the plague
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Monthly Archives: December 2012
a photo is worth a thousand words
Saw this in Philadelphia the other day. Had to snap it. They weren’t responding to a call. Couldn’t believe they just rolled up and parked next to a fire hydrant, but they did. Anyone else would have received a parking ticket or been towed.
I have a lot of respect for law enforcement and first responders, but seeing something like this is just as bad as seeing thoughtless cell phone yammering Main Line babes parking in handicap parking spaces in shopping districts like Wayne, Bryn Mawr, and Ardmore.
dear bottle chucking pinnacle vodka elf
Dear Pinnacle Vodka Elf,
It has been a year since you started chucking empty Pinnacle vodka bottles out of your vehicle along Route 352 between Paoli Pike and King Road. You only chuck in one direction which is headed towards Route 30. Today alone I passed at least 10 bottles on various lawns and alongside the road smashed to bits.
The hypothesis formed is you either are a rep for this vomitorious rot-gut bar pour or you work for a country club/golf club or restaurant. There have been too many bottles chucked out the window to be a bunch of kids getting rid of party evidence or a state store employee.
Sooner or later you will get caught. If you want to pickle your liver, it’s your business. But kindly stop chucking the bottles onto the road and people’s lawns.
Merry Christmas.
as seen in main line parent magazine
A while ago I told you all I had my first magazine byline coming up. It has been out for a month or so, but now the digital edition is available, so I am pleased to share with you the current edition of Main Line Parent Magazine! See page 33 for my article on easy entertaining with one of my favorite gals, Chef Angela Carlino!
A PDF of my article is posted below, but be sure to check out the magazine. It is a lot of fun and I love the women whose brainchild this publication is – they are awesome.
Main Line Parent has a Facebook page in addition to their terrific web site. Physical copies of the magazine can be found in many places along the Main Line and into Chester County.
I look forward to working with Main Line Parent again!
life’s little realities can be so unpleasant.
When I blog, I blog for me. I find things that interest me to write about and I do just that. Both here and on my breast cancer blog.
They say God never gives you more than you can handle, and I am almost to the point where the Lord and I need a sit down so we can discuss the definition of that.
I am being faced with the grim reality that I might very well be losing another dog.
It has been barely two months since I said good-bye to my beloved Mr. Peanut, and well I have had some rather difficult news about his brother Iggy.
Iggy has lymphoma.
Iggy is not so old, only middle-aged in fact. So tomorrow we go to a dog oncologist. Dr. Ann Jeglum in West Chester. One of my vets recommends her highly. I have however, seen mixed reviews so I am anxious.
Iggy and his brother saw me through breast cancer and the break up of my former relationship. Well technically I guess you could call it abandonment – the ex factor had a late midlife crisis as the first blizzard of February 2010 was beginning and took off in the snow never to be heard from again. He left his dog with me. She was quite elderly and failing. (We lost her Labor Day 2010) To this day that is still what sticks with me about that whole time: he left his dog.
Anyway Iggy and his brother saw me through all that. So I owe it to him to try to not go to pieces.
But this is incredibly hard. The prognosis is not so hot for dogs that have this.
So all of you out there that send me stuff, it is 15 days until Christmas and I can’t help you. My interest is in hopefully being able to save my dog. Or being able to let him go if I can’t.
Right now I would be happy if I could stop crying. So when some of you write to me and talk about things that are unfair, well sorry, I think this is grossly unfair. So pardon me while I am a little selfish right now.
If you want a good rescue to donate to this holiday season there are two I recommend: Chester County SPCA and Main Line Animal Rescue. And if you see an animal being mistreated, or one that has been abandoned, call the proper authorities and keep calling until something is done. I don’t care if it is a hamster or a horse….abuses is abuse, neglect is neglect.
Please say a prayer to St. Francis for my Iggy.
not snapped to anyone’s lead line
This looker lives in the Hamptons
You know something? I am not particularly naïve. Even if I do want to believe in the goodness of mankind sometimes. And I have a lot of friends involved in animal rescue. I have seen the good, the bad, and the very ugly when it comes to that. And I have known all along the bigger the animal the nastier it can get.
When it comes to horse country out here I am an ausländer. I don’t own horses, don’t ride any more. I do love horses. I find them magnificent and regal, which is why I love to photograph them.
