In this calming episode of The Insomnia Project, hosts Marco Timpano and Amanda Barker ease into a relaxed conversation about swimming pools, summer memories, and an unexpected dance story. Titled “Pools & Dancing,” this gentle episode drifts through soothing reflections that are perfect for listeners looking to unwind, relax, and maybe even fall asleep.
Amanda shares her remarkable ability to swim in almost any body of water, no matter how cold. From brisk lakes to warm ocean waters, she describes her fearless approach to swimming and the quiet thrill of slipping into the water. Marco and Amanda then reminisce about the simple pleasures of community pools and private backyard pools—the sound of water, the feeling of cool relief on a hot day, and the nostalgic calm of long summer afternoons.
Along the way, Marco shares a lighthearted story about dancing during the filming of a television show. His amusing dance-floor adventure adds a touch of humour while keeping the conversation mellow and easygoing.
As always, the hosts keep the tone slow, gentle, and pleasantly mundane, allowing the conversation to wander naturally. Whether you’re listening in bed to help with insomnia, winding down after a long day, or quietly playing the episode at work to relax your mind and reduce anxiety, The Insomnia Project offers peaceful conversation designed to help you rest. It’s become one of the top sleep podcasts and sleepcasts for listeners seeking calm, comforting audio before bed.
Let Marco and Amanda’s soothing voices, poolside nostalgia, and soft storytelling guide you toward a restful state of mind.

​Pools & Dancing

(Original airdate: July 19, 2023)
Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about the mundane or things that aren't so, you know, fascinating that you can just chill, listen, relax and forget about anything else that has been swirling Inside your mind. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.

Amanda: I am nothing but mundane.

Marco:  I wouldn't say that.

Amanda: I don't know the word mundane. I always, uh, I always trip over it. I always clarify it and say, maybe not mundane, maybe it's something different. I don't know.

Marco:  You know, Amanda, this is episode 24 of season seven. Do you know what that means?

Amanda: No.

Marco:  We have two more episodes before. Episodes? I said that weird episodes before the end of this season.

Amanda: Oh, wow.

Marco:  Which, uh, we're gonna take the month of August off. Ferragosto, which is, uh, the national sort of vacation holiday in Italy, is what Amanda's referring to.

Amanda: I think I said that last year.

Marco:  I know, it's like. And uh, just so everyone knows. So we usually, we try our best to get the episodes out every Wednesday. And I was, I was trying to get last week's episode out, but you were out of town and I was filming. So it was very, it's very difficult and I didn't want to do a rushed or poor quality content wise episode, so we skipped last week's episode. I apologize to all our listeners who are. Who were expecting it. But what we're going to do is we're going to air this one today, which is Wednesday.

Amanda: Mhm.

Marco:  Next Wednesday.

Amanda: Mhm.

Marco:  And then we'll air the last one on the Tuesday, which is the 31st of this month. I know, Like a finale for season seven. And then come September, we'll jump the shark. I think we probably jumped the shark already. But, um, what I'm suggesting is what's funny, Amanda, A lot of people will listen to this. Not, you know, years from now. I'd be like, all those dates he's saying don't really matter.

Amanda: Right.

Marco:  But that said, we're gonna take the month of August off and then we'll come back fresh with season eight in September.

Amanda: Okay.

Marco:  All right, Amanda.

Amanda: I think. But in terms of the Patreon content. That'll continue.

Marco:  That's right, we'll continue with that.

Amanda: Because people need it in August.

Marco:  People need it. So if you, uh, are still jonesing for Insomnia project, uh, content.

Amanda: I know I am.

Marco:  Or hearing our mutual voices, then certainly check out our Patreon page. Find in our show notes, which you can get extra content.

Amanda: Uh, I have one word to say to that.

Marco:  What's that?

Amanda: Meow.

Marco:  That's right. Amanda's acting like a cat right now. And I'll let her explain why.

Amanda: I'm not acting like a cat. I'm acting like a one Year old who's acting like a cat.

Marco:  Amanda's licking her hand right now.

Amanda: Yeah. I'm taking a bath. Um, my nephew who turned one.

Marco:  Our nephew.

Amanda: Our nephew. It's true. Um, my apologies, Marco. I'm just so. I'm siloed with my love for him right now because we have been watching a few different videos where he learned to say meow. So it's a big hit in this neck of the woods.

Marco:  That's right. Uh, we went for a long walk and Amanda went for a swim in a pool.

Amanda: I did the community pool. You gotta really love the water to commit to that.

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda: And I did.

Marco:  You had a good swim.

Amanda: The Christie Pitts pool, it's only open. It's open. I think, um, usually it's like July, Canada Day, long weekend. I think this year they opened them early because it was very hot in June. So, um, anyway, July through to Labor Day, and I think that's it. It's crazy because it's this big, huge, beautiful pool, but it's only open for two, maybe three months out of the year.

Marco:  I know last year on the hot, hot days, they extended well into the evening.

Amanda: Yeah, that's right.

Marco:  We went late when I think they were open till midnight.

