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Get more Nothing Much Happens with bonus episodes, extra long stories,
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and ad-free listening, all while supporting the show you love.
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Subscribe now. Welcome to Bedtime Stories for Everyone, in which...
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Nothing much happens. You feel good, and then you fall asleep.
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I'm Catherine Nicolai. I write and read all the stories
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you hear on Nothing Much Happens. Audio engineering is by
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Bob Wittersheim. We are bringing you an encore episode tonight,
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meaning that this story originally aired on At some point
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in the past, it could have been recorded with different
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equipment in a different location. And since I'm a person
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and not a computer, I sometimes sound just slightly different.
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But the stories are always soothing and family-friendly. And our
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wishes for you are always deep rest and sweet dreams.
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Without something to focus on, your mind can wander endlessly.
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So having something outside of your own thoughts to gently
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pay attention to allows your mind to settle into one place.
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And from there, sleep is possible. It's almost inevitable, actually.
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So I'll tell you a story, and I'll tell it twice,
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and go a little slower the second time through. And
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just by listening, you will fall asleep. Trust me. A
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hundred million downloads can't be wrong. If you wake later
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in the night, Turn the story right back on. Most
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people fall back to sleep within seconds. Our story tonight
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is called Something Blue, and it brings us a little
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closer to a much-anticipated event in the village of Nothing Much.
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It's a story about autumn skies, and turning leaves. It's
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also about a kitten wrapped in a shawl, star anise
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and peppermint, and letting yourself love again after loss. I
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don't have kids, but I have enough parents in my
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life to know that feeding them can somehow become a full-time,
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logistical operation all by itself.
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And I think one of the things parents are constantly
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being asked to do is choose between convenience and feeling
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really good about what they're feeding their kids. And that's
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what I love about Little Spoon. They make meals and
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snacks for babies, toddlers, and bigger kids with options designed
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biteables for the littlest eaters, heat and eat plates for
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bigger appetites, lunchers for busy days, and snacks made with
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ingredients parents can actually feel good about. And their baby
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and toddler recipes are tested for more than 500 contaminants,
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including heavy metals. Feeding the kids doesn't have to be complicated.
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Little Spoon makes it easy with real, nutritionally balanced meals
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and snacks designed for every stage. It shows up ready
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to go, takes the pressure off, and somehow still gets devoured,
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veggies and all. No artificial dyes, flavors, or sweeteners either.
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And you know what?
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That's a win I would take every time. Get 30%
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off your first online order at littlespoon.com slash nothingmuch with
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nothingmuch for 30% off your first order. Now, it's time.
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Lights out. Get as comfortable as you can and just
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scan up through your legs and torso, your arms and chest,
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your neck and face. Everything relaxing. As you go. There
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is nothing you need to do. No one is waiting.
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I will keep watch. Take a deep breath in through
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your nose. Let it out your mouth.
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Nice.
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One more. Breathe in.
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And out.
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Good. Something blew. There was a sycamore tree on the
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far side of the rose garden at the inn. She
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had once held a treehouse in her branches, but that
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was many, many years ago. One late spring, a windstorm
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had brought it tumbling down, and it had never been rebuilt,
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but there remained enough of the latter, smallish wood planks
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nailed into the trunk, that with a bit of care,
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one could climb up and settle into the crook of
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the first hardy branch. And for a cat, it was
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even easier. So we sat, me and my dear Cinder.
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She was a small gray cat who walked on silent
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paws and watched me with yellow eyes. I leaned back
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against a branch. and she climbed deftly into my lap.
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We turned our faces up to the sky. The leaves
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around us were just beginning to turn and would soon
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be the color of cinders' eyes. Beyond their canopy, we
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were watching for the weather to turn for the day
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to brighten and the clouds to clear. Today was the
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day it seemed the whole village had been waiting for,
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a wedding here at the inn, and we were trying
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to deliver on our gift to the happy couple. Cinder
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and I had known the bride for a few years, and,
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if we did say so ourselves, had a hand and
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a paw in their love story. It started when Cinder
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found a tiny orange kitten, lost and alone on a
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cold day. she'd brought her to our shop in downtown,
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dragged her through the cat flap by the scruff of
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her neck, and set her in my lap as I
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sat in the big winged armchair by the window. I'd
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wrapped her in my shawl and gone to find a
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dish and some food. Once she'd eaten, and fallen asleep
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in Cinder's bed, we'd looked at each other and tried
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to decide what to do next. As I often do
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when I'm in need of a bit of guidance and inspiration,
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I took my grandmother's grimoire down from its place on
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the shelf and paged through it. I'd inherited this book.
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and my talents from her and it often felt like
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she could still talk to me through the book. How
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many times had I come to it with a question
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and opened it straight to the page with the answer?
