Autumn at the Inn, Part 1

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Speaker 1 If you're hearing this, it means you've already made sleep a priority, and that's something worth applauding. You've carved out this quiet moment to wind down.

Speaker 1 And I have something that fits beautifully into that routine. It's called Moonbird.

Speaker 1 It's a small screen-free device that gently expands and contracts in your hand, guiding your breath with a calming rhythm. You don't have to count or focus, just hold it and breathe.

Speaker 1 I got mine first, and I'm using it right now. I use it whenever I record this podcast.
It helps me stay calm and centered as I read to you.

Speaker 1 And after seeing how much it helped me, my wife wanted one for herself, and now she loves it too.

Speaker 1 There's no screen to distract you, but if you like data, there's an optional app that tracks your heart rate and HRV.

Speaker 1 A recent study found that people fell asleep 28% faster and had 37% better sleep quality using Moonbird daily.

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Speaker 1 We'll have that in our show notes. Moonbird.life slash nothing much happens.

Speaker 1 If you've been listening to me for a while, you know how much I value rest. Sleep is really the foundation for everything else we do.
Our creativity, our relationships, our mood.

Speaker 1 And like you, I've had stretches where sleep just didn't come easily. And that's why I want to share something that's made a difference for me.
CBN nightcaps from Cured Nutrition.

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Instead, I just feel rested and clear.

Speaker 1 There's no psychoactive effect, just a gentle calm that helps my body and mind unwind.

Speaker 1 For me, taking one an hour before bed has become part of my wind-down ritual, right alongside tea and a book. It feels natural, not forced, and that's why it works.

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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 create everything you hear on Nothing Much Happens.

Speaker 1 Audio Engineering is by Bob Wittersheim.

Speaker 1 We give to a different charity each week, and this week week we are giving to 4Ocean Foundation.

Speaker 1 4Ocean is dedicated to ending plastic pollution by cleaning our oceans, rivers, and coastlines, tackling the growing threat of microplastics, and empowering communities through education and awareness.

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

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Speaker 1 We're about to launch our latest nine-hour episode of Autumn Favorites. It'll see you all the way through the night.
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Speaker 1 Now this podcast works by training your brain to shift from its wandering default mode to its sleep-accessible, task-positive mode.

Speaker 1 And even better, it does it with stories that help you relax. and feel good.

Speaker 1 And all you need to do is listen.

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

Speaker 1 If you wake later in the night, don't hesitate to start a story over.

Speaker 1 You'll drop right back off.

Speaker 1 Our story tonight is called Autumn at the Inn, part one.

Speaker 1 And it's a story written for all of you who have ever dreamt of taking a little trip to the village of nothing much.

Speaker 1 It's about a faded business card passed from friend to friend, an address of an inn on a lake far away, geese flying overhead, a black cat, rustling leaves, and the start of an adventure taken when it's needed most.

Speaker 1 So switch off your lamp, set down your device,

Speaker 1 and get as comfortable as you can.

Speaker 1 Let go of any leftover thoughts.

Speaker 1 You have done enough for the day.

Speaker 1 Let your whole body relax

Speaker 1 and take a deep breath in through your nose

Speaker 1 and out through your mouth.

Speaker 1 Again, breathe in

Speaker 1 and release it.

Speaker 1 Good.

Speaker 1 Autumn at the Inn. Part 1.

Speaker 1 It came as a recommendation from a friend.

Speaker 1 I'd been going on,

Speaker 1 a bit wistfully, I'm sure,

Speaker 1 about missing the bright leaves and crisp scents of autumn

Speaker 1 after living somewhere

Speaker 1 where the seasons barely budged throughout the year.

Speaker 1 It had its benefits,

Speaker 1 the sunshine, and the months and months of warm weather.

Speaker 1 I got to spend a lot of evenings out on the deck.

Speaker 1 I went for beach walks

Speaker 1 while many others in less friendly climes were scraping ice from their windshields.

Speaker 1 And almost none of my paycheck went into a mitten budget.

