Many of the historic houses in and around the town of Victoria, Texas, were built between 1875 and 1910 by immigrant owners. From 1973 to 1975, with the support of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Rick Gardner traveled throughout the region, taking photographs of these historic homes. Gardner relied on his own instincts and guidance from knowledgeable locals as to where he should aim his lens. This book is an appreciative glimpse at what these vernacular houses looked like a century after their construction. Gardner has teamed up with Victoria historian and preservationist Gary Dunnam to present these rich images along with brief historical sketches of the houses and, where possible, the persons who occupied them when they were newly constructed. The result is an understated and elegant suggestion of what life may have been like for the merchants, bankers, agriculturalists, and others who built and lived in these homes during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Designed to appeal to those with a love for old houses and especially for the preservation of historic structures, All the Houses Were Painted White offers its readers a stately appreciation of these homes and their place in the South Texas landscape. It is also a tribute to the architects, owners, and anonymous craftspeople who built the houses—to their vision, skill, ingenuity, imagination, creativity, and endurance.

This New York Times bestselling book is filled with hundreds of fun, deceptively simple, budget-friendly ideas for sprucing up your home. With two home renovations under their (tool) belts and millions of hits per month on their blog YoungHouseLove.com, Sherry and John Petersik are home-improvement enthusiasts primed to pass on a slew of projects, tricks, and techniques to do-it-yourselfers of all levels. Packed with 243 tips and ideas—both classic and unexpected—and more than 400 photographs and illustrations, this is a book that readers will return to again and again for the creative projects and easy-to-follow instructions in the relatable voice the Petersiks are known for. Learn to trick out a thrift-store mirror, spice up plain old roller shades, "hack" your Ikea table to create three distinct looks, and so much more.

A New York Times Best Illustrated book! A Boston Globe Best Children's Book of 2018 “Accompanied by Lane's evocative art that suggests layers of history, Fogliano's story turns this childhood scenario into a radiant poem about the mysteries of other people and the wonderfulness of home.” —New York Times Deep in the woods is a house just a house that once was but now isn’t a home. Who lived in that house? Who walked down its hallways? Why did they leave it, and where did they go? Two children set off to find the answers by piecing together clues found, books left behind, forgotten photos, and discarded toys, creating their own vision of those who came before, in this deeply moving tale of imagination by Ezra Jack Keats Award–winning author Julie Fogliano and Caldecott Award–winning illustrator Lane Smith.

Racial tension, a forbidden love affair, and murder are seen through the eyes of a seven-year-old boy in a 1950s Southern cotton-farming community

This story opens in the early nineteen sixties, at a fictional isolated Catholic Convent in North Wales. Devout Christians, and Catholics in particular, will find this book to be a very challenging read. At appropriate points, the debilitating effect of loneliness is sympathetically portrayed, and an argument against committing suicide is also presented. As the story gently unfolds, the foundations, arrogant tribal marking and the power, of all organised religions, are considered. Calmly and peacefully then, 'love Thy neighbour as Thyself' is happily acknowledged as the only sensible way of ensuring the survival of the Human Race. Weaving around this main theme are several honest, decent, if rather robust, love stories. These quickly lead to discussion and consideration of further ideas; about life and death, good and evil, order and chaos. Kirkus reviews: - An engaging tale. The story is strong and the erotica is nicely balanced by the humanity of the characters.