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Hey my friends, welcome to Get Sleepy, where we listen, we relax, and we get sleepy.
I'm your host, Thomas.
Thanks so much for listening.
Tonight, Vanessa will be reading you a story about Maddy, who works the morning shift at a cosy bed and breakfast in a beautiful, rambling old house.
Thank you to Leila for writing this one.
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Our Get Sleepy Premium members can enjoy a multitude of amazing benefits like ad-free listening, discount on merchandise, exclusive long-length stitched episodes and a bonus episode every single Thursday.
I'll be reading tomorrow's story, all about a girl that savors the rainy weather in the beautiful mountainous surroundings near her home.
To find out about all the perks of being a Get Sleepy Premium member, just follow the link in the episode description.
Thank you so much my friends.
Now, it's time to settle in and transition into the night.
Our story is going to give you ample opportunity to do that, while you prepare for a good night's sleep.
So if you're feeling wakeful and restless right now, there's no need to panic whatsoever.
I certainly appreciate that, no matter how fine-tuned our bedtime routines might be, many of us will still have those nights where we find ourselves struggling to shut off, going over thoughts that suddenly present themselves when all is quiet and free of distraction.
But there's no need to worry about that.
It happens, and the more we can develop a carefree attitude towards any thoughts or concerns that pop up, the less likely they'll be to keep us awake at night.
So all I'd like you to do now, as we prepare to start our story, is take three calming, steady breaths, letting the exhale extend a little longer than the inhale.
And on your last breath out, Just surrender control over your sleep.
It's one of those things that we can't force.
We simply have to just let it happen.
So release any sense of control or any active effort you might be making towards it.
Just surrender to the here and now, enjoying the comfort of your bed and knowing that the only thing you need to do is listen along to Vanessa's voice and make space for yourself to gradually relax.
Now let's join Maddy as she prepares for her shift at a charming bed and breakfast called the Rose House Inn.
This is where our story begins.
Maddie awoke and stretched her arms wide under her warm comforter.
The early light of dawn brightened her window, and outside she could see a sky just tinged with pink and gold that foretold the coming sunrise.
She stepped out of her bed into her soft slippers, which she'd left waiting at the ready last night.
She wrapped a fluffy robe around her, then padded silently from the room.
She was due soon at the bed and breakfast where she worked, a charming building surrounded by rose bushes with a fragrant lavender and jasmine scent.
Maddie prepared quickly and then slipped on a comfortable coat to ward off the morning chill.
No need for breakfast or coffee.
She'd have those in the early morning silence of the B&B.
She walked to work because it was just a few blocks away.
She went briskly, and the morning coolness felt fresh on her cheeks.
The Rose House Inn, as the bed and breakfast was called, was located at the more residential end of a pleasant shopping street in Maddie's California suburb.
A pretty picket fence surrounded its small gardens, which in turn encircled a rambling wooden house.
The house was painted sage green with sparkling white trim.
The rose bushes all around it were in bloom, bursting with mounds of blossoms in every shade, from deepest red to sunset orange, and from lemon yellow to palest pink and lilac.
The jasmine plants climbed trellises beside the front door and covered an archway that led from the sidewalk up a winding stone path to the house.
The tiny white, star-shaped jasmine flowers cast their heavenly scent into the cool morning air, lending a feeling of enchantment to the already storybook-like scene.
Maddie pulled her hands from the fleece-lined pockets of her coat and unlatched the little gate.
She made her way up the short winding path to the front door, which was adorned with stained glass in the pattern of a bouquet of flowers.
First things first, she must change the door code so that the day's guests could get in.
She consulted a little notebook, then keyed in the new code.
Each entered number emitted a tiny beep that confirmed it was successfully recorded.
That task done, Maddie stepped back outside and tested the code.
Once she was satisfied that it was working correctly, she left the door locked and wound her way back down to the street.
She walked another couple of blocks along the sleeping streets, only encountering a handful of twittering birds along the way.
These early birds chattered away in fruit trees in residential front yards or hopped inquisitively around the doorways of closed shops and restaurants.
But on the final block of her short walk, she met other people, early risers like herself.
They were drawn to this block by the same place that she was going.
A little bakery whose open door was already letting out tempting aromas of fresh baked goods.
Maddie stepped inside the bakery and a cloud of sweet smelling warmth greeted her.
Moving forward to order, she greeted the smiling woman behind the counter.
The woman handed her a bag of a dozen fresh croissants and a selection of just baked pastries.
To these, she added a raspberry muffin and an almond croissant on Maddie's request.
The owner of the bed and breakfast had explicitly instructed Maddie to order herself breakfast on his tab each morning when she picked up fresh pastries for the guests.
Maddie clutched the warm bags against her and thanked the woman.
Then she headed out into the freshness of the morning again. and hurried back to the house.
Once there, she entered the door code, and this time she went inside and hung up her coat.
She made her way quietly across the thick carpet of the entryway and into the kitchen.
