Fancy Feast!

Thanks, Jack, for the FAQ re lead crystal....as a collector, I was going to
make a detailed post here but you saved me the trouble. The Evil 3 here eat
from ceramic bowls - food and water - and that's the way it will remain. I
can just see them busting up crystal dishes on the ceramic kitchen floor,
trying to rouse the hoomins up to fill them with food; this morning the
hoomins slept late and those d*** cats climbed up on something very high and
demolished two "get well" helium balloons that were way beyond their
clutches ordinarily! Yeah, cats are very good at making "statements" when
they want to.......we heard the racket but did not appease them till later
as the sound of breaking glass was *not* what we heard. Upon stepping out of
bed, my toes squished on barfed-up balloon ribbon fragment. The cats are
fine (I never dreamed they would get up to where I had the balloons hoisted;
thank God they were mylar, which intimidated the cats, who fear mylar but
didn't realize that's what they were messing with till it was "in their
face", so to speak).


"JHBennett" wrote in message
...
:
: "jmcquown" wrote in message
: ...
: JHBennett wrote:
: I should imagine a Google search for Waterford Crystal ought to get
: you in the arena of something suitable. Be advised, Waterford may
: require you to upgrade to fresh shrimp and select Sushi, as is hand
: fed at Jo Firey's. Cheers,
: Jack
:
: Ahem: Crystal? I thought crystal had an unacceptable lead content?
: (Hmmm,
: that didn't stop me from buying my fiance crystal liquor decanters for
: Christmas several years back!)
:
: Jill
:
: Crystal is perfectly safe. The process is indeed to add lead to the
molten
: glass, which increases the density and causes greater refraction of light,
: hence the name crystal. The density of carbon crystals works to put the
: sparkle in diamonds, you know. Anyway, the lead is so fused in the
mixture
: there is no danger.
: What you are likely thinking about is the occasional problem with
: ceramic glazes containing lead. From time to time, one hears of someone
: getting lead poisoning from the lead leaching out into food, particularly
: acidic substances such as fruit juices. It can happen when the glazing
: process does not go as intended.
: The difference is leaded glass is made at higher temperatures and
mixed
: thoroughly, whereas such is not always the case with glaze.
: The introduction of adding metal to glass reportedly got started when
a
: gold medal, awarded to a glass maker by the king, fell from the man's
chest,
: into molten glass he was working. It turned the glass red, from which
glass
: makers began to experiment with other metals. Never did hear, if the man
: who made the discovery, got another gold medal.
: In your particular case, Jill, the greater danger is likely to be
found
: in the contents of those decanters. Mayhaps you've heard that *candy is
: dandy, but liquor is quicker?*
: Cheers,
: Jack
:
:

"Hopitus2" wrote in message
news
Thanks, Jack, for the FAQ re lead crystal....as a collector, I was going
to
make a detailed post here but you saved me the trouble. The Evil 3 here
eat
from ceramic bowls - food and water - and that's the way it will remain. I
can just see them busting up crystal dishes on the ceramic kitchen floor,
trying to rouse the hoomins up to fill them with food; this morning the
hoomins slept late and those d*** cats climbed up on something very high
and
demolished two "get well" helium balloons that were way beyond their
clutches ordinarily! Yeah, cats are very good at making "statements" when
they want to.......we heard the racket but did not appease them till later
as the sound of breaking glass was *not* what we heard. Upon stepping out
of
bed, my toes squished on barfed-up balloon ribbon fragment. The cats are
fine (I never dreamed they would get up to where I had the balloons
hoisted;
thank God they were mylar, which intimidated the cats, who fear mylar but
didn't realize that's what they were messing with till it was "in their
face", so to speak).

Ah... gorgeous stuff, crystal. I'm always a bit surprised by the weight of
a piece, when I have an infrequent chance to examine some, even though I'm
expecting it. I envy that you can collect it. I did manage once to pick up
a sugar bowl at an auction for $5, which was modestly cut and decorated with
gold. My antique guide said it was worth about $85 but, of all the weird
things, after I had it a few weeks it inexplicably developed an internal
crack of massive proportions, so I gave it to my aunt for her shop, to sell
for what she could get. That time, I was lucky enough to spot something
others had missed, otherwise, when everyone knows it's the real thing, I
can't keep up with the bids.
As for your "Evil 3," I trust you gave them a verbal reprimand and
placed an appropriate note on the matter, in their official records. Well,
that's how we used to do it in the days when I still worked for a living.
I should think stepping upon something wet and squishy would bring you
full awake rather quickly, in the morning. I do know what you mean about
critters letting you know when they're not pleased with management. I once
had a huge German Shepherd who hated it when we left him alone. He didn't
do anything destructive, but always did a little something to let you know
he could have destroyed the place, if he'd wanted to. Once, and I don't
know how he did it, he moved a very ornate and decorated candle from the
mantle to the middle of the living room floor, without leaving a tooth mark
on it. It seemed a clear statement, "you guys pull that again......"
Cheers,
Jack

What's "mylar"? I can't seem to find it in any of my dictionaries.
Best wishes,
--
Polonca & Soncek

"Hopitus2" wrote in message
news snip The cats are
fine (I never dreamed they would get up to where I had the balloons
hoisted;
thank God they were mylar, which intimidated the cats, who fear mylar but
didn't realize that's what they were messing with till it was "in their
face", so to speak).