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That day, I'd held the book in my hands and
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looked at the small cat curled up at my feet
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and wondered where she should be. Was someone missing her?
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Was she meant to stay with me and Cinder? I
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let the book fall open, and my eyes landed on
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the words, and found a spell for location and placement.
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Thank you, Gran, I'd whispered as I read her directions.
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The spell involved a tricky kind of knot tied with
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yarn or string, and as I sat down at my table,
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I looked down to see Cinder, dragging a skein of
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blue yarn out of my knitting basket. Thanks to you too,
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I said, as I reached down for it. I cut
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a stretch of the fiber, and as I tied it,
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per Gran's instructions, I thought about the orange kitten. I
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found a few of her hairs on my shirt, and
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I tied them into the knot as well. Before I'd
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even finished it, I knew where she was meant to
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end up. This is often how spells work for me.
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The mere act of focusing part of my mind on
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the process frees up another part to intuit what is
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needed and how to bring it about. I had a
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friend who had lost her beloved cat a few years before,
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and part of the wound of grief his passing had
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left behind was still unhealed. The chamber of her heart
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that wanted to love was closed up. She was stuck.
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and I think didn't even know it. And here was
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this irresistible kitten, small and in need, and I felt
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sure would win over my friend in an instant, would
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force her heart open and let the light into its
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closed-up corners. so I tucked the little girl into my coat,
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buttoning it up around her. And Cinder and I chomped
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over to my friend's house as snow began to fall.
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I'd realized as I was tying that knot that if
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I knocked on her door and tried to convince her
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to take the kitten in, the spell might fall apart. No,
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it would cause her to make a decision with her head,
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and we needed to deal directly with her heart. So
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we waited till it felt like the time was right,
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and I set the little cat down at the edge
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of her front walk. She didn't give me A backwards glance,
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I think she knew she was home. She just started
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leaving tiny paw prints in the fresh snow all around
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the front door, then ducked under a shrub in the yard.
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From a distance, I saw my friend come around the
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corner of her house. She spotted the prints and stopped short.
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Cinder jumped up onto my shoulder and purred as we
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watched her face shift. Her eyes followed the prince. It
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had taken a little while. A cardboard box with a
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blanket and a dish of borrowed kibble from the neighbor.
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But eventually, they'd found each other. And that moment had
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marked a shift. for my friend. Not all at once,
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but bit by bit, she'd become more willing to ride
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the ups and downs of loving another. Next, she and
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the kitten she'd named Marmalade made room in their house
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for a little scruffy pup named Crumb. And here we were,
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after a few more turns in the road, on her
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wedding day. Marrying a man she'd come to love after
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his dog, Bluebird, had brought them closer. From our spot
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in the tree, their love story fresh in my mind.
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I peeked up again at the sky, I knew they'd
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be needing something blue for their wedding. And my gift
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to them was, fingers crossed, a blue sky. Clear, excellent
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weather for the wedding, taking place soon out by the lake.
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The innkeeper had called me, in fact, when the date
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was first decided upon, and asked my opinion. I remember
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standing by the stove in the shop with the phone
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in my hand, looking down into my simmer pot, which
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was steaming scents of cinnamon, star anise, and peppermint into
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the air, all good for waking up my second sight.
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I'd asked the innkeeper to repeat the date again, And
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as she did, let my attention travel through my body.
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Not trying to do anything, really, just listening for how
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it felt. Blue skies, my friend, I'd said into the phone.
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But they'd been gray when we'd woken, so we'd come
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to keep watch. from this old sycamore. I laid my
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hand on the rough bark beside me and imagined the
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whole environment around us shifting. The chill in the air
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being driven out as the clouds rolled back. I leaned
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my head back and closed my eyes. and breathed deeply,
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thinking of my friend standing in her dress by the lake,
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the afternoon sun shining down around her and her sweetheart.
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I smelled it before I saw it, like a hayride
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on a crisp day, the sun hitting the dry leaves
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ready to fall. When I opened my eyes, the skies
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were a bright September blue, and down the drive of
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the inn, a slow procession of guests were arriving. Cinder
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climbed up onto my shoulder, and we descended, down the
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old treehouse ladder. It was nearly time. Something blew. There
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was a sycamore tree on the far side of the
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rose garden at the inn. She had once held a
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treehouse in her branches. But that was many, many years ago.
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One late spring, a windstorm had brought it tumbling down,
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and it had never been rebuilt. But there remained enough
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of the latter, smallish wood planks nailed into the trunk, that,
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with a bit of care, one could climb up and
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settle into the crook of the first heavy branch. And
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for a cat, it was even easier. So we sat.
