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Friday, May 06, 2005

Belleek Newslettre (# 9.1) 

** IT'S ABOUT TIME !!

Finally, HOPEFULLY, I've got my NEW Computer 'fixed' 
up and I'm ready to edit my first and long overdue 
Newslettre of this marvelous New Year !!

** CHANGES, CHANGES !!

YES, I've finally caught up with the times !!  
I'm Cable Ready HIGH Speed Internet AND Wireless !!  
This necessitates several VERY important modifications 
for those of you whom wish to maintain contact with me 
as you will note, BOTH my Telephone and E-mail ID have 
CHANGED !!

My NEW Telephone is (OLD FAX Line) : 425.746.6363  
that's 425.PHONEME !!

And, my E-mail ID is delyicious@comcast.net !!  
I have NO idea whether or not it was out of respect 
or admiration or just plain lack of interest, BUT I 
thoroughly enjoyed the fact that Comcast had 
{delyicious} available for me !!  I'm JUST getting 
TOO old to modify everything over nite !!

So, PLEASE take a moment and Update your PhoneBooks 
with my new contact information !!

** MICHIGAN IS ALIVE
      IN 2005 !! **

The Great Lakes Chapter is inviting ALL Belleekers 
to meet them in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  They will 
be hosting the Belleek Collectors' International 
Convention September 8, 9 and 10 at the Crowne Plaza 
Hotel.  It is 5 minutes from the Gerald Ford Airport 
that has connections to the major airline hubs.    

Registration forms were inserted in your latest 
copy of the B.C.I.S. Newsletter !!  If you have NOT 
as yet received one, PLEASE contact our  Convention 
Coordinator Phyllis via E-mail at : 

        phyllisbagnall@msn.com

** ADDITIONAL CONVENTION INFORMATION !!

My name is Bill Lynch, and my daughter owns Lynch's 
Lair, an Irish/Celtic Gift Shop in Grand Rapids, 
Michigan.  We are very excited about the Belleek 
Collector's International Society's 2005 Convention 
being held in our city. So much so, we have added a 
special page to our website for the Great Lakes 
Chapter to help promote the Convention to BCIS Members. 
We would appreciate it if you could help get the word 
out in your newsletter about this page dedicated to 
the convention. It can be found at : 

        http://www.lynchslair.com 

by clicking on the BCIS Logo on the left hand side, 
about half way down. You can also link it from this 
picture if you would like .. ..

Actual URL :  

http://mysite.verizon.net/resojwaz/lynchslairgiftshop/id20.html

** CONVENTION RECIPES !! **

The Great Lakes Chapter would like to put a cookbook 
together and have it ready for the 2005 Convention 
in Grand Rapids, MI. !!  If anyone in your Chapter 
would like to submit a yummy dessert recipe worthy 
of serving on or in pieces of Belleek, please have 
them submit them to Phyllis as soon as possible !!  
And if they have a picture of the dessert, even better.  
Send that along also !! 
 
The recipes can be sent to :

    Phyllis Bagnall
    10295 Carriage Way
    Davison, MI    48423 

or they can be emailed to :

    phyllisbagnall@msn.com  !! 

Don't hold back on us.  Send us your very best to 
ooohhh and aaaahhh over and be included in this unique 
book !!  Be sure to include your name, address, phone no., 
email address and where your recipe came from or a story 
about it !!

** REGARDING CHOCOLATE !!

The Rules of Chocolate.....   

If you've got melted chocolate all over your hands, 
you're eating it too slowly.   

Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices 
and strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many 
as you want.   

The problem: How to get 2 pounds of chocolate home 
from the store in a hot car. The solution: Eat it in 
the parking lot.   

Diet tip: Eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It'll 
take the edge off your appetite and you'll eat less.   

A nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily 
intake of calories in one place. Isn't that handy?   

If you can't eat all your chocolate, it will keep in 
the freezer. But if you can't eat all your chocolate, 
what's wrong with you?   

If calories are an issue, store your chocolate on top 
of the fridge. Calories are afraid of heights, and they 
will jump out of the chocolate to protect themselves.   

Money talks. Chocolate sings.   

Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make 
you look younger.   

Why is there no such organization as Chocoholics 
Anonymous?  Because no one wants to quit.   

Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to 
do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done.   

Chocolate is a health food. Chocolate is derived from 
cacao beans. Bean = vegetable. Sugar is derived either 
from sugar beets or cane, both vegetables. And, of course, 
the milk/cream is dairy. So eat more chocolate to meet 
the dietary requirements for daily vegetable intake.   

