The Houseboat

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Speaker 1 Welcome to bedtime stories for everyone.

Speaker 1 In which

Speaker 1 nothing much happens.

Speaker 1 You feel good.

Speaker 1 And then you fall asleep.

Speaker 1 I'm Catherine Nikolai.

Speaker 1 I write and read all the stories you'll hear on Nothing Much Happens

Speaker 1 with Audio Engineering by Bob Witterchime.

Speaker 1 We give to a different charity each week, and this week we are giving to AdoptiPet of Fenton, Michigan.

Speaker 1 AdoptiPet's goals are to continue to find loving families for homeless dogs and cats, as well as assist people in the community with their personal animals.

Speaker 1 You can learn more about them in our show notes.

Speaker 1 A few years ago, shows the size of this one were getting big contracts pretty easily.

Speaker 1 It made paying our staff an overhead possible and let us dream about ways to grow.

Speaker 1 Well, the world of podcasting is changing, and those contracts don't look like they used to, if they come up at all.

Speaker 1 The good news is that we aren't going anywhere. No matter what, you will always have access to these bedtime stories.

Speaker 1 But to pay our bills, we've had to make some changes. If you'd like to support what we do, and skip out on hearing longer intros like this and the ads.

Speaker 1 If you'd like to get extra long episodes and dozens of bonuses, please consider subscribing to our premium membership.

Speaker 1 Just follow the links in our show notes or head straight over to nothingmuchhappens.com.

Speaker 1 Now,

Speaker 1 I have a story to tell you.

Speaker 1 Not much happens in it,

Speaker 1 and that is sort of the point.

Speaker 1 It's a gentle place to rest your mind.

Speaker 1 And with regular use,

Speaker 1 it will train you to fall asleep quickly and easily and to return to sleep if you wake in the night.

Speaker 1 All you have to do is listen.

Speaker 1 I'll tell the story twice and I'll go a little slower.

Speaker 1 the second time through.

Speaker 1 Our story tonight is called The House Boat.

Speaker 1 And it's a story about a calm morning on the water and the small joys of observation.

Speaker 1 It's also about a kettle on the stove, orange zest, and sweet gum flowers, properly tied knots,

Speaker 1 and a sweet reunion celebrated without words.

Speaker 1 Okay,

Speaker 1 time to snuggle in.

Speaker 1 Maybe you've been on all day.

Speaker 1 You can shut off now.

Speaker 1 Nothing more is needed from you.

Speaker 1 You're safe.

Speaker 1 And I'll be here to watch over with my voice.

Speaker 1 Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose

Speaker 1 and sigh from your mouth.

Speaker 1 One more time, breathe in

Speaker 1 and let it out.

Speaker 1 Good.

Speaker 1 The houseboat

Speaker 1 Water lapped against the bow.

Speaker 1 The day before had been rainy and gray,

Speaker 1 but today the sky was clear

Speaker 1 And when I pushed back the thin cotton curtains from the windows

Speaker 1 I could see sunlight sparkling on the waves.

Speaker 1 The houseboat rocked gently as I filled the kettle at the sink.

Speaker 1 I loved this part of the morning.

Speaker 1 Few were out yet,

Speaker 1 and besides the occasional voices of kayakers,

Speaker 1 the only sounds were the water and the birds.

Speaker 1 I set the kettle on the stove

Speaker 1 and lit it,

Speaker 1 bustled around,

Speaker 1 getting my French press ready

Speaker 1 and my cup down from the shelf.

Speaker 1 Then I took the broom

Speaker 1 from behind the door

Speaker 1 and went out on to the deck.

Speaker 1 The scent of fresh

Speaker 1 on the cusp of summer air filled my lungs,

Speaker 1 and I stood for a few moments,

Speaker 1 just feeling the warm sun on my face

Speaker 1 and breathing deeply.

Speaker 1 Each morning I swept the deck

Speaker 1 and checked the mooring ropes.

Speaker 1 Today I also needed to bring out the cushions

Speaker 1 for my little wicker love seat and chair.

Speaker 1 I'd taken them in when the rain started the day before

Speaker 1 The trees beside the shore were dropping all sorts of things this time of year

Speaker 1 Stringy catkins from the oak tree

Speaker 1 Samaras from the maple

Speaker 1 And the soft but spiky sweet gum flowers

Speaker 1 that liked to stick in the bristles of my broom.