The house was already comfortably warm, as it was very well insulated despite its old-fashioned appearance, and it had been updated with thick-paned glass on its many windows.
The airy, farmhouse-style kitchen was much the same.
It retained its original charm, but was modernized with all the latest conveniences.
Relishing the quiet and warmth in the old house, Maddy turned to the coffee corner.
She opened a large container of French roast beans and breathed in their rich scent.
Then she scooped a generous portion into a large coffee maker and added water to the tank and set it to brew.
Its tempting fragrance began to fill the kitchen.
While it brewed, Maddie took out a wooden tray.
On it, she arranged a sugar bowl and milk pitcher.
These were made of white porcelain decorated with scenes of long-ago country life, painted in delicate blue.
She added a wooden box filled with a selection of tea bags in every possible blend and fragrance.
English breakfast in earl grey, jasmine and orange blossom, green tea and mint, chamomile and lavender and hibiscus.
Next, she removed a white porcelain butter crock from the refrigerator, graced with the same blue pattern as the sugar bowl and milk pitcher.
She took out a pad of rich yellow butter and scooped it into the crock, filling it up all the way to the brim.
Then she added this to the tray along with a silver-plated butter knife.
Finally, she took a glass bottle of milk from the refrigerator and filled the little pitcher.
Maddie loved this milk from a local dairy that was just a few hours away on the California coast.
It was rich and creamy and it came in sturdy thick glass bottles that were sterilized and reused again and again.
Then she set the tray aside and turned to the coffee maker.
It was now done brewing and the pot was filled with a dark, fragrant liquid.
She poured most of the steaming hot coffee into a tall silver pot, but she was careful to leave enough for a cup of her own keeping hot in the coffee maker.
She carefully placed the silver pot onto the tray, then lifted it slowly and carried the whole thing over to the swinging double doors that led into the formal dining room.
Pushing the doors open gently with her shoulder, Maddie maneuvered through.
She set the tray down carefully on a polished sideboard made of walnut wood, topped by a blue cloth embroidered with roses.
She returned to the kitchen then and took out a large porcelain platter that matched the sugar bowl, milk pitcher and butter crock.
On this platter, she arranged the croissants and other pastries she'd brought back from the bakery.
She carried the platter into the dining room and set it in the center of the large walnut wood dining table.
This was also covered with a blue rose pattern tablecloth and it was already set with plates in the same pretty pattern as the platter and other dishes with glistening silverware alongside.
Matching mugs and crystal glasses sat at the ready, while snowy white linen napkins lay across the dishes.
The table had been laid ready last night for today's breakfast, just as it would be set again later tonight.
Then Maddie returned to the kitchen and prepared more platters, spreading them with cold cuts and slices of cheese, hard-boiled eggs and fruit.
These platters she added to the dining table before returning again to the kitchen.
There, she took oranges from a large bowl and sliced them efficiently on a wooden cutting board.
She pressed the half oranges into an old-fashioned metal juicer.
Their bright juice streamed down into a glass pitcher below the juicer.
When it was full, she cleaned up and then took the pitcher of pulp-filled orange juice out to the dining room.
Everything was set.
When they were ready, the guests would come downstairs and help themselves.
And now, it was time for Maddie's own breakfast.
Back in the cozy kitchen, she took down a mug from a nearby rack and poured her cup of coffee.
She added a splash of milk, which swirled appealingly, turning the drink a lovely creamy color.
There was a little round table in the corner of the kitchen, and that was where she sat down to enjoy her meal.
She picked up her flaky almond croissant and tore off a piece, which she proceeded to dip into the milky coffee.
When she'd finished the croissant, she started in on the raspberry muffin, which was perfectly moist and delicious.
As she washed it down with swallows of warm coffee, she sighed with contentment.
She savored each bite, sitting in the comfortable old padded wooden chair, admiring the roses outside the window.
The sky was brightening outside now, and it was time for her to get to work.
So Maddie tidied up and went to a small back room behind the main staircase.
This served as an office for the bed and breakfast staff.
Inside the office, she seated herself at a desk and logged into the computer.
She looked at the reservation's calendar to see which guests were leaving today and which were checking in.
She checked the email and responded to requests and inquiries from prospective guests.
Once all that was done, she was ready to move on to her housekeeping duties.
But before getting started she double checked the time to ensure that all the guests would have come down for breakfast by now.
Then she made her way towards the back stairs of the house.
The big old home had two sets of stairs.
Any straggling guests would use the front staircase to go down to breakfast, so she was free to use the back stairs without running into anyone.
And this was something Maddy loved being able to go about her work in solitude and quiet, getting lost in her thoughts as she moved methodically through her tasks.
She always carried out her chores with careful precision, appreciating the peaceful serenity of the lovely old house.
At the base of the back stairs she picked up a large basket that lay beside a washer and dryer, tucked into a little alcove.
It was yesterday's washing.
There was a pile of snowy sheets, edged with embroidery, neatly folded.
Carrying the basket against her hip, Maddie went up the carpeted stairs.