** DO YOU REMEMBER ??

The following Link is to a Site that contains the 
compilation of the 'Top 100 Gadgets of ALL Time' !!  
These were voted on or selected by, I believe, the 
contributors to PC Magazine !!  This is not only a 
nostalgic Site, but got me reminiscing over my 
childhood days, which, some say haven't escaped me 
as yet !!  See if you remember these marvels of the 
past !!  BETTER yet, did you ever own any of them ??!!

http://www.mobilepcmag.com/features/2005_03/top100gadgets.html

** DISPLAYING BELLEEK !!

Being creatures of habit, as we acquire additional 
Belleek treasures, a necessity is born to display 
them properly !!  As a novice, some 30 plus years 
ago now, I simply placed my handful of items around 
the garage !!

Editor's Note :  YES, we actually lived in an old 
garage that had been converted into an 'apartment' !!  
I was doing graduate studies at Oregon State 
University and being poor we located this garage 
for only $50 per month !!  It had been remodeled 
into 4 rooms : a bath, 'utility' kitchen, bedroom 
and living room !!  The kitchen was SO SMALL, that 
you couldn't open the refrigerator door completely !!  
The bedroom wouldn't hold a double bed so we hung a 
broom pole across it to make a closet !!  When you 
opened the queen hide-a-away bed in the living room, 
you had to 'stack' the dining chairs on top of the 
table !!  ENOUGH SAID ??

In any case, I've seen Belleekers, as they add 
to their collections, do everything from a simple 
"it's time to rearrange the china cabinet" up to 
and including purchasing or building custom 
additional china cabinets !!  In certain cases, 
additions have either been remodeled or added on 
to homes !!

Unfortunately, when I acquired my first Woven 
Spider Web Plate, I not only didn't have the 
additional space to display it, BUT I was VERY 
hesitant to attempt to place it up on a plate 
stand, being the rather fragile structure of the 
weave itself !!  Therefore, for the next couple 
of years, it remained packaged up and resting 
securely on the top of one of my china cabinets !!

I FINALLY had a brilliant epiphany, as I awoke 
one morning with what I believed would eventually 
resolve my dilemma !!  PLEXIGLAS !!

The Spider Plate is like 11" in diameter, so I 
located a 12" bowl and traced its outline on a 
STIFF piece of cardboard !!  I then, using my 
razor knife, cut my cardboard template from the 
sheet !!

I took my 12" circular cardboard template down to 
a mirror and glass shop and had them, using one of 
their power implements, cut me a circular piece of 
Plexiglas !!  What's REALLY nice regarding 'plexi', 
is that you can drill thru it, sand the edges, i.e., 
do just about anything you wish to shape it into a 
finished product !!

With my plexi dish in hand, I returned home and with 
the use of some furniture pads, you know, the ones 
you place on the bottoms of chair legs, etc., along 
with some electricians 'cable ties' and my trusty 
drill, I had everything assembled for completion of 
my project !!

I measured everything out carefully, and attached 3, 
like ½" furniture pads in a triangle shape towards 
the center of my plexi !!  I then drilled appropriate 
sized holes for the cable ties to easily fit thru, 2 
thru each furniture pad !!

Then, CAREFULLY placing my Spider Plate upon the 
furniture pads, I looped the cable ties around the 
'foot' of the Spider Plate and thru the holes, 
'pulling' them secure closed on the rear of the 
plexi disc !!

From here, it's a SIMPLE placement of the plexi disc 
up on an appropriate size plate stand !!  What's 
REALLY nice, is that if you don't like the position 
of the spider, you need only rotate your disc !!  
WORKS WONDERS !!

Well, that was plexi project number ONE !!  I then, 
made a 'shield' design template for my Woven Mirror 
(Picture) Frame and did the same with that project !!  
I have since mounted my second Spider Plate and my 
Christmas Present, to myself, that of a Woven Wall 
Pocket in similar fashion !!



              Above left, my Woven Wall Pocket, 
      First Period (Decal) Mark on the pink liner !!
             Above right, my Woven Mirror Frame, 
     Second Period (Decal) Mark on the reverse side !!

Belleekingly,

Del E. Domke, Belleek Consultant
16142 N.E. 15th. Street
Bellevue,  WA    98008-2711
U.S.A.

Telephone :  1 (425) 746-6363
Message :    1 (425) 746-6363
FAX :        1 (425) 746-6363 
E-mail :     delyicious@comcast.net
Web-site :   The Beauty and Romance of Irish Belleek  (or) : 
              http://delyicious.magix.net/public/index.html