Year: 2004

Posted on

What’s in a Name?

Jay and I had a conversation with Abigail yesterday morning that made us giggle. By way of explanation, although most of you who know me call me “Tricia”, my given name is “Patricia”, and it’s what I went by almost exclusively until around age 12.

Abigail: Mommy, what was your name when you were a little girl?

Tricia: The same as it is now.

A: But what was your name?

T: Most people called me “Patricia”.

A: Daddy, what was your name when you were a little boy?

Jay: You know what my name is, Abigail.

A: Oh. So when you were a very little boy, your name was “PaJay”.

Posted on

Are there no editors at the AP?

I am undone. The AP is currently running a story regarding the horrid beheading of a young American man. It is a personal, warm account of the remembrances of his various friends and relatives. So far so good.

So how did any self-respecting news organization let the following headline run against the story? Friends, Family Remember Beheading Victim

Perhaps in the future when folks are reading this entry in our archives, they will click through to the story a discover someone has modified the ghastly headline. One can only hope.

Posted on

Watch your step

I have begun the arduous task of revamping House of Horne… the only thing more arduous would be to attempt a flash-cut to the new look. Instead, I’m opting for the slow roll, so expect a host of dead links for the next few days.

Posted on

Tricia versus the spider redux

IMG_3515_small.jpgThose faithful readers who have been with us for awhile may recall an entry from 2002 in which we recounted Tricia’s chance meeting with a rather nasty spider while attempting to take dominion of the nursery laundry pile. Today while cleaning pots for this summer’s herb garden, she came across another spider. This is the way she tells her story:

As I brushed some accumulated dirt off of one of the pots I saw a rather large black spider clinging to the side of the pot. Its legs looked pretty shrivelled up but given its body size I figured I’d better be careful, especially since Abigail was right there with me. “I’m pretty sure this spider is dead, Abigail. What do you think?” I asked her. “Hmmmm…I don’t know Mommy, it looks alive to me.” After making sure she was far away from the spider and warning her not to touch it I got a plastic sandwich bag, donned my gardening gloves and proceeded to trap the spider inside said bag.

IMG_3516_small.jpgWhile we wanted to finish potting our herbs, we decided that we would first try to find a picture of our spider on the internet. The spider was black everywhere except for a red marking on its underside, so in an effort to identify my mystery spider I typed:

“black spider red dot”.

Imagine my consternation when the first search result on google looked like this:

Black Widow Spider Pictures
… Black Widow Spider (Latrodectus … The female black widow is shiny black with a red hourglass on abdomen … The red hourglass could take the form of a red dot or many … www.surviveoutdoors.com/reference/ spiders/black_widow.asp

The picture on that web site confirmed that we were not dealing with an average little garden spider. Upon further inspection of “my” spider’s red dot, I surmised that it was indeed in the shape of an hourglass. Oh, my. And I had just had my bare hands all over that pot, within easy reach of this venomous spider. Not to mention that Abigail had been nearby the entire time as well. Feeling thankful that we were both fine, I called Jay to tell him how I’d bravely apprehended the little creature, and when he arrived home a couple hours later he felt compelled to capture our Black Widow on film. Now we can share her loveliness with all of you, dear, gentle readers. And may I assure you that I will be more careful next time I see a black spider!

Posted on

I LOVE my tummy-button!

IMG_3475_small.jpgChildren all go through funny little stages as they grow and discover the world around them. Sometimes discoveries happen very close to home, as in the case of young Nicolas right now. These past couple weeks he has taken a particular fascination to his little belly-button. He walks around most of the day touching it, falls asleep holding it, and whenever we take off clothing which would “conceal” the adored button, such as overalls or footy jammies, he eagerly reaches for it. Almost like a security object, only he’ll never have to worry about losing it! Here is a picture of him enjoying his beloved tummy-button!

Posted on

Shake-up at Nortel

I came into work this morning only to discover that Nortel fired several top execs with cause, including the CEO. Some are speculating that the books were cooked to activate a massive executive bonus that the board had approved.

Rather, it appears Nortel executives used sometimes vague accounting rules to help the money-losing telecom gear maker show a profit. A $100 million bonus pool set up by Nortel’s board may have been an underlying motivation.

How sad. Pride can come before a fall, but I suppose greed will suffice.