I am one of those people who doesn’t patronize those people in cities like Philadelphia and New York City who have the carriage ride companies because I have never seen a horse hitched up to one of those rigs that looks happy and I want to throw up every time an abuse case linked to that part of the tourism industry surfaces. I also don’t go to race tracks. No offense, I find them seedy. I find almost anything having to do with gambling seedy and déclassé. Different strokes for different folks, but not my cup of tea.
When it comes to horses, I like to do things like watch dressage and polo. And my friends’ kids doing pony club and things like Devon. I also think carriaging is cool. Growing up, we had a neighbor who was a carriager, and I loved looking at all his carriages, carts, and even sleighs in his barn.
When I wrote my first post wading into a potential manure pile I had no idea it would lead to a second post (the funny thing about asking questions about horse rescue) and ALL the comments.
I think given ALL the comments some part of the system of horse rescue in Chester County is broken. And as a result I am calling upon the Chester County SPCA, LAPS, ASPCA, and The Humane Society to do whatever they have to do to check this out thoroughly and put this issue to rest.
And I don’t mean polite let’s have tea and check out horse rescues, I mean inspect them, look at paperwork, match paperwork up to horses, any kind of identifying marks horses might have (someone said they can be tattooed or microchipped?), and treat it like the rescues I know more about which are dog rescues. Put them through their paces. People with nothing to hide, won’t mind, will they? They will understand, won’t they as it is about the welfare of the animals, right? Dog rescues go out and check out potential forever homes and often do follow up once a dog is adopted out, does this happen with horse rescue? It should if it doesn’t.
I get that rescue is an often ugly business and again I feel the the bigger the animal the uglier it gets.
The volume of comments on this stuff has blown me away. But I am just a blogger who found something weird and asked some questions. I literally do not have a horse in this race.
But what I don’t understand (among other things) why there is a thing called Large Animal Protection if they aren’t doing any protecting? It’s their job, they have the jurisdiction, it’s their raison d’être, yes? They receive funding to not muck about, yes?
I am not going to go out and inspect barns, I am not going to rescue a horse. I might not know all the lingo but I know what an abused or miscared for animal looks like and I know what filth looks like. But I am not the authorities. So leaving comments on a blog post are just that: leaving comments.
What should you do if you have proof something is a non-profit and they are not? Call the State Charities inspectors and complain. Here are the numbers: 717-783-1720 or 800-732-0999. What should you do if someone is abusing an animal? Call any of the groups I have referenced above. And call the media. Go to the police. Let professionals handle it.
If you people are seeing things that are wrong, it won’t stop unless people come forward. On their own. I believe some of the people who have left comments are trying to do just that and God bless them for it. Sometimes the courage of convictions comes at personal cost, especially when something is of a sensitive, difficult, or emotionally charged nature. And when it comes to animal rescue issues, I find them often as emotionally loaded as issues involving children.
My curiousity with this began with odd Craigslist postings that continue to go 
up every day. I don’t know who you are who is doing this, but I think you need to contact authorities or media. Or both. You wanted attention? You got it, now take the other step.
I want to have faith in mankind this Christmas season, and animals that give us unconditional love and companionship should be protected. If you want to get all religious on me, that is indeed what Jesus would do. Period.
smithfield barn open this weekend!
My favorite barn is open this weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So that is December 7th, December 8th, December 9th!
See:
Happy December! Just a quick note that the barn will be open rain or shine this weekend Fri-Sun 10-4. We have great new items and lots of great old
items too! Some new include bar height table and chairs, small black cabinet, bar height chairs, new holiday items,unique wood crates, new pictures, older baseball/basketball/hockey cards and so so so much more! As winter approaches (you’d never know it this week) our quest to empty the barn continues so come stop by and find a treasure or two to take home!! Hope to see you this weekend!
Smithfield Barn 425 Little Conestoga RoadOn most GPS devices the Smithfield Barn comes up as Downingtown. When you come through the center of Eagle PA as it exists (complete with it’s Victorian style CVS) you turn right on “Ltl Conestoga Rd” (that is what the sign says) and thenthe road does a quick left and you keep on Little Conestoga until you see the barn sale signs.
every parent’s nightmare (updated)
When I heard this news break I was in the car this afternoon, and I immediately thought well there it is:every parent’s nightmare, a missing child. And that is exactly what is unfolding in Radnor Township.