Speaker 1 I was patient, sweeping from the corners out,

Speaker 1 and just as I finished up,

Speaker 1 I heard the kettle whistle from inside.

Speaker 1 The broom went back behind the door,

Speaker 1 and I switched off the burner

Speaker 1 as the hot water hit the coffee grounds in my press.

Speaker 1 The smell of it rushed up toward me.

Speaker 1 It was nutty

Speaker 1 and earthy.

Speaker 1 It smelled a bit caramelized,

Speaker 1 like burnt sugar.

Speaker 1 And I smiled as I set the lid in place

Speaker 1 and went to gather the cushions.

Speaker 1 Back on the now clean deck, I plumped them up

Speaker 1 and padded them into place.

Speaker 1 In fine weather, I spent a good bit of time out here,

Speaker 1 and I liked to arrange it

Speaker 1 for maximum comfort each day.

Speaker 1 I had the love seat

Speaker 1 where I could stretch out

Speaker 1 an ottoman to prop my feet on

Speaker 1 and a side table for my drink.

Speaker 1 Then a chair that was mostly meant for company

Speaker 1 with wide arms and a deep seat.

Speaker 1 There was another side table

Speaker 1 and a larger low coffee table that I wiped with a rag

Speaker 1 to make the surface shine.

Speaker 1 I had an awning that worked on a hand crank.

Speaker 1 Right now it was drawn in

Speaker 1 to let the sun shine on the deck.

Speaker 1 But in the afternoon,

Speaker 1 I often cranked it out to shade the whole area.

Speaker 1 It was perfect for a nap when the day got hot.

Speaker 1 As I put the last cushion in place,

Speaker 1 a breeze blew through the open windows of the boat,

Speaker 1 and again

Speaker 1 the scent of coffee hit me.

Speaker 1 I went in to fix my cup.

Speaker 1 A little creamer and a scrape of orange zest.

Speaker 1 A habit I'd gotten into

Speaker 1 when the winter was in full force

Speaker 1 and I'd needed something citrusy and bright

Speaker 1 to pick me up

Speaker 1 then had kept even after the season turned.

Speaker 1 I took my cup out onto the deck

Speaker 1 and watched the steam ripple up in the clear air.

Speaker 1 I still needed to check the lines.

Speaker 1 So I left it on a side table

Speaker 1 and walked the length of the deck.

Speaker 1 She was secured, bow and stern, with double-braided dock lines,

Speaker 1 looped through the cleats,

Speaker 1 and tied off with the proper cleat hitch.

Speaker 1 The fenders were still hanging between the hull and the dock,

Speaker 1 just brushing the edge as the boat rocked.

Speaker 1 I tugged gently at each line,

Speaker 1 checking for slack or chafe,

Speaker 1 and gave the spring line a final glance

Speaker 1 to make sure she wasn't drifting forward on her mooring.

Speaker 1 All sound, all snug.

Speaker 1 My morning routine complete.

Speaker 1 I went to enjoy my coffee coffee

Speaker 1 and settled on to my love seat.

Speaker 1 I propped my heels on the ottoman.

Speaker 1 That first sip of coffee was so good.

Speaker 1 I closed my eyes to taste it.

Speaker 1 The dark, rich flavor of the roast,

Speaker 1 the creaminess and floral touch of the orange.

Speaker 1 I sighed with contentment

Speaker 1 and held the cup close

Speaker 1 as I looked out at the water,

Speaker 1 hoping to see the swans

Speaker 1 as they started their day.

Speaker 1 I'd been moored here

Speaker 1 for about a week,

Speaker 1 and in another day or two

Speaker 1 would move on.

Speaker 1 I liked seeing new places,

Speaker 1 exploring, and changing my view pretty regularly.

Speaker 1 This little village was a sweet one, though.

Speaker 1 And I thought I might make it a regular stop on my rotation.

Speaker 1 When I'd first drifted down the river,

Speaker 1 I'd spotted a few places I wanted to take a closer look at.

Speaker 1 And that was how I'd been spending my days.

Speaker 1 There was a big house

Speaker 1 that had been preserved as a museum,

Speaker 1 and I'd walked its pea gravel labyrinth

Speaker 1 and admired the koi fish in its pond.

