Hi! There’s a free ebook today in my Freebooksy email that I thought might interest my readers. I haven’t read it yet, but I wanted to share before it’s no longer free. The title is Medicinal Herbs: The Essential Guide to Growing and Using Plants to Promote Healing and Physical Well-Being by Halle Malin. You can get it here: https://amzn.to/3RX2qBj (Note: If you use that link and then make a purchase, I will get a small commission. This is at no extra cost to you and helps me to maintain this blog. Thanks!)
Be sure to grab it ASAP. I’m not sure how long it will be free. If you read it, let me know what you think in the comments.
Ready for all things pumpkin? Here’s my favorite recipe to make a pumpkin spice latte. Make it with tea, coffee or milk in a smoothie for a healthy, frugal way to enjoy pumpkin spice at home.
2-3 tablespoons of milk (original recipe called for coconut. I usually use almond milk. You can use whole milk, too.)
1/3-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cloves
¼ teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Optional: a dash to 1/8 teaspoon of turmeric
Maple syrup, sugar or honey to taste. I like maple syrup.
To make:
Blend all ingredients together. Top with whipped cream and a dash of nutmeg. Enjoy. Repeat. 🙂
I’ve also used this basic recipe to make a pumpkin spice smoothie. All you do is swap out the coffee for the milk of your choice and add a frozen banana or a fresh banana and some ice. While it’s healthy as is, I also like to add an extra spoonful of pumpkin to up the vitamin content, as well as some chia or flax seeds. You could easily leave those out, though.
With just a few simple ingredients, you can make a yummy pumpkin spice latte inexpensively at home. I've included variations for a chai latte and smoothie, too! The recipe serves one or two, depending on how much coffee you drink. 😉
2-3Tablespoons Milk of choice.I usually use almond milk.
1/3-1/5Teaspoonground cinnamon
1/4Teaspoonground ginger
1/8Teaspoonground cloves
1/8Teaspoon ground allspice
1/8Teaspoonground nutmeg
1/8Teaspoonground tumeric (optional)
Maple syrup, sugar or honey to taste.
Whipped Cream (optional)
Instructions
Blend all ingredients together.
Top with whipped cream and a dash of nutmeg. I like the non-dairy Reddi-Wip
Enjoy.
Notes
I’ve also used this basic recipe to make a pumpkin spice smoothie. Just swap the coffee or tea for the milk of your choice and add a frozen banana or fresh banana and ice. Blend thoroughly. While it’s healthy as-is, I like to add an extra spoonful of pumpkin to up the vitamin content, as well as some chia or flax seeds. You can easily leave those out, though.
Have a happy Pumpkin season!
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Growing up, I was Belle from the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast. I always had at least one book with me at all times. Most of the time, I was actively reading one of them, regardless of what else I was doing. Surprisingly, I am no more clumsy with my nose in a book than I am fully paying attention to what I’m doing, which is to say, I’m always very clumsy.
Anyway, one of the things I love about technology is that I can bring a library’s worth of books with me everywhere in my pocket. Or purse, really, since women’s clothing doesn’t have real pockets. Don’t get me wrong. I still love my hold-in-your-hand print books with their special book smell and feel. Knowing that I will always have a book or hundred at hand to read anywhere, though, is the best for a nerd like me.
The other cool thing about ebooks is that it is easy to get a whole library for free or cheap. Here are a few of my favorite resources.
Libraries
Did you know that most libraries now have a collection of ebooks and magazines to check out. My local library uses OverDrive to check out ebooks. All you need is a library card. I usually choose Kindle format, since I have an ancient Paperwhite and I use the Kindle app on my phone.
If you’re looking for a specific book or new releases, this is your best bet. You may have to wait a bit because there’s a limited number of digital copies to check out, just like books in a library.
Yes, you can get free ebooks on Amazon. You’ll need a basic (free) Amazon account and the Kindle app, or you can read on a pc. The link above will take you to the Kindle ebook store where I’ve searched for free ebooks. That gives you about a bajillion results to weed through. You can narrow down your search to, something like, “free kindle classic books literature” or “free kindle Sherlock Holmes books” or “free kindle sewing books” and have fewer results to sort through.
If you happen to have a Prime account, there’s some ebook perks with Prime Reading and First Reads, so make sure you check those out, too.
Quick note: I am an Amazon Associate, so if you click on an Amazon link on my blog and then make a purchase on Amazon, I will receive a tiny commission. The price for you is the same either way, so if you are going to be shopping on Amazon anyway, I would appreciate it.