Amanda: They were. That's right. Remember how fun that was?

Marco:  It was so much fun to be there with people you don't know, like late into the evening at 11 o',

Amanda: clock, hanging out in some water. It's a beautiful pool. It's actually that particular pool is three different pools. Actually four different pools. If you want to count the little wading pool.

Marco:  Of course I want to count that one.

Amanda: Um, me and this other woman who's about the same age, we had the right idea, an unspoken thing where we were doing lanes, but it's open swim, so there's, you know, you're doing lanes. And then there's four, you know, 11 year old boys that just jump in pretty much right next to you. Or a brother and sister team or there were some kids who were throwing a ball between one pool and another, so you might get caught in that crossfire. So, you know, you have to take the good with the, uh, with the floating band aids.

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda: As they say.

Marco:  Sure. Um, there's an image for you listeners. We, um, also last year we did this. We had an app or something where you could rent time in other people's pools. Oh, yeah, that was, that was.

Amanda: Talk about that app. Should I name the app?

Marco:  You can, while you're looking for it.

Amanda: No, I know it. Okay, so the app is called swimply, and I had heard about it, and you can Airbnb a pool. You can rent hours in a pool.

Marco:  And what's funny is private pool. We went to go do it. It was. You had. You had rented this pool on Swim for my birthday. That's right. And our friends joined us, and it was a little bit weird at first because you're walking into someone's backyard.

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco:  And then once we got in the backyard and into the pool, it was a lot of fun. I was like, I can't believe how much fun I'm having in a stranger's beautiful pool.

Amanda: I know. We had a great time.

Marco:  So much fun. And they were so lovely that the gentleman came out at the end and said, I hope was great. We're like, we had such a great time.

Amanda: Thank you.

Marco:  It was really, really worth it.

Amanda: Yeah, M. We should do that again. I mean, there's so many great apps for renting out any aspect of life. Um, I remember.

Marco:  Is there a Shedley app for anybody?

Amanda: I remember Portlandia had one, and it was, like, people renting out, like, part of their fridge and stuff like that, which. I shouldn't even joke.

Marco:  That's a comedy series, in case anybody's Portlandia comedy series. Well, it's a series that's comedic sketch show.

Amanda: I know. It's also 10 years old, so I don't know. Yeah.

Marco:  Not all our listeners are familiar with it.

Amanda: Yeah. They might not be. And I don't know where one can actually watch it these days.

Marco:  Tell me about some of the nicest rolling your eyes. I have been rolling my eyes quite a bit.

Amanda: It's not a fun thing when the person across from you who's making a lot of noise with his feet, I might add, I get in such trouble for any little suck of air, and then all I hear is shuffle, shuffle. I don't know if. Listen. I don't think listeners can hear that, but you can.

Marco:  It's my own private ams Ace asmr.

Amanda: Okay. What were you gonna ask me? That you keep trying to ask me every time I say something and you roll your eyes. Because it's not. It's not the journey you want to go on today.

Marco:  It's true. Um, I wanted to ask. Tell me about some of the nicest pools you've been in.

Amanda: Oh, a journey of pools. Well, let's start with the Kristie Pitts pool. Uh, has a water slide on the deep. I didn't go into that deep one. That's like the diving water sliding pool. Um, I really have to commit myself to, like, water above all else at that one. It can be really.

Marco:  Your nicest pools are your favorite pools. You're starting with.

Amanda: That's the Christie Pitts one I have a great affinity for.

Marco:  Okay, fair enough.

Amanda: Fine.

Marco:  No, no, no. Please continue.

Amanda: So the pool in my hometown. We had a community pool in my hometown in New Brunswick, but I never swam in it.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda: Um, but there was one, um, because we didn't have a pool until my mom put one in, um, when my brother was in high school. So I was off doing things, and I'd come home sporadically. But when, um, I was living there for a time, I think in my very early twenties, when I was sort of in between things and not sure what to do, I would swim once a week and in this motel's pool. And I actually love that pool. It was called the Panoramic Motel. I think it's still there, but it might be owned by another company now. But, um, it was out on the highway. And as kids, it's where we used to stay. One of the places we used to stay when we would come up to Canada, because for three years my dad worked in Canada and we lived in Massachusetts. We would spend a lot of the summer while he was working up there with him and all of that. So one of the places we'd stay was this place called the Panorama. Panorama Motel.

Marco:  I see.

Amanda: And, um, it was, like, up on a hill and it overlooked the river. It was actually quite pretty. And they had a pool, and they had pinball, um, machines too. So as kids, we love those. And, uh, you know, we try to find Canadian quarters, and we put our American quarters in there and hope that it would work. So I loved it as a kid. And then, because I loved any pool as a kid and. And then as an adult, when I was like, 22, I think, uh, 22, 23, I was living at home for a year while I was trying to figure out, you know, what my next move would be, which was eventually moving to Toronto.

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda: And so I would swim in that pool every week. I would just buy a $15 pass or whatever it was and go and swim in that pool.

