Apr 03 2024
2 Comments
Book of Days Calendar, Spring

St. Walpurga, or Your April Book of Days

Welcome to April and to your Convivio Book of Days Calendar for April! It is late, but hey, let’s embrace that belatedness that is part of what makes Convivio Bookworks, well… Convivio Bookworks. Perhaps someday, when I can devote all my time to this venture, things will be more timely… but I suspect you’d miss the old version of me who is constantly running late. Efficiency is very alluring but there is a certain charm to someone who is constantly running just a step or two ahead of (or behind, in my case) the clock. You’d miss that if I suddenly became efficient.

My only regret about this month’s belatedness is I missed reminding you (or warning you, as such the case may be) of All Fools’ Day on the First of the Month. If you were successful with a great trick, or if you fell victim to a trick that was particularly brilliant, I’d love to hear about it (comments below, please). Seth and I both got through the day un-tricked this year, but I do love a nice subtle trick (like gluing shut the cap on the toothpaste tube, or gluing the toilet paper to itself so Seth can’t find the end). But this year, what with Easter just the day before, All Fools’ Day was practically done before I even remembered what day it was.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this month’s calendar. Our focus this month is the day (or night, actually) that closes the month. It is a night not much celebrated here in the States, but me, ever the champion of the underdog, I will be celebrating (as will Seth, by default) and if you’d care to join us, well, it’s a wonderful night that is the opposite spoke in the Wheel of the Year from Hallowe’en: It is Walpurgis Night, or the Eve of May, or St. Walpurga’s Eve. May Day comes on the First of May, as does St. Walpurga’s Day, and it is the day, traditionally, when we shift toward welcoming summer. Not by the almanac, mind you… but by traditional reckoning of time, and I am a big fan of reckoning time in a traditional manner.

Our cover star this month is a 1918 oil painting by Louise Upton Brumback called “May Day, Boston” [Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons].

SHOP OUR SPRING SALE!
It’s still spring, of course, and at our online catalog right now, you may use discount code BLOSSOM to save $10 on your $85 purchase, plus get free domestic shipping, too. That’s a total savings of $19.50. Spend less than $85 and our flat rate shipping fee of $9.50 applies. CLICK HERE to shop; you know we appreciate your support immensely.

COME SEE OUR NEW SHOP!
We make small improvements to our new shop every week. Currently, we’re looking at building a staircase to the loft, which would be so much more elegant than that extension ladder we’ve been using so far. Our Open House Weekend in mid-March was grand, and I was so happy to see so many old friends. We’ll plan a proper Grand Opening as soon as we feel the time is right. I’m thinking May, or perhaps it’ll be around Old Midsummer in late June. Rest assured, I’ll tell you about it here and on our Instagram and Facebook pages (@conviviobookworks). We don’t have regular hours currently, but until we do, if you’d like to come shop or just see the place (or us), we welcome you to come visit by appointment. Email us to schedule a time. The new shop is located at 1110 North G Street, Suite D, in Lake Worth Beach, Florida 33460.

 

Mar 19 2024
13 Comments
Equinox, New in the Shop

Big News!

We have big Convivio Bookworks news to share: This little home-based business that began in 1995 is finally moving out of the house, and since the month began, we’ve been moving into our new Convivio Bookworks shop across the street from the Brightline / Florida East Coast Railroad tracks here in Lake Worth Beach. We’ve moved the Colt’s Armory press, circa 1905, that our friends Gail Gremse & David Rose bestowed upon us many years ago (it’s nice to see it again after having it in storage for 5 years), and we’ve moved type cabinets in, as well. Space to work and space to teach workshops, and a small retail shop, too. And this coming weekend, we’re having an open house and if you are local, we would be so pleased to see you there.

It’s not a grand opening, mind you. That will come later, perhaps in May, I’m thinking. No, this weekend’s open house is more about seeing what works and what doesn’t, and (let’s be honest) a chance to earn some do-re-mi to help pay next month’s rent. So far, I’ve been feeling that same excitement I feel when I set up a pop-up shop, like at Oktoberfest or Christkindlmarkt… except I don’t have to break this shop down once Sunday night comes.

Won’t you come see us? Click on the picture above to see the announcement (larger, full size), but here, essentially, is what it says: We’ll be open at our new location (1110 North G Street, Suite D, Lake Worth Beach, FL 33460) for an open house on Friday evening, March 22, from 6 to 9 PM, and on Saturday & Sunday, March 23 & 24, from 11 AM to 7 PM both days. The press won’t be operational yet (we’re waiting for our friend Val Lucas to come down from Maryland to help us get the thing running), but it sure is a beautiful machine all the same. There will be treats, no doubt, and good company. And our new shop will be stocked with lots of lovely items for Easter and Springtime from Germany and Sweden and Ukraine, plus my mom Millie’s hand-embroidered tea towels, our amazing new Síríus chocolates from Iceland and many other fine foods, culinary herbs and herbal teas from the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Community in Maine, writing papers and pens from Italy, non-Christmasy pyramids and nutcrackers and incense smokers and cuckoo clocks from Germany (all authentic and all handmade), Swedish cake candles… I don’t even know what else because my mind is full and I am a bit overwhelmed but trust me: lots of good things, many of which you had no idea you would find useful and/or joyful. This is what we do.

To be sure, I’ve missed writing to you, but I’ve just had no time, so please forgive me. Be that as it may, I do hope you had a nice St. Patrick’s Day, and St. Urho’s Day before that, and St. Joseph’s Day has just passed, too. In fact, as I write this for you, the vernal equinox has just occurred, less than an hour ago, at 11:06 PM Eastern Daylight Time. All is balanced, all is light, as our Northern Hemisphere days grow longer and longer still, as they will through the Midsummer Solstice in June. Ah, but that is far from now.

