Welcome to Stories from the Village of Nothing Much. Like easy listening, but for fiction. I'm Katherine Nicolai. I write and read all the stories you'll hear on the Village of Nothing Much. Audio engineering and sound design is by Bob Wittersheim. In our show notes, you'll find links to our ad-free premium version, our other shows, and our merch and partner products. Hey, it's the first of the month. That means it's time for our village walking tour. The idea here is that I show you around some of the established locations in our stories. I point out some details. We stroll the streets and soak up some calm village vibes together. You can do this while you're actually walking. That's kind of nice. Just bring your imagination. Or it works just as well as the background to your commute, a long bath, or folding your laundry. We'll just be two friends spending some time together. And if it feels a little cheesy to be friends with a stranger on the internet, to play pretend with me, Just remember, it's okay to be cheesy in your own head. No one can see, and the rules of the world are made up anyway. So let's have some fun. Before we do, let's take a deep breath in through the nose. And sigh from your mouth. One more time, breathe in. And let it out. Good. Valentine Walking Tour. Oh, hi. Hey, come have a seat. I thought for today's tour, it would make sense to start here in the park. I know it's still pretty chilly in the village. It's February, after all. But there is just a slight feeling of spring in the air, don't you think? in the center of the lake there. Maybe it's more of a pond than a lake, but in the center, the ice has melted, and a few very brave ducks are floating and splashing in it. And while there is still snow and drifts along the path, if you look out in the meadow, in spots where the trees don't cast a shadow on the ground, where the sun can really linger, it's patchy, and you can make out a bit of grass poking through. Okay, I admit that feels like quite a stretch to get excited about spotting a few dead blades of grass that are only visible under very specific conditions. But sometimes that's how it is. Sometimes you have to look hard to see the hope and the goodness. But it can be found. In fact, right here on this bench, just scoot over a few inches. see this heart that's carved into the slats of the seat? Love inspired it. Inside the heart are two letters, M and L. And who are they? Well, no spoilers, but maybe just tune in to the next few weeks if nothing much happens, okay? Since we are creeping up on Valentine's Day, I thought we might take a sort of romance-themed tour today, starting here on the bench where many village sweethearts have sat. Have you ever carved your name into something? Hopefully not a tree. That's not cool. But I feel like a desk at school, that's fair. Or just writing your name and their name in a notebook. Did you ever do that? I certainly did. I was a very daydreamy kid and never grew out of it. Not surprising, I'm sure. Sometimes I think romance, the idea of romance, gets disregarded as if it isn't important. Like as a genre, it's sometimes not taken seriously. But I think it's a foundational cultural technology. No, really. And the fact that we underestimate it has more to say about the structure of our society than the value of the genre itself. Because stories help us understand ourselves. and others, and understanding hearts and belonging and connection and desire, that is fundamental to becoming and maintaining ourselves as emotionally mature people. Am I overselling it? Sorry, I get a little touchy when soft things are considered unimportant. And the silver lining is that I think things are shifting around this a lot lately. People are enthusiastically embracing romance more than ever. And they aren't embarrassed to love love. And hey, neither am I. So if I get a little sappy as I take you around town, relate some of the stories behind the stories you're already familiar with, forgive me. This village gives me hard eyes. In fact, let's start with a little walk to the sunken garden here in the park. You've never been? You know, I'm actually not surprised. It's a little hidden, and this time of year there are obviously no flowers to enjoy. But let's just take this path away from the pond. I first wrote about this spot in a story called Someplace Only We Know. I wrote it thinking about that feeling of excitement and possibility that comes with a long summer evening. Remember those? When it seemed like you could meet anyone, find some great adventure, stumble onto something special or exciting. In it, the narrator of the story is remembering that teenage feeling as a grown-up and revisiting it by taking a bike ride that lands her in the park. She wanders through these same paths and finds