Marco:  What shape pool is that one?

Amanda: I think it was just a rectangular pool. Yeah. But I loved. I mean, I just loved to swim. And then my parents finally put in a really fun pool. And it had, um. It was sort of for my brother. Um, we didn't have one for years in New Brunswick, but we had one in Massachusetts. So I was a pool child for a long time. And uh, my mom argued and she was right that New Brunswick was quite cold. To have a pool, you really only get, you know, six weeks or whatever out of it. But. But um, and then if you heat it, it's a whole thing. Which we did. But anyway, um, but that, uh, one that she put in kind of as a late in the game pool had the lights that like turn from like, you know, white to blue, like to purple to green to red kind of thing. Um, so that was like a fun. You could just make them any color. But that was like a fun thing that we would do. Um, I'm trying to think of other pools.

Marco:  I can tell you one of my favorite pools.

Amanda: I will tell you one more that I love. Sure, there's a pool. I stayed, um, at the Animal Kingdom, uh, resort in Disney World as a Christmas present one year. And as a surprise, my m. My mom was like, we're gonna go stay there. And I remember swimming in that pool. And that was a spectacularly huge, beautiful pool. And I had it all to myself. It was made like a beach. It's one of those pools that's like a beach. And it was beaut. Beautiful. And I had it all to myself.

Marco:  No one was in the water?

Amanda: No, just me.

>> Speaker A: Wow.

Marco:  Was it too cold for.

Amanda: Probably, yes, it was December, but it's never too cold for me. So that's one that just jumps out of my memory. But I've swum in so many pools.

Marco:  Amanda will swim. No matter how cold it is. She'll brave the water. That's one thing I have to say about her. I won't. I'm very like. I'm like, no, it's too cold and it could be middle of July.

Amanda: Do you have a favorite pool or pools?

Marco:  A pool that really comes to mind that we haven't been back to in a while. And I don't know, I don't foresee us necessarily going back. There is a pool in Orlando. We used to. Or uh, we. We do work. Yeah, we do work in Orlando once or twice a year or actually used to be quite a bit.

Amanda: Mhm.

Marco:  And they used to put us in this hotel and it's not anything. Listen, it's just a hotel near Disney Springs. I believe it is.

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco:  So that's. That's.

Amanda: Do you want the name of the hotel?

Marco:  It doesn't matter. But yeah, sure.

Amanda: The Hilton Buena Vista.

Marco:  Disney Springs. There's a. Another Hilton Buena Vista.

Amanda: There's two.

Marco:  So.

Amanda: But the one at Disney Springs.

Marco:  So that was the Corporate hotel for the longest time.

Amanda: Yeah, I know. We were there a lot.

Marco:  We were there a lot because we would go down.

Amanda: Lucky us.

Marco:  Yeah. Very fortunate. And we, uh, would go there for three or four days. And they had this beautiful rectangular pool that had a nice deep part to it, but not too deep, but it was nice that you could go in. But they also had a lazy river.

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco:  That went around. And it was big enough that you could sit in it and do one full rotation.

Amanda: Uh-huh.

Marco:  And feel like, okay, I spent some time in the water. I enjoyed it. And you could get out or you could continue. You know, Amanda has this tendency to bring magazines or collect magazines from the plane that we might be on. Right. Wherever. And we would just grab some of those magazines and float around in the floaty river and then hop in that pool. The rectangular pool.

Amanda: That's right.

Marco:  That was always empty.

Amanda: I found we had a great time. Uh, you know, now that you say that, I remember reading Mindy Kaling's book on an inner tube in that floating river, like, in various magazines. I remember reading a Money magazine that was about Dave Ramsey. Like, I just remember. I have, like, certain memories of reading different things.

Marco:  For me, it was country living. I think your mom gave you a bunch of country.

Amanda: I brought one home. I just came back from Florida and I brought one home.

Marco:  So I was reading about country living as I circled the pool in a pool. Ah, tube. And the funny thing about that, um, lazy river is there was two areas, and if you weren't paying attention. So if you were reading and you didn't realize it, they had these, like, little spurdy waterfall things that would spurt on you. So you would.

Amanda: And you'd be deep in a book, and then suddenly it would be like a shower.

Marco:  Yeah.

Amanda: On your face.

Marco:  Yeah. That's something I remember.

Amanda: Um, well, my parents. This sounds, um, a bit bratty, for lack of a better word. But, you know, my. My parents have a pool now. They live in Florida, so it's very common to have a pool there. It's necessary with the heat, certainly. Um, if you're going to live there.

Marco:  And it's a. Not. Not a big pool, per se.

Amanda: No. But I can actually do a few laps in it, which is nice, because a lot of smaller pools, you just can't. They're just made to cool off, which is great, too. Um, but, yeah, I was just in that as of yesterday, in fact. And, um, that pool. Uh, yeah, I like it. It's sort of like a kidney shape. And, uh, I actually have some photos of me at that pool two nights ago if you want to share. I'll be happy to share that pool

Marco:  at night, but go to our Instagram and I will post Amanda in the

Amanda: pool if you think it's appropriate.