My Paperwhite ebook reader is this old. Photo by Caio on Pexels.com
Free Booksy
Free Booksy basically lets you know about free books in your chosen genres in a daily email. They’re books that are free for a limited time, so not the same things you would find in a free Amazon search. Most days there’s at least one book I want in the email. Right now, I tend to read more nonfiction, however if you like reading fiction series, Free Booksy often has the first in a new series for free, so it’s a great way to discover new authors. Sign up here. I’m not an affiliate, I just love the free books.
eBook Bundles
Occasionally you’ll find free or cheap ebook bundles online based on a theme, such as crafting or health and wellness. Ultimate Bundles is one site that offers them regularly. I’ve purchased bundles from them in the past that were very useful. Usually it’s something like $27 for hundreds of dollars worth of ebooks, courses, printables, etc. When I purchase one, I always make sure that there are at least three ebooks/resources included that I would purchase on their own, no question, AND they would cost me more than the total price of the bundle if purchased separately.
It doesn’t currently look like they’re promoting a bundle right now, but you can check out the website and see if what types of bundles they offer are of interest to you.
These are all resources I’ve personally used for free ebooks. I’m sure there’s plenty more out there. If you know of any, please share them in the comments. 🙂
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I’ve listed two “new” vintage fabrics in the shop, but wondering if anyone can help with giving more information about them. I love second hand materials, but not having all the details is a bit frustrating. They are:
I’ve burn tested them, and they tend to burn quickly. The burned edge seems more melted than ashy, which leads me to believe they are a synthetic or a synthetic blend. Here’s a video of the beige burn test:
Burn testing some vintage fabric. I think this one is a synthetic or synthetic blend. I’m listing some of my fabric stash at https://subearthancottage.com #sewing#vintagefabric#fabricdestash
We’re supposed to have a long stretch of rain. I love the grey skies, the cooler weather, the scent of rain in the air before it hits. Unfortunately, I’ll be spending most of my day at my desk with the window open rather than out on my porch. I did take a few photos of the mostly wild flowers in my yard to bring in a little of the outside.
Pink Evening Primrose Flowers
These are pink evening primrose. I haven’t really explored any medicinal or nutritional value they might have. I know evening primrose is a big one for aiding in hormonal issues. I’m not sure if this variety carries the same benefits, however.
Sunflowers
These are sunflowers, with a few of the pink evening primrose peaking out from under them. These produce smallish flowers but get really tall, like 6+ feet. I’ve heard that you can cook the flower buds and they taste like artichoke. I may have to try that this year.
Honeysuckle Flowers
Japanese honeysuckle. I know this is an invasive plant and I should hate it. It smells so pretty, though, and the flowers are beautiful. I also learned last night that it has salicylic acid in the leaves and flowers and can be used as a mild pain reliever. (Salicylic acid is aspirin, so don’t try it if you are allergic and always consult your doctor before trying any sort of new medication, natural or not.)
Common Hedge Parsley?
I think I’ve finally identified this final flower. For years, I’ve searched online and used my Picture This app and haven’t seen anything that looked quite like what is growing in my yard. Today it identified it as common hedge parsley. From what I’m seeing online, that seems to fit. While hedge parsley is edible, the look-alike poison hemlock is clearly not. For that reason, I think I will leave it to the bugs and bees to sample.
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In order to have high quality finished products, it’s best to prewash your fabric. Without this step, your finished product can shrink and look uneven or lumpy when it is eventually washed. It’s not a good idea to just toss your fabric into the wash, though, as it comes out a stringy, tangled mess. Luckily, there’s a few different ways to make prewashing your fabric painless.
Overlock the cut edges
If you have a serger or overlock machine, serge the cut edges before washing. You shouldn’t have to worry about the selvedges as they won’t unravel. This is my favorite method. I usually just leave the thread tails long and they don’t unravel enough to be annoying.
With a sewing machine, you can sew a quick zig-zag or similar stitch along the cut edges to prevent fraying. Even a straight stitch would probably work, although I haven’t tried it. You will probably need to back-tack or knot the ends to keep it secure through the wash.
Pink the edges for a painless prewash
If you have pinking shears, cut the fabric with the pinking shears along the cut edges. The edges will still get fuzzy, but shouldn’t unravel.
One bonus of using one of these methods is it’s easy to know at a glance which fabric from my stash was prewashed.
I know probably 90% of the people reading this are thinking “Duh!” because it’s such an obvious fix. The other 10% are wondering why they didn’t think of that, much like myself when I first learned the trick.
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I’ve been writing a lot about aromatherapy lately. It’s definitely something I find useful in my daily life, from incense to essential oil roll-ons to relaxing scented bath salts. While you can make a many aromatherapy products yourself, not everyone has the time or wants to invest in the essential oils to do that. Today, I wanted to spotlight the aromatherapy products I have to offer at SubEarthan Cottage.
First are the soy wax melts. Unless otherwise noted, these are made with soy wax and pure essential oils. For safety, I recommend using a lightbulb wax warmer rather than a tealight warmer.
Finally are my soaps. Unfortunately I haven’t had as much time to make soap lately with my chemo treatments. My last Kadcyla infusion is tomorrow though, so hopefully I’ll be back in the soap kitchen soon. Here are the soaps I currently have available.
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