"polonca12000" wrote in message
...
What's "mylar"? I can't seem to find it in any of my dictionaries.
Best wishes,
--
Polonca & Soncek

Mylar is, in this case, a tough, plastic film which is silverized, with
chrome or whatever, to have a mirror finish, formed into hollow shapes [two
halves heat sealed together]--a heart being most popular--then filled with
helium. Common decorative printings hearld such things as: get well,
welcome home, happy Valentine's Day, happy birthday, etc. Very popular for
festive occasions. One of the problems with helium filled balloons made of
rubber is the latter is very permiable to the small atoms/molecules of
helium. Thus, the darn things go flat in a little more than a day and
become less fun and interesting. Not so balloons made with mylar, which is
denser. Otherwise, it's some sort of polymer cooked up by the
petro-chemical industry. It's also a brand name, which means your
dictionaries are likely not faulty. I think it is a product of DuPont,
which is very fond of two sylable names for its products, e.g., Corfam,
nylon, teflon, etc.
Cheers,
Jack

Mylar is, in this case, a tough, plastic film which is silverized, with
chrome or whatever, to have a mirror finish, formed into hollow shapes [two

(snipped for brevity)

Go Jack! Your descriptive way with words makes for an excellent definition. I
just wanted to add to Polonca that those streamers hanging off the ends of some
of the feather wand cat toys,, that's also mylar.

Sherry

Thanks for the explanation, Jack, I really appreciate it.
Best wishes,
--
Polonca & Soncek

"JHBennett" wrote in message
...
Mylar is, in this case, a tough, plastic film which is silverized, with
chrome or whatever, to have a mirror finish, formed into hollow shapes
[two
halves heat sealed together]--a heart being most popular--then filled with
helium. snip

Thanks, Sherry. I have one of those (or should I say Soncek has).
Best wishes,
--
Polonca & Soncek

"Sherry " wrote in message
...
Go Jack! Your descriptive way with words makes for an excellent
definition. I
just wanted to add to Polonca that those streamers hanging off the ends of
some
of the feather wand cat toys,, that's also mylar.

Sherry

LOL - I don't wake up easily, early (especially, that's why I work "swing")
or late - wasn't expecting squishy wet ribbon beneath my toes, as what we
had been hearing from l.r. was
"thwak, thwak, thwak" of ceiling fan caressing one of the unleashed
balloons, which was bouncing off the ceiling and fan blades. The 3 got their
late brunch and were oblivious, as usual, to grumblings and half-hearted
reprimands from the hoomins involved.



"Sherry " wrote in message
...
: Mylar is, in this case, a tough, plastic film which is silverized, with
: chrome or whatever, to have a mirror finish, formed into hollow shapes
[two
:
: (snipped for brevity)
:
: Go Jack! Your descriptive way with words makes for an excellent
definition. I
: just wanted to add to Polonca that those streamers hanging off the ends of
some
: of the feather wand cat toys,, that's also mylar.
:
: Sherry

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Hash: SHA1

On Sun, 28 Sep 2003 08:20:44 -0500, "JHBennett"
wrote:


"polonca12000" wrote in message
...
What's "mylar"? I can't seem to find it in any of my dictionaries.
Best wishes,
--
Polonca & Soncek

Mylar is, in this case, a tough, plastic film which is silverized,
with chrome or whatever, to have a mirror finish, formed into hollow
shapes [two halves heat sealed together]--a heart being most
popular--then filled with helium. Common decorative printings
hearld such things as: get well, welcome home, happy Valentine's
Day, happy birthday, etc. Very popular for festive occasions. One
of the problems with helium filled balloons made of rubber is the
latter is very permiable to the small atoms/molecules of helium.
Thus, the darn things go flat in a little more than a day and become
less fun and interesting. Not so balloons made with mylar, which is
denser. Otherwise, it's some sort of polymer cooked up by the
petro-chemical industry. It's also a brand name, which means your
dictionaries are likely not faulty. I think it is a product of
DuPont, which is very fond of two sylable names for its products,
e.g., Corfam, nylon, teflon, etc.

I can attest to the impermeability and light weight of mylar
balloons. The balloon that I was given for my birthday is still
buoyant, 11 days after my birthday, even though, judging from its
shrunken appearance, it has probably lost 20% to 25% of its helium.
I have it in my bedroom (off-limits to the cats) because both cats
are afraid of it. Last night, I heard Katie yowling at the bedroom
door, and opened it so that I could pet her. Unfortunately, the
balloon was near the door, and air pressure caused the balloon to go
sailing out the door, about three feet off the ground, directly over
Katie. I never knew that a fat cat could move that fast! A few
minutes later I gave her some attention, to show her that I hadn't
deliberately sicced the Balloon Monster on her.

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--
John F. Eldredge --
PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better
than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria

"John F. Eldredge" wrote:

I can attest to the impermeability and light weight of mylar
balloons. The balloon that I was given for my birthday is still
buoyant, 11 days after my birthday, even though, judging from its
shrunken appearance, it has probably lost 20% to 25% of its helium.




We still have a fully inflated mylar balloon that I gave Rob just before
he left the re-hab center a little over a year ago. We put it up on the
entertainment center and it has sat there all this time. The cats
haven't gone after it (still remember their experiences with the other
mylar balloons we brought home, probably) so it hasn't been disturbed.
We're leaving it alone to see how long it will last. It's a little
spooky to see it looking the same as when I gave it to him.

Pam S.