Reader Is Trying to Put Her Finger on a Thimble

Dorothy Fries of North Hollywood has been working her fingers to the bone in her search for a small thimble that is not flared at the base and is a Size 6 or smaller. Can you point toward a handy source, or is this information that Fries will never have at her fingertips?

Toby Horn of Los Angeles is looking for clear plastic seat protectors that tie onto the back of dining room chairs. Can you help this chairperson before she ties one on, or will it be clear to Horn that another kind of rear-guard action should be put on the table?

Lisa Hanson of Palm Desert would like to find mugs that keep drinks cool. The ones she remembers were of simulated leather, and the removable liner was filled with glycol or another substance that could be frozen. She wants these mugs for her son, who likes a cool drink while he is gardening. Can you help break the ice with Hanson, or does the entire matter leave you--but not her son--absolutely cold?

Sylvia Guttman of Los Angeles is pushing hard to find a cookie press with a coffee-grinder-type handle. The ones that have a twist knob aren’t worth the dough spent on them, she believes. Can you help a hard-pressed Guttman with a source or two, or will she never know which way the cookie crumbles?

Reader-to-Reader Help Line: Lynn at (213) 939-2088 is looking for framed pieces of the original Hollywood sign; at one time, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce sold these pieces in frames that also contained a photo and a brief history of the original sign. Please help, and put Lynn into a better frame of mind. . . . Jeanne at (213) 851-0717 is on the prowl for knobs and handles for a 1938-39 Wedgwood gas range and for colognes and perfumes in the Casaque fragrance, by Jean D’Albret. Please help Jeanne get a better handle on things and stop her from raising even more of a stink.

Note: The Reader-to-Reader Help Line is only for one-time items and for products no longer available in stores. And you must give us written permission to publish your telephone number, so that others may contact you directly.

For Mary George of Anaheim, who was looking for a hummingbird feeder shaped like a flying saucer, things should be humming again soon, and she won’t even have to fly very far. Susan Toulbee of Van Nuys writes that the Nature Co. in South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, (714) 557-0656, sells the feeder. (If George would rather write, she can get the Nature Company’s catalogue from P.O. Box 2310, Berkeley, Calif. 94702, according to Jane Simons of Alhambra.) A bit farther, as the hummingbird flies, is Orma’s Gifts N’ Things, Lake San Marcos Shopping Plaza, (619) 727-1270; a feeder there costs $9.95, according to owner Norma Ormseth. Lila M. Negrete of Los Angeles says that the local branch of the Audubon Society, 7732 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, might have some feeders. (Their catalogue, Negrete says, is available from 950 3rd Ave., New York, N.Y. 10022.)

We have other distant sources. Wanda Glazier of La Crescenta suggests Woodsworld, 218 Buena Vista Ave., Santa Cruz, Calif. 95062. Marion R. Jerue of Seal Beach, Ruth Wright of Brentwood and Mrs. J. M. Coppage of Sherman Oaks mentioned Droll Yankees Inc., Mill Road, Foster, R.I. 02825. And Phyllis Brown of Los Angeles supplied three places: Audubon Workshop, Department 1010, Northbrook, Ill. 60062; Hyde-Bird Feeder Co., 56 Felton St., Waltham, Mass. 02254; and Wild Birds Unlimited, 1430 Broad Ripple Ave., Indianapolis, Ind. 46220. In addition, Shirley Healy of Hemet sent us detailed recommendations on the purchase and treatment of hummingbird feeders, which we have forwarded to George. And then we heard from Connie Allen of Los Angeles, who is willing to let George--or anyone else--have her hummingbird feeder for better than a song--free. A stamped, self-addressed envelope will start matters humming.

Herb Hain cannot answer mail personally but will, space permitting, respond in this column to readers who have--or need--helpful information. Write (do not telephone) to You Can Help!, You section, the Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.