the hidden garden. In a flash, she remembers her first kiss in the same spot. here see this row of arborvitaes they are the border of the hidden garden and it kind of looks like there's no way in but if you come around to this side see there is a gap here let's go through wow even in the snow it is really lovely in here it's about the size of a tennis court I'd say totally surrounded by the arborvitaes, which are probably eight feet tall or so. So no wonder it was a spot for a first kiss. It's pretty private. There are a few stone benches, and in each corner of the garden there is a statue. The ivy has been cut back now, but when the narrator of that story was here, this one was almost completely swallowed up in it. It's a lady in a drape of fabric. I wonder how many people have had their first kiss here. As a hopeless romantic, I'd like to think there is something magical about this small garden. Like branches open to those in love on starry nights or something. You know, now that I think about it, this whole park does seem a little magical. It's only the size of a block or two, but I've written about a lot of interesting spots in it that only seem to pop into existence once or twice. I'm glad we found this one today. Now, let's take the path back around to the other side of the pond and head to the next stop of our tour. I'm glad you wore your boots today. Even with the sunshine, it is still pretty chilly. Oh, I think there might be a coffee cart by the park gates. It isn't there all the time, but I think I saw it when I came in this morning Are you up for a coffee Me too And just to orient you a bit more the park is on the north side of town directly south of the neighborhood where Marmalade and Crumb and Bertie live And by the way, that neighborhood is the subject of my new audiobook, On the Street Where You Live. And yes, thank you for asking. It is available for pre-order now. It's a cozy audio novel, and it's about the lives of nine villagers and how they intersect over the course of the last weekend of the summer. It is such a lovely, affirming, soft listen. And the cast, oh my gosh, so great. Mara Wilson, Cabana Holdbrook Smith, Javier Munez. Yeah, the guy from Hamilton, that's him. And me, little old me, I'm playing the innkeeper. It comes out in July, and I'm so proud of it. It took a while to find the right home for it. And now that it's coming out, I just want everyone who loves the Village of Nothing much to hear it. So yes, please search for On the Street Where You Live, on Audible or Spotify, Libby, Libro.fm, anywhere you get your audiobooks. Oh good, the coffee cart is here. What do you want? Just a drip? Sugar? Milk? Got it. I'll be right back. Let's take a deep breath together. In through the nose. and out through the mouth. It feels good to breathe deeply. And the air we breathe, especially at night, matters more than we might think. While we sleep, our bodies are hard at work, restoring, repairing, and recharging. But that work can be quietly disrupted by what's floating in the air, Things like dust, pollen, and other allergens. I didn't used to think much about indoor air quality. But once I did, I realized, if we care about what we eat and drink, why not care just as much about what we breathe? That's why I sleep with a Jasper air scrubber in my room. It has no annoying lights and doubles as a gentle white noise machine that's become essential to my bedtime rhythm. But more than anything, it's turned my bedroom into a sleep sanctuary. A space where the air helps me sleep, deeply and peacefully. I can't recommend Jasper enough. You can learn more at jasper.co. And if you use the code SLEEP, you'll get $300 off. That's j-a-s-p-r dot c-o. Use code SLEEP for $300 off. Here you go. I always feel like on a cold day, if I have a hot cup in my hands, I can just walk forever. And do you know about their hanging coffee system? Have you ever heard of that? I first experienced it when I lived in Italy. I think it's a tradition from Naples. It's called Caffè Sospeso, and that literally means hanging coffee, like I said. So when you come in in the morning, get your coffee. you might pay for two so that if someone comes in later who needs a coffee but can't afford one, they can have it. It just sort of hangs in the air till someone claims it. So on the coffee cart, they had a few post-its with drinks available that had already been paid for. Sweet, right? We got our two and we left two hanging for someone else. so we are just going to go straight west a couple of blocks till we get to the corner where the bakery is the windows of the shops are decorated for valentine's day our little village never misses a chance to celebrate something have you noticed i like those giant message hearts hanging in the window of the craft store? That's