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me and my dear Cinder. She was a small gray
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cat who walked on silent paws and watched me with
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yellow eyes. I leaned back against a branch and she
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climbed deftly into my lap. We turned our faces Up
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to the sky, the leaves around us were just beginning
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to turn and would soon be the color of cinder's eyes.
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Beyond their canopy, we were watching for the weather to turn,
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for the day to brighten and the clouds to clear.
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00:21:39.869 --> 00:21:44.910
Today was the day it seemed the whole village had
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been waiting for. A wedding, here at the inn, and
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we were trying to deliver on our gift to the
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happy couple. Cinder and I had known the bride for
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a few years. And if we did say so ourselves,
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had a hand and a paw in their love story.
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It started when Cinder found a tiny orange kitten, lost
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00:22:34.819 --> 00:22:42.460
and alone on a cold day. She'd brought her to
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our shop in downtown, dragging her through the cat flap
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by the scruff of her neck and set her in
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my lap as I sat in a big winged armchair
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by the window. I'd wrapped her in my shawl, and
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gone to find a dish and some food. Once she'd
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eaten and fallen asleep in Cinder's bed, we'd looked at
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each other and tried to decide what to do next.
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As I often do, when I'm in need of guidance
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00:23:40.180 --> 00:23:47.299
and inspiration. I took my grandmother's grimoire down from its
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00:23:47.460 --> 00:23:56.529
place on the shelf and paged through it. I'd inherited
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00:23:56.549 --> 00:24:03.789
this book and my talents from her, and it often
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00:24:03.910 --> 00:24:09.910
felt like she could still talk to me through the book.
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How many times had I come to it with a
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question and opened it straight to the page with the answer?
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That day I'd held the book in my hands and
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00:24:32.589 --> 00:24:36.740
looked at the small cat curled up at my feet
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00:24:38.579 --> 00:24:45.240
and wondered, where should she be? Was someone missing her?
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00:24:48.079 --> 00:24:54.640
Was she meant to stay with me and Cinder? I
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00:24:54.720 --> 00:25:00.859
let the book fall open, and my eyes landed on
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00:25:00.900 --> 00:25:08.420
the words lost and found. a spell for location and placement.
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00:25:12.619 --> 00:25:17.940
Thank you, Gran, I whispered as I read her directions.
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00:25:19.599 --> 00:25:26.740
The spell involved a tricky kind of knot tied with
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00:25:26.799 --> 00:25:33.180
yarn or string, and as I sat down at my table,
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I looked down to see Cinder dragging a skein of
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blue yarn out of my knitting basket. Thanks to you too,
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I said, as I reached down for it. I cut
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a stretch of the fiber, and as I tied it,
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per Gran's instructions. I thought about the orange kitten. I
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found a few of her hairs on my shirt and
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tied them into the knot as well. Before I'd even
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00:26:25.670 --> 00:26:30.059
finished it, I knew where she was meant to end up.
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This is often how spells work for me. The mere
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00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:44.039
act of focusing part of my mind on the process
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00:26:45.980 --> 00:26:53.170
frees up another part to intuit what is needed and
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how to bring it about. I had a friend who
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00:27:00.579 --> 00:27:07.640
had lost her beloved cat a few years before, and
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00:27:07.720 --> 00:27:12.160
part of the wound of grief his passing had left
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00:27:12.259 --> 00:27:21.230
behind was still unhealed. The chamber of her heart that
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00:27:21.289 --> 00:27:28.829
wanted to love again was closed up. She was stuck,
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00:27:30.970 --> 00:27:37.700
and I think didn't even know it. And here was
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00:27:37.829 --> 00:27:45.730
this irresistible kitten, small and in need, and I felt
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00:27:45.849 --> 00:27:53.630
sure would win over my friend in an instant, would
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00:27:53.829 --> 00:27:58.509
force her heart open and let the light into its
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00:27:58.750 --> 00:28:07.730
closed-up corners. So I tucked the little girl into my coat,
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00:28:09.049 --> 00:28:14.890
buttoning it up around her. And Cinder and I tromped
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00:28:15.009 --> 00:28:19.789
over to my friend's house as snow began to fall.
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00:28:23.210 --> 00:28:30.400
I had realized as I was tying that knot that
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00:28:31.680 --> 00:28:37.210
if I knocked on her door and tried to convince
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her to take the kitten in, the spell might fall apart. No,
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00:28:48.059 --> 00:28:51.980
that would cause her to make a decision with her head,
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00:28:53.579 --> 00:29:00.579
and we needed to deal directly with her heart. So
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00:29:00.619 --> 00:29:04.549
we waited till it felt like the time was right,
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and I set the little cat down at the edge
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00:29:11.140 --> 00:29:19.150
of her front walk. She didn't give me a backward glance.