Marco:  Well, at this point I have to. So hopefully it is appropriate.

Amanda: Trying to wedge my pool photos.

Marco:  I feel like you're trying to wedge pool photos.

Amanda: Pool agenda. Um, but that one is really interesting because in the daytime it looks over a canal. So in the daytime you can look. And you're looking for gators and turtles and things like that and all the wildlife. So many. I mean, we've talked about it a lot, but they live across from a bird sanctuary.

Marco:  Right.

Amanda: And I saw sand cranes and herons and, uh, so many beautiful birds just in the last couple of days being there.

Marco:  And I should say this, that it sounds wonderful. Wonderful and beautiful to live across from a bird sanctuary. And Amanda's describing these beautiful, majestic birds that you see. However, those birds also like to quack and squat and bark and do.

Amanda: Uh.

Marco:  Yeah, there's a couple of birds that have a lot.

Amanda: The alligators bark. They have a proper bark.

Marco:  Yes. And they'll do it very early in the morning.

Amanda: Yes.

Marco:  And they'll get you up at 5:00am yeah, they will.

Amanda: Right on your roof.

Marco:  Yeah, right on your roof. And there's. There's some peacocks that live in the area that are also kind of there.

Amanda: Is there?

Marco:  There was peacocks.

Amanda: There was peacocks at their old house in Florida. I don't know about this one. In this neighborhood, I feel like there

Marco:  was peacocks living on someone's roof. Peacocks are not.

Amanda: Yeah, but not that house.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda: I think we're. I mean, for now, it's only a matter of time.

Marco:  Um, peacocks are an invasive species if you're not careful. Yeah.

Amanda: Apparently it's a big problem in Texas, too. Sure. There's peacocks everywh. Um, but one of the things I wanted to say was that's how it is in the daytime. But what I really love about that pool, and this is true for any pool, um, especially in Florida or anywhere sort of south, is that pool at night is spectacular. I love a pool at night where you can swim and look up at the stars.

Marco:  Oh, yes.

Amanda: And look up at the, um, palm trees. I don't normally swim in the ocean at night. Um, but who's swimming at the ocean at night? People do. I have. Yeah.

Marco:  Swimming in the ocean at night.

Amanda: I have done. Yeah. But a pool is a different story. And, ah, you know, you don't have the question mark of what fish are out, et cetera. So, um, it's a beautiful thing to be able to swim at night and look up the palm trees, hear the sound of the rustling of the palm trees in the breeze and the wind. I love that sound while I'm swimming. And then looking up and seeing the stars and the constellation is just a beautiful moment in time. And I wish everyone to have that experience, no matter where it is, because there's lots of places on this planet that you can swim in a pool at night. So, um, I know it's not the easiest thing. I know for us in the city, it's hard, um, and we don't have them. But if you can find one, get thee to a night pool because they're beautiful. And it's just one of my favorite things.

Marco:  I do want to say this. I feel like there is a pool in many rec centers or community centers and, uh, like libraries. I love the ability to access a pool by everyone.

Amanda: I agree.

Marco:  And so if you have a pool in your neighborhood, like the pool that Amanda was mentioning off the top, the Christie Pitts pool, is a pool that's been there for a while. And there's something really lovely about, uh, walking into this community center that has photos of people from the 1920s on the wall that were in the Row Club or whatnot or the swim teams of the city. And there's just something spectacular about that that I really find charming.

Amanda: Well, there's something so wonderful about having a pool that you can walk to.

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda: Or take a subway tour, you know, find your way to, um, you recently

Marco:  went in a dip of a pool with friends of ours that was very empty at a community center.

Amanda: Yeah. And so, uh, what I was going to say about this pool I was in this evening. It's a war. Lots of people going through it, but it's huge enough that it doesn't feel, you know, you have to be ready to be in a pool with a lot of people. But m. There's something really lovely because it's such, um, a microcosm of this city, and we're so lucky to live in such a beautifully multicultural city.

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda: And I must have heard 10 different languages, wonderful spoken, just doing laps. And I was kind of smiling to myself thinking, like, all these kids. And it's just kids playing and parents yelling, you know, for their kids to, you know, one kid wants to go into the big pool. And, you know, families are families. That's universal. And so there's Something just really lovely about all of that coming together to just cool off and take a dip and splash around in the water. It makes you a child. Sure. When you can splash around in the water and. Yeah, that pool that we went to, um, over in the East End is an indoor pool that has a Saturday swim. It's part of a school, I think.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda: So it was like the school's pool, but they open it up to the public on weekends all year long. And uh, yeah, I went with friends of ours, they, they started going on Saturdays and it was so empty.

Marco:  Do you know, one time I had to, I had to be a teacher for pool. For a uh, pool class.

Amanda: Oh really?

Marco:  In high school.

Amanda: Oh.

Marco:  So I whole class.

Amanda: You, you don't swim. This is very interesting to me.