Speaker 1 But every autumn,

Speaker 1 I found myself longing for a chill in the air.

Speaker 1 a day to kick through fallen leaves and feast on cider doughnuts.

Speaker 1 In fact,

Speaker 1 and I'd probably deny this if it got out.

Speaker 1 Sometimes in the fall,

Speaker 1 I turned the air conditioner

Speaker 1 all the way up.

Speaker 1 dressed in jeans

Speaker 1 and my one flannel shirt,

Speaker 1 and I pretended.

Speaker 1 I had a few favorite movies,

Speaker 1 all set in September and October,

Speaker 1 and I'd watch them

Speaker 1 with the sweet cinnamon coffee in my hands.

Speaker 1 I'd pull the curtains tight to block out the sun

Speaker 1 and the sight of my neighbors walking the sidewalks in shorts and flip flip-flops.

Speaker 1 I'd light a pumpkin candle and try to fool myself

Speaker 1 into feeling

Speaker 1 properly autumnal.

Speaker 1 And I guess that's what I would have done again this year,

Speaker 1 except for the friend

Speaker 1 who'd clearly had enough of my lamenting

Speaker 1 and slipped me a worn business card from his wallet.

Speaker 1 The card was simple,

Speaker 1 off-white, creamy stock,

Speaker 1 printed with faded, dark green ink,

Speaker 1 the name of an inn,

Speaker 1 an address,

Speaker 1 a phone number,

Speaker 1 and a line drawing of an old stately building beside a lake.

Speaker 1 He said he'd visited years before and still thought about it.

Speaker 1 I ran my finger over the lines that made up the lake

Speaker 1 and had a sudden image in my mind

Speaker 1 of geese flying overhead,

Speaker 1 tall trees crowned in red and gold and orange,

Speaker 1 and a bench by the water.

Speaker 1 I'd prodded my friend a bit.

Speaker 1 What made this place special?

Speaker 1 What did he remember from his trip?

Speaker 1 Nothing much, he answered.

Speaker 1 Just that when I came back,

Speaker 1 I felt like my shelves had been restocked.

Speaker 1 Gosh, I'd love to go back.

Speaker 1 I guess that's why I've kept the card in my wallet all this time.

Speaker 1 I like just knowing that it's there.

Speaker 1 I asked him if he wanted the card back,

Speaker 1 but he shrugged

Speaker 1 and said I should keep it.

Speaker 1 I'd need it

Speaker 1 to call and make a reservation for a trip, to go see the leaves change.

Speaker 1 I slipped it into my pocket,

Speaker 1 and we went on to talk of other things.

Speaker 1 I actually forgot all about it until that night,

Speaker 1 when I was changing for bed

Speaker 1 and found it.

Speaker 1 I set it down on my bedside table,

Speaker 1 propped against my lamp, and went to brush my teeth.

Speaker 1 By the time I finally crawled into bed,

Speaker 1 it seemed too late to call.

Speaker 1 Maybe, I thought,

Speaker 1 I should sleep on it.

Speaker 1 Maybe it wasn't the right time for a trip.

Speaker 1 Maybe it was silly

Speaker 1 to travel so far, just to stay at an inn and

Speaker 1 feel a bit of the fall air on my neck.

Speaker 1 But I couldn't sleep.

Speaker 1 I turned from side to side,

Speaker 1 thinking about the ten-day forecast I'd checked before shutting things down for the night.

Speaker 1 Hot

Speaker 1 and sunny,

Speaker 1 every day for the foreseeable future,

Speaker 1 Humid and unrelenting.

Speaker 1 I sat up and reached for the card.

Speaker 1 The moonlight snaking through my blinds

Speaker 1 glinted off the ink.

Speaker 1 And again I imagined

Speaker 1 those geese

Speaker 1 overhead

Speaker 1 the bench by the water.

Speaker 1 I dialed the number,

Speaker 1 shaking my head a bit at my rashness.