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I think she knew she was home. She just started
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00:29:25.549 --> 00:29:31.759
leaving tiny paw prints in the fresh snow all around
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00:29:31.819 --> 00:29:37.509
the front door. Then, ducked under a shrub in the yard.
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From a distance, I saw my friend come around the
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00:29:43.980 --> 00:29:50.809
corner of her house. She spotted the prince and stopped short.
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Cinder jumped up onto my shoulder and purred as we
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00:29:59.490 --> 00:30:08.839
watched Her face shift. Her eyes follow the prints. It
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00:30:08.900 --> 00:30:14.599
had taken a little while. A cardboard box with a
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00:30:14.640 --> 00:30:19.519
blanket and a dish of borrowed kibble from the neighbor.
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00:30:21.259 --> 00:30:30.119
But eventually, they'd found each other. And that moment had
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00:30:30.220 --> 00:30:35.980
marked a shift for my friend. Not all at once,
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00:30:37.730 --> 00:30:43.990
but bit by bit she'd become more willing to ride
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00:30:44.170 --> 00:30:53.970
the ups and downs of loving another. Next, she and
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00:30:54.089 --> 00:31:00.339
the kitten she'd named Marmalade made room in their house
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00:31:02.140 --> 00:31:10.250
for a little scruffy pup named Crumb. And here we were,
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after a few more turns in the road, on her
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wedding day, marrying a man she'd come to love after
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00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:32.880
his dog, Bluebird, had brought them closer. From our spot
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00:31:33.119 --> 00:31:38.319
in the tree, their love story fresh in my mind.
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00:31:40.299 --> 00:31:46.460
I peeked up again at the sky. I knew they'd
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be needing something blue for their wedding. And my gift
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00:31:54.309 --> 00:32:03.930
to them was, fingers crossed, a blue sky. Clear, excellent
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weather for the wedding taking place soon out by the lake.
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The innkeeper had called me, actually, when the date was
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first decided upon, and asked my opinion. I remember standing
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00:32:26.089 --> 00:32:29.809
by the stove in the shop with the phone in
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my hand. looking down into my simmer pot, which was
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steaming scents of cinnamon, star anise, and peppermint into the air,
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all good for waking up my second sight. I'd asked
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00:32:56.200 --> 00:33:01.779
the innkeeper to repeat the date again, and as she did,
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00:33:03.549 --> 00:33:11.279
Let my attention travel through my body. Not trying to
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00:33:11.299 --> 00:33:16.220
do anything, really. Just listening for how it felt.
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00:33:16.240 --> 00:33:20.150
Hmm.
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Blue skies, my friend, I'd said into the phone. But
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they'd been gray. when we'd woken. So we'd come to
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00:33:37.400 --> 00:33:45.750
keep watch from this old sycamore. I laid my hand
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00:33:46.009 --> 00:33:52.369
on the rough bark beside me and imagined the whole
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00:33:52.569 --> 00:34:02.799
environment around us shifting. the chill in the air being
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driven out as the clouds rolled back. I leaned my
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00:34:12.389 --> 00:34:27.539
head back and closed my eyes and breathed deeply, thinking
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00:34:28.400 --> 00:34:35.329
of my friend. standing in her dress by the lake.
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The afternoon sun shining down around her and her sweetheart.
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I smelled it before I saw it, like a hayride
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on a crisp day. The sun hitting the dry leaves
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00:35:03.409 --> 00:35:12.239
ready to fall. When I opened my eyes, the skies
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00:35:12.760 --> 00:35:20.679
were a bright September blue, and down the drive of
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00:35:20.719 --> 00:35:31.769
the inn, a slow procession of guests were arriving. Cinder
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00:35:31.909 --> 00:35:40.789
climbed up onto my shoulder, and we descended down the
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00:35:40.929 --> 00:35:51.679
old treehouse ladder. It was nearly time. Sweet dreams.
1
00:00:01.129 --> 00:00:05.809
Get more Nothing Much Happens with bonus episodes, extra long stories,
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and ad-free listening, all while supporting the show you love.
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Subscribe now. Welcome to Bedtime Stories for Everyone, in which...
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Nothing much happens. You feel good, and then you fall asleep.
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00:00:38.780 --> 00:00:44.009
I'm Catherine Nicolai. I write and read all the stories
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00:00:44.060 --> 00:00:49.390
you hear on Nothing Much Happens. Audio engineering is by
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00:00:49.490 --> 00:00:55.829
Bob Wittersheim. We are bringing you an encore episode tonight,
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00:00:56.630 --> 00:01:00.890
meaning that this story originally aired on At some point
9
00:01:01.070 --> 00:01:04.849
in the past, it could have been recorded with different
10
00:01:04.909 --> 00:01:09.230
equipment in a different location. And since I'm a person
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00:01:09.989 --> 00:01:16.069
and not a computer, I sometimes sound just slightly different.
