Horton Brasses Weblog

The company, travel, and general weblog of Horton Brasses Inc.

March 2005

Horton Brasses upcoming schedule

Posted by Orion Henderson on in
As many of our customers know, we at Horton Brasses are big on holidays. this section of the blog will keep you posted as to when we will be closed in the near future.

New products

Posted by Orion Henderson on in
Horton Brasses is always looking for new products, and a new one is right around the corner. Coming in the next couple of months will be a brand new pantry latch. Designed to match the style and finishes of our very popular SL-4, the SL-6 is a larger version with the same style and grace. For … read more »

New Customer Project by C.H. Becksvoort

Posted by Web Team on in
Chris has been a customer for many years and lives and works in the great state of Maine. His designs are Shaker influenced, some are precise reproductions and others are created in the spirit of the Shaker principles.  •  View this project »

food and cooking

Posted by Barb Rockwell on in
Greetings!  •  Here we are, still in Hue. The food is exceptional. According to the guidebooks, Hue is a trendsetter for Vietnamese cuisine and they do have their own style. We have eaten at a number of local establishments, there is usually an English menu translation so it makes ordering easier …

Boy do I love to travel - toby rant

Posted by Toby Rockwell on in - 2 comments
I was laying in bed the other night, listening to motorbikes clearing the way with their horns, and just revelling in how much i love to be on the road travelling.  •  General rant:  •  We get asked by a fair number of people: why vietnam? or why whatever? but the real truth is we (OK, I, I'll let …

REpost #2

Posted by Toby Rockwell on in
Further digressions from Toby, rehashing thoughts lost in the ether once already:  •  Market economies:  •  Once before we travelled to a former Communist country, the Czech republic, and it was interesting to note the transitions required.  •  Now we are in a communist country, with "free market …

Cats

Posted by Toby Rockwell on in
Be warnedthat this is a second attempt to frame the thoughts that were lost with a defective keyboard mentioned in a priormessage.  •  First, I want to follow up on my depressing air quality missive. I got a reply from our foreman, who was at Bin Hoa airbase in 1969, and he told me that then, the …

Beating a (nearly) dead horse

Posted by Barb Rockwell on in - 1 comment
Greetings to one and all,  •  I had rather hoped that my war posts had ended but they have not. Sorry to those who are sick and tired of the subject, just delete this email!  •  Our last day in Hanoi was spent at the Women's Museum. I had tried to go to that during our first few days, but it was …

jellyfish

Posted by Barb Rockwell on in
Xin Chao,  •  Jellyfish. A subject you probably never think about. Certainly I have never given them much thought.  •  We headed into Bai Tu Long bay and arrived at a little island. We left Khanh and headed out on our own walking for a couple of hours and wound up on a pristine beach. (not an easy …

Toby in Hue

Posted by Toby Rockwell on in
First a computer digression. We have beenhaving "interesting" times with internet access. I realize I have come to find net access to be partof my life, an assumed presence, a resource like running water. Like running water, I can live just fine without while camping or away, but it is part of the …

Bac Po

Posted by Barb Rockwell on in
Here we are in Cao Bang, and for the next 3 days. This is the last gasp before we head towards Bai Tu Long Bay (similar to Ha Long but less polluted and touristed). Today, Khanh took us to Bac Po, which is where Ho Chi Minh entered Vietnam and stayed in a cave, safe from the French. It was …

Another Update from Toby

Posted by Toby Rockwell on in
We had a nice reminder of just how sweet we have it at home. Barb & I were on two different computers writing up a storm when the power went out. We have been getting in the practice of copying what we write as we go so an undependent connection doesnt fail and leave us with an unsent message …

BaBe National Park

Posted by Barb Rockwell on in
BaBe National Park is a large tract of land that surrounds the largest natural lake in Vietnam. It is not a huge lake, nor does it have much wildlife, but we did enjoy our time there.  •  The Vietnamese eat everything that moves and much that doesn't. As a result, there are no longer shorebirds …

