Episode 16 - The Cat Who Went Into the Closet

 Episode 16 - The Cat Who Went Into the Closet

    Qwill decides that his barn is too hard to heat and plow out, so he moves into the Gage mansion on Goodwinter Boulevard.  Euphonia Gage has recently deeded the property to Junior Goodwinter (Her grandson) and moved to Florida full time, rather than her previous snowbird status. To help Junior cover the property taxes, Qwill offers to rent the mansion for the winter. It doesn’t hurt that Polly now lives in the carriage house behind the Gage mansion (she moved there while Qwill was in the Potatoes). While there isn’t a lot of furniture left, there are 50 closets, all filled with family secrets for Qwill and Koko to uncover.

Listen to the Podcast here:  We're also joined by another guest, my mother Terri Rahmsdorff!  She's responsible for introducing me to the Cat Who books, long ago and it was delightful to talk with her about her memories of the series.

https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-f2mfq-f91c97

New Faces - We meet Pender Wilmot, neighbor to the Gage mansion and Mrs. Gage’s attorney, along with his wife and annoyingly precocious son, Timmie. Weatherby Goode, the new weatherman on WPKX, Cecelia Robinson, Mrs. Gage’s friend from Florida and her brilliant grandson Clayton.

Qwill spends way too much time talking about how appealing Nancy is and then thinking that she might make Polly jealous. Once again, this relationship is not completely healthy. 

Hixie Rice - She thanks Qwill for bringing her to Moose County.  Down Below, all she wanted was to get married.  Now, she’s been promoted to the VP of advertising at the Something, is getting her own office and her own secretary (male at that!)  Ok, she has to share the secretary with Arch Riker, but it’s still more than she would have ever dreamed of professionally before. And then she breaks her foot and moves in with her Dr’s mother...

Qwill goes a little too above and beyond for showbiz - he does a performance of the Big Burning in a church basement with a broken boiler in the dead of winter. The audience are all wearing their outdoor gear, and Qwill insists on doing the show in his shirt sleeves - “Better to contract Pneumonia than to compromise one’s art!”  he says.  “I’ll visit you in the hospital,” replies Hixie. Ironically, Hixie ends up in the hospital, after tripping off the edge of a stage. 

Qwill and formalwear - Once again, Qwill needs formalwear for an event (in this case, Arch and Mildred’s wedding) but the formalwear he already purchased for the Steeplechase in the Cat Who Knew a Cardinal is currently stuck behind 20 foot walls of snow back in his barn!! He has to rent a tux for the wedding.

Sign of the times - Calling from public payphones!  Post offices still have general delivery. (As we learn, they still do, and it's an essential service for people without permanent addresses!!)

If you’ve been listening to our podcast, you might be wondering about our intro and outro music and where it might have come from.  Both pieces are featured in the books - the Intro is Kitten on the Keys (which is played by Weatherby Goode at numerous cocktail parties) and the outro is Anitra’s dance, from Peer Gynt which is used as the opening music for the Big Burning of 1869. 

Cats Will Be Cats - Qwill tells a story about how Koko snuck into the closet where his cleaner keeps her supplies and managed to unleash the foam carpet cleaner, filling the entire closet! Qwill wrote about it in the Qwill Pen, and apparently the manufacturer sent him a lifetime supply. The neighbor’s cat, Oh Jay is hitting on Yum Yum and spraying Qwill’s back door, possibly leading to the K fund’s purchase of the Wilmot house so they’ll move and take Oh Jay with them… the cats are not the only one capable of extremely petty behavior.  

Paws - I give this book 2.5 paws.   There are a lot of great events, and Celia is a wonderful addition to the cast of characters, but there is so much information that has to be inferred, it’s just too much work for what’s supposed to be a relaxing read.