Toast and Marmalade (Encore)

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“If you've ever gone down a rabbit hole, trying to understand something, you'll love search”

engine. It takes big, interesting questions and explores them in a way that smart, clear, and really compelling. It's one of those podcasts that makes you think a little differently afterwards, listen to search engine wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome to bedtime stories for everyone, in which nothing much happens. You feel good, and then you fall asleep.

“I'm Katherine Nikolai, my right and read all the stories you hear on nothing much happens.”

Audio engineering is by Bob Wittersheim. We are bringing you an encore episode tonight, meaning that this story originally aired at some point in the past. It could have been recorded with different equipment and a different location, and since I'm a person and not a computer, I sometimes sound just slightly different, but the stories

are always soothing and family-friendly, and our wishes for you are always deep-brast and

sweet dreams.

“Now, this podcast works by giving your mind a place to rest, something soothing and simple”

to focus on, so that the background static goes quiet, and you can relax and sleep. I'll tell the story twice, and I'll go a little slower on the second read through. I'll follow along with the sound of my voice, and the gentle details of the tail. And before you know it, you'll be waking up tomorrow, feeling refreshed and rested. If you wake in the middle of the night, take your mind right back to any of the details

you can remember. And you'll drop right back off, really. This is brain training, so be patient as we plant these seeds.

Our story tonight is called "Tost and Marmalade," and it's a story about the first few months

of a lifelong friendship. It's also about a collar with a bell on it, letting go of what ifs. And the joy of watching someone discover a year of firsts. Now, it's time to turn off your light, and put away anything you were looking at. I sanitize your own comfort right now, getting the right pillow in the right spot,

and pulling your comforter up over your shoulder. You are about to fall asleep, and you will sleep deeply all night. Take a slow breath in through your nose, and let it out with a sigh once more, breathe in. Let it out, good, toast and marmalade. It only been a few months since we met, but we both knew.

This was it.

This was love, and it had been, from that day in the early winter, the first snowfall.

When I'd found her paw prints at my front door. When I'd rigged up a makeshift bed from a cardboard box, and bribed her with a big bowl of kibble, we'd been missing each other like two ships in the night, but then finally,

Once then, we'd been together.

“That first night, she curled up in front of the fire, and I curled up around her, and we'd”

stayed like that for a while. I didn't know how long she'd been outside, but by how deeply she slept. By how much she reveled in a warm bed, and how many bowls of kibble and chow we went through. I guess it had been a while.

It was the best feeling to tell her, even if she couldn't quite understand me.

She'd never be hungry again, never be without a soft place to lay, or without company

if she wanted it. And she did.

“She followed me through the house wherever I went.”

She wound through my ankles when I stood peeling carrots at the sink. She helped me make the bed, diving out from between blankets to pounce on my fingers, as they smoothed the sheets. She sat with me while we watched the snow melt, and the birds come back to the bushes and shrubs in the backyard.

She were mostly inseparable, although she had been a bit cross with me after her first visit

with the doctor.

“She hollowed all the way home, and ran straight out of her carrier, to pout under the bed”

for a few hours. And by the time I had our fire going in the living room, she'd inched out to take her place on the sofa, and allowed me to lay a hand on her back. I'd made it up to her with a bit of shopping. She got new bowls to eat her meals from, a new bed that had a flap like an envelope.

That she loved to tuck herself into, and the sweet little collar. We'd discussed color options. What would go best with her orange red fur, and found a pretty paisley one in shades of yellow and cream? It had a tiny bell that rang as she pounced through the halls, and a small charm with her name, marmalade, on the front, and my number on the back.

She was still lock-itten, and it had been so long since I'd had a kitten. I'd forgotten the pure fun that came with that. She made a game of everything. I'd bought her a basket full of toys, stuffed mice, and feathers on strings. And while I often found them, carefully tucked inside the flap of her bed, I imagined

her like a dragon, sitting on her goal. She was just as happy to play with pencils from my desk, or jump at dangling sleeves of sweaters, as I attempted to get them onto hangers in the laundry room.

I most liked to watch her discover something for the first time.

Once, while I was running a bath, she climbed up onto the radiator beside it, and I scooped up a handful of bubbles, and blew them into the air.