smart. You see them, and then you can go in and get all the supplies to make them. I remember when I was waiting for my first book to come out, I made a paper chain. Remember those? We always made them to count down to like Halloween or Christmas in grade school when I was a kid. Well, I thought, why not make one to count down to my first ever pub day. It was the summer of 2020, and I think we all needed to have good things sort of right in our faces, you know? So I went to the craft store, and I bought a stack of construction paper, all colors, and went home, cut them in strips, and glued them into a chain. Each morning, I'd take one off. We could do that counting down to the first day of spring. If you need a little pick-me-up, something to look forward to. Today, it's 47 days. 47 days till spring. We got this. We can do it. Let's take a left at this corner. And the place we are going is right across from the movie theater. Here it is. The candy shop. I know, I've only written about the candy shop a couple of times, so there will be a lot to discover inside. Come on in. I just want to stand here for a second and smell everything. I think calling this a candy shop doesn't give you the full picture. They're chocolatiers. Candy makers. Caramel makers. In fact, right here in the front window is a giant copper pot. And a couple times a day, they make a homemade batch of caramel. You can watch from the sidewalk. And they have caramel popcorn. They make their own butter mints. They've got bubble gum and a giant gumball machine, vintage brands, and homemade fudge. It's like a magical little kid's dream. And there's a lot to see. Let's start in the chocolate section. There are these long marble benches that help them temper the chocolate, and also where they pour out the fudge to let it form. They clearly believe here that eating starts with your eyes. It's a beautiful space. The chocolate section has sort of an old-world feeling. Notice the dark wood trim in the shelves, and it certainly smells of chocolate. but also cinnamon and orange peel, maybe a little bit of peppermint. And they use these signature boxes, so pretty, with their logo on the top and stamped onto the tissue paper inside. And you can buy them pre-filled like a classic sampler, Village Edition. See this one? Pretty ribbon, perfect to take with you to a dinner party or gift a date. Or you can have them custom-made. I think I need one for my valentine. Oh, they have heart-shaped ones. Yes, I love it. Let's see, they have all these different kinds of bonbons and truffles behind the glass here. Probably a smart move to keep people from drooling over them. They look so good Do you like milk chocolate or dark chocolate I love dark chocolate and as a 26 vegan that's usually where it stopped for me. But now they make oat milk chocolate, and I have to say it's really good. But I'm not buying for me. Note to self, let me think about what my sweetheart would like. She loves caramel. So, oh, hello. Yes, can I do the big heart-shaped box? And let's get one of each of the caramels. Thank you. And, oh, these, they're sort of like peppermint patties. Always a hit. Give me a half dozen of those. Do you have the dark chocolate almond butter cups? She likes those better than peanut butter. Good, yes, some of those. How much space is left? Okay, perfect. Let's fill the rest with truffles. Sea salt. Hazelnut. Skip the white chocolate. She never eats those. Oh, is this like a pistachio cream? Perfect, beautiful. Can you wrap it? Like cellophane and a ribbon? Thank you. the cellophane. Make sure I don't try to sneak one out before I give it to her. Oh, that looks beautiful. Thank you so much. And do you have those little gift cards? Okay, thank you. I love giving gifts. I always want to give Christmas gifts as soon as they're wrapped, but I need to be patient with this one. Still a couple weeks till Valentine's. Let's keep working our way back through the shop. So beyond the chocolate section is the penny candy, which was a penny when I was a kid, so I suspect this isn't really a penny anymore. It's probably just the name for it now. There are bins of brightly colored everythings, as far as the eye can see. Paper lunch sacks tucked between them. Yeah, go for it. Just take a bag and browse. What's your fancy? Jawbreakers? Sours? Gummies? Jelly beans? Oh, I love Swedish fish. As a vegan, they're the only fish I eat. There's a scoop in each bin, so you can just give yourself as much as you want. Did I mention I like Swedish fish? I think you might want to just scoop a few more, just in case you want to share with me. Just a bit more. Good. Let's see. Tootsie Rolls, Root Bear Barrels, Atomic Fireballs. I love those. Mary Janes and Squirrels. Those are my mom's favorites. And Licorice Twists. Now, I