This post from the Pennsylvania SPCA had the following verbiage on Facebook :
Her name is Tangi.
Yesterday, she was found outside our shelter, sealed inside a taped-up box in the freezing morning air.
When we opened it, scared eyes looked up at us. She was shaking and so stressed that she was hypersalivating, clearly overwhelmed by everything around her. And yet, the moment a hand reached toward her, she leaned in, gentle and searching for comfort despite everything she had been through.
Throughout the day, during medical testing, behavioral exams, and every check we needed to do, Tangi just wanted to be near someone. She followed staff closely, rested her head against anyone who knelt beside her, and cried when she was left alone. All she wanted was to feel safe.
We are incredibly grateful someone spotted that box when they did. It was less than 30 degrees outside when she was abandoned. We truly sympathize with the circumstances her previous owner may have been facing, but we also want everyone, including pets, to remain safe. If you ever need help with a pet, please reach out to us, or any shelter or rescue in the area. And if you must surrender an animal urgently, please come inside and speak with someone.
Tangi is currently on a stray hold in case an owner comes forward. If no one does, she will be made available for adoption, and we know she’ll steal hearts quickly.
For now, she is safe, and so, so loved.
⬇️ to see Tangi.
I would like to know what in the hell is wrong with people? You’ve all these people in all these stupid social media groups wanting to get their Joey and Jill a puppy for Christmas. Well half of those puppies will end up in rescue after Christmas and I’ve said it before that’s how I got one of my best dogs. He was a Christmas puppy years ago who held no interest after a couple of months.
Then you have these people that are just dumping puppies. Case in point is a puppy that was posted to Ludwig‘s Corner Veterinary Hospital.
The post was updated to say no owner was NOT located and the dog is probably going into an already overcrowded rescue system.
Who dumps a puppy at Christmas?
Who tapes a dog up in a box and leaves it in bitter cold weather outside a shelter, where the box was almost missed?
And then they’re all the dogs that Main Line Animal Rescue has been posting that seemed to have been dumped in Lancaster City and other parts of Lancaster County.
I just can’t with this. It’s bad enough when dogs end up in rescue because their humans die and there’s no one to take them, but I just don’t understand people dumping their dogs.
Dogs give us unconditional love and so much joy. And people irresponsibly get dogs and then they just dump them.
It’s not just around here or PA in general. It’s like an epidemic all over the country. Our animal companions, much like human beings are not just disposable.
And then there are the people who assume if something happens to them, that certain people in their families or in their lives in general will take their pets. You can’t assume that you need to have a conversation.
All of these rescues are short on funds and often supplies. So if you want to do something meaningful this Christmas, don’t just shove a cute puppy under the Christmas tree that your kids may or may not really want. Adopt a rescue instead and meet your furever friend that way.
I’m sorry but human beings in 2025 have shown themselves in a lot of cases to just be assholes , whether it’s politics or pets.
I took this photo in March, 2025. It continues to rot.
Let’s go back to East Whiteland. To 310 Lancaster Avenue in Malvern, you know where Clews & Strawbridge Boats is?
Once upon a time that farmhouse looked normal. It is part of 3 separate parcels of land totaling about 5 acres. Main Line Watercraft Realty is the name, but looking into the deeds and mortgage, a name emerged. I will post those documents and you can look for yourselves. But hey, this man sits in a very nice house on pricey real estate in the region (not Chester County), while one of Chester County’s historic assets just ROTS and that is so truly terrible isn’t it? And if this property owner cared about the house and historic barn, wouldn’t they be better looked after? Now I am not writing this man’s name, although he has appeared in many public facing media things, especially for his day job so to speak right? No he’s not a real estate developer is he?
All I know is this historic house was once owned by artist Margaret Strawbridge Clews, who died at 91 in 2010. She must be turning over in her grave at the condition of that house, right?
I found her obituary. Here is a link and allow me to share from it:
HANOVER – Margaret Strawbridge Clews died August 6th at the age of 91 – just six days after she warmly welcomed each of her children, grandchildren, and all eleven great grandchildren as well as nearly 100 friends to the opening of her one-woman art show at the Howe Library in Hanover, NH. Born into the postwar debutante world of Philadelphia in 1919, the year women got the right to vote, she was a life-long activist and artist – devoting much of her art to her favorite causes of women’s rights and peace.
Mrs. Clews was the granddaughter of the founder of Philadelphia’s landmark department stores, Strawbridge & Clothier. With Mancha Madison Clews, her husband of 66 years, she was the proprietor of their family boat business, which thrives to this day in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Their company, Clews and Strawbridge, was the only combination marine & Saab automobile dealership in the USA.
She was a graduate of The Shipley School and of Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Exhibiting her first work at the age of 16
Do we think Margaret would love this decay? The decay of a once lovely 18th century farmhouse? She came up in a post I wrote in 2019:
Now Lincoln Highway/Lancaster Pike/Lancaster Ave was laid out in 1732 according to the Tredyffrin-Easttown Historical Society. This farmhouse I was told years ago was built in 1734. And the current property owner just lets it sit and rot? And the rest of the property looks pretty shabby too, doesn’t it? I remember how nice it once looked because years and years ago when the Saab dealership was there, I had friends who got their Saabs there.
