Name that Pub!

Here's our new basement bar! We need a name and we're welcoming any suggestions from the blog readership. We like names that juxtapose two concepts that aren't normally connected with each other, like "The Lamb and Oak", or "The Toad and Sweater". We also like unexpected noun-adjective combinations, like "The Happy Trout", or participle-noun combinations like "The Flying Daffodil". Just post a comment with your ideas!

Police Log

Stolen Drink Shipment Police are still investigating a theft report received Dec. 10 at 2:45 p.m. According to the report, someone had stolen a 56-carton shipment of chocolate milk from a local elementary school. The school's cafeteria supervisor said that the theft has been "off and on" since October. No suspects were named in the police report. Disorderly Conduct Police received a report Dec. 4 at 9:55 a.m. that a woman was screaming and cursing at emplyees of an animal shelter on Ridge Pike. When police arrived, they learned that the woman had applied for pet adoption six days before and was furious that she had to wait one more day. Police asked the woman to leave the shelter without further incident, but she resisted. The woman was cited for disorderly conduct and permanently barrred from the shelter.

To-do list

Final preparations are being made for Sarah's arrival/Christmas. Here's the to-do list: 

remove extremely large dead tree from front of yard (see posts on "Tree excitement" and "Good Tree/Bad Tree")

clean, discard any dust bunnies larger than a human head (only if clearly visible in dim winter light)

throw out leftovers from refrigerator that were here when Sarah left in September

set up new bar in basement

return Sarah's stuff that we've been borrowing to her room

check to make sure Planty (Sarah's plant) is still alive yes, it is

lose 5 pounds in case of possible holiday overeating

scrape algae from glass of goldfish tank

Christmas cards

Well, Sarah will be here in a few hours, and there are still a few things to do, so...

Trees: The good and the bad

The Good Tree: Here's our Christmas tree, all decorated with new LED lights, which seem to be unusually blue. Peter is tantalizing Sandy with a dog treat to get her to stay  in the picture. The Bad Tree: Here's the tree that fell over on Sunday, after the highway people moved it out of the road and into our yard. Supposedly the tree  service was going to get rid  of it on Monday  and Tuesday. They started working on Monday, cut off a few  branches, and  then left because "they had a lot of storm work to do".  Um, well...wasn't this storm work? I seem to remember a storm. We haven't seen them since.  It kind of reminds me of Sarah's adventures with the Internet service/heat/electricity in her apartment (see her blog for details), although fortunately not on that scale.

Tree Excitment

About 6:00 today we discovered that the big sycamore tree between our house and the neighbors had completely fallen over and was blocking Gravers Road. We had a bad rainstorm last night and the ground must have been really wet. I have mixed feelings about that tree because it was rather attractive in some ways, but it was always dropping big branches all over the yard. It was a very very large tree. We called 911 and the police came and closed off the road. Peter's friend's car was actually parked along the street there, but luckily the tree had missed the car by about a foot! The highway department is getting it off the road now. Peter and Rich are outside supervising. I am performing the important service of updating the blog. The tree service and the insurance company  have been alerted.

misc.

Cat Naps: As the weather gets colder, Whitey and Olive seem to spend more time curling up together on their chair. Humans are rarely  allowed on this chair when the weather is cold and the cats need it. If I try to sit on the chair, Whitey will look at me in a polite but  pitiful and exasperated way until I go away,  even though there's actually plenty of room for both of us. Police Log: Vandalism in Conshohocken Police received a vandalism report from a resident of the 500 block of Spring Mill Avenue at 9:13 p.m Nov. 4. A neighbor told police he watched two female juveniles walk over to his neighbor's bench and take two pumpkins. The neighbor told police he knocked on the window and the two juveniles dropped the pumpkins and ran down Spring Mill Avenue and up Sixth Avenue. Police checked the area but could not locate the juveniles.