While clearly not practical in all situations, Oeuf’s Squeeze Me Mittens are a sweet idea. A pair of adult-sized mittens with a pair of kid-sized mittens sewn on allow you to hold hands with your kiddo, keeping both of your hands warm.  Fair trade made in Bolivia of 100% alpaca wool.

We love tiny things - the tinier the better.  Seriously, what’s cuter  - a full grown adult or a baby?  Dog or puppy?  Actual house or a dollhouse?  Jumbo marshmallows or mini marshmallows?  You get my point.  So when I learned about the World’s Smallest Postal Service (WSPS) I knew I had to share it with you.

“Lea Redmond is the Postmaster, setting up her tiny mobile office in cafes and shops where passers-by can write a letter and have it turned into a “world’s smallest letter.” The letter is transcribed on a miniature desk in the tiniest of script, sealed with a minuscule wax seal with the sender’s initial pressed into it, packaged up with a magnifying glass in a glassine envelope, and finished off with a large wax seal (see above). It is a double delight: for both the sender and the recipient, and the WSPS is very happy to provide this important service to the world.”

I love this idea and can’t imagine any kid that wouldn’t be thrilled to receive an itty bitty letter. Quite frankly, I want one.  If you’re in the Bay Area, you can check Lea’s calender of appearances where she’ll transcribe you letter by hand or order one online where the letters are typed in a font three times tinier than Lea’s handwriting and printed on stationary measuring 1 1/2″ x 1″ - this is where the magnifying glass comes in handy!  A brilliant gift for only $8.  And her talents aren’t limited to letter writing…there are Matchbox Theaters, the Tiny Wonder Cabinet and all manner of little curiosities in her shop.

It’s not unreasonable to think that before your parents were parents their lives were very different…it just might be hard to imagine. Enter My Parents Were Awesome, a reader submitted pictorial archive that offers photographic proof that our parents were once young…and carefree, goofy, romantic, cool and in some instances, well, hot. Feel good images that’ll send you rifling through old photo albums. Here’s a taste…

I hope your weekend of trick or treating was terrific and that your sugar headache has begun to subside. While I was researching last week’s ‘Ode to the Pumpkin’ series I stumbled across some hysterical (and a little gross) post holiday pumpkin pictures. As these poor jack o lanterns dried, shriveled and grew little mold beards their faces transformed to sad expression of horror. Paired with an apropos poem by the beloved Mr. Silverstein, we bid farewell to Halloween.

Day After Halloween
A Poem by Shel Silverstein

Skeletons, spirits and haunts,
Skeletons, spirits and haunts.
It’s a halloween sale:
A nickel a pail
For skeletons, spirits and haunts.

Skeletons, spirits and haunts,
More than most anyone wants.
Will you pay for a shock,
‘Cause we’re quite overstocked
On skeletons, spirits and haunts.

1. punkins.jpg, 2. The scourge of the seven steps, 3. The Leper, 4. Scary s**t, 5. The Remains of Halloween, 6. ROTTEN ROBOT PUMPKIN!, 7. 2007_1213Image0020, 8. 20071122-HI4C7198, 9. Rotten Skinned Face Mask, 10. Pumkin with a Positive Attitude, 11. 11-02-2007, 12. Rotten Pumpkins, 13. Dying Jack O’Lantern, 14. rotten pumpkin, 15. when pumpkins go bad, 16. DSC_5538.jpg, 17. rotten, 18. Decaying Jack o’ Lantern, 19. myRottenPumpkin, 20. Rotten pumpkin

Following my Martha appearance this past month I received a whole lotta email (a. whole. lot-ta. email.) Many were kind notes from friends, family, colleagues, former classmates (from elementary school to university) - all of which were fun to read and much appreciated. I also received a surprising number of emails from complete strangers who saw the segment and wrote to share their thoughts - most were short and sweet well-wishes, a few were a little odd but harmless, one or two that were completely whacked and a handful that were absolutely lovely. An email falling into the ‘absolutely lovely’ category came from a Junior Society member in St. Louis, Missouri. With her permission, I’m sharing her letter and photos.