Marco:  I don't think I've ever told you this story. So listeners, um, years ago I was an emergency supply, ah, teacher or a substitute teacher.

Amanda: What's the difference between a substitute teacher and an emergency? Like when all else fails.

Marco:  Yes.

Amanda: So call Mr. Tympano.

Marco:  That's a really good question. So there's a local school near us, it's a beautiful old school called, um, called. What's it called? The one on Bathurst there?

Amanda: Uh, Regal Road.

Marco:  No, the one about the big one.

Amanda: Yeah, you always point to it.

Marco:  Yeah, it's a beautiful school. I used to teach there.

Amanda: I don't know. Collegiate. Bathurst, Collegiate.

Marco:  It'll come to me.

Amanda: Okay.

Marco:  Anyways.

Amanda: Humber.

Marco:  I don't know. Um, anyway, so what happened was years ago my friend's like, we should get on the emergency supply teaching list. And I was like, what is that? And they were like, okay, so what happens is you get yourself on a list and you don't have a teaching degree, but if they can't get a teacher, you're their last hope. And because you have a degree in, you know, a general bachelor of arts from a university or whatever, whatever it was you needed.

Amanda: Mhm.

Marco:  We had. And so we put our name on the list. And the funny thing was at that time how it worked was they would call one person, one regular teacher to fill in the next one. They'd call a regular teacher and if they couldn't get someone, they would go to the emergency supply phone numbers. And the problem was they hadn't removed a lot of names of teachers that had retired or who are no longer with us. And so they would hit numbers.

Amanda: No longer with us. My goodness.

Marco:  Yeah. So what would happen is it would often deter, it would often just jump to the emergency supply chain.

Amanda: 10 down on the list. The backup at the back, I think

Marco:  it was like three or four down. So I would get calls to go to this really big school, which I can't think of the name of it. I drive by it, um, so many times in the day. And, uh, I want to say York Memorial, and it's so not York Memorial, but.

Amanda: But tell me where it is again. It's on Bathurst.

Marco:  Bathurst and Harbord. And we drive by it.

Amanda: Oh, that's cool.

Marco:  Every day, every. Like, I don't think there's a day that I haven't been driving past it. I taught there, and I can't think of the name of it. So they would call you, and you wouldn't know what class you were going to be teaching until you got there. And because it's a technical school and a large school, they have very interesting classes. So sometimes I'd go in there and I'd teach English. Sometimes I teach algebra. Sometimes I teach

Amanda: algebra.

Marco:  Algebra. Sometimes I teach.

Amanda: Did you teach algebra?

Marco:  Drafting? Sometimes I.

Amanda: How?

Marco:  I teach, um, cosmetology. Sometimes, yes. They had a cosmos. They had a cosmetology course. Wait, it gets better. They had aerodynamics. So they had one class which had a plane in it. There was a plane suspended. And they would teach you, the students, how to do plane mechanics.

Amanda: What did you do?

Marco:  So. Hang on, I'll get there.

Amanda: I thought we were talking about pools today. This took a turn.

Marco:  Auto mechanics class. Right. So I would. I would go to these. I would show up and they'd say, you're. You're in Auto Mechanics 101. And 2 times it happened to me that they were like, you're in the pool? And I'm like, what? So they have a pool, a really beautiful pool in this old school.

Amanda: Interesting.

Marco:  And they had swimming classes or pool classes for their students. And I would have to go there as the teacher, thankfully, because, as Amanda said, I'm not a good swimmer. They have a pool person who stays with the pool, who is the instructor that goes in the water with them. So there was no. No fear. And I just stood there, took attendance, and watched them learn how to swim.

Amanda: Right. Okay.

Marco:  And in the cosmetology class, sometimes I would. I would be given a syllabus of what I had to teach that day or. And sometimes it was just like, work on your own. And then I would take attendance and we would just kind of like, hang out kind of thing. But most of the time.

Amanda: What did you teach in cosmetology? I feel like you're Bearing the lead on this.

Marco:  Well, the interesting thing is my mother is a hairdresser. Was a hairdresser for all my life. So as a child I was always in a salon. So I taught how. French braid.

Amanda: Really?

Marco:  No, I didn't. I didn't teach out of French braid. But I can't remember. It was so many years ago. But it was a pretty simple class. I think what happened was what was left for me was for them to review their notes and then I had questions for them.

Amanda: I mean, usually when we got a supply teacher, which is what I remember calling them, um, uh, they would just sit with a folder and say, do this work. That's all I really remember.

Marco:  Sometimes I'd get really great, great, um, instructions and I love actually teaching.

Amanda: Would you leave them notes saying thanks for the great instructions?

Marco:  No, I never would.

Amanda: Would you leave them a tip?

Marco:  No, I wouldn't. I wouldn't. But I will say this.

Amanda: We're talking a lot about tipping the last week.

Marco:  So this all comes. Speaking of teaching is I am going to be teaching a course at a local college.

Amanda: Is that happening?

Marco:  Yeah. Oh, didn't I tell you?

