A Little Better Than Plumb: The Biography of a House - Paperback

by Henry Giles (Author), Janice Holt Giles (Author)

A warm and humorous account of the trials of creating a place to call home. To longtime Giles fans and new readers alike, these reminiscences of family, friends, a river, and a roof offer a charming visit to rural Kentucky in the late 1950s.

Back Jacket

Janice Holt Giles never thought her lifelong dream of owning a log house, a bubbling brook, and a few acres of hilly countryside was overly ambitious. Mrs. Giles and her husband Henry soon discovered otherwise. A Little Better than Plumb is their warm and humorous account of the trials of creating a place to call home. To longtime Giles fans and new readers alike, these reminiscences of family, friends, a river, and a roof offer a charming visit to rural Kentucky in the late 1950s. From gathering logs to flushing out snakes, not much of the building process goes smoothly for "Mr. and Mrs. G.", who must survive battles with winter as well as scrimmages between the sexes. Here are tales of rowdy grandsons, faithful dogs, serious illness and helpful neighbors. Once their dream house is completed, the Gileses must remember that even a Spout Springs, Kentucky, homestead is subject to the forces of nature and government.