Heartwarming books with characters you'll love: have you been to Pajaro Bay? Teresa Soto is hiding from her fellow gang members in the perfect place: the tiny village of Pajaro Bay. But when she falls for the squeaky-clean director of the local youth center, things get complicated. She's one step ahead of the danger on her tail, and may be taking him along for the ride. Should she run, should she hide, or should she stay and fight for the new life she's building based on a big, fat lie?
In St. Tammany Parish Postcards: A Glimpse Back in Time, Louisiana native Ashleigh Austin presents more than one hundred vintage postcards from her extensive personal collection. These images, originally published from the 1900s to the 1960s, capture many familiar sights and landmarks from this historic region north of New Orleans. From the several bridges spanning Lake Pontchartrain to gone-but-not-forgotten eateries such as the White Kitchen in Slidell to lost hotels such as the Mugnier Hotel in Mandeville, the memories evoked by this collection are a priceless part of Louisiana's past.
Joe Gregorio was born in 1929, on the cusp of the Great Depression. His father abandoned their small family before Joe was born, and his mother passed away due to tuberculosis not long after his birth. Gregorio and his brother then became charges of the State of New York and spent their childhood and adolescence in a series of foster homes, which brought Gregorio life-changing experiences, to say the least. In his autobiography, My Life, Joe Gregorio presents his times of overwhelming difficulty as well as his victories, his darkest despair as well as the guiding lights who led him into a plentiful life. Gregorio's path took him from orphanages to service in the Korean War resulting in severe panic attacks. After his time in the military, he continued to lead a life that valued hard work as well as deep connections to family and friends. Tortuous as it seemed at times, his path was aided by a number of people who shared with him mutual appreciation, love, and spirit. Our present days of strained economic times bear great similarity to the early 1930s, and Gregorio's story of hope and faith can, in turn, be a guiding light for all of us as we move into the future.
The town of Covington has had a unique and varied history, due in large part to its location between the Bogue Falaya River and the pine forests of St. Tammany Parish. The city serves as the parish seat and something of a de facto capital of the Ozone Belt, an area of South Louisiana characterized by clean air, flowing streams, and verdant woodlands. Early settlers established themselves in the area, producing pine products and bricks, and Covington soon developed a reputation as a retreat from epidemics of disease, as well as from the rigors of city life. Covington has long shipped goods to the cities across Lake Ponchartrain, and those cities in turn have sent their people to Covington to vacation, relax, and revel in its beauty.
This book is the story of one garden and one family, over a 40-year time period. In their own words, Michael and Anne Heseltine describe the ups and downs of how they set about transforming and expanding a wild, overgrown and often dilapidated woodland into the magnificent garden they have today. Today, the garden at Thenford has an arboretum which contains more than 3,500 different species of trees and shrubs, including rare plants which were wild-collected by well known plantsmen including Roy Lancaster OBE, Allen Coombes, Keith Rushforth and Chris Chadwell. It is also well-known for its sculpture garden, which has an eclectic collection of work ranging from a white marble Tazza fountain to an enormous statue of Lenin. Beautifully illustrated with both professional photographs and private family images, this personal story of the creation of an extraordinary garden will delight horticultural experts and novices alike.