Dear Mr. Mahar,

I’ve been a big fan of Mahar Drygoods and your Junior Society blog for several years now. Thank you for sharing such beautiful items and inspirational ideas with all us readers who love everything vintage and handmade.

I have a story to share with you. I’m a mom of two little boys, 4 and 2. I’m also a daughter and very close to my Mom and Dad. My father, a Peruvian immigrant and amazingly loving man, died of cancer a year ago. He was very close to my little boys and even watched them once a week while I was working. After he died, my Mom, a creative soul herself, saved his signature plaid shirts, pleated jeans and white socks. He wore that uniform every weekend for years and we often teased him about them (especially the PLEATED jeans.) For Christmas gifts for my boys, the year my Dad died, my mom made Christmas dolls out of my Dad’ s clothes and stuffed snowmen out of his white socks. These will be cherished and loved for years to come and a reminder of my Dad for my boys and myself.

[letter continued below the photos...]

Top: Images of Mate and Vincent with their grandfather Juan Chavez.
Bottom: The boys selecting pumpkins this year.

You can imagine how excited I was to see your sock skeletons a few weeks ago. My boys are HUGE Halloween fans and both LOVE skeletons. My mom still had some of my Dad’s socks so she got to work making the skeletons. The boys gasped in excitement when they saw the final products and I love seeing them play and love on something that used to be worn by my Dad.

[letter continued below the photos...]

Vincent and Mate with their new sock skeletons.

I thought this was a neat way to remember a loved one who had died and thought I’d share this idea in case some of your readers out there would be interested.

A picture of my boys with their sock skeletons is attached as well as pictures of my boys with my Dad. Thank you for sharing such a beautiful project with us.

In gratitude,

Patricia Chavez (St. Louis, MO)

Left: Kiki and Juan Chavez, Right: A young Chavez family

I love that email. I love it because it’s understandably nice to hear that something you’ve created has had an unexpected positive effect on someone else, but more so because someone I’ve never met took the time to write and share a very personal story - in this case, the loss of a parent.

Patricia’s letter was also very timely given that today is the Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos), a holiday celebrated around the globe but most notably in Mexico, parts of South America and the southwestern US. The celebration coincides with the Catholic holidays of All Saints’ Day on November 1st and All Souls’ Day on November 2nd and incorporates traditions that reach all the way back to the Aztec peoples. Having a large Mexican population here in Los Angeles the holiday is widely observed throughout the city.

My oversimplified take on it is as a day of remembrance when friends and family gather to celebrate and remember loved ones who have died - but in a joyous and colorful way versus any sort of mournful commemoration. Skulls and skeletons are widely used in decoration and artwork as a way of honoring the deceased, making the sock skeletons Patricia’s mother made for her grandsons particularly apt.

One Day of the Dead tradition includes building private altars to honor the deceased. Patricia told me that every year her mom, Kiki Chavez creates “an elaborate altar in her living room decorated with mass cards, photos, candles, flowers, skeletons and mementos for loved ones who have died. All the family members who come to the party bring gifts to place on the altar. …we ate yummy Peruvian food (seco de carne, papa a la huancaina and sangria) in memory of my Dad and my boys played with their new sock skeletons.” She was kind enough to share photos of her mother’s alter.

Day of the Dead alter created by Kiki Chavez.

You can read more about the history of El Día de los Muertos on Wikipedia or on one of the gazillion sites found through Google searches.

And finally, another very warm ‘thank you’ to Patricia Chavez and her family for sharing their story.

By Edward Gorey

A is for Amy who fell down the stairs.

C is for Clara who wasted away.
D is for Desmond thrown out of a sleigh.
E is for Ernest who choked on a peach.

G is for George smothered under a rug.
H is for Hector done in by a thug.
I is for Ida who drowned in a lake.
J is for James who took lye by mistake.
K is for Kate who was struck with an axe.
L is for Leo who swallowed some tacks.
M is for Maud who was swept out to sea.

O is for Olive run through with an awl.
P is for Prue trampled flat in a brawl.
Q is for Quentin who sank in a mire.
R is for Rhoda consumed by a fire.
S is for Sue who perished of fits.
T is for Titus who flew into bits.