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00:01:17.109 --> 00:01:22.209
But the stories are always soothing and family-friendly. And our
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wishes for you are always deep rest and sweet dreams.
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Without something to focus on, your mind can wander endlessly.
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So having something outside of your own thoughts to gently
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00:01:43.209 --> 00:01:49.290
pay attention to allows your mind to settle into one place.
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00:01:51.569 --> 00:01:58.540
And from there, sleep is possible. It's almost inevitable, actually.
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00:02:00.659 --> 00:02:04.530
So I'll tell you a story, and I'll tell it twice,
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00:02:05.969 --> 00:02:10.930
and go a little slower the second time through. And
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00:02:10.990 --> 00:02:22.060
just by listening, you will fall asleep. Trust me. A
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hundred million downloads can't be wrong. If you wake later
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in the night, Turn the story right back on. Most
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people fall back to sleep within seconds. Our story tonight
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is called Something Blue, and it brings us a little
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closer to a much-anticipated event in the village of Nothing Much.
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It's a story about autumn skies, and turning leaves. It's
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also about a kitten wrapped in a shawl, star anise
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and peppermint, and letting yourself love again after loss. I
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don't have kids, but I have enough parents in my
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life to know that feeding them can somehow become a full-time,
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logistical operation all by itself.
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And I think one of the things parents are constantly
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being asked to do is choose between convenience and feeling
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really good about what they're feeding their kids. And that's
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ingredients parents can actually feel good about. And their baby
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Little Spoon makes it easy with real, nutritionally balanced meals
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to go, takes the pressure off, and somehow still gets devoured,
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veggies and all. No artificial dyes, flavors, or sweeteners either.
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And you know what?
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Lights out. Get as comfortable as you can and just
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scan up through your legs and torso, your arms and chest,
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00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:26.620
your neck and face. Everything relaxing. As you go. There
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00:05:26.680 --> 00:05:31.459
is nothing you need to do. No one is waiting.
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I will keep watch. Take a deep breath in through
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00:05:38.730 --> 00:05:43.829
your nose. Let it out your mouth.
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00:05:47.709 --> 00:05:48.009
Nice.
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00:05:48.529 --> 00:05:49.540
One more. Breathe in.
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00:05:53.569 --> 00:05:54.009
And out.
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Good. Something blew. There was a sycamore tree on the
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far side of the rose garden at the inn. She
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00:06:16.110 --> 00:06:21.029
had once held a treehouse in her branches, but that
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00:06:21.069 --> 00:06:28.860
was many, many years ago. One late spring, a windstorm
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00:06:29.060 --> 00:06:35.120
had brought it tumbling down, and it had never been rebuilt,
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00:06:36.439 --> 00:06:42.209
but there remained enough of the latter, smallish wood planks
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00:06:42.769 --> 00:06:47.029
nailed into the trunk, that with a bit of care,
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00:06:48.730 --> 00:06:52.910
one could climb up and settle into the crook of
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00:06:52.970 --> 00:07:01.089
the first hardy branch. And for a cat, it was
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00:07:01.209 --> 00:07:09.939
even easier. So we sat, me and my dear Cinder.
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00:07:11.819 --> 00:07:16.720
She was a small gray cat who walked on silent
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00:07:16.779 --> 00:07:24.660
paws and watched me with yellow eyes. I leaned back
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00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:30.310
against a branch. and she climbed deftly into my lap.
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We turned our faces up to the sky. The leaves
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00:07:39.139 --> 00:07:45.519
around us were just beginning to turn and would soon
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00:07:45.639 --> 00:07:54.160
be the color of cinders' eyes. Beyond their canopy, we
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00:07:54.199 --> 00:07:58.689
were watching for the weather to turn for the day
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to brighten and the clouds to clear. Today was the
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day it seemed the whole village had been waiting for,
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a wedding here at the inn, and we were trying
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00:08:20.269 --> 00:08:27.009
to deliver on our gift to the happy couple. Cinder
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00:08:27.149 --> 00:08:33.389
and I had known the bride for a few years, and,
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00:08:34.190 --> 00:08:39.350
if we did say so ourselves, had a hand and
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a paw in their love story. It started when Cinder
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00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:52.139
found a tiny orange kitten, lost and alone on a
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00:08:52.179 --> 00:08:58.360
cold day. she'd brought her to our shop in downtown,
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00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:03.039
dragged her through the cat flap by the scruff of
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her neck, and set her in my lap as I
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sat in the big winged armchair by the window. I'd
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wrapped her in my shawl and gone to find a
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00:09:19.070 --> 00:09:26.720
dish and some food. Once she'd eaten, and fallen asleep
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in Cinder's bed, we'd looked at each other and tried
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00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:39.139
to decide what to do next. As I often do
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00:09:40.049 --> 00:09:44.289
when I'm in need of a bit of guidance and inspiration,
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00:09:44.309 --> 00:09:50.570
I took my grandmother's grimoire down from its place on
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00:09:50.610 --> 00:09:58.669
the shelf and paged through it. I'd inherited this book.
