The Kitty Kottage....My Childhood Home

I grew up in this quiet valley once known as Willow Echo Farm. The Kitty Kottage was MY home. Of course, that was BEFORE there was central heat and air conditioning.... Just a LOT of layers of clothes and a lot of blankets and quilts to sleep under, then hurry downstairs to the wood cook stove to 're'dress in my day clothes where it was much, much warmer. Those days of my childhood are gone now. I went away to college, hold a Master's Degree in Education, and went out into the world to teach school. And I loved doing that. My parent's, still living in the over-a-century old home aged, and Wanda and I felt we should move from our newer split-level Minneapolis suburb home to Iowa to be close to my parents in their retirement. My father also taught school. My mother was a before-her-time "Martha Stewart" in her day, making our two-story house a real 'home' with beautiful wall murals (way before they became popular in the 70's), wallpaper with beautiful scenes, and table settings for every holiday that would make Martha Stewart proud. She was a homemaker, a pianist who could play any music 'by ear'. We were all musicians in that house. I was an only child, my father was a music teacher and I played most all of the woodwinds, piano, guitar, some brass instruments and was teaching music in the Minneapolis area when we moved 'back to the home farm', my Willow Echo Farm.  We built a log home 'across the creek' from 'the old house' and were there but a year when my father had a massive stroke. Hence began my 11 year new career of 'in home health care.' Those years went quickly and it was during this time in the early 80's that cats began arriving, some on foot and some by way of people who 'couldn't keep it'...you know all the stories...
After the Kat Barn was full of happy purring kitty faces, and my parents both had passed....we began wondering 'what to do' with the 'old 2-story house'???? We did not get to wonder very long...
A lady from another county in Iowa came to visit and beg us to help her with her dozen kitties that she no longer could care for. She had cancer. This was very important to her to see her felines would be safe and cared for for the rest of their lives. She helped us with a donation for their care and we suddenly 'knew' what we were going to do with 'that old house.'  Volunteers helped us clean, move things out, put up hardware screening for walls to partition off the upstairs open pantry area and 'voila' Donna's cats moved in and the 'old house' became known as The Kitty Kottage. Remodeling continued til today and we now have linoleum throughout The Kitty Kottage.. and central air and heat makes ALL the rooms more comfortable...especially the 'Blue Room' which used to be my old bedroom. It is warm and cozy and full of happy cats. My father would LOVE it as he had a special place in his heart for all animals too. My mother.....well, she might just 'turn over in her grave' as the saying goes...meaning...I'm not sure how SHE would feel about her home being
'the cathouse'. But, my mother had an aging cat named Suzie that was special to her as well. Suzie stayed in 'the old house' until she went to the Rainbow Bridge.  The Kitty Kottage is bustling with purrs and meows today and their caregiver Terry speaks tenderly to each and every furry face that looks to her for loving. She caters to their needs, helps with their medicines and cleans and cleans and cleans. Around C & W Rustic Hollow Shelter, that's just called 'job security.' But the fact that the caregivers at C & W care about each and every furball, down to even having to clean Fozzie's butt daily...... is a truly wonderful thing. We have remarkable staff and remarkable volunteers...... Love IS spoken here at C & W. Love will prevail.