V is for Victor squised under a train.
W is for Winnie imbedded in ice.
X is for Xerxes devoured by mice.
Y is for Yorick whose head was knocked in.

Following Edward Gorey’s death in 2000, his friend and former student Kevin McDermott photographed the contents of his home. McDermott’s gorgeous images are compiled in the book Elephant House: Or, The Home of Edward Gorey published in 2003 with an introduction by John Updike.  Captured are rare views into the author’s home filled with books and object collections, lending a rich context to his dark and humorous writing.

Gorey’s house in Yarmouthport, Massachusetts is now a museum dedicated to the celebration and preservation of his life and work. The House also honors Gorey’s passion and concern for animals, raising awareness about local and national animal welfare issues.  He was a well-known cat lover and they often appeared in his work including the illustrations he created for  T.S. Elliott’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats (the musical adaptation of which became the long-running Broadway hit Cats). Learn more at EdwardGoreyHouse.org.

As we come to the end of our little pumpkin party, I thought I’d leave you with a little jack ‘o lantern inspiration. Pumpkin carving has gotten awfully fancy with elaborate motifs and methods, but I’m still partial to an expressive face (be it spooky, silly or smiling!) So as you plan your trip to the pumpkin patch (or corner parking lot masquerading as a pumpkin patch) perhaps you’ll consider one of the following when making your selection.

1. Jack-o’-lantern, 2. Jack-o-lantern, 3. Spooks, 4. Stack-O-Lanterns, 5. VT-style Jack-O-Lantern, 6. Pumpkin Eater, 7. Best Halloween Pumpkins - Jack-o-lanterns if you may , 8. jack-o-lantern, 9. crow’s feet punkin, 10. Jack-O-Lanterns, 11. jack-o-lantern I, 12. Halloween 2008, 13. Jack-O-Lantern, 14. jack-o’-lanterns, 15. Jack O’ Lantern slightly lit, 16. Jack O’Lantern Bokeh, 17. thomas’ jack-o-lantern, 18. Hadley’s Jack-O-Lantern, 19. Jack-o-lantern, 20. pumpkinface, 21. HDR Pumpkin, 22. Scary Pumpkin!, 23. Floral Eyebrows, 24. winking pumpkin

No self-respecting salute to the pumpkin would be complete without a pumpkin pie post.

In our house, this Thanksgiving staple has been concocted according to a recipe in Cotton Country Cooking published by the Junior League of Morgan County, Decatur, Alabama in 1972.  I love this quirky cookbook with its (now faded) yellow cover & orange gingham endpapers, endearing side notes  and charming back stories provided by the women who created/submitted the recipes.

Pumpkin Pie

• 3 large 9″ pie shells pr 4 small pie shells
• 6 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 1/2 cups pumpkin (canned)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ginger
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3 1/2 cups milk

Mix all ingredients in blender or mixer, adding milk last. Pour into unbaked pie shells. Bake at 325 degrees for one hour.

Grandmother had to wait until the “frost was on the pumpkin,” so this was saved for Thanksgiving or Christmas fare. Grandmother also had to go to a great deal of trouble to make pumpkin pie. With readily available canned pumpkin, and this simple blender method, however, you can serve it anytime you please, and with a minimum of effort. Still, pumpkin pie does seem most appropriate for the winter months. -Mrs. Fred Sittason, Jr.

The simple blender method is genius and produces a delicious custard-like pie, but Mrs. Sittason might roll her eyes if she knew we sided with Grandmother on the pumpkin issue. True, it’s not as convenient as opening a can but there’s nothing like pie made with fresh pumpkin.

Honestly, cooking your own pumpkin isn’t that hard - just a little time consuming. Chop one medium pumpkin into large (approximately 3″ - 4″) chunks, scraping off the stringy innards and seeds but leaving the rind intact. Boil the pieces in a large stock pot of water until they are soft and easily pierced with a fork. Drain and allow the pumpkin to rest until cool to the touch. The rind will easily pull off at this point, allowing you to puree the pumpkin in a blender, in small batches. You’ll likely end up with more than you need but any excess can be frozen and used later.