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00:09:59.840 --> 00:10:04.940
and my talents from her and it often felt like
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00:10:05.179 --> 00:10:10.940
she could still talk to me through the book. How
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00:10:11.039 --> 00:10:13.919
many times had I come to it with a question
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and opened it straight to the page with the answer?
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That day, I'd held the book in my hands and
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looked at the small cat curled up at my feet
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and wondered where she should be. Was someone missing her?
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Was she meant to stay with me and Cinder? I
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00:10:44.870 --> 00:10:49.889
let the book fall open, and my eyes landed on
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the words, and found a spell for location and placement.
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Thank you, Gran, I'd whispered as I read her directions.
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The spell involved a tricky kind of knot tied with
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yarn or string, and as I sat down at my table,
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00:11:19.149 --> 00:11:22.950
I looked down to see Cinder, dragging a skein of
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00:11:23.110 --> 00:11:29.929
blue yarn out of my knitting basket. Thanks to you too,
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00:11:30.509 --> 00:11:36.980
I said, as I reached down for it. I cut
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00:11:37.019 --> 00:11:40.759
a stretch of the fiber, and as I tied it,
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00:11:41.259 --> 00:11:47.769
per Gran's instructions, I thought about the orange kitten. I
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00:11:47.830 --> 00:11:52.000
found a few of her hairs on my shirt, and
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I tied them into the knot as well. Before I'd
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00:11:57.200 --> 00:12:01.000
even finished it, I knew where she was meant to
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end up. This is often how spells work for me.
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00:12:07.190 --> 00:12:10.929
The mere act of focusing part of my mind on
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00:12:10.970 --> 00:12:17.009
the process frees up another part to intuit what is
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00:12:17.070 --> 00:12:23.710
needed and how to bring it about. I had a
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00:12:23.769 --> 00:12:29.750
friend who had lost her beloved cat a few years before,
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00:12:31.539 --> 00:12:35.820
and part of the wound of grief his passing had
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00:12:35.860 --> 00:12:42.850
left behind was still unhealed. The chamber of her heart
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00:12:44.049 --> 00:12:49.710
that wanted to love was closed up. She was stuck.
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00:12:51.190 --> 00:12:57.419
and I think didn't even know it. And here was
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00:12:57.500 --> 00:13:03.870
this irresistible kitten, small and in need, and I felt
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00:13:04.019 --> 00:13:10.009
sure would win over my friend in an instant, would
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00:13:10.149 --> 00:13:14.289
force her heart open and let the light into its
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00:13:14.389 --> 00:13:21.740
closed-up corners. so I tucked the little girl into my coat,
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buttoning it up around her. And Cinder and I chomped
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over to my friend's house as snow began to fall.
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I'd realized as I was tying that knot that if
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I knocked on her door and tried to convince her
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to take the kitten in, the spell might fall apart. No,
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00:13:53.169 --> 00:13:56.149
it would cause her to make a decision with her head,
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and we needed to deal directly with her heart. So
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we waited till it felt like the time was right,
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00:14:08.919 --> 00:14:11.870
and I set the little cat down at the edge
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of her front walk. She didn't give me A backwards glance,
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00:14:19.850 --> 00:14:24.330
I think she knew she was home. She just started
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00:14:24.429 --> 00:14:29.169
leaving tiny paw prints in the fresh snow all around
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00:14:29.210 --> 00:14:33.700
the front door, then ducked under a shrub in the yard.
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00:14:36.539 --> 00:14:39.840
From a distance, I saw my friend come around the
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00:14:39.899 --> 00:14:45.379
corner of her house. She spotted the prints and stopped short.
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00:14:47.250 --> 00:14:51.980
Cinder jumped up onto my shoulder and purred as we
147
00:14:52.039 --> 00:14:59.039
watched her face shift. Her eyes followed the prince. It
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00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:02.990
had taken a little while. A cardboard box with a
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00:15:03.019 --> 00:15:06.250
blanket and a dish of borrowed kibble from the neighbor.
150
00:15:07.950 --> 00:15:14.549
But eventually, they'd found each other. And that moment had
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00:15:14.610 --> 00:15:19.940
marked a shift. for my friend. Not all at once,
152
00:15:20.159 --> 00:15:28.759
but bit by bit, she'd become more willing to ride
153
00:15:29.019 --> 00:15:36.620
the ups and downs of loving another. Next, she and
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00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:41.299
the kitten she'd named Marmalade made room in their house
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00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:47.860
for a little scruffy pup named Crumb. And here we were,
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00:15:48.840 --> 00:15:52.860
after a few more turns in the road, on her
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wedding day. Marrying a man she'd come to love after
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his dog, Bluebird, had brought them closer. From our spot
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in the tree, their love story fresh in my mind.