Of course, there are financial consequences for those worker bees that didn’t get the massive bonuses. Since the first sign of the accounting problems broke, our Nortel shares in 401(k)s, stock options, etc. have all been frozen out while the stock price has been in a freefall. Which is not to bemoan my lot in life or claim financial hardship, but rather to highlight the injustice.

I can’t help but reflect on the Kingdom of God, in which there are no false weights and measures, men live in God’s image by speaking the truth, and our work is blessed and fruitful. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

[edited 4/29/2004]

Posted on

Think no more?

Those of you who read the early days of “House of Horne” and its previous version, “Cogito Ergo Blog”, may be under the impression that very little “thinking things through” takes place in the Horne household these days. In the early going, I posted frequently on a range of topics. Over time, the site has morphed into something more akin to a family journal, a constantly updated Christmas letter.

Now, I don’t view this change as negative, but I did want to offer an explanation. In January of 2003 I became a ruling elder at our church, Town North Presbyterian Church. Since that time, I have discovered that most of my energy spent on writing down thoughts has been directed at preparing lessons for Sunday School and writing position papers for the Session. Though I’ve contemplated posting a paper now and then, I tend to want to err on the side of discretion. If I’m trying to influence or dialogue with fellow elders at a particular church on a topic, it feels awkward to broadcast my view before a mutual decision is reached. Once such a decision is reached, it still doesn’t seem appropriate to broadcast my views, particularly if my thoughts diverge from the consensus position.

Over time, I would think that a couple things will alleviate this set of issues. First, my sense of discretion will hopefully become more refined, thus allowing me a better sense of when my thoughts can be freely shared. Second, as certain topics age, I may feel the liberty to go back and post what I had written.

In reality, though, I’m guessing that the audience of this site has changed with the content, so that there isn’t exactly pent up demand for my ramblings…

Posted on

Good News!

I’ve been sitting on a bit of wonderful news for some time now, but it only seemed proper that I save my excitement until after Bloggy posted an official announcement on his own page. My baby brother is engaged!! Hooray!! We are so thrilled that soon he and Miss Jamison, as she is fondly referred to around here, will be married. We are all absolutely smitten with the future Mrs. Brunone. Our children ask at least once a day when the wedding will be.

Our prayers and best wishes are with the happy couple as they prepare to start this new phase of life. Thanks be to God for bringing them together and may He richly bless them in their upcoming marriage.

Posted on

What’s playing in Jay’s car?

Okay, folks, the only rule is: no Google! Now, who can name the band I’m listening to these days in my car? Here’s a few lyrical snippets from one of their albums…

“It can’t be all coincidence
Too many things are evident
You tell me you’re an unbeliever
Spiritualist? Well me I’m neither
But wouldn’t you like to know
The truth?”

“There’s a time to live and a time to die
When it’s time to meet the maker
There’s a time to live but isn’t it strange
That as soon as you’re born you’re dying”

“Only the good die young
All the evil seem to live forever”

There you have it. The band is…?

Posted on

A Weekend in the Country

It wasn’t actually a weekend, just three weekday nights, but it was definitely the country. Our entire family, including faithful dog Sid, along with our dear friends the Clemmons ventured to Rebel Hill Guest Ranch for a much-appreciated getaway. We stayed in cabins (well, the Clemmons were in a beautifully restored 1911 Victorian train car) on a lake in a beautiful setting which was so different from our everyday life here in Dallas.

IMG_3411_small.jpg
Given that Rebel Hill is a horse ranch we felt we should take advantage of this unique opportunity to saddle up. The wrangler was a kind, older gentleman who was wonderful with the kids. He answered many a question, including Abigail’s inquisitive, “Are you a cowboy?”. The littlest kids rode along with a parent while the older kids rode atop horses led by “Mr. George”. What a rare treat for us city folk to get to go riding with our children while they are so young.

We also enjoyed paddle-boating and canoeing on our own private lake just outside our accomodations. We saw much wildlife, including a friendly flock of geese, a sweet mallard family who followed our boats faithfully, a pack of llamas, as well as elk and deer. The burly men in our party fished like mad and caught 18 bass which David expertly fried into a beautiful supper for us all to enjoy. This was another big highlight. The children delighted in running free in their big “backyard”, roasting marshmallows each night over our campfire, and just getting to be with their friends all day long.

We absolutely loved our time in Oklahoma and are so thankful we were able to go! If you have time, please take a peek at some of our photos from the trip. Thanks again to the Clemmons for a wonderful time!