Please come see us: you know we’d love to see you. Here’s the address and simple directions:

Convivio Bookworks
1110 North G Street, Suite D
Lake Worth Beach, FL 33460

From I-95, exit 10th Avenue North, eastbound. At the first traffic light, turn left on North A Street. At the first stop sign, turn right onto 13th Avenue North. Once you cross the railroad tracks, turn right on North G Street. It’s one of Lake Worth’s little warehouse districts, and we are in the second blue-roofed building on your left before you get to 11th Avenue North. Plenty of free street parking and there are eight parking spaces in our parking lot, too.

From Dixie Highway, turn west at the traffic light onto 13th Avenue North, then turn left onto North G Street just before the railroad tracks. You’ll find us on the left side in the second blue-roofed building before you reach 11th Avenue North.

We won’t be open regular hours; not yet, anyway. For now, just special events (like this weekend’s open house) as we announce them, and some occasional weekend hours, most likely. And we’ll gladly open for you, by appointment, too. Just email us to arrange a time. We’d also be happy to receive your cards and letters at the address above, and will send you something in return, promise. Georgia, our mail carrier, is very kind and so far, she hasn’t delivered one bill, but instead, she’s brought us four cards and letters over the past four days. She makes me feel very welcome, and we’d like to extend that good feeling to you, too.

 

SHOP OUR SPRING SALE!
Spring is here and at our online catalog right now, you may use discount code BLOSSOM to save $10 on your $85 purchase, plus get free domestic shipping, too. That’s a total savings of $19.50. Spend less than $85 and our flat rate shipping fee of $9.50 applies. CLICK HERE to shop; you know we appreciate your support immensely.

A STORY FOR WINTER
Spring has arrived but we know that sometimes winter is slow to go. Here is a short bedtime story for a chilly night that I recently read for Stay Awake: Bedtime Stories for Kids & Sleepy Adults, from the Jaffe Center for Book Arts. It’s called “The Magic Porridge Pot,” and you’ll find this story (Episode No. 11) and nine others in the Stay Awake Library at the Jaffe Center’s Vimeo Channel. If you like what we do there at Stay Awake, please consider following the series on Instagram @stayawakebedtimestories … I do love this storytelling project, and it would be awfully nice to see the project get to a hundred followers, at least! Thank you!

Mar 01 2024
Book of Days Calendar, Spring, St. David's Day

Welsh Cakes, & Your March Book of Days

And now it is March, and nearly spring, and since it is very late at night, I will make this short and sweet: Here is your printable Convivio Book of Days Calendar for March. It’s an astonishingly busy month: the vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, plus Ramadan and Holi and Easter and all the minor holidays that generally come with March. The first of them comes today: It is St. David’s Day, sacred to Wales. It’s a day for leeks and daffodils, but even better: Welsh Cakes:

W E L S H   C A K E S

It’s not uncommon to find recipes for Welsh Cakes that call for regular granulated sugar, butter, and nutmeg, but the traditional recipe will add lard to the mix, use caster sugar in place of the regular sugar, and will be flavored with the more mysterious flavor of mace. If you want the best Welsh Cakes, stick to the traditional version. If you can’t find caster sugar, make your own: pulse regular granulated sugar in a blender until very fine. Do not use powdered confectioners’ sugar, which has added corn starch.

3 cups all purpose flour
½ cup caster sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground mace
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons lard
6 tablespoons butter
¾ cup dried currants
2 eggs, beaten lightly
3 to 4 tablespoons milk
granulated sugar

Whisk together the flour, caster sugar, baking powder, mace, cinnamon, and salt in a mixing bowl, then work in the butter and lard with your fingers until the mixture has the texture of course crumbs. It’s ok if some larger chunks of butter remain. Mix in the currants. Add the beaten egg, working it into the mixture, adding just enough milk to form a soft dough that is not too sticky. Wrap; chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or until you are ready to make the cakes.

Turn the dough out onto a floured board and roll to a thickness of about ¼”. Using a biscuit cutter (scalloped, if you have one), cut into rounds. Gather up any remnants to roll out again and cut more cakes.

Heat a lightly buttered skillet (cast iron works great) over low to medium heat, cooking the cakes until each side is lightly browned (about 3 to 4 minutes… if they’re cooking quicker than that, lower the heat). Let the cakes cool for a minute or two, then set each in a bowl of granulated sugar, allowing sugar to coat both sides and the edges. Best served warm, split, with butter and jam, or, for a more savory treat, with cheese and leeks, at a table set with a small vase of daffodils.

SHOP OUR SPRING SALE!
Winter is quickly melting into spring and at our online catalog right now, you may use discount code BLOSSOM to save $10 on your $85 purchase, plus get free domestic shipping, too. That’s a total savings of $19.50. Spend less than $85 and our flat rate shipping fee of $9.50 applies. Traditional Easter goods from Germany have been arriving, and new fillable handmade paper eggs should be on our website by Monday.  CLICK HERE to shop; you know we appreciate your support immensely.

A STORY FOR WINTER
Before Winter completely melts away, here is a short bedtime story for a chilly night that I recently read for Stay Awake: Bedtime Stories for Kids & Sleepy Adults, from the Jaffe Center for Book Arts. It’s called “The Magic Porridge Pot,” and you’ll find this story (Episode No. 11) and nine others in the Stay Awake Library at the Jaffe Center’s Vimeo Channel. If you like what we do there at Stay Awake, please consider following the series on Instagram @stayawakebedtimestories … I do love this storytelling project, and it would be awfully nice to see the project get to a hundred followers, at least! Thank you!

Image: Our cover star for this month’s calendar is a painting called “Springtime, Harlem River” by Ernest Lawson. Oil on canvas, circa 1900 – 1910 [Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons].

 

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