I found a brochure advertising the property from a realtor. Don’t know if this is still being marketed by this person or not. So who else is concerned about this property? It narrowly escaped being a very dense residential development a few years ago correct? So now what?
The house COULD be saved, but not unless the owner sees the light right? He lives far enough away he doesn’t drive by it every day so it’s just something in an investment portfolio, correct?
Is there anyone who can encourage him to see it as the valuable historic asset that it is? Maybe he can make an old house call? Do the right thing?
To follow are the deed and some other things found on public records. Perhaps some reporter somewhere will be inspired to write a real story about the history of this house and the current ownership?
If not, tick tock East Whiteland. It’s time for this guy to respect Chester County’s historic architecture, right? And yes I can have that opinion.
Sometimes by luck and happenstance you get invited to something really, really special – it’s the season of giving, and I never ask people to give to anything, but it would be really cool if you considered this:
I ended up here literally just by luck. The hostess of this private holiday friendraiser invited me to come, and I offered to donate photos to the cause.
This is something which literally touched my heart.
The backstory: Back in 2016, Lee Lee Jones was your average student home for Christmas. She was a graduate student at The University of Pennsylvania where she was working towards a graduate degree in social work. A lifelong rider, she was enjoying a December ride when the horse she was riding spooked and threw her. Although wearing a riding helmet she was still knocked unconscious.
As the story continues, allow me to share part of the story from her namesake fund page on the Main Line Health website:
She was airlifted to the Level 1 Trauma Center at Christiana Medical Center, where she was rushed into emergency surgery. Due to significant brain swelling, doctors removed part of her skull. Lee Lee barely survived the night and remained in a coma for 7½ weeks. She was diagnosed with Diffuse Axonal Injury, a severe traumatic brain injury.
During her time in the ICU at Christiana, Lee Lee faced numerous complications, including pneumonia, MRSA, severe respiratory distress syndrome, and neuro storming. Once stabilized, she was transferred to Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital in an emergent state—non-verbal, almost completely paralyzed, and only able to open her eyes slightly.
Over her nine-month inpatient stay at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital and continued outpatient therapy over the past eight years, Lee Lee has made remarkable progress. She relearned how to swallow, walk, and perform daily activities. Thanks to the dedicated and experienced team at BMRH, Lee Lee has regained significant independence.
Not all families can endure the financial responsibility which comes with these treatments and stays, hence the fund. There is such a need for these endowments because in my humble opinion the medical community has not lost their compassion but health insurance companies kind of have. For all of the money insurance companies make in this country, they really need to realize that they can have more generosity at times. Maybe some health insurance executives will see my post and donate to this endowment fund, for example?
When I was growing up I devoured the books about Jill Kinmont and she was incredibly inspirational to many of us, but because she died in 2012, a lot of people have forgotten about her. Jill Kinmont Booth was a was an American alpine ski racer and schoolteacher. Her life story was turned into two major Hollywood movies The Other Side of the Mountain and its sequel The Other Side of the Mountain Part 2.
Obviously, Jill Kinmont was well into adulthood when we learned about her as kids through the movies in the 1970s. Through the movies we learned that Jill in 1955 was the reigning national champion in the slalom, and a top hopeful for a medal at the 1956 Winter Olympics, a year away. As an 18 year she suffered a near-fatal skiing accident that resulted in paralysis from the shoulders down. She fought her way back with rehab, very primitive compared to what patients have today. She eventually graduated from college, married had a long career as an educator, first in Washington State and then in California. She was also an artist. She lived as a quadriplegic for more than 50 years. That doesn’t make her story Lee Lee’s story, but it reminded me of young women who overcome great obstacles after accidents to continue their lives.
Lee Lee Jones is a remarkable young woman and I also find her incredibly special and inspirational. Just as I find her friends, family, and support system. I was honored to meet her, her family, one of her nurses, friends, and her former boyfriend, now an adult with his own family. His name is Kareem Rosser and he is another major part of this story, and a driving force behind this endowment becoming a success at Bryn Mawr Rehab. He is doing this out of love. Love still for Lee Lee and her family with whom he remains incredibly close. He also does this out of an amazing ability and desire to pay things forward.
Kareem began his life in one of Philadelphia’s toughest and baddest neighborhoods. It was in West Philadelphia and known as “the bottom.” I actually know where this is because once upon a time when I was barely 21, I got not one but two flat tires there on my way home with a friend late one night. We had been dancing at the. Pagano’s and been to the then Chestnut Cabaret. It was the era before cell phones and a Philadelphia cop just happened to drive by and would not leave us until a tow truck arrived. I remember we said to him in our young invincibleness that we would be fine on our own and the cop said to us no we might not, this was “the bottom.”
When Kareem was 8, he discovered a stable full of horses in Fairmount Park. Chamounix Stables. Through Work to Ride he learned to ride and play polo. Eventually he earned a scholarship to Valley Forge Military Academy. In 2011 he led his Work to Ride team to a National Interscholastic Polo Championship. Next in In 2015, he led Colorado State University to a collegiate National Championship.