She reached out her curious nose, and only her kitty reflexes, and kept her from tumbling

“into the water, along with her wearingess of the tub.”

She developed a contentious relationship with the toaster.

The first time a piece of bread had come springing up out of it.

She jumped a mile, as she tried to catch it, and simultaneously get away from it. I hadn't laughed like that in so long. Another day, a friend had come visiting with his sweet gentle giant of a greyhound. Marmalade's eyes widened comically, as he trotted into the living room.

“She watched him from her perch on the window sill, for as long as she could stand, and”

gave in to her curiosity, and dropped down to sneak closer.

The dog, a senior, and a rescue himself, who by my friends account liked nothing so much. As spending nearly every hour of the day, dozing in various spots around the house, had found a patch of sunlight on the rug, and stretched out lingersly on his side. Marmalade crept closer, inch by inch, then dug her nails into the carpet, and pulled

herself back like a rubber band about to be shot across the room.

“When the dog didn't so much as look at her, she changed tack, and stepped up closer.”

Striding through his long legs, eventually coming to nestle into the curved space behind his front paws. She cycled closer until she was pressed tight against him, and promptly fell asleep. When my friend and I had left them to it, and went to have lunch at the kitchen table. When we poked our heads back in in an hour, they were just where we'd left them.

And now we scheduled regular nap dates for the two of them. As the spring weather got warmer, we spent time on the screened-in porch off the kitchen. It was on the east side of the house and caught all the morning sunlight, not blocked by the trees. So it was often warmer than the house itself.

This morning, I'd noticed that the force that the ashrub in the far corner of the yard was in full bloom. She watched me as I strode out in my mud boots, with my garden shears, and came back a minute later, with a basket full of branches lined with cheery yellow flowers. She followed me to the kitchen and hopped up onto the counter, as I pulled an old ceramic

pitcher, downed for the cupboard, as I let the water warm, best to keep the blooms open. She reached a cautious paw out to play in the stream. I filled the pitcher and settled the branches into place.

I went back in and dropped a couple pieces of bread into the toaster for breakfast.

“As I watched her jump-up beside the forcivil.”

We sat, regarding the flowers, with all four paws in a row, and her tail curled around them. I realized that since she'd been home, we hadn't had a vase of flowers out.

I'd seen the Christmas tree and been fascinated by it, but I'd skipped buying point

setty as a fridge she would chew on them.

“The vet thought she'd likely been born in early autumn, so these might be the first flowers”

she'd ever seen. I watched her stretch, her short furry neck out toward the blooms. She let them drape over her cheek and forehead, and just stayed very still, with her eyes closed. I smiled in the kitchen, thinking of all the moments she'd made me laugh or gasped or marvel at

her. I felt so lucky that she picked my door, that snowy day. What if I hadn't been home?

“What if the snow had been heavier, the night colder?”

She didn't worry about such things. She just sat, her face draped in tiny yellow flowers, breathing in the sweet almond scent of them. The toast about to pop up and make her jump for the next exciting moment of her life here at home, toast and marmalade.

It had only been a few months since we met, but we both knew this was it. This was love, and it had been from that day in the early winter.

The first snowfall, when I'd found her paw prints at my front door, when I'd rigged up a

makeshift bed from a cardboard box and arrived her with a big bowl of kibble. We'd been missing each other, like two ships in the night, but then, finally, I'd heard a high, small meow, and when I opened the door, she'd raced right in, since then, we'd been together. And I'd curled up around her, and we'd stayed like that for a while.

I didn't know how long she'd been outside, but by how deeply she slept, by how much

I guess it had been a while.

“It was the best feeling to tell her, even if she couldn't quite understand me.”

But she would never be hungry again.

There be without a soft place to lay, or without company, if she wanted it, and she did. She followed me through the house wherever I went. She wound through my ankles, when I stood peeling carrots at the sink. She helped me make the bed, diving out from between blankets, to pounce on my fingers, as they smoothed the sheets.

“She sat with me while we watched the snow melt, and the birds come back to the bushes and”

trombs in the backyard.

We were mostly inseparable, although she had been a bit cross with me, after her first visit

with the doctor. She'd holled all the way home, then run straight out of her carrier, the pout under the bed for a few hours.

