Bookstore Gift Certificates are the Bomb

Spent some time yesterday in a local bookstore looking for the best way to spend a $50 gift certificate. (First rule of gift certificates: must spend right away.) Here's what I ended up with:

Llewellyn's 2005 Herbal Almanac
What sold me on this one was the "Herbs for Beauty" section that includes recipes for making your own shampoo, moisturizers, scrubs, plus a chapter on growing your own loofahs. Of COURSE I want to grow my own loofahs, thank you!


The Natural Remedy Bible, revised & updated, by Michael Tierra and John Lust
This is a fat little mass market in which you can look up ailments like "aging," "hepatitis," and "sweating hands" and find info on symptoms, causes & treatments. Also has chapters on diet & exercise, 20 popular herbs, and hydrotherapy.


Wintersigns in the Snow and Springsigns, both by Gerald Cox
These are 2 adorable little books for people who like to run around in the woods and observe tree silhouettes, animal tracks, and bird behavior. They're full of drawings and the text is handwritten so it seems like you're reading somebody else's personal nature notes. Cutie!


Putting Food By, 4th edition, newly revised, by Janet Greene, Ruth Hertzberg & Beatrice Vaughan
This is a classic first published by the Stephen Greene Press in 1973. I have a theory that next summer I'm going to have a garden full of vegetables (besides loofahs) that I'll can, freeze & dry for winter use, like a truly sustainable Vermonter. I read the first couple chapters and these people are SERIOUS about getting things thoroughly sterilized, using only the best and cleanest ingredients, and making sure every step of the process is done correctly and hygienically. Otherwise, you could die from botulism. Ack!


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