Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - Carrot Cake by Candlelight (Rainy Day Bakery)

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey friends, for the best Get Sleepy experience, be sure to check out our supporters' feed Get Sleepy Premium for art-free listening, weekly bonus episodes, and access to our entire catalogue. Now, a quick word from our sponsors, who make the free version of this show possible. Craving a delicious and comforting holiday meal but don't feel like cooking? Swiss Shally's got you covered with their iconic festive special. Enjoy their famous quarter chicken dinner! Now with cranberry sauce, stuffing, linda chocolates, plus a scratch-and-win card where

Starting point is 00:00:35 everyone's a winner. Download the Swiss Shale app to place an order for delivery today. Visit SwissShaleys.ca for contest details while supplies last. Hello and welcome to Get Sleepy. Where we listen, we relax and we get sleepy. and we get sleepy. I'm your host, Thomas. It's a pleasure as always to have your company. Tonight, we have a real treat for you all. We'll be returning once again to one of our favorite places, the rainy day bakery. On what is our seventh visit to this now familiar place, Stormy Weather is in the forecast, and friends new and old will come together once again in their home away from home as the lily whips up some sweet treats.

Starting point is 00:01:43 Thank you to our head writer Shady Grove for another edition of this Soporific series that is adored by so many of you wonderful listeners. And most certainly by me, there are some of my favorites to read. You can listen to all of the other stories from the rainy day bakery on our supporters' feed, Get Sleepy Premium, where we also have long length stitched versions of the episodes from the series. For more information on the premium feed, visit GetSleepy.com slash support, or just tap the link in the show notes. Now my friends, make yourself nice and comfy as you set all into bed.

Starting point is 00:02:40 Allow your breath to fall into a slow and steady pattern, drawing in fully to fill up your chest and stomach, and softly easing it back out, feeling a greater sense of relaxation each time you let go. Just keep those steady breaths going for a little while. Speaking of letting go, tonight is a good time to do just that. Autumn is a season of change, leaves turn yellow, orange and brown, and fall to the ground. The natural world bids farewell to the warmth of summer and prepares for the quiet depths of winter. People find activities to do inside.

Starting point is 00:03:53 The long days at the beach or in the park, traded for time spent by the fireplace, or culled up with a book. While change can be challenging, it's also rewarding, making space for new things to come. And the people and places we love can be our anchors through times of change, easing the transition between seasons of our own lives. We can keep this in mind as we begin tonight's story. So let's join Lily as she prepares to open up the bakery early on a stormy autumn morning. Fonda rolls in the distance as heavy raindrops splash around her lilies' feet. She turns the key and opens the door to the bakery, just as a flash of lightning illuminates the still dark sky overhead. It's the wee hours of the morning, and the sun has yet to make an appearance. She steps inside and closes the door behind her with a click.

Starting point is 00:06:00 Taking a deep breath, Lily wipes her boots on the mat, and jiggles her umbrella, watching as a cascade of droplets splatters on the floor. The dark bakery is an oasis of calm in the storm. in the storm. With the door closed, the sound of the rain is muffled to a gentle pattering, but she can still hear cracks of thunder every so often. Next hailing, Lily makes her way over to the strand of fairy lights and plugs them in. They flick her on like tiny stars. There's something magical about them during an autumn storm she thinks to herself. A reminder that light can always be found in the places you love, even on the darkest of days.

Starting point is 00:07:18 After admiring them for a few moments, they wee walks over and flex on the main light switch. The bakery brightens immediately, a wash in a friendly golden glow. With all the lights on, the windows facing the street seem even darker than before. Reflections of empty tables and chairs and quiet appliances shimmer on the Inky backdrop. In an instant, a bright white flash of lightning branches in the sky above town. They set a big storm was coming, and they were right, Linny Muses, recalling the weather forecast she had the previous evening. The meteorologist had said that power outages and even some flooding would be likely. That's why she's decided to come to the bakery a little early this morning. She promised the new owner of the bookshop next door a few carrot cakes for his grand opening

Starting point is 00:08:50 and she wants to make sure they're ready well in advance. Just in case she thinks. He planned the opening before the storm was in the forecast and is now hoping for the best. The first time she met the new owner was on a beautiful late summer day. The weather alternated between rainy and sunny, and golden puffy clouds fluted lazily overhead. She'd never seen him before, and a new face in town was something special. He came to the counter and ordered a hot chocolate with whipped cream. Smiling, she remembers how he asked her with a wink. Is it even hot chocolate without whipped cream. And so, to Lily, he became hot chocolate stranger. She chuckles, recalling the nicknames she gives to all of her customers before she learns