Amanda: No, I didn't know if it was for sure.

Marco:  Oh, yeah, it's for sure.

Amanda: They've a lot of we haven't been together friends. So we've. I got in 2am last night.

Marco:  If you check my Instagram page, you'll see I put it on there recently and it was also on my LinkedIn. But I'll be teaching a course, uh, at George Brown College on how to podcast a podcasting in September. September 19th.

Amanda: Okay.

Marco:  To the. To November 30th.

Amanda: Okay, that's good to know.

Marco:  And it's virtual so anyone can take the class. But I was really excited about it

Amanda: because can we travel while you're teaching?

Marco:  So, yeah, because it's virtual. The gentleman who's in charge, the dean, asked me if I wanted it to be virtual or for me to show up. And I said I think virtual is going to work best because I know that we're traveling.

Amanda: It's also an audio medium.

Marco:  Right, Right. So I'm excited to be teaching at a college, one, uh, that I went to for continuing education. Both of us went.

Amanda: We did.

Marco:  And it was quite a.

Amanda: The student becomes the teacher.

Marco:  I know that is exciting and I really like that. I really like George Brown because they, they offer great continuing education, uh, classes.

Amanda: What night is your class going to be or what day?

Marco:  Thursdays. Thursdays from 6:15 to 9.

Amanda: Okay, good. Good to know.

Marco:  Yeah. So I'M really happy about that.

Amanda: That is exciting.

Marco:  And I'm filming this really, really lovely series.

Amanda: You are.

Marco:  And I'll tell you all more about it when I can, but it's gonna be four episodes and it's really delightful and I love being on set and can I just tell one story, Amanda, about.

Amanda: Yes, please.

Marco:  We're going a little over, but we're giving a little bonus kind of time.

Amanda: We are. Um, which I think we owe the people.

Marco:  Yes.

Amanda: Um, I will say that I like,

Marco:  you see, the people versus our listeners.

Amanda: The people. Not a lot of actors are working right now due to various strikes. Sure. So you're one of the only actors in North America on a set shooting a series right now. It's pretty exciting.

Marco:  That's when I get. When no one else works. So Amanda knows this about me. And I like to dance. I like dancing. I'm a decent dancer. Would you say it's one of the

Amanda: things I love the most about you and pairs dancing?

Marco:  Yeah. Pairs dancing?

Amanda: Yeah, like old timey, like Paris dancing

Marco:  versus dancing by myself.

Amanda: Well, like, grinding on a dance floor is not really what I would consider you doing.

Marco:  I could grind on a dance floor like the best of them.

Amanda: You probably could.

Marco:  Oh, my goodness.

Amanda: Why don't we grind?

Marco:  Well, let's grind on the dance floor.

Amanda: Uh, we have, we've, we've done more anyway. But you're, you're really good at actual, like, couples dancing.

Marco:  Yes. Yes. Yeah, I enjoy dancing. I'm also a good, you know, I can freestyle. Freestyle dancer.

Amanda: Sure. We have, we have freestyled. It's true. But we do more pairs.

Marco:  It's true. I like that you said yes. We have grinded on the dance floor and then just left it at that

Amanda: and didn't explain Miami. I think we did, uh, we did

Marco:  it in a show too. We grinded on dance floor.

Amanda: Yeah. Okay. Okay. Grinded. Ground.

Marco:  Ground. We ground on the dance floor. Okay. So. But anyways, this, this let me bring it back to where I was going. So in this particular, uh, series, there's, uh, a portion of it where I'm gonna be Bollywood dancing with a bunch of people in a Bollywood dancing class. But my character is not a good dancer. And so I have, I provide some comedic, some comedic beats. So before we get on camera, while we're in the green room, I'm telling the other actors, I'm like, I really, I really enjoy dancing and I'm a pretty decent dancer. And I said to them, I've never done Bollywood dancing, but I'm so Excited to do Bollywood dancing. Because I've always wanted to do Bollywood dancing. So I'm really, I'm really stoked to do this.

Amanda: Mhm.

Marco:  And to learn the Bollywood dancing moves.

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco:  So. But once again, I'm not supposed to be able to do the Bollywood dancing. I'm supposed to make mistakes. And, you know, they all try to help me to learn how to do it. So we go and I'm like, great, I know what I'm gonna do for the funny beats. And we do it and the director yells, cut. And she comes up to me and she goes, you're very funny. But even though you're doing the moves wrong, I can tell that you're a good dancer because you're dancing to the beat and you're, you're really, you're really working it. Like you're really showing that you know how to dance. I need you to be less skilled and less able to do moves.

Amanda: Uh-huh.

Marco:  So I do a lot of dance acting, Amanda, to make myself look like acting. Acting to make myself look like not a great actor.

Amanda: Right.

Marco:  And I'm very excited for you to see it.

Amanda: I can't wait to see it. Uh, what a great dancer, you mean?

Marco:  Yeah, yeah. Just to see me acting. And, uh, I really enjoyed it. I really. I would love to take a Bollywood dancing class and do some Bollywood dancing.

