go read the rest of the internet during that time - and I hope you will be back here in August!

Today's a public holiday here in good ol'Germany, so you are not getting a proper blog post... instead, have this link.

(Hint: it's how you mouse-proof your cheese. Yum. Not.)

This has been going through facebook, where I stumbed across it - a textile mill that closed in 1980 was abandoned with all its machinery still standing, and has recently been photographed. Go see the pictures - it's stunningly beautiful and sad at the same time.

Also: How Football sounds to people who don't care about it. (Hint: The article replaces football with archaeology.)

And that's it for today, since I am taking a day off, in preparation of work this coming weekend (I will be in Bietigheim-Bissingen on Sunday, demonstrating spinning) and the NESAT conference soon after. I want my batteries full for that!