Starting point is 00:10:21 their real names. Shamus was originally newspaper cinnamon roll. The young woman, Beth, who works at the library, was Red Eye, for her signature, coffee with a shot of espresso. In fact, even now, when Lily walks down the road, she thinks of people's orders as they pass by. Capuchino and Abagle hold sands with Vanilla Latte with a dash of cinnamon. Triple brevvy walks his golden retriever and stops to say hello to oat milk chai. She makes it a point to remember people's regular orders. It makes them feel at home It makes them feel at home just as it should. After a few visits, she learned that Hot Chocolate's stranger's name was Simon and he was going to be her new neighbour. Next door to the bakery, there used to be a little book shop. It was closed

Starting point is 00:11:51 a while back when the old owner left to move closer to family somewhere warmer with less It remained shutted for weeks, then months, then over a year, waiting for someone to arrive and breathe life into it once again. At first, locals wondered what kind of establishment would take its place. But soon, they learned that the old owner had a requirement for selling. Whoever took over the space had to maintain it as a bookshop. So the space waited and waited. And Lily got used to the dark and quiet shopfront next door. She missed the people who would stop by, new books in hand, to drink a cup of coffee or tea, and spend a few hours reading by the window. Bakeries and bookshops just belong together, she thinks aloud. And then Hot Chocolate Stranger, also known as Simon, finally arrived.

Starting point is 00:13:32 It'd been wanting to make a change in his life and saw a listing for a little book shop in a quiet town. testing for a little book shop in a quiet town. Must be prepared for lots of rainy days, the advertisement read. Bakery next door. Daydream is filled with the scent of cinnamon rolls, cakes, pies, and old books danced through his mind. Before he knew it, he'd responded to the advertisement, and the bookshop was his. And now, it's opening day, Lily thinks, as she slips her apron over her head and ties it around her waist. And I have carrot cakes to make by the south-denoon. First things first, Lily says to herself, as she opens up her trusty recipe book and flips

Starting point is 00:14:49 to the right page. She scans the ingredient list, running her finger down the glossy page, before making her way to the pantry. In a few trips, she gathers sugar, flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, icing sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, carrots, and her favorite special ingredient, pineapple chunks. She checks to make sure she has enough cream cheese and butter, but leaves them in the fridge for now. Sometimes she adds raisins and walnuts, but she's leaving them out this time. Just classic carrot and snappy pineapple she thinks. She also finds her round cake tins, spatulas, wet and dry measuring cups, and measuring spoons.

Starting point is 00:16:11 Once she's laid everything out on the counter, she takes a few minutes to arrange the ingredients in the order she'll be using them. While she doesn't mind a little chaos in the kitchen, she prefers to stay organized as much as she can. It helps her keep track of all the tasks she has to do in order to bring her delicious creations to life. And there are always multiple steps happening at once. It's organised chaos she thinks with a grin.

Starting point is 00:17:00 To help her this morning, she decides to use her food processor. She usually chooses to cut, chop and dice by hand, but she has an enormous pile of carrots to shred, and not much time to shred them. She plugs in the food processor and makes sure it's stable on the countertop. Then she prepares the carrots and feeds them into it slices the vegetables into threads. The sounds of the processor become a pleasant sort of white noise to Lily, who methodically pushes carrot after carrot into the machine. Soon she has a giant pile of carrot shavings, which she sets off to one side in a large glass bowl.

Starting point is 00:18:18 Next, she preheats the oven and prepares the pans. She lines them with parchment paper and butters and flowers them so the cakes won't stick. Lily loves the sound the parchment paper makes as she tears it from the roll, catching the edge of the metal teeth, lining the rim of the box. Now it's time to use her trusty mixer. She gathers the oil, sugar, and eggs, and sets them beside the mixer. She affixes the paddle attachment to its arm, and clicks and turns on the machine. The arm begins to rotate, mixing the ingredients together into a loose paste.

Starting point is 00:19:39 She cracks the eggs in one by one, watching as the batter turns more yellow with each addition. When it's fluffy, she adds the vanilla. In a separate bowl, she sifts together the dry ingredients, the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Once both the dry and wet bowls are ready, she slowly begins to incorporate the dry mixture into the wet mixture. She adds the powder gradually, making sure to tip it slowly into the mixer so it doesn't puff up in a cloud of flour and cinnamon. She hears the mixes motor working harder as it spins the paddle through the thickening batter.