Northeastern Region

Posted by Barb Rockwell on in
Xin Chao,  •  It has been many days since anyone has had an update. We are alive and well, and now that I have largely recovered from food poisoning, we are a bit more active. The food thing was odd, as Toby and I ate the same things yet I was stricken and he was not. I haven't a clue what it was …

all the colors of the rainbow

Posted by Barb Rockwell on in
Once again, web mail bit me. I was just going to copy a lovely piece of mail I wrote when a glitch hit and I lost it all. I cannot write my mail in notepad and then paste it because all my Mac readers get gobbletygook!  •  Remember green? That lovely green that is on the color wheel but not seen … read more »

Today we hit 60 kph!!

Posted by Toby Rockwell on in
Toby here, Barb is sleeping.  •  For a brief moment today we hit 60kph! thats under 38mph for you metric deficients. Actually that was a brief spurt. we are usually under 50kph (32mph)all the time and often down to 30 or even 20. Despite haveing american tv shows, the Vietnamese lack any …

and on and on

Posted by Barb Rockwell on in
Later on this afternoon, we went to a Dao or Dzao village, where they had really figured out the marketing thing. Young girls and middle aged women latched onto us and escorted us through the village, inviting us into their homes. They specifically avoided selling products to us until we got back …

Slip sliding away

Posted by Barb Rockwell on in
It is Saturday evening here in SaPa. And a lovely evening it is. The weather here changes SOOOOOO fast, my head spins.  •  Thank you, thank you, all of you for emailling. It is a real treat to find a computer and discover email from you. And Joseph: welcome to the land of technology. I am thrilled …

Update from Toby

Posted by Toby Rockwell on in
Toby here, unusually.  •  Bookkeeping:  •  1. send emails if you wish, we love hearing from folks.  •  2. Don't send our own message back to us! We have poor to abominable connections and we know what we said.  •  3. Don't forward things, send them to our home addresses and we will get them when … read more »

High mountains and big rivers

Posted by Barb Rockwell on in
Greetings to one and all,  •  Here we are in the mountains to the west and northwest of Hanoi. We arrived here 3 days ago and our first adventure was our first home stay. Mai Chau is the city that we are near, it is a small town really, not much of a city at all. A town without internet, by the way.

Red River Delta 2

Posted by Barb Rockwell on in
Xin Chao,  •  Here I sit in a tiny cubicle at an internet shop. There are 16 computers jammed in to a space that is 15' deep by 10' wide. The end is open to the street and every computer is in use, mostly by young men I would guess were 15-18 years old. Many are playing games, and the one right …

last thoughts on the Red River

Posted by Barb Rockwell on in
Xi chao!  •  Because internet access is spotty at best, we have done far more than I could write about since my last communication. I would like to offer some random thoughts on our Red River Delta experiences.

Red River Delta

Posted by Barb Rockwell on in
Well, let me tell you all, web based email is awful! I just spent the better part of an hour composing an email and hit send and it is lost forever.  •  Suffice it to say we are well and near Ninh Binh in the Red River Delta. Our days are spent bicylcing, boating, and walking the rice paddies. We …

Toby heard from

Posted by Toby Rockwell on in
Here's Toby's take on our settling in.  •  The world is nearly full of people who are really pissed with each other. The Shias & Sunnis are fighting over Mohammed's son-in-law from 1300 years back. The Serbs & Bosnians are refighting an Ottoman battle from 1325 or so; not to mention Croat vs …

street scenes of Hanoi

Posted by Barb Rockwell on in
Xin Chao,  •  I will try to paint photos with words. Because, as some of you may have guessed, so far the camera has not come out. It will, I promise.  •  Last night, we went out to dinner. Everyone was served the same thing, and we figured out what to do by watching others. When we sat down, we …

Welcome to Vietnam

Posted by Barb Rockwell on in - 1 comment
Good morning!  •  It is 8AM, we have had breakfast and are ready to start our first full day. The hotel ($15.00 per night includes private bathroom) includes breakfast and we had this lovely fruit that we cannot identify. It was very white, like a merangue and filled with something that looks like …