Society Dog is a Los Gatos-based social network for canines (and dog lovers as well!) Last night the group celebrated their annual Howling Halloween event here in the village. Dogs dressed in Halloween costumes prowled Santa Cruz Avenue in search of doggie treats offered by many of the merchants. (The treats this year were supplied by Bow Wowser, a dog boutique just up the street.) The dogs were accompanied by their people friends, many of whom were dressed in costume as well. The bank across the street from Vintages hosted the event and the costume contest as well. Turn out was great! We all had a lot of fun. But the stars of the evening were the dogs! The dogs were of every size and color you could imagine. Little ones -- some fluffy, some perky, some being carried and some a curious as cats! Lobster anyone? These were by far the tiniest little canines we saw! Is this a new breed of police dog? Average sized dogs pranced and sauntered about. One of my favorites was this ...

Back in 1920, when this wonderful little book was published, the world was simpler, smaller and more genteel. In this beautiful children's book, Jane Elizabeth discovers the Garden Folk. Elizabeth Gordon is one of the best children's book writers of her time, and Janet Laura Clark one of the most incredible illustrators. The dedication of this book tells a lot: This little book is dedicated to all children who love to work in gardens, and who enjoy the big out-of-doors and the little friends who live there ... How These Stories Became "What is the Country, Daddy?" inquired Jane Elizabeth. "It is a big place, all out-of-doors, like the park, only bigger," said Daddy, "and there are birds and bees and butterflies and moths and bugs, besides Grass-hoppers and Katy-dids and many other things; all wild and free with no cages for anything to live in. "And there are wild flowers, and you could have a garden of your own. Shall we go, Lady Bug...

Back in 1886, M. S. Quivey maintained this lovely little diary. Every day she (at least we think it is a young lady based on the content) made an entry in beautiful, tiny handwriting. Remembering that back then this had to be written with a dip pen -- maybe even a quill pen -- the handwriting is remarkable. She gives a wonderful account of every day of the year. She starts with the temperature and weather, then writes about what happened that day. Some days were relatively calm, others very busy, and on others she was not feeling well. We do not know her full name or where she lived. She has listed a bit of the correspondence she had with some of her friends -- Anna Quivey, Lizzie Smith, Della Q. Stabler and John N. Moore. The front pages of this wonderful little book are loaded with almanac type information, such as monthly calendars, postal rates, sun & moon table, interest rate tables and hourly wage calculators (from a nickel to 40 cents per hour), names of the presid...

Here is a photo overview of some of the items we brought back from Paris. You will find these, and others, in Vintages now!