Speaker 1 I fully expected to leave a message. I was sure there'd be no one at the desk at this time of night.

Speaker 1 But a quiet voice answered right away.

Speaker 1 Oh,

Speaker 1 hi,

Speaker 1 I stammered. I didn't think anyone would be up.

Speaker 1 Well, actually, I wasn't. But my cat got me up.
He was meowing at the door and wouldn't stop till I came down to the office.

Speaker 1 And that's when the phone rang.

Speaker 1 It sounded like this might not have been the first time that had happened.

Speaker 1 I imagined her with a pen already in her hand,

Speaker 1 and a large desk calendar spread out in front of her,

Speaker 1 ready to take my reservation.

Speaker 1 When would you like to come? she prompted.

Speaker 1 Oh,

Speaker 1 um

Speaker 1 actually,

Speaker 1 I hadn't thought that far ahead.

Speaker 1 I

Speaker 1 just a friend passed me your card and

Speaker 1 I could kind of use a getaway.

Speaker 1 Of course.

Speaker 1 Let me see. We just had a cancellation,

Speaker 1 and it's during peak color season. Does that sound good to you?

Speaker 1 That's perfect.

Speaker 1 She told me the dates, starting in just a few days.

Speaker 1 And I was glad that it was enough time to plan and travel,

Speaker 1 but not enough to second guess myself.

Speaker 1 She took my name and number,

Speaker 1 and we were just about to hang up when I stopped her.

Speaker 1 One last thing.

Speaker 1 What's your cat's name?

Speaker 1 She laughed quietly and said, Sycamore.

Speaker 1 And I'm sure you'll get to meet him. He'll even sleep on your bed if you let him.

Speaker 1 After I'd hung up,

Speaker 1 I wrote the dates on the back of the Inn's card

Speaker 1 and slid back down into my sheets.

Speaker 1 In the morning, I'd have a full list of to-dos,

Speaker 1 travel plans and laundry,

Speaker 1 pulling my suitcase out from the high shelf in the closet

Speaker 1 and arranging to have the plants watered while I was gone.

Speaker 1 I'd need to do a bit of shopping for warm clothes,

Speaker 1 a good pair of sturdy shoes or boots to hike in,

Speaker 1 and my camera. It was ready to be picked up from the shop

Speaker 1 where it had been repaired.

Speaker 1 And even with all of that on my mind,

Speaker 1 as soon as I pulled the blanket up over my shoulder,

Speaker 1 I fell quickly and deeply asleep.

Speaker 1 I dreamt of a view from a window

Speaker 1 on an upper floor,

Speaker 1 looking out across the lake

Speaker 1 at a forest of vibrantly swathed trees.

Speaker 1 In the dream I smelled the scent

Speaker 1 of coffee cake

Speaker 1 and heard a tinkling bell

Speaker 1 on a black cat's collar.

Speaker 1 There was a winding staircase

Speaker 1 and a long hallway lined with portraits

Speaker 1 that led to a porch full of tables set for breakfast.

Speaker 1 I smiled in my sleep.

Speaker 1 Autumn at the Inn, Part 1.

Speaker 1 It came as a recommendation

Speaker 1 from a friend.

Speaker 1 I'd been going on

Speaker 1 a bit wistfully, I'm sure,

Speaker 1 about missing the bright leaves

Speaker 1 and crisp scents of autumn

Speaker 1 after living somewhere

Speaker 1 that the seasons barely budged throughout the year.

Speaker 1 It had its benefits

Speaker 1 the sunshine,

Speaker 1 and the months and months

Speaker 1 of warm weather.

Speaker 1 I got to spend a lot of evenings

Speaker 1 out on the deck.

Speaker 1 I went for beach walks,

Speaker 1 while many others

Speaker 1 in less friendly climes

Speaker 1 were scraping ice from their windshields.

Speaker 1 And almost none of my paycheck

Speaker 1 went into

Speaker 1 a mitten budget.