Starting point is 00:20:52 When the batter has an even texture, with no lingering pockets of flour, she begins to fold in the shredded carrots using the spatula. They move smoothly through the batter, adding flecks of orange to the yellow base. Finally, she pops in the chunks of pineapple and folds them into the thick, lumpy batter. The bright scent of pineapple tickles her nose, making her think of fruity drinks by a turquoise pool. by a turquoise pool. Just then, thunder cracks and rumbles beyond the walls of the bakery, bringing Lily out of her summertime reverie. Rain pounds against the door to the bakery with renewed fervor. The storms picking up justice predicted Lily Muses, folding in the fruit a tad more quickly. Once the mixture is done, she scoops and pours it carefully into the prepared cake tins.

Starting point is 00:22:31 It settles slowly on the bottom of the pans, pineapple chunks and bits of carrot, evenly peppering the liquidy batter. Then she slides the tins into the oven and sets the timer. This is when the magic happens, she thinks to herself. It took only years to get comfortable trusting the baking process. All baking takes precision, but also a fair bit of letting go. Once the concoctions make it into the oven, there's nothing else to do but wait. And help the customers who are beginning to arrive. Fast through the door is Rose. Batten down the hatches, she says, stomping her feet on the mat and wiping droplets off her jacket. Once she's got as much rain off of her as possible, Rose walks to the counter.

Starting point is 00:24:12 She orders a cup of coffee and one of yesterday's day-old blueberry and oat bars. Lily always sells the day-old baked goods at a discount, but Rose doesn't mind paying full price. I just can't get enough of those blueberry bars, she says, rubbing her glove towns together against the chill. It's lucky people didn't eat them all up yesterday. Lily smiles, sliding a plate with a bar over to her old friend. She also pours a cup of steaming hot coffee, which Rose accepts gratefully. On me, says Lily, the thunderstorm special. Rose laughs and thanks her, taking her coffee and breakfast over to her table. opening, she says, nodding towards the bookshop in between bites of the blueberry bar. Lily nods, preparing her workspace for the morning's other tasks. She plans to make an assortment of bars and cookies as she waits for the carrot cakes to finish in

Starting point is 00:25:47 the oven. As she's scooping a batch of chocolate chip cookies, Shamus pushes open the door. He too is drenched from head to toe. Shaking his shoulders, he hops slightly as a shower of rain falls from his jacket to the floor. Sorry to bring this storm inside, he says to Lily with an apologetic grin. She laughs, waving it off and pouring him a cup of coffee. She adds a blueberry bar to her plate and pushes it towards him. Thundersdorm special, he asks, picking up the hot mug and plate. Of course, says Lily.

Starting point is 00:26:58 Its their tradition, Lily and Shamus. There's free coffee and treats all around on the worst weather days. Lily's timer sounds and she puts on a pair of large oven mitts. Opening the metal door she feels a cloud of heat in golf her face, prickling her skin. She loves the sensation and the delightful smells that come along with it. Warm, carrot and pineapple sense, wafed up and around her as she pulls the cake tins out. She sets them on a rack to cool. They'll have to reach room temperature before it's safe to ice them. She made the mistake of frosting a carrot cake too soon once, and the icing slid off the top of the hot cake, like snow melting from a roof at the start of spring. One of the many cake disasters over the years she thinks to herself with a grin. She puts the chocolate chip cookies into the oven and and sets to work on brown sugar cinnamon oat bars.

Starting point is 00:28:46 Customers trickle in, sometimes individually, sometimes in groups, huddled together in the doorway as they come in from the cold and damp. A dim light fills the windows as the day progresses. Lily can see the outlines of autumn trees outside, their branches clawing and bending with the wind. Flurries of leaves dance across the pavement, and swathes of yellow and gold, blanket the dark road. Slick piles of leaves glisten on the pavements, and make a hollow crackling noise as they're battered by the heavy rain.

Starting point is 00:29:53 Occasionally, spikes of lightning flash white and silver against the roiling, brooding clouds. Thunder rolls in the background. Then he makes bat-sharfter batch of goodies for people seeking refuge from the storm. Many pots of coffee, film mugs and cups. In the middle of the afternoon, Lily looks up to see Simon peeking in through the side door. Normally people only enter through the front, but there is a door connecting the bakery and bookshop via a short hallway. Its remain closed for over a year, but really invited her new neighbour to use it whenever he'd like to stop by for a visit.