Speaker 1 There was a pretty stone bridge I'd sailed under,

Speaker 1 and when I went to visit it from above,

Speaker 1 I found it had carved finials at either end.

Speaker 1 They'd been worn away by weather and wind,

Speaker 1 and lost the sharp lines their mason had given them.

Speaker 1 I'd stocked up the galley pantry from a corner grocery

Speaker 1 and bought a vase of lilacs from their farmers' market.

Speaker 1 Along the shore I'd stopped to talk to a mudlarker

Speaker 1 who had found a glass hemming gray insulator,

Speaker 1 the kind that used to sit atop power lines.

Speaker 1 I'd seen them in antique stores before.

Speaker 1 The object was a ridged glass dome,

Speaker 1 usually clear, or shades of blue or green.

Speaker 1 but this one was pale purple,

Speaker 1 and the mudlarker told me excitedly how rare that was.

Speaker 1 From my houseboat,

Speaker 1 I could hear music at night,

Speaker 1 soft

Speaker 1 but clear,

Speaker 1 coming from a cafe in downtown.

Speaker 1 And one morning morning

Speaker 1 I'd watched a street sweeper work its way through the grid of lanes and avenues

Speaker 1 but my favorite part of my stay in this little village

Speaker 1 were the swans

Speaker 1 I'd been sitting on my deck

Speaker 1 on my first morning here

Speaker 1 when when I'd heard the trumpet call of one,

Speaker 1 it sounded urgent and excited

Speaker 1 and I'd gotten up to take a closer look.

Speaker 1 At the shore,

Speaker 1 a small group of people huddled around a crate,

Speaker 1 and I could hear one reassuring the swan inside that they were about to release her

Speaker 1 back to the lake.

Speaker 1 She was all healed up, the person said,

Speaker 1 ready to get back to her life.

Speaker 1 When the door swung open,

Speaker 1 she shuffled out

Speaker 1 and shook her wings cautiously,

Speaker 1 maybe testing them to see that the healed one worked as it should.

Speaker 1 It must have, because

Speaker 1 she waddled happily to the water and pushed off.

Speaker 1 As she swam out from shore,

Speaker 1 she trumpeted again,

Speaker 1 and her mate finally heard her.

Speaker 1 He came half flying, half paddling through the water toward her,

Speaker 1 and when they met

Speaker 1 they began to dance

Speaker 1 as if

Speaker 1 they were setting out to tango down a long ballroom floor.

Speaker 1 They pressed cheek to cheek,

Speaker 1 then switched their bills pointing the other way.

Speaker 1 Back and forth, they did this

Speaker 1 for several minutes,

Speaker 1 clearly a greeting,

Speaker 1 their own wordless way of saying,

Speaker 1 Thank goodness you're home.

Speaker 1 I love you.

Speaker 1 Now as I nursed my coffee,

Speaker 1 I spotted them coasting through the water together,

Speaker 1 shaking out their wings

Speaker 1 and bathing in the morning air.

Speaker 1 And I hoped the next time

Speaker 1 I sailed through town,

Speaker 1 our paths would cross again.

Speaker 1 The houseboat

Speaker 1 water lapped against the bow.

Speaker 1 The day before

Speaker 1 had been rainy and grey

Speaker 1 But to day the sky was clear

Speaker 1 and when I pushed back

Speaker 1 the thin cotton curtains from the windows

Speaker 1 I could see sunlight

Speaker 1 sparkling on the waves.

Speaker 1 The houseboat rocked gently

Speaker 1 as I filled the kettle at the sink.

Speaker 1 I loved this part of the morning.

Speaker 1 Few were out yet

Speaker 1 And besides the occasional voices of kayakers,

Speaker 1 the only sounds were the water and the birds.

Speaker 1 I set the kettle on the stove and lit it.

Speaker 1 Bustled around,

Speaker 1 getting my French press ready

Speaker 1 and my cup down from the shelf.

Speaker 1 Then I took the broom

Speaker 1 from behind the door

Speaker 1 and went out onto the deck.

Speaker 1 The scent of fresh

Speaker 1 on the cusp of summer air

Speaker 1 filled my lungs

Speaker 1 And I stood for a few moments

Speaker 1 just feeling the warm sun on my face

Speaker 1 and breathing deeply.