A missing teen. Now I have just heard Radnor might be calling another press conference for 9 pm, so I hope it is good news and the girl is found. She’s young – 13.
And this is some guy who is 20, and who appears to have multiple Facebook pages, along with Twitter and god knows what else.
This is the stuff that makes your heart sink like a stone to your stomach. I guess there were creepy people out there when I was 13, but maybe because there was no Internet and I had parents who were actively involved in my life (sometimes much to my chagrin), the seemy side of life didn’t touch me. Thank God.
Being a teen can’t be easy today, even if the technology is zippy. And young teens like this 13 year old missing girl want to be treated like grown-ups but they are still children.
It’s hard to figure out as parents where you draw the line isn’t it? You want them to be safe, yet you can’t wrap them up and keep the world at bay. And they don’t want to be babied even if they are your babies.
But given the age of this missing girl I am sorry, but I think it is important to keep an eye on the kids, who they are Facebooking, Face timing, tweeting at, texting. I think part of that has to be limits when it comes to the smart phones and computers. I think computers should be in a common area.
Talk to your kids. They might not want to talk to you all of the time, but better to know what is up. Yes I know, everyone wants to be a friend to their children, but sometimes you just have to parent.
Savanna Marie MacMullett is the name of the missing girl. I pray she gets home safely.
Makes you wonder what caused her to reach out to someone as screwy as they are saying she ran away with doesn’t it?
As of 9 pm There is a rumor running around she has been found in DC alive and the guy is in jail but I have no formal confirmation. I hope so.
Savanna Marie Macmullett, 13, disappeared from her Radnor home Monday.
BySam Strike Email the author 2:27 pm
Radnor Teen Goes Missing After Meeting Man Online
Police say Savanna MacMullett, 13, of Radnor participated in online chats with Ashley Hareford, a 20-year-old man from Grottoes, Virginia.
By David Chang| Tuesday, Dec 4, 2012 | Updated 6:10 PM EST
Police are searching for a missing teen girl as well as the man who they believe took her after they met on the Internet.
Police say they spotted Ashley Hareford, 20, of Grottoes, Virginia standing outside the Radnor Township home of 13-year-old Savanna MacMullett on Sunday. Police say he looked suspicious and they stopped him while he was on foot to question him. However, after he was questioned, they let him go because they could not find a reason to hold him in custody.
On Monday police say MacMullet left her home around 4 p.m. and has been missing since then. MacMullet’s father told police his daughter met Hareford online and had conversations with him. Police believe MacMullet is with him.
9:15 PM : my source was correct – Savanna has been found in Washington DC:
Missing Radnor Girl Found in D.C.
Savanna Marie MacMullet went missing Monday afternoon.
9:08 pm
13-year-old Garrett Hill resident Savanna Marie MacMullet, who went missing Monday afternoon, was found by U.S. Marshals in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.
With her was Ashley Ryan Hareford, 20, who Radnor Police said met MacMullet online and traveled to Pennsylvania from Virginia.
Radnor Township received an anonymous tip that the pair were arriving on a Mega Bus in Washington, D.C. around 7 p.m. Tuesday. Hareford was taken into custody without incident, said Lt. Christopher Flanagan.
MacMullet is being evaluated by medical staff and will be interviewed by police. She may return home tonight.
Hug your kids, people. That is all I have to say.
UPDATE DECEMBER 5th 2012
I have decided to update this post yet again. Why? Because of something I read in Main Line Media News where the father of this girl named Thomas MacMullett is quoted. I find it all disturbing.
First of all, the father apparently ALSO spoke to this kid outside his home. Did he know the creepster was there for his kid? If he did, why didn’t he call the police THEN?
But what really got to me was reading where the father remarks that Savanna’s older sister took off with a 28-year-old guy when she was 14? I am sorry, but does that make the proverbial hair on the back anyone else’s neck go up ? Am I missing something where 13 and 14 year old girls routinely take off with 20 and 28-year-old guys respectively or is this a GIANT red flag that something might be wrong at home?
I am glad this girl is home safely. It could have ended quite differently. But does the story end there with that guy being arrested or was this really a girl running away with the wrong person because something isn’t right at home?