Kareem is on the board of Work to Ride and is an Executive Vice President today of Work to Ride , and has led development efforts there since 2018. This non profit completed an amazing state of the art barn renovation project not so long ago. He is also the co-founder of the Philadelphia Polo Classic.
Kareem was Lee Lee’s boyfriend at the time of her accident. They were in love and then life had a plot twist.
Kareem is still close and devoted to Lee Lee and her family. This shows how the power of love is so integral to life itself, and how it grows and changes yet remains a constant.
Kareem is also a best selling author. He was also one of the nicest people I have met in a while.
Compassionate and honest and eloquent. Listening to him speak was just wonderful. Hearing about Lee Lee through his eyes and how her accident affected him and her friends and family.
One of the things I liked about listening to Kareem speak with his openness. He wove the tail of his life and how it intersected with Lee Lee’s. And the small world of it all, one of his closest friends is the son of an old neighbor.
Now is the season of giving I am going to share a video of the speakers I recorded during this event so you can learn more about this fund and you can also go to Bryn Mawr Rehab’s site :
If you have it in your hearts, this holiday season before your end, please consider even a small donation. I think if you’ve ever known anyone who’s had a traumatic brain injury, you will be interested in supporting this fund.
And that’s a wrap until next year! Another amazing holiday house tour from Surrey Services for Seniors
I am an in kind and regular sponsor which I am just mentioning so you know WHY I do the photos and that they are done as a volunteer. (Otherwise you’re not allowed to take pictures inside people‘s homes obviously.)
This year, the houses were so beautifully and perfectly festive!!! I have to say the homeowners knocked themselves out for all of us and it was much appreciated!
I loved all the homes and will be going through photos over the next couple of days, but I will be sharing a little video with you guys below so you can get a flavor for the tour and the shops afterwards, which were also so much fun!
I do have to say my favorite house was on Poplar Avenue in North Wayne. I love that section of Wayne. It is so historic and just being in the neighborhoods there makes you happy because mostly everyone decorates.
If you would like to give a Christmas donation to Surrey, which does so much for people follow this link:
So I think this is Tredyffrin Township and this is Stormwater funkadelic. The pipe drains to the public sidewalk. As ONTO the sidewalk along Lancaster Avenue – talk about a winter hazard for pedestrians especially, right?
This is the strip shopping center at 41 E Lancaster Avenue in Paoli where Our Deli etc is.
And no, I was not driving when I took this picture. I was a passenger in a car.
So whichever municipality this is they need to deal with this. It’s a fall hazard for pedestrians and this is going right out onto the road which causes another potential hazard trying to keep the road clear during winter icing events.
We all know the roads aren’t going to be perfect in the winter but something like this dripping over time in freezing weather could just be big enough to cause an accident. I mean, let’s face it. It’s problematic enough getting out of this weird little strip mall.
Developer Eli Kahn at 12/1/25 Tredyffrin Supervisors Meeting
So this is an interesting one at the end of the supervisors’ meeting last evening, Tredyffrin Township’s bumbling and inefficient zoning officer (I am entitled to my opinion and I’m being understated because I don’t understand why she has a job, but I digress) pops up rather nervously to announce to the supervisors that are developer was there with essentially a problem.
What was the problem? Something to do with the sewer and how his workforce housing project was essentially being potentially charged too much if it goes forward the way it is for sewer capacity they’re not going to use, right?
Here is the recording of that portion of the meeting:
I don’t understand how it was just sort of popped on the agenda like this do you? I’m not saying he shouldn’t be heard because he should be heard, and this is a developer whose projects I am not generally speaking fond of, but when you listen to this meeting snippet, do you really think he’s wrong? I actually don’t. (Shocker, right?)
This project was introduced at the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025:
So this is a trend we’ve seen being proposed in other municipalities and not just by this developer. It’s all about redeveloping these old commercial properties and these office buildings that have become obsolete whales and making them into living units, and in some cases, schools?
So I have to ask are we potentially replacing one problem with another problem? To be clear l, I’m not saying I’m against workforce housing if it actually happens. But I also look at these plans for this housing and so many of the units are these little itty-bitty things so what about workforce housing for families?
But I’m not going off on that tangent today that’s just something I think about. We definitely need affordable housing for all stages of life, but do we really need more apartments? I keep asking that question.
So the reason Eli Kahn went to Tredyffrin has to do with sewer. And sewer capacity and what he is paying for. It’s an interesting conversation. Listen to the video. So he’s telling the supervisors that they have problems in their sewer fee structures I guess? Basically he’s saying it’s not a one-size-fits-all?
I find it interesting, just like I find it. Interesting how it all kind of got plopped at the end of this meeting.
What is it with sewer fees and sewer capacity and municipalities out here so you have the thing that West Goshen Sunshine uncovered that’s on her Facebook page about fees paying health insurance bills of supervisors?
And then, of course, we have West Whiteland Township, trying to do the right thing for residents being sued by the Exton Mall developer and why? If there isn’t really sewer capacity, how should they be able to build as much? I don’t understand. it’s not like that’s the only problem on that site is there? Not enough parking correct? Too many houses for the area because of the density already existing correct?