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I peeked up again at the sky, I knew they'd
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be needing something blue for their wedding. And my gift
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to them was, fingers crossed, a blue sky. Clear, excellent
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weather for the wedding, taking place soon out by the lake.
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The innkeeper had called me, in fact, when the date
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was first decided upon, and asked my opinion. I remember
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standing by the stove in the shop with the phone
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in my hand, looking down into my simmer pot, which
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was steaming scents of cinnamon, star anise, and peppermint into
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the air, all good for waking up my second sight.
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I'd asked the innkeeper to repeat the date again, And
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as she did, let my attention travel through my body.
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Not trying to do anything, really, just listening for how
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it felt. Blue skies, my friend, I'd said into the phone.
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But they'd been gray when we'd woken, so we'd come
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to keep watch. from this old sycamore. I laid my
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hand on the rough bark beside me and imagined the
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whole environment around us shifting. The chill in the air
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being driven out as the clouds rolled back. I leaned
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my head back and closed my eyes. and breathed deeply,
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thinking of my friend standing in her dress by the lake,
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the afternoon sun shining down around her and her sweetheart.
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I smelled it before I saw it, like a hayride
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on a crisp day, the sun hitting the dry leaves
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ready to fall. When I opened my eyes, the skies
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were a bright September blue, and down the drive of
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the inn, a slow procession of guests were arriving. Cinder
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climbed up onto my shoulder, and we descended, down the
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old treehouse ladder. It was nearly time. Something blew. There
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was a sycamore tree on the far side of the
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rose garden at the inn. She had once held a
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treehouse in her branches. But that was many, many years ago.
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One late spring, a windstorm had brought it tumbling down,
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and it had never been rebuilt. But there remained enough
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of the latter, smallish wood planks nailed into the trunk, that,
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with a bit of care, one could climb up and
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settle into the crook of the first heavy branch. And
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for a cat, it was even easier. So we sat.
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me and my dear Cinder. She was a small gray
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cat who walked on silent paws and watched me with
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yellow eyes. I leaned back against a branch and she
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climbed deftly into my lap. We turned our faces Up
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to the sky, the leaves around us were just beginning
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to turn and would soon be the color of cinder's eyes.
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Beyond their canopy, we were watching for the weather to turn,
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for the day to brighten and the clouds to clear.
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Today was the day it seemed the whole village had
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been waiting for. A wedding, here at the inn, and
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we were trying to deliver on our gift to the
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happy couple. Cinder and I had known the bride for
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a few years. And if we did say so ourselves,
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had a hand and a paw in their love story.
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It started when Cinder found a tiny orange kitten, lost
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and alone on a cold day. She'd brought her to
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our shop in downtown, dragging her through the cat flap
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by the scruff of her neck and set her in
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my lap as I sat in a big winged armchair
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by the window. I'd wrapped her in my shawl, and
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gone to find a dish and some food. Once she'd
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eaten and fallen asleep in Cinder's bed, we'd looked at
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each other and tried to decide what to do next.
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As I often do, when I'm in need of guidance
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and inspiration. I took my grandmother's grimoire down from its
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place on the shelf and paged through it. I'd inherited
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this book and my talents from her, and it often
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felt like she could still talk to me through the book.
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How many times had I come to it with a
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question and opened it straight to the page with the answer?
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That day I'd held the book in my hands and
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looked at the small cat curled up at my feet
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and wondered, where should she be? Was someone missing her?
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Was she meant to stay with me and Cinder? I
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let the book fall open, and my eyes landed on
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the words lost and found. a spell for location and placement.
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Thank you, Gran, I whispered as I read her directions.
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The spell involved a tricky kind of knot tied with
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yarn or string, and as I sat down at my table,
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I looked down to see Cinder dragging a skein of
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blue yarn out of my knitting basket. Thanks to you too,
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I said, as I reached down for it. I cut
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a stretch of the fiber, and as I tied it,
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per Gran's instructions. I thought about the orange kitten. I
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found a few of her hairs on my shirt and
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tied them into the knot as well. Before I'd even
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finished it, I knew where she was meant to end up.