1. pumpkin pie in the making, 2. pumpkin what?, 3. RECIPE: Pumpkin-Ginger Pie with Golden Marshmallow Topping, 4. Mini Pumpkin Pie, 5. pumpkin pie bokeh, 6. Vegan Pumpkin Pie, 7. There Will Be Pie, 8. Pumpkin Pie, 9. Pumpkin pie, 10. Pumpkin Pies, 11. mini roasted sweet potato & pumpkin pies…, 12. Mini Pumpkin Pies, 13. Pumpkin Pie, 14. Nom nom nom …

“Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo. Put ‘em together and what have you got?” Six decades of little kids who’ve dreamt of turning their vegetables into carriages.

While the story of Cinderella has been around for ages (the tale of the Greco-Egyptian girl Rhodopis recorded in the 1st century BC is considered the oldest known version) it was this scene from Disney’s 1950 animated classic that planted that pumpkin seed in most of our imaginations.

From cakes to actual carriages, the pumpkin coach is firmly planted in our popular culture. Here are a few of its incarnations, courtesy of the talented folks on Flickr:

1. New goods!, 2. Pumpkin carriage at Gene the Pumpkin Man’s, 3. Disney - Cinderella Goes to the Ball (Explored), 4. Wimberley34, 5. Cinderella’s Garage Sale, 6. Cinderella’s carriage, 7. pumpkin carriage, 8. Cinderella’s Pumpkin Carriage, 9. Pumpkin coach, 10. cinderella motel, 11. Pumpkin Coach, 12. Pumpkin Coach, 13. Cinderella’s coach, 14. Quinceñera coach…., 15. Snow White(Pumpkin Coach), 16. Pumpkin Coach SGK, 17. Burning Man: pumpkin carriage cruises the playa, 18. _MG_7971, 19. Cinderella’s Coach, 20. Pumpkin Carriage, 21. the coach really DID turn into a pumpkin!, 22. switzerland sept2008-38, 23. Cinderella Coach cake, 24. coach driver, 25. Pumpkin Carriage, 26. DSC05590, 27. Cinderella and Coach Cake, 28. Cinderella coach (beta)

Peter, Peter pumpkin eater,
Had a wife but couldn’t keep her;
He put her in a pumpkin shell
And there he kept her very well.

Peter, Peter pumpkin eater,
Had another and didn’t love her;
Peter learned to read and spell,
And then he loved her very well.

This odd little nursery rhyme is actually American in origin, first published by a Boston press around 1825. It’s meaning is one of considerable debate ranging in theory from the pumpkin as allegory for a chastity belt on a cheating wife to the hollowed pumpkin as coffin for a jealous husband’s murdered wife. Yea, kinda dark for a kiddie jingle. But time and popular culture have sanitized it’s dubious origins and now it’s a Mother Goose standard. And really, who can blame us for loving the idea of a literal pumpkin house.

In the 1950s, we saw a peculiar patch of pumpkin houses sprouting up in the nursery rhyme themed parks across the U.S. Places like Story Book Forest in Legonier, Pennsylvania (which I actually visited as a child), Storybook Land in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey and Storybook Island in Rapid City, South Dakota. I had fun weeding out some images of Mrs. Peter’s home as they exist(ed) in these various fantasy lands (along with other pumpkin eater paraphernalia).

1. Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater, 2. 2009-04-18 Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater & wife 008, 3. Peter Pumpkin Eater, 4. Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater!, 5. Mother Goose–Peter Pumpkin Eater–F. B. Peat, 6. Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater, 7. Contrary to popular belief… 266/366, 8. not nice, 9. Great Circus Parade “Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater” Car, 10. Peter Peter, Pumpkin Eater…, 11. Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater, 12. Ethel Hays Peter Pumpkin Eater 1940s, 13. Peter Pumpkin Eater’s wife, 14. Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater, 15. Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater, 16. Mother Goose–Peter Pumpkin Eater–Great Vine, 17. Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater, 18. Pumpkin House, 19. August 2008 Storybookland (61), 20. Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater