In lack of nearby prepared tracks for cross-country skiing, one can always build a small sledge with the right underside profile, put enough weights in it to match the snow, and drag it behind you.

A parcel with early presents for ourselves arrived yesterday, extending our small collection of board games with Takenoko and Codenames. I was happy to note that they come in Swedish versions, which in the case of Takenoko only matters for the manual, while Codenames is much more language-specific.

Both games are already well-known and luckily I still know a few game-enthusiasts back in Germany with whom I had the chance to test-play earlier this year. Codenames got the prestigeous award "Spiel des Jahres" in the meantime, guaranteeing even greater success.

In the eternal struggle for the optimal desk, I built a screen shelf over the week-end. It's made of material from the 1890s, left over after recent reconstruction of our small house. I treated it with some linseed oil which has a more noticable smell than I expected, but not in a bad way.

Last night I bottled our second homebrew batch, an Irish red ale. The nice 0.75l bottles with latches come from an excellent French beer, Brasserie Du Mont Blanc.