Book of Days

It’s October and the weather here in Lake Worth has taken a shift. Subtle, for sure, but most definitely different than it’s been: Different in the quality of light, different in the quality of air, plus a few spectacular sunsets, like the one yesterday evening, that illuminated the tops of the trees and the upper floors of buildings downtown. Seth and I will be heading to Maine for a dose of proper autumn soon, but, for the time being, we are content with these subtle changes.

There are, so far, three pumpkins in the house: one Rouge Vif d’Etampes pumpkin, one Jarrahdale pumpkin, and one Long Island Cheese. Pumpkins, no matter the variety, always speak to me of such great possibility. I don’t even know of what, to be honest. Stories, to be sure. But perhaps more. I remember weeding the pumpkin patch one late summer day at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Community during one of my book arts internships there––for there are times in a book arts internship when you need to step away from the research and away from the type and the press, and instead get your hands in the earth––and I remember an overwhelming feeling of some astonishment, there amongst the pumpkins as they grew. The scent of the vines, the feel of them. The flowers beckoning to bees. And the pumpkins, of course. I don’t know what that feeling was and I don’t know that I will ever be able to explain it, but I knew inside it had something to do with creativity and stories. One day, perhaps, it will all make sense. For now, though, I look at each pumpkin and wonder what potential it holds. There is some magic in this. I just don’t understand it. Which, perhaps, is how magic works.

And so your Convivio Book of Days Calendar for October focuses on pumpkins and gourds. I hope you love it as much as I do. It is, as usual, a printable PDF, so you may print it and post it where you please.

The month’s celebrations begin tomorrow, October 2nd, with the Feast of the Guardian Angels, one of the oldest celebrations in the Church calendar. It’s also my mom’s 100th birthday! We always celebrated her birthday on October 3rd, but documents we found in recent years suggest October 2nd may be more accurate. We’ll be celebrating her on the 2nd, and on the 3rd, and on the 4th, and each and every day. She’s the Millie of Millie’s Tea Towels fame. If you send her birthday greetings in the comments below (or by reply email), I’ll make sure she sees each one. Here’s a picture of Mom as a little girl:

COME SEE US!
At the shop, we are planning a Boo Bazaar or two, but we haven’t concrete dates yet. Count on them happening on weekday evenings, perhaps twice this month before Hallowe’en arrives. We’ll announce these open shop evenings on our website and on our social media pages (@conviviobookworks at Instagram and Facebook). Our main focus in October, though, is OKTOBERFEST MIAMI, where you will find our huge pop-up shop at the German American Social Club in Miami. It’s their 69th Oktoberfest: the oldest Oktoberfest in Florida. We’ll be there the second and third weekends of October (Friday through Sunday, October 9 through 11 and October 16 through 18), plus this Saturday, October 3, is a smaller Oktoberfest there at the German American Social Club for the German International Parents Association, and our Miami pop-up shop will be open for that, too. This Saturday’s event is noon to 7 PM and is free and open to all who’d like to come. (Oktoberfest Miami on the other weekends of October is a ticketed event.)

Image: Botanical illustrations of pumpkins and gourds by an anonymous artist in a Japanese book from 1804 that may be titled Seikei Zusetsu, Volume 27. The image is courtesy Leiden University Library, and used through Creative Commons.