Amanda: You and I could. Maybe we do.

Marco:  We should. I would love to do that. It's just the thing I know about Bollywood dancing is that it requires a lot of stamina.

Amanda: Okay.

Marco:  A lot of energy.

Amanda: Okay.

Marco:  And a lot of, um, fluid, uh, and flexible movements.

Amanda: Okay. He's moving, as he says.

Marco:  Yeah. I'm doing one of the moves that, that I saw them do and people of the world. And it's such a joyous, wonderful thing to watch. And it really is a wonderful form of dancing. So I can't wait to do more of it.

Amanda: I will tell everybody more about the series as it.

Marco:  It in season eight. Season eight? Yeah. Season that comes up. Sorry, I feel like I cut you off.

Amanda: Season eight. Oh, I thought you meant of the series. I'm like, no, that'd be great if it got a season.

Marco:  Oh, I hope so, but.

Amanda: Mhm.

Marco:  This is season seven. And then we're going to go away for August and then in season eight, I'm sure I'll be able to tell the stories.

Amanda: Will, will keep you updated as the story develops.

Marco:  Yes, indeed. Well, Amanda, that's. Listen, that's the end of this episode. If there's anything else you want to say that's pool related.

Amanda: Oh, gosh. So many pools, so little time.

Marco:  It's true.

Amanda: I love them all. I've loved them all. I could talk about pools forever, but to all the pools you swim m at night if you can. Friends, that's what I'll leave you with.

Marco:  Okay, fair enough. And I'll just say, everyone into the pool. And until next time, we hope you were able to listen and sleep. Um.

In this gently meandering episode of The Insomnia Project, hosts Marco Timpano and Amanda Barker drift through a conversation about art, roses, and a memorable evening at an outdoor film festival. Designed for insomniacs and anyone seeking a quiet moment of calm, this episode invites listeners to relax as Marco and Amanda recount their serene visit to the IncluCity Film Festival (ICFF), where they watched a documentary about the Renaissance painter Perugino.
Their discussion of the film slowly wanders into an unexpected and charming tangent about the famous Barbra Streisand rose. As often happens on this sleep podcast, one peaceful topic leads naturally to another, creating a gentle flow of conversation that’s perfect for winding down at night. Marco and Amanda’s soothing storytelling and easygoing reflections on art, gardening, and cultural curiosities create a tranquil listening experience that’s both lightly informative and pleasantly mundane.
Whether you’re listening in bed while trying to fall asleep, or playing the episode quietly while working to relax your mind and reduce anxiety, this calm and thoughtful conversation is designed to help you slow down. The Insomnia Project is one of the top sleep podcasts and sleepcasts available for listeners looking for soothing conversation to ease insomnia and promote rest.
Let Marco and Amanda’s quiet reflections on film festivals, art history, and roses gently guide you toward a more peaceful state of mind.

In this gently wandering episode of The Insomnia Project, hosts Marco Timpano and Amanda Barker invite listeners into another calm and quietly curious conversation. In “Lily Dale, Saskatoon & Boston Beans,” the hosts drift through memories, small discoveries, and upcoming travel plans in the soothing style that has made this one of the top sleep podcasts and sleepcasts for people looking to relax before bed.
The episode begins with reflections on a recent visit to a community pool, where Amanda describes feeling like a graceful goldfish gliding through the water while Marco considers the peaceful similarities between community pools and libraries—both places where people slow down, relax, and spend quiet time.
From there, the conversation moves into the fascinatingly mundane world of magazines and overlooked facts. Marco shares a few surprising details about the majestic Black Walnut tree, while Amanda explores the nostalgic treat known as Boston Baked Beans. Their calm curiosity turns everyday topics into gentle storytelling that’s perfect for winding down.
The hosts also chat about upcoming travel plans, including a visit to Lily Dale, New York, a small town known for its spiritualist community and mediums, as well as a future trip to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The anticipation of these destinations adds a dreamy sense of curiosity to the conversation.
Whether you’re listening in bed to ease insomnia, or quietly playing the episode while working to help calm your mind and reduce anxiety, The Insomnia Project offers peaceful, meandering conversations designed to help you relax and drift toward sleep.

​Lily Dale, Saskatoon & Boston Baked Beans
(Original airdate: July 26, 2023) 

Marco:  easy reference to it. Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about the mundane to help you. Just relax and push all your thoughts aside and just join us for this next under 30 minutes and who knows? Maybe you'll find your way to sleep. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.

Amanda: I'm the one with the throat that just made a noise.

Marco:  I'll probably edit those noises out.

Amanda: Oh, okay.

Marco:  But I'll leave a little noise in there for you.

Amanda: Well, a comforting little throat noise that happened after I gulped down some water. Yeah, Sorry about that.

Marco:  It's okay. Okay, no worries. So, Amanda, we were just discussing. I'm gonna be editing this episode at the Mechanics. I'm taking the car in. Yeah, it's one of those tasks that you have to do, huh? You know, for maintenance of your car and for your homes and things where you have to bring your items in to be serviced. But I enjoy it because it's forced time where I get to deal with stuff and edit and read and get back to people.