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This is often how spells work for me. The mere
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act of focusing part of my mind on the process
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frees up another part to intuit what is needed and
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how to bring it about. I had a friend who
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had lost her beloved cat a few years before, and
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part of the wound of grief his passing had left
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behind was still unhealed. The chamber of her heart that
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wanted to love again was closed up. She was stuck,
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and I think didn't even know it. And here was
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this irresistible kitten, small and in need, and I felt
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sure would win over my friend in an instant, would
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force her heart open and let the light into its
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closed-up corners. So I tucked the little girl into my coat,
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buttoning it up around her. And Cinder and I tromped
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over to my friend's house as snow began to fall.
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I had realized as I was tying that knot that
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if I knocked on her door and tried to convince
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her to take the kitten in, the spell might fall apart. No,
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that would cause her to make a decision with her head,
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and we needed to deal directly with her heart. So
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we waited till it felt like the time was right,
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and I set the little cat down at the edge
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of her front walk. She didn't give me a backward glance.
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I think she knew she was home. She just started
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leaving tiny paw prints in the fresh snow all around
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the front door. Then, ducked under a shrub in the yard.
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From a distance, I saw my friend come around the
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corner of her house. She spotted the prince and stopped short.
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Cinder jumped up onto my shoulder and purred as we
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watched Her face shift. Her eyes follow the prints. It
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had taken a little while. A cardboard box with a
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blanket and a dish of borrowed kibble from the neighbor.
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But eventually, they'd found each other. And that moment had
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marked a shift for my friend. Not all at once,
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but bit by bit she'd become more willing to ride
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the ups and downs of loving another. Next, she and
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the kitten she'd named Marmalade made room in their house
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for a little scruffy pup named Crumb. And here we were,
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after a few more turns in the road, on her
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00:31:16.730 --> 00:31:23.990
wedding day, marrying a man she'd come to love after
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00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:32.880
his dog, Bluebird, had brought them closer. From our spot
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00:31:33.119 --> 00:31:38.319
in the tree, their love story fresh in my mind.
287
00:31:40.299 --> 00:31:46.460
I peeked up again at the sky. I knew they'd
288
00:31:46.559 --> 00:31:54.289
be needing something blue for their wedding. And my gift
289
00:31:54.309 --> 00:32:03.930
to them was, fingers crossed, a blue sky. Clear, excellent
290
00:32:03.990 --> 00:32:09.480
weather for the wedding taking place soon out by the lake.
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00:32:11.980 --> 00:32:17.259
The innkeeper had called me, actually, when the date was
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00:32:17.339 --> 00:32:25.849
first decided upon, and asked my opinion. I remember standing
293
00:32:26.089 --> 00:32:29.809
by the stove in the shop with the phone in
294
00:32:29.869 --> 00:32:37.230
my hand. looking down into my simmer pot, which was
295
00:32:37.329 --> 00:32:45.230
steaming scents of cinnamon, star anise, and peppermint into the air,
296
00:32:47.430 --> 00:32:55.799
all good for waking up my second sight. I'd asked
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00:32:56.200 --> 00:33:01.779
the innkeeper to repeat the date again, and as she did,
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00:33:03.549 --> 00:33:11.279
Let my attention travel through my body. Not trying to
299
00:33:11.299 --> 00:33:16.220
do anything, really. Just listening for how it felt.
300
00:33:16.240 --> 00:33:20.150
Hmm.
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00:33:21.730 --> 00:33:30.359
Blue skies, my friend, I'd said into the phone. But
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00:33:31.400 --> 00:33:37.339
they'd been gray. when we'd woken. So we'd come to
303
00:33:37.400 --> 00:33:45.750
keep watch from this old sycamore. I laid my hand
304
00:33:46.009 --> 00:33:52.369
on the rough bark beside me and imagined the whole
305
00:33:52.569 --> 00:34:02.799
environment around us shifting. the chill in the air being
306
00:34:02.980 --> 00:34:12.340
driven out as the clouds rolled back. I leaned my
307
00:34:12.389 --> 00:34:27.539
head back and closed my eyes and breathed deeply, thinking
308
00:34:28.400 --> 00:34:35.329
of my friend. standing in her dress by the lake.
309
00:34:38.090 --> 00:34:44.630
The afternoon sun shining down around her and her sweetheart.
310
00:34:48.989 --> 00:34:55.139
I smelled it before I saw it, like a hayride
311
00:34:56.300 --> 00:35:02.610
on a crisp day. The sun hitting the dry leaves
312
00:35:03.409 --> 00:35:12.239
ready to fall. When I opened my eyes, the skies
313
00:35:12.760 --> 00:35:20.679
were a bright September blue, and down the drive of
314
00:35:20.719 --> 00:35:31.769
the inn, a slow procession of guests were arriving. Cinder
315
00:35:31.909 --> 00:35:40.789
climbed up onto my shoulder, and we descended down the
316
00:35:40.929 --> 00:35:51.679
old treehouse ladder. It was nearly time. Sweet dreams.