Speaker 1 Each morning I swept the deck

Speaker 1 and checked the mooring ropes.

Speaker 1 Today, I also needed to bring out the cushions

Speaker 1 for the little wicker love seat and chair.

Speaker 1 I'd taken them in

Speaker 1 when the rain started the day before.

Speaker 1 The trees beside the shore

Speaker 1 were dropping all sorts of things

Speaker 1 this time of year

Speaker 1 Stringy catkins from the oak tree,

Speaker 1 samaras from the maple,

Speaker 1 and the soft but spiky sweet gum flowers

Speaker 1 that like to stick in the bristles of my broom.

Speaker 1 I was patient,

Speaker 1 sweeping from the corners out,

Speaker 1 and just as I finished up

Speaker 1 I heard the kettle whistle from inside.

Speaker 1 The broom went back behind the door

Speaker 1 and I switched off the burner.

Speaker 1 As the hot water hit the coffee grounds in my press,

Speaker 1 the smell of it rushed up toward me.

Speaker 1 It was nutty

Speaker 1 and earthy.

Speaker 1 It smelled a bit caramelized,

Speaker 1 like nearly burnt sugar.

Speaker 1 And I smiled as I set the lid in place

Speaker 1 and went to gather the cushions.

Speaker 1 Back on the now clean deck,

Speaker 1 I plumped them up

Speaker 1 and padded them into place.

Speaker 1 In fine weather,

Speaker 1 I spend a good bit of time out here

Speaker 1 and like to arrange it for maximum comfort each day.

Speaker 1 I had the love seat where I could stretch out

Speaker 1 an ottoman to prop my feet on,

Speaker 1 and a side table for my drink,

Speaker 1 then a chair that was mostly meant for company,

Speaker 1 with wide arms and a deep seat.

Speaker 1 There was another side table

Speaker 1 and a larger, low coffee table

Speaker 1 that I wiped with a rag

Speaker 1 to make the surface shine.

Speaker 1 I had an awning

Speaker 1 that worked on a hand crank.

Speaker 1 Right now it was drawn in to let the sun shine on the deck.

Speaker 1 But in the afternoon I often cranked it out to shade the whole area.

Speaker 1 It was perfect for a nap

Speaker 1 when the day got hot.

Speaker 1 As I put the last cushion in place

Speaker 1 a breeze blew through the open windows of the boat

Speaker 1 And again

Speaker 1 the scent of coffee hit me.

Speaker 1 I went to fix my cup,

Speaker 1 a little creamer,

Speaker 1 and a scrape of orange zest.

Speaker 1 It was a habit I'd gotten into

Speaker 1 when the winter was in full force,

Speaker 1 and I'd needed something citrusy

Speaker 1 and bright to pick me up,

Speaker 1 and then had capped

Speaker 1 even after the season turned.

Speaker 1 I took my cup out onto the deck,

Speaker 1 and watched the steam ripple up into the clear air.

Speaker 1 I still needed to check the lines,

Speaker 1 so I left it on a side table

Speaker 1 and walked the length of the deck.

Speaker 1 She was secured bow and stern with double braided dock lines

Speaker 1 looped through the cleats

Speaker 1 and tied off with a proper cleat hitch.

Speaker 1 The fenders were still hanging

Speaker 1 between the hull and the dock,

Speaker 1 just brushing the edge as the boat rocked.

Speaker 1 I tugged gently at each line,

Speaker 1 checking for slack or chafe,

Speaker 1 then gave the spring line a final glance

Speaker 1 to make sure she wasn't drifting forward on her mooring.

Speaker 1 All sound,

Speaker 1 all snug.

Speaker 1 My morning routine complete,

Speaker 1 I went to enjoy my coffee

Speaker 1 and settled on to my love seat

Speaker 1 and propped my heels on the Ottoman.

Speaker 1 That first sip of coffee was so good.

Speaker 1 I closed my eyes to taste it

Speaker 1 the dark, rich flavor of the roast,

Speaker 1 the creaminess

Speaker 1 and floral touch of the orange.

Speaker 1 I sighed with contentment

Speaker 1 and held the cup close

Speaker 1 as I looked out at the water,

Speaker 1 hoping to see the swans

Speaker 1 as they started their day.