I am trying not to be all judgey here, but you read the article and decide for yourselves:
UPDATE: Radnor girl found by U.S. Marshals in Washington, D.C.
Published: Wednesday, December 05, 2012
By ROSE QUINN
rquinn@journalregister.com
@rquinndelco
RADNOR — A missing 13-year-old township girl was found in Washington, D.C., traveling on an inexpensive Megabus with a Virginia man authorities believe she met online, possibly Facebook.
Shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday, a team of township and county detectives were on their way to escort Savanna MacMullett back to Delaware County.
the kris kringle of it all
Ok, I admit it: I have been watching waaaayy too many holiday movies. However, in my own defense, sometimes human kind is just so crappy to each other that the escapism in a movie where people are kind to their fellow-man and Santa Claus is just a nice way to get the warm and fuzzies.
So Chester County, here is what I am after: I would like to know what local charities and churches are doing what between now and Christmas.
Who is collecting toys?
Who is making care packages?
Who is collecting warm coats?
Who is collecting food to feed the hungry?
Who is collecting to help homeless animals during the Christmas season?
Who is accredited and collecting funds for various programs?
Please leave a comment and tell me. I would like to be able to share that information via the blog.
‘Tis the season of goodness and good tidings, so let’s pay it forward. Tell me who has the Christmas spirit in Chester County. (And yes, it is Christmas in my neighborhood.)
Thanks!
hmmmm…..northern chesco is breaking up
It seems things are just odd in Northern Chester County. So there is this Federation thing – to me it sounds like a GIANT Federation of Civic Associations on a municipal level. And when it comes to Federation of Northern Chester County Communities, they are a dropping like proverbial flies:
E. Vincent and S. Coventry backing away from Chesco’s Northern Federation
By EVAN BRANDT ebrandt@pottsmerc.com
Posted: 12/02/12
Two more towns are pulling away from the Federation of Northern Chester County Communities.
On Nov. 14, the East Vincent Board of Supervisors voted 2-0 to formally withdraw from the 38-year-old cooperative municipal organization and at a Friday morning meeting, the South Coventry Board of Supervisors voted 3-0 to “take a hiatus from participation in the monthly Northern Federation meetings for 2013.”
The actions follow on the heels a withdrawal vote by East Nantmeal on July 11 and geographically divide the organization into eastern and western halves, each with three townships remaining.
The result of the two votes this month leave Warwick, North Coventry, East Coventry, West Vincent, West Pikeland, and East Pikeland as the towns that remain in the Northern Federation.
In letters written to Charles Jacob, chairman of both the Warwick Board of Supervisors and the “Northern Fed” as it is often called, both townships expressed similar concerns about the organization’s lack of by-laws, stated goals and purpose and procedures regarding minutes, handling money and voting.
“We were one of the first townships to really questions the structure,” South Coventry Supervisors Chairman Tim Blevins said Friday.
The Northern Federation “seems to have its own agenda and God forbid you ask a question or have a different opinion, you get shunned or ignored,” he said……The Nov. 15 East Vincent letter noted that “the Federation has begun to take on very large projects involving large sums of money and continue to forge onward without proper controls in place, despite the fact that concerns have been raised. For these reasons, the majority of East Vincent Supervisors feel it is best to withdraw unless and until proper measures are put in place.”
In fact the money related to the Federation’s latest and most ambitious project — a new parks, recreation and open space plan, or PROS — is now also part of the debate.
Funded by grants from Chester County, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and a $2,000 contribution from each township, the plan was completed and adopted by all nine of the member towns, but $9,556.70 remains unspent……In 2010, East Vincent voted 2-1 to withdraw from the Phoenixville Regional Planning Commission. (READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE)
Now a lot of this is all Greek to me because I haven’t lived in Chester County for long, nor do I live out in any of those municipalities. Admittedly I am a bit jaded and tend to raise an eyebrow at governmental pow-wow associations to begin with.
Obviously not all can do the municipal back patting any longer.
Can you blame them?
Things are always wonky in West Vincent and aren’t there new or new proposed development plans making people cringe in one or both of the Pikelands and aren’t people worried about some particularly large swaths of land in West Vincent? (Along with odd zoning, flower shops becoming restaurants and the like?)
Anyway, it seems very curious in these Northern Chester County Municipalities doesn’t it?
Santa Claus might have a big ol’ naughty list out there….