Speaker 1 But every autumn,

Speaker 1 I found myself

Speaker 1 longing

Speaker 1 for a chill in the air,

Speaker 1 a day to kick through fallen leaves

Speaker 1 and feast on cider doughnuts.

Speaker 1 In fact,

Speaker 1 and I'd probably deny this if it got out.

Speaker 1 Sometimes in the fall

Speaker 1 I turned the air conditioner

Speaker 1 all the way up,

Speaker 1 dressed dressed in jeans

Speaker 1 and my one flannel shirt

Speaker 1 and pretended.

Speaker 1 I had a few favorite movies,

Speaker 1 all set in September and October,

Speaker 1 and I'd watch them

Speaker 1 with a sweet cinnamon coffee in my hands.

Speaker 1 I'd pull the curtains tight

Speaker 1 to block out the sun

Speaker 1 and the sight of my neighbors

Speaker 1 walking the sidewalks in shorts and flip flops.

Speaker 1 I'd light a pumpkin candle

Speaker 1 and try to fool myself

Speaker 1 into feeling

Speaker 1 properly autumnal

Speaker 1 and

Speaker 1 I guess that's what I would have done again

Speaker 1 this year

Speaker 1 except for the friend

Speaker 1 who'd clearly had enough of my lamenting

Speaker 1 and slipped me a worn business card

Speaker 1 from his wallet.

Speaker 1 The card was simple,

Speaker 1 off-white, creamy stock,

Speaker 1 printed with faded green ink,

Speaker 1 the name of an inn,

Speaker 1 an address,

Speaker 1 a phone number,

Speaker 1 and a line drawing

Speaker 1 of an old stately building beside a lake.

Speaker 1 He said he'd visited years before

Speaker 1 and still thought about it.

Speaker 1 I ran my finger

Speaker 1 over the lines that

Speaker 1 made up the lake

Speaker 1 and had a sudden image in my mind

Speaker 1 of geese flying overhead,

Speaker 1 tall trees,

Speaker 1 crowned in red and gold and orange,

Speaker 1 and a bench by the water.

Speaker 1 I'd prodded my friend a bit.

Speaker 1 What made this place

Speaker 1 special?

Speaker 1 What did he remember from his trip?

Speaker 1 Nothing much, he answered.

Speaker 1 Just that when I came back,

Speaker 1 I felt like my shelves had been restocked.

Speaker 1 Gosh, I'd love to go back.

Speaker 1 I guess that's why I've kept the card

Speaker 1 in my wallet all this time.

Speaker 1 I like just knowing that it is there.

Speaker 1 I asked him

Speaker 1 if he wanted the card back,

Speaker 1 But he shrugged

Speaker 1 and said I should keep it.

Speaker 1 I'd need it

Speaker 1 to call and make a reservation for a trip

Speaker 1 to go see the leaves change.

Speaker 1 I slipped it into my pocket

Speaker 1 and we went on

Speaker 1 to talk of other things.

Speaker 1 I actually forgot all about it

Speaker 1 until that night

Speaker 1 when I was changing for bed and found it.

Speaker 1 I set it down on my bedside table,

Speaker 1 propped against my lamp,

Speaker 1 and went to brush my teeth.

Speaker 1 By the time I finally crawled into bed,

Speaker 1 it seemed too late to call.

Speaker 1 Maybe, I thought,

Speaker 1 I should sleep on it.

Speaker 1 Maybe it wasn't the right time for a trip.

Speaker 1 Maybe it was silly

Speaker 1 to travel so far,

Speaker 1 just to stay in an inn

Speaker 1 and feel a bit of fall air on my neck.

Speaker 1 But I couldn't sleep.

Speaker 1 I turned from side to side,

Speaker 1 thinking of the ten-day forecast

Speaker 1 I'd checked

Speaker 1 just before shutting things down for the night.

Speaker 1 Hot

Speaker 1 and sunny,

Speaker 1 every day for the foreseeable future,

Speaker 1 humid and unrelenting.

Speaker 1 I sat up

Speaker 1 and reached for the card.