“But by the time I had our fire going in the living room, she inched out to take her place”

on the sofa, and allowed me to lay a hand on her back.

I'd made it up to her with a bit of shopping. She got new bowls to eat her meals from a new bed that had a flap, like an envelope, that she loved to talk herself into, and a sweet little collar. We'd discussed color options, what would go best with her orange red fur, and found a pretty paisley one, in shades of yellow and cream, that had a tiny bell that rang as she pounced

through the halls, and a small charm with her name, marmalade, on the front, and my number on the back. She was still a kitten, and it had been so long, since I'd had a kitten. I'd forgotten the pure fun that came with that. She made a game of everything.

I'd bought her a basket full of toys, stuffed mice, and feathers on strings, and while I often found them carefully tucked inside the flap of her bed. I imagined her, like a dragon, sitting on her gold.

as I attempted to get them on to hangers in the laundry room.

“I most liked to watch her discover something for the first time, once while I was running”

about, she climbed up onto the radiator beside it, and I scooped up a handful of bubbles, and blew them into the air. She reached out her curious nose, and only her kitty reflexes had kept her from tumbling into the water, along with her wearingess of the tub.

“She'd developed a contentious relationship with the toaster.”

The first time a piece of bread had come springing up out of it.

She jumped a mile, as she tried to catch it, and simultaneously get away from it. I hadn't laughed like that in so long. Another day, a friend had come visiting with his sweet gentle giant of a grey hat.

“Her melades eyes widened comically, as he trotted into the living room.”

She watched him from her perch on the window-cell, for as long as she could stand, then gave

him to her curiosity, and dropped down to sneak closer. The dog, a senior, and a rescue himself, who, by my friends account, liked nothing so much, bending nearly every hour of the day, dosing in various spots around the house, had found the patch of sunlight on the rug, and stretched out lingurously on his side. The marmalade crept closer, inch by inch, then dug her nails into the carpet, and pulled

herself back like a rubber band, about to be shot across the room. In the dog, didn't so much as look at her. She changed tack, and stepped up closer, striding through his long legs, eventually coming to nestle, into the curved space behind his front paws. She cycled closer, until she was pressed tight against him, and promptly fell asleep.

My friend then, I, had left them to it, and went to have lunch at the kitchen table.

now we scheduled regular nap dates for the two of them.

“As the spring weather got warmer, we spent time on the screened-in porch of the kitchen.”

It was on the east side of the house, and caught all the morning sunlight, not blocked by the trees.

So it was often warmer than the house itself.

This morning, I'd noticed that the forcythia shrub in the far corner of the yard was in full bloom.

“She watched me as I strode out in my mud boots, with my garden shears, and came back a minute”

later, with a basket full of branches lined with cheery yellow flowers. She followed me to the kitchen, and hopped up onto the counter, as I pulled an old ceramic pitcher down from the cupboard, as I let the water warm, best to keep the blooms open. She reached a cautious paw out, to play in the stream.

“I filled the pitcher, and settled the branches into place.”

I carried it back out to the screened-in porch, and set it on a table beside my favorite chair. I went back in, and dropped a couple of pieces of bread into the toaster for breakfast. As I watched her jump up, beside the forcythia, she sat, regarding the flowers, with all four paws in a row, and her tail curled around them. I realized that since she'd been home, we hadn't had a vase of flowers out.

She'd seen the Christmas tree, and then fascinated by it, but I'd skipped buying point sedios, afraid that she would chew on them.

The vet thought she'd likely been born in early autumn, so these might be the first flowers

she'd ever seen. I watched her stretch, her short furry neck, out toward the blooms. She let them drape over her cheek, and forehead, and just stayed very still with her eyes closed. I smiled in the kitchen, thinking of all the moments she'd made me laugh, or gasped, or marvel

at her, and felt so lucky that she picked my door that snowy day. Night heard once that dogs don't do what is.

been heavier?

“The night colder, she didn't worry about such things.”

She just sat, her face draped in tiny yellow flowers, breathing in the sweet, almond scent

of them, the toast about to pop up and make her jump for the next exciting moment of her life

here at home, sweet dreams.