think people have very strong feelings about black licorice. And I am people in this scenario. I think it should be illegal. Black jelly beans in your Easter basket? It felt like my parents were pulling a prank on me. My dad told me I would love them when I got older, but dad, I am 45 years old and they are still disgusting. Wow, making a note to talk about this with my therapist feels like that goes a bit deep. But seriously, I think our preferences around flavors can have a lot to do with what we grew up with. Like when I lived in Italy, I was in high school, and lots of kids my age there loved black licorice. They had gum that was very strongly flavored like it. And I would switch them a piece of my treasured big red, and we would see who could stand the others for longest. And they could not believe that we opted in to cinnamon gum. So it's all relative, I guess. now back here is where they keep the retro style candy a couple shelves of stuff i did love as a kid do you remember bubble tape and big chew those were high value treats when i was young they have boxes of bit o honey and zots oh those were so sour i wonder if i could even handle them today. What's your favorite? Chico stick? Good choice. Sometimes I linger back here and peek through the swinging doors into the back. Yeah, I am being a little nosy. Make sure they don't have any oompa loompas in there. But also, I don't know, I like watching how things are made. and you can watch them robe the chocolates. Come here. Act natural. Like you're just, um, here, reading the ingredients on the back of these pop rocks, which, dang, why do they have milk in them? Anyway, so that machine is like a conveyor belt, and the caramels ride through that waterfall of chocolate, that chocolate fall. You know, I would go chasing chocolate falls and not stick to the rivers and the streams that I was used to, unless they were also full of chocolate. And over there, that person is filling molds. You can tell by the way they do it so swiftly, without spilling a drop of chocolate that they have done this so many times. They're masters of the craft. I think we've been spotted. The jig is up. It's probably time to move on anyway. Let's head to the front and pay for our purchases. 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. And I have something that fits beautifully into that routine. It's called Moonbird. 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. 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. And after seeing how much it helped me, my wife wanted one for herself, and now she loves it too. There's no screen to distract you, but if you like data, there's an optional app that tracks your heart rate and HRV. A recent study found that people fell asleep 28% faster and had 37% better sleep quality using Moonbird daily. If you're ready to take your bedtime ritual even further, you can get 15% off at moonbird.life slash nothingmuchhappens. We'll have that in our show notes. moonbird.life slash nothingmuchhappens. Okay, Mittens back on. We've got a couple of blocks to our next stop. Let's turn left and we'll go down toward the stationary shop. I think by next month we will start to maybe see a few early flowers. Come on, it's possible. Snowdrops even daffodils they sometimes emerge by the end of February the beginning of March A crocus or two Right now they are down in the soil somehow aware of how much sunlight is shining down on them Let's take a left at this corner. We're headed into the part of town we sometimes call the Old Village. You see where the pavement ahead turns to cobblestones? And the road is a little bit narrower. These are the oldest buildings in town. And if we kept going straight, we'd come to the village green. But we're going to turn left at the corner where the record shop is. But let's just take a moment to look in the windows, okay? Do you have a turntable at home? I love mine. It makes listening to music a sort of event all on its own. You know what I mean? Like it's more deliberate. I need to flip through my records, find out what I want to listen to, and then I have to set it on the player and lay the needle, and when one side is over, I need to flip it to the other. It's not like just turning on a playlist in the background. In our house, it's part of the Saturday morning ritual. Music on the record player as we have our coffee and maybe dance around. Oh, look, they have some great love songs and albums in the front window. This one was my parents' wedding song, We've Only Just Begun, by the Carpenters. Mom says that was everyone's song when they got married in 1973. Yep, they just celebrated their 52nd anniversary in December. Maybe I'll come back later and buy that record for them. Okay, our next destination is up ahead on the right. The Village