Speaker 1 The moonlight,

Speaker 1 snaking through my blinds,

Speaker 1 glinted off the ink

Speaker 1 and again

Speaker 1 I imagined the geese overhead,

Speaker 1 the bench by the water.

Speaker 1 I dialed the number,

Speaker 1 shaking my head a bit

Speaker 1 at my rashness.

Speaker 1 I fully expected to leave a message.

Speaker 1 I was sure there'd be no one at the desk at this time of night.

Speaker 1 But a quiet voice answered right away.

Speaker 1 Oh, hi,

Speaker 1 I stammered.

Speaker 1 I didn't think anyone would be up.

Speaker 1 Well,

Speaker 1 I wasn't, actually.

Speaker 1 But my cat got me up.

Speaker 1 He was meowing at the door,

Speaker 1 and wouldn't stop till I came down to the office.

Speaker 1 And that's when the phone rang.

Speaker 1 It sounded like this might not have been the first time

Speaker 1 that had happened.

Speaker 1 I imagined her

Speaker 1 with a pen already in her hand

Speaker 1 and a large desk calendar spread out in front of her,

Speaker 1 ready to take my reservation.

Speaker 1 When would you like to come?

Speaker 1 she prompted.

Speaker 1 Oh,

Speaker 1 um

Speaker 1 actually,

Speaker 1 I hadn't thought that far ahead.

Speaker 1 I just

Speaker 1 a friend passed me your card,

Speaker 1 and

Speaker 1 I could kind of use a getaway.

Speaker 1 Of course.

Speaker 1 Let me see.

Speaker 1 We just had a cancellation,

Speaker 1 and

Speaker 1 it's during peak color season.

Speaker 1 Does that sound good to you?

Speaker 1 It's perfect.

Speaker 1 She told me the dates,

Speaker 1 starting in just a few days.

Speaker 1 And I was glad that

Speaker 1 it was enough time to plan and travel,

Speaker 1 but not enough to second guess myself.

Speaker 1 She took my name and number

Speaker 1 and we were just about to hang up

Speaker 1 when I stopped her.

Speaker 1 One last thing.

Speaker 1 What's your cat's name?

Speaker 1 She laughed quietly and said,

Speaker 1 Sycamore,

Speaker 1 I'm sure you'll get to meet him.

Speaker 1 He'll even sleep on your bed if you let him.

Speaker 1 After I hung up,

Speaker 1 I wrote the dates

Speaker 1 on the back of the Inn's card

Speaker 1 and slid back down

Speaker 1 into my sheets.

Speaker 1 in the morning i'd have a full list of to-dos

Speaker 1 travel plans

Speaker 1 and laundry

Speaker 1 pulling my suitcase out from the high shelf in the closet

Speaker 1 and arranging to have the plants watered

Speaker 1 while I was gone

Speaker 1 I'd need to do a bit of shopping

Speaker 1 for warm clothes,

Speaker 1 a good pair of sturdy shoes or boots to hike in,

Speaker 1 and my camera.

Speaker 1 It was ready to be picked up

Speaker 1 from the shop where it had been repaired.

Speaker 1 Even with all that

Speaker 1 on my mind,

Speaker 1 as soon as I pulled the blanket

Speaker 1 up over my shoulder,

Speaker 1 I fell quickly

Speaker 1 and deeply

Speaker 1 asleep.

Speaker 1 I dreamt of a view

Speaker 1 from a window on an upper floor,

Speaker 1 looking out across the lake

Speaker 1 at a forest of vibrantly swathed trees.

Speaker 1 In the dream

Speaker 1 I smelled the scent of coffee cake

Speaker 1 and heard a tinkling bell on a black cat's collar.

Speaker 1 There was a winding staircase

Speaker 1 and a long hallway

Speaker 1 lined with portraits

Speaker 1 that led to a porch full of tables

Speaker 1 set for breakfast

Speaker 1 I smiled in my sleep

Speaker 1 Sweet dreams