At the top, she went into one of the rooms that had guests checking out today.
It was the lavender room.
All the rooms of the bed and breakfast were named for flowers that grew in its gardens.
The walls of this room were light purple and the bed was covered with a white quilt embroidered with sprigs of lavender, which matched the curtains at the little window.
Overhead were exposed wooden beams.
The curtains were drawn back, and the window looked out on the side garden.
Maddie stripped the bed, then made it up with freshly laundered sheets.
Then she did the same in the other rooms that guests were leaving today.
These were the pink rose room and the yellow rose room, both of which boasted wallpaper and bedspreads adorned with trailing roses of their respective hues.
Once she had stripped the beds in all the rooms that guests were leaving, Maddie gathered up the laundry in her arms and went downstairs.
She put the quilts into the wash so they'd be ready to put back on the beds later in her shift.
Then she headed back upstairs where she stripped the beds in rooms where guests were staying on.
The jasmine room and the blue rose room.
In these.
She remade the beds with fresh sheets and smoothed the quilts back into place over the new sheets.
No need to wash these quilts until new guests were coming to the rooms.
Once this was done, it was time to do a little light cleaning in the bedrooms and adjacent bathrooms.
She dusted little vanities and desks that were tucked into corners or alcoves of the different rooms.
Each guest room was unique at the Rose House Inn.
By the time she was done, the quilts were finished washing.
So she headed back downstairs.
The neat piles in her laundry basket now replaced with crumpled sheets ready for washing.
She removed the quilts from the washing machine and set them to dry, then put in the sheets to wash.
Then, she headed back upstairs and pulled a vacuum cleaner from a small linen closet.
She plugged it in and ran it over the carpets of each room in turn, humming softly to herself over the quiet hum of the machine.
Soon, Maddie was satisfied that the thick carpets were spotless.
So she returned the vacuum to its little closet and padded downstairs again.
She moved the sheets to the dryer now and took the dry quilts back up to the guest rooms.
She spread them neatly across the beds, tugging and tucking them into place until they were as smooth as the water on a windless pond.
The sheets wouldn't be dry for some time yet though, so she went back through to the kitchen for a second cup of coffee and a little break.
The kitchen was filled with sunshine now.
A beam of sunlight streamed in through the window, creating a bright column that illuminated a few specks of dust drifting lazily in the air.
Maddie served herself a cup of coffee and made herself comfortable at the kitchen table.
She watched the specks of dust drift and turn, swirl and dip.
Her eyes turned to the window, where the day was bright and inviting.
A profusion of flowers peeked up beyond the windowsill, and she could hear birds just outside.
The warm beverage was soothing, and the seat comfortable.
Maddie luxuriated for a time in the serenity of the lovely morning and her own company.
At last, feeling rested and refreshed, she stood up and stretched lightly.
Putting her mug into the dishwasher, she headed back to work humming again.
First, she returned to the office to check for email and phone messages.
She responded to a request to book and a message asking for more information, and she logged the appropriate changes into the reservations calendar.
Then she removed the pile of sheets from the dryer.
They were warm and fresh-smelling, made of soft cotton.
She hung them carefully across the back of a chair, then set about folding them meticulously.
Maddie had always taken pleasure in a job well done, and she put her attention towards doing this one right.
First, she picked up a fitted sheet.
She took a corner in each hand and then folded them together.
She turned one fitted corner inside out and tucked it into the other so that they nested tidily.
She then folded it in half again, nesting all the corners together carefully, so that the sheet formed a trim little square.
Once she'd folded all the fitted sheets, she turned to the easier flat sheets, padding and smoothing them into folded perfection.
When the basket was full of neatly arranged bedding ready for tomorrow, she pushed it into its alcove at the base of the stairs.
There was only one thing left to do now.
Tidy up from breakfast.
Peeking out into the dining room through the double doors, she saw that the room was empty.
The guests had gone out to start their day.
She took the platters and trays out to the kitchen then packed away any leftover food.
Her replacement worker, later on, would have the remaining pastries for a mid-shift snack.
Maddie emptied the table of dishes, carrying the pretty porcelain and stacking it into the dishwasher with care.
She added soap and set it to wash on a gentle cycle.
Taking a last look around, she assured herself that all was as it should be.
Then she made her way across the thick, soft carpet to where her coat was hanging by the door.
She took it down from its hook, but she didn't put it on this time.
The day was now pleasantly warm.
Instead, she lay the soft coat across her arm and let herself quietly out the front door.
It clicked into place behind her.
Later in the day the bed and breakfasts afternoon employee would arrive to clean the dining room and kitchen, check in again on messages and set the table for tomorrow morning.
But for now all was quiet, save for the soft twittering of the birds and the muffled sound of people going about their business on the shopping street not far away.
Smiling at the glorious day.
Maddie went on her way too, satisfied that her work was well done and looking forward to an afternoon that was hers to spend as she pleased you, Thank you.
Thank you.
Thanks for watching!
Thank you.
Thanks for watching!
Thank you.