Flower Shop. We've got to. Valentine's Day, we've got our chocolates. Now we need flowers. And listen, I've heard a rumor that there is a romance happening right now between one of the florists and the guy who owns the bicycle shop across the street. Have you heard about that? I guess she was his plus one at Thanksgiving at Marmalade and Crumb's house. I mean, I try to keep my nose out of the villagers' business, mostly. Sort of, but that's what I've heard. The front window is full of bouquets. So many roses. That makes sense this close to Valentine's, but also lots of lilies and some early tulips. There is a flower farm outside of town. I know they provide flowers for local weddings, for the local restaurants and the inn. And I'm pretty sure all these roses come from there. We could go out there sometime. The woman who runs it has a beagle named arugula. And right along the shelf at the bottom, see these paper whites. Do you ever grow those? They are a wonderful way to bring some life into the middle of winter. You just buy some bulbs and these special sort of hourglass-shaped vases so the roots can reach the water, but the bulb stays dry. And after a bit, these incredibly sweet-smelling flowers grow up out of the bulb. They smell a lot like hyacinths. So sweet. Anyway, let's go in. Wow. I wonder if you get used to this smell, or if it is just always this striking. I think the lilies are what we're smelling so strongly now. Those stargazer lilies. I'll need to take some of those home. My wife loves to have them in our house because they last for weeks and the perfume is just so sweet and strong. I carried calla lilies at our wedding, so they are some of my favorites as well. And they also have a lot of houseplants and succulents. Let's take a look. ZZ plants. Staghorn ferns. Oh, and a mother of thousands. I actually wrote about this plant in this very shop in the story called Hearts and Flowers. I have one at home. They're fascinating. See how they have these sort of arrow-shaped leaves? And all the way around the edge of those leaves are these tiny plantlets. I'm like 80% sure I didn't make that word up. They're baby plants. And then when they're ready, they sort of fall off and they grow into another plant over time. We had one in the window of my yoga studio and students would take a little handful of plantlets home with them and drop them into their own houseplants. And we kind of grew this web of mother of thousands across town. They've got a large selection of succulents. We gave out little succulents in tiny pots at our wedding. It was very Etsy in 2013, and we still have one growing on our kitchen windowsill. And they say romance is dead. They've got snake plants. Those are supposed to be good to keep in your bedroom. Something about them releasing oxygen at night, which I don't know, I thought all plants did that. I remember learning about how plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen in school as a kid and thinking they should just bring a bunch of plants on them with trips into space on spaceships and they wouldn't run out of O2. Like pack the dehydrated Neapolitan ice cream slices and a couple pots of pothos and you're all set. This section is full of the greenery and extra stems that fill out bouquets, like baby's breath and feverfew and eucalyptus. They have trailing ivy vines that hang so prettily over vases, and sometimes I know they use herbs to fill out the posies, like lavender or mint or even rosemary. It's an interesting idea to have a sort of savory-scented bouquet. Look how this whole wall is a clever grid of buckets full of different kinds of flowers. The buckets kind of disappear, and it just looks like a quilt made of petals. And then over here is where they make custom bouquets, where they snip the stems and strip the extra leaves off. They have rolls of brown craft paper, if you want a simple look, or these shades of tissue paper and ribbon. They usually layer a few sheets on to give a kind of ombre effect, depending on the season. Like I got a bouquet in January, and they were shades of ice white and pale blue. Now it's all reds and pinks for Valentine's. I think if we came in March, we'd see shades of green for the coming spring. Well, I am going to pick out some flowers for my love, and it has me thinking about how, in English, we have just the phrase, I love you. But in other languages, they distinguish between romantic and platonic love. In Italian, when you're in love with someone, you say, ti amo. But when you tell your friend that you love them, you say, ti voglio bene, which means, I want good for you. And that's what I want for you, my friend. Thank you for spending some time with me today, for taking a walk through the village and daydreaming with me. Wherever you are, ti voglio bene.