Starting point is 00:31:06 She smiles broadly and waves him in. Hot chocolate with whipped cream, she asks him. He grins. Not today I'm afraid. He's busy getting the shop ready for its grand opening party, which is set to start in under an hour. Lily gestures to their carrot cakes lined up on the calling racks. I was just about to finish up your cakes," she tells him. He thanks her, and invites her once again to the opening. It wouldn't be the same without you, he says. After all, bookshops and bakeries just seem to go together,

Starting point is 00:32:09 don't they? Lily nods, promising to stop by. Simon slips out quietly through the side door as Lily begins pulling down cakes from cooling racks. Every carrot cake will have two tears with a layer of frosting between. Once the cakes are out of the pans, Lily pulls out the cream cheese, butter, icing sugar, and vanilla. She creams them together in the mixer, removing it when the frosting is smooth like velvet. From a draw, she retrieves her offset spatula. It's long and thin with a rounded tip and it's perfect for icing crumbly cakes. Using a regular spatula, she deposits a pile of icing in the middle of the first cake. A bolt of lightning flashes in the window as the icing plops down. Then, she uses a delicate outward pushing motion to spread the silky white frosting across the dark cake surface.

Starting point is 00:33:59 Thunder rumbles as her hand remembers the motion. The metal of the spatula leaves little rippling waves across the surface of the frosting, which really thinks are quite pretty. As the rain pours down outside, she stacks halves a top each other and dies as the top player to perfection. Soon, each of the carrot cakes is perfectly covered in a blanket of white. She arranges a few pieces of fresh pineapple on top for decoration. Just as she's putting the finishing touches on the final cake, A loud boom sounds outside, and all the lights flick her off. The bakery is shrouded in darkness. Lenny hears a few gasps around the room, and then roses voice cuts through the whispers. Not to worry, she says, the powers just gone out.

Starting point is 00:35:37 Through the window, Lily sees that all the buildings up and down the street have gone dark. I guess the forecast was right, she thinks to herself. To rent your rain pours down outside. For a few moments, everyone in the bakery is quiet. They listen to the rain pounding the roof and watch as streams of water form in the road. Just then, Simon opens the side door, breaking the silence. I've got a flood, he says. In no time at all, everyone from the bakery stands and makes their way to the connecting door between the two shops. In the dim light, they pick their way into the book shop,

Starting point is 00:36:49 where they find the floor covered in water. Lily hears her boots splashing through a puddle as she walks through the fiction section. through a puddle as she walks through the fiction section. As quickly as they can in the dim light, all the bakery customers pour stacks of books and chairs, tables and other books. A few are beyond saving, but most are yet to be touched by the water. Lily takes over the fairy tale section, pulling old leather-bound copies of the brother's grim off the wooden shelves, and stacking them on top of modern retellings from around the world. She works methodically, pulling and stacking. Her boots splashing as she walks up and down the aisle.

Starting point is 00:38:13 She sees Rose clearing the bottom shelf in science fiction as Sheamus tackles history and politics. history and politics. A few other regular customers are in the mystery section, carrying arm loads of paperbacks from one end of the shop to the other. Simon works to stop the flooding from getting worse. Soon the water flowing in from the street is redirected outside and towels are stopping up the front door. Before long all the bottom shelf books have been moved, and the flooding has ended. Standing in a puddle in the middle of the darkened bookshop, Simon looks at all his new neighbours who've come together to help him. At a loss for words, he smiles. Welcome to the grand opening, he says. After a short moment of silence, Rose begins to laugh. Soon, Sheamus' hearty laughter rings out through the shop. Lillie finds herself giggling and discovers that in all the commotion, she stuck her spatula into a pocket of her apron and forgot all about it, and the cakes.

Starting point is 00:40:26 He says, Simon looks confused. She puts an arm around him and ushes him back through the hallway. By now, evening has fallen outside. The already dim light has faded, leaving the bakery in near darkness. Lily heads over to the counter and feels around. Pulling open a drawer in one corner, she finds a box of tea lights and matches. She hands them to Rose, who directs the customers to scatter them around the room. She follows behind with a match, lighting candle after candle. Lily begins to cut the carrot cakes, feeling the way the knife moves smoothly through the icing and interior.

Starting point is 00:41:43 She pauses, watching the lights flicker to life. Flames reflect in the rain-spattered windows, fluttering delicately in unison with their glassy twins. The fairy lights are dark, but her beloved bakery is a glow with an even more beautiful display. Tiny pots of gold scattered around the room, illuminating the smiling faces of the people she cares about the most. Light can always be found in the places you love she thinks to herself, life, she thinks to herself, even on the darkest of days. Then he removes the first slice of carrot cake and sets it over to Simon. No longer hot chocolate stranger, but a new and cherished member of the family. ... ... ... I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room.

Starting point is 00:44:48 I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room.

Starting point is 00:45:04 I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. ... you you ... ... ... ... I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room.

Starting point is 00:47:40 I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. ... ... you you you

Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - Carrot Cake by Candlelight (Rainy Day Bakery)

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