Speaker 1 I'd been moored here

Speaker 1 for about a week,

Speaker 1 and

Speaker 1 in another day or two

Speaker 1 would move on.

Speaker 1 I liked seeing new places,

Speaker 1 exploring and changing my view pretty regularly.

Speaker 1 This little village was a sweet one, though.

Speaker 1 And I thought I might make it

Speaker 1 a regular stop on my rotation.

Speaker 1 When I'd first

Speaker 1 drifted down the river,

Speaker 1 I'd spotted a few places I wanted to take a closer look at

Speaker 1 And that was how I'd been spending my days.

Speaker 1 There was a big house

Speaker 1 that had been preserved as a museum

Speaker 1 and I'd walked to its pea gravel labyrinth

Speaker 1 and admired the koi fish in its pond.

Speaker 1 There was a pretty stone bridge I'd sailed under,

Speaker 1 and when I went to visit it from above,

Speaker 1 I found it had carved finials at either end.

Speaker 1 They'd been worn away by weather and wind,

Speaker 1 and lost the sharp lines

Speaker 1 their mason had given them.

Speaker 1 I'd stocked up the galley pantry from a corner grocery

Speaker 1 and bought a vase of lilacs from their farmers' market.

Speaker 1 Along the shore,

Speaker 1 I'd stopped to talk to a mudlarker

Speaker 1 who had found a glass Heming Grey insulator,

Speaker 1 the kind that

Speaker 1 used to sit atop power lines.

Speaker 1 I'd seen them in antique stores before.

Speaker 1 The object was a ridged glass dome,

Speaker 1 usually clear

Speaker 1 or shades of blue or green

Speaker 1 But this one was a pale purple

Speaker 1 And the mudlarker told me excitedly

Speaker 1 how rare

Speaker 1 that was.

Speaker 1 From my houseboat

Speaker 1 I could hear music at night,

Speaker 1 soft

Speaker 1 but clear,

Speaker 1 coming from a cafe in downtown.

Speaker 1 And one morning

Speaker 1 I'd watched a street sweeper work its way

Speaker 1 through the grid of lanes and avenues.

Speaker 1 But But my favorite part of my stay

Speaker 1 in this little village

Speaker 1 were the swans.

Speaker 1 I'd been sitting on my deck

Speaker 1 on my first morning here

Speaker 1 when I'd heard the trumpet call of one.

Speaker 1 It sounded urgent and excited

Speaker 1 and I'd gotten up to take a closer look

Speaker 1 at the shore

Speaker 1 a small group of people huddled around a crate

Speaker 1 and I could hear one

Speaker 1 reassuring the swan inside

Speaker 1 that they were about to release her back to the lake.

Speaker 1 She was all healed up, the person said.

Speaker 1 Time to get back to her life.

Speaker 1 When the door swung open,

Speaker 1 she shuffled out

Speaker 1 and shook her wings cautiously,

Speaker 1 maybe testing them

Speaker 1 to see that the healed one worked as it should.

Speaker 1 It must have

Speaker 1 because she waddled happily to the water

Speaker 1 and pushed off

Speaker 1 as she swam out from shore.

Speaker 1 She trumpeted again,

Speaker 1 and her mate finally heard her.

Speaker 1 He came half flying,

Speaker 1 half paddling through the water toward her.

Speaker 1 And when they met,

Speaker 1 they began to dance

Speaker 1 as if they were setting out to tango down a long ballroom floor.

Speaker 1 They pressed cheek to cheek,

Speaker 1 then switched,

Speaker 1 their bills pointing the other way.

Speaker 1 Back and forth

Speaker 1 they did this for several minutes,

Speaker 1 clearly a greeting,

Speaker 1 their own wordless way

Speaker 1 of saying,

Speaker 1 Thank goodness you're home.

Speaker 1 I love you.

Speaker 1 Now as I nursed my coffee,

Speaker 1 I spotted them coasting through the water together,

Speaker 1 shaking out their wings

Speaker 1 and bathing in the morning air.

Speaker 1 And I hoped

Speaker 1 the next time I sailed through town,

Speaker 1 our paths would cross again.

Speaker 1 Sweet dreams.