Kaleidoscope Cottage

If you trust your rebel heart, ride it into battle
Don’t be afraid, take the road less traveled.
Wear out your boots and kick up the gravel
Don’t be afraid, take the road less traveled on.

The beautifully crisp linens on our kitchen table were not ironed by someone “suffering “ from a disease.
The bright and colourful napkins were not expertly folded and placed by someone “struggling” with an illness.
The delicious cupcakes were not baked and decorated by someone “challenged” with memory loss.
We are all “suffering, struggling and challenged” in one way or another. If we are not, we are no longing living. At Kaleidoscope Cottage we are living in the moment.

As a follow up from Games in the Garden, we thought we’d play another game called “Can You Spot the Winner?”
The weather was perfect, all tables were full, our volunteers were amazing, the cakes were delicious (thanks Lo)... a winning combination for us all.❤️

Thank you Lowyn for embracing the Cottage as your cause. ❤️If you’re asking what you can do to help...stay tuned... but you can start by sharing the heck out of this post.

Lo's Letter Unleashed...
12 year-old Lowyn Weber has written a letter to advocate for the “most amazing place”. Unprompted, she has sent her letter to multiple media sources and will be meeting with, MP Karen Vecchio and hopes to present at the next St. Thomas Council meeting, on September 9th, (yes, on her own). She is a fearless leader.

She appreciate all feedback and support. Let us know if you have any ideas.

Every Community Needs a Kaleidoscope Cottage:
A letter written by Lowyn Weber (age 12)

I still remember that morning like it was yesterday. I answered the phone to hear my mom crying on the other end. “Mom, what’s wrong?” Between her tears she said, “Tata passed away. LoLo, he’s gone.” Her words are still etched in my mind. I couldn’t believe that our amazing grandfather, our Tata, was no longer with us. I can still hear his proud clap at my soccer games and his infectious laugh when I told him about my hockey feats with the boys. He was proud of my brothers and I and loved us beyond belief. His wife, our grandmother ‘Kia’, was his best friend.

What I didn’t understand was how his Alzheimer’s took him from us and how our Kia, who was living with Dementia, was going to live without her best friend of 45 years. Nothing made sense to me. I wanted to help my mom feel better but I didn't know how. My uncle and my mom spent a lot of time by my Kia’s side at her long-term care home. Living there is a very lonely experience. I had to understand that they all needed each other in order to heal and to keep her from feeling lonely and sad but still, I missed my mom.

One month later, the most amazing thing happened! Kaleidoscope Cottage opened its doors in October 2017. It was like our Tata was looking out for our family, especially our Kia. He knew what we needed…he was our protector. At the heart of Kaleidoscope Cottage are Charlene Hanson and Suki Held, the owners and operators, also known as the ‘Cottage Keepers’. My younger brother Bro and I call Suki and Char the “Dementia Whisperers”. We have learned a lot by observing their warm and caring approach.
In keeping with the Kaleidoscope belief that their door swings open for everyone, Bro and I have started helping at the Cottage every Saturday morning during Coffee Group. The fun and friendship shared during this time I can’t put into words other than to quote my Kia, “We laugh a lot!” The Cottage has made an incredible difference in my grandmother’s life. It’s a very hard place to describe but in a few words, it is a safe and inclusive place where Kia feels confident and relaxed. It also brings her some normalcy in contrast to her life in the long-term care home. She enjoys doing some of her favourite things like ironing clothes, setting up for dinner parties, listening to music, making crafts, feeding the birds, watering the garden, baking and helping others who visit. She tells me that social game time is her favourite. We have so much fun interacting with the Cottagers during our weekly visits. Their genuine comments and laughter is the cherry-on-top.
Sadly, Kaleidoscope Cottage is in great danger of closing at the end of September due to lack of understanding as to what makes them different and invaluable as a resource. Those who visit the Cottage on a regular basis say they love it. There has not been any government support or funding and yet there are wait lists for day programs throughout our city and the surrounding area. My grandmother was on a waitlist for two years for a day program that took place from 9am – 4pm once per week. Both the ride and the day were too long, and the activities took place in a conference room, which was not ideal to her needs, and it was understandable why she did not want to return.
I want to spread the word about how amazing Kaleidoscope Cottage has been for my family and what is has to offer to a family living with Dementia or other cognitive challenges. Kaleidoscope Cottage saved our Kia’s life. She went from feeling lonely and frustrated with her memory loss, to living life with purpose and meaning. I believe that one kid writing one letter can make a difference. I can’t imagine my Kia and many of her new friends never being able to go to the Cottage again. Please join me in keeping the doors of Kaleidoscope open for many years to come but we have to do something now!

Thank you for listening/reading.

Yours Sincerely,
Lowyn Weber
[email protected]
519-636-0094

Let the Games begin!

Someone once said that work, love and play are the great balance wheel of a person’s being “.
There isn’t a better example of this than at Kaleidoscope Cottage this morning. In preparation for Games in the Garden tomorrow, we played a trial run of “You Pegged It”. With game time over, we all pitched in to pitch the tent. What made work and play equally as enjoyable is the love shared at the Cottage.... it doesn’t matter if it’s around the kitchen table or in the back yard. Nor does it matter if we’re playing or we’re working...our wheel is very balanced.
(Special mention to Billy Boy who supervised the entire operation)

Remembering our very first Cottager, Rob. When he visited Kaleidoscope , he would sit in the recliner with beer in hand and proclaim with great animation “This is wonderful!” We are forever grateful to Rob’s wife, Bonnie Davis for having the faith to be the first to step through our door and allow the many visits we shared with this wonderful man.
Rob loved music and one of his favourite records when at the Cottage was Roger Whittaker so it seems only fitting to close with a quote from one of his songs that Rob loved to listen to...

If I could have the time again
I’d take the sunshine, leave the rain
If only time would trickle slow
Like rain that melts the fallen snow

RIP Rob Davis... thanks for giving us so much sunshine ❤️

We would never deny the fact that Saturday mornings at the Cottage take the cake, but doubly so when one of us has 80 years to celebrate. Coincidentally , the Birthday Boy won the game and wore the hat...guess that’s what you’d call the icing on the cake...Happy Birthday Bert!❤️

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, “What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”
-C.S.Lewis

And the goodwill continues with another sponsorship. Much gratitude to the Simons family from California for their generosity. Equally as wonderful as these Wild Ones sponsoring a Cottager was the Kaleidoscopey piece of art that accompanied the cheques.❤️❤️❤️❤️

Sometimes words like “thanks” and “gratitude” just don’t seem adequate enough when we are so incredibly blessed to have such special people as Steph Weber and two of her kids, Lowyn and Broden in our Kaleidoscope corner. The list of how they advocate for the Cottage is far too extensive to list here, but they have truly become family, just as their “Kia” has. Most Saturday mornings we look forward to these three joining our gang at the table to lend a hand, share in the laughter or run a game or two!They work tirelessly to spread the word about Kaleidoscope Cottage. Just when we think they couldn’t possibly do more to support us, they shared that they’d like to take part in our new initiative to “Sponsor a Cottager”.So here we go again... thank you a million times over to this amazing family.