Amanda: And the good thing about our mechanic is, is that right next door to it, one, uh, sort of. It's not quite a chain. What would you call it? Like a.

Marco:  It's a, um. Yeah, it's not quite a chain. It's kind of like still in the ownership of the people who founded it.

Amanda: Like a family of restaurants.

Marco:  A family. Yeah, a few family restaurants, I guess you could say.

Amanda: And I would say, arguably, if we had to pick one restaurant in Toronto, would that be our favorite?

Marco:  That's. Yeah, that's. That's our go to restaurant. We should name them. Name it. So, you know, anyone visiting Toronto, and I think there's one in Los Angeles, too.

Amanda: There is, yeah.

Marco:  So.

Amanda: So the name of the restaurant that is the head of this family is Teroni.

Marco:  Yeah. In Italian. Uh, T, E, R, R, O N, I. And there's one in Los Angeles, but there's four now.

Amanda: And it's not Taroni's.

Marco:  No.

Amanda: As my American friend used to call it and probably still does. It's tarony. And I don't know if you want to explain the meaning of that.

Marco:  No, probably not. It means southerner. Let's just say that m from southern Italy and people who work the earth. Yeah. And, uh. Yeah, exactly. And, uh, I'll say this, what I really respect about them, and this is just a heads up to anybody who might want to go there is. They won't alter their pizza. So it's a pizza and pasta friendly shop. It's not. It's not very, uh. What's the word I'm looking for? Glamorous. But not glamorous. Like, it's not. You don't have to dress Up. It's not. It's casual.

Amanda: It's a place you could go sort of anytime. Even though we always think of it as a little more upscale. Um, and it is upscale casual.

Marco:  Yeah. Versus glamorous. I don't know why.

Amanda: I love. But the one that you're going to and the one to get back to the mechanics.

Marco:  Yeah, it happens to be around the corner from the mechanics.

Amanda: And it's a very, um, chill, um, location. It's more of a place where they make a lot of pastas and stuff.

Marco:  Yeah, it's where they make the pastas for the restaurants. But it's also um, more of a coffee slash shop. And it's not called Teroni. That one there. It happens to be called Sud.

Amanda: Yeah, right.

Marco:  Which means south. So they have like smaller shops or more coffee oriented shops and they call them Sud.

Amanda: Upstairs is more of a restaurant. But we don't normally go up there. We've been up there maybe once. But the rest of it is. Yeah, like a coffee shop where you go and you pick out what you want, counter service and then you head to uh, find a table and there's a lot of people with laptops and that type of thing.

Marco:  Yeah, I know. Just to finish my thought, if I didn't already, um, they won't alter what's on the pizzas. Like the pizza is what the pizza. So you can't be like, I don't want this, I don't want add this. They're like, no, either you get it or you don't. That's the way the pizza is meant to be had. And I know that that turns some people off, but I kind of respect it where it's like, this is how this pizza tastes best. And if you can't have it, well then it just happens to be an item, um, you can't have. And I love that, but I want to.

Amanda: So yeah, it's right next door. So now you can go have a very nice cappuccino, which I will. Or a panino or something.

Marco:  Which I will. And I'll edit this episode. So no listeners. If it helps you feel relaxed, I will be having the most soothing cup of cappuccino with something very delectable as I edit this episode and.

Amanda: And substantial.

Marco:  And substantial for sure. I also wanted to mention, um, we're going on a little trip. We went on a little bender last night.

Amanda: Well, so what happened was this. Marco and I went swimming. Um, we were both doing different things work wise yesterday. And we both kind of our days ended Nicely. A little bit earlier it did than maybe they would sometimes end. So I think we were both done work around three.

Marco:  I think so.

Amanda: Yeah. Yeah. So I had said I really want to go to the pool. I've been a few times in the last week and it's been a nice thing. I enjoy the walk to the pool and the way.

Marco:  I love libraries. Amanda loves community pools. I think we mentioned it last episode.

Amanda: I mean, I'll take a non community pool over.

Marco:  Sure. But you also love the idea or you love that the pool's open for everyone and everyone. And it's kind of like a library. That way you don't have to.

Amanda: Yeah, think about that. A water library.

Marco:  A water library. And what's nice about our water libraries, AKA pools, is that they're free here in the city.

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco:  Like a library.

Amanda: Yeah, it's true. That's a good point. So, um, yeah, I've really been enjoying it this summer. Some summers I do, some summers I don't. I know we've covered this in the past episodes.

Marco:  The poolbrarians are a little bit young and.

Amanda: Sure. I mean it's a fun job when you're in high school.

Marco:  Anyways, those are lifeguards, Pulbrarians.

Amanda: Uh, listen, what Marco and I did. There are four pools there. I think we talked about this before. And there's a wading pool that I didn't even think of as a pool. But it's full enough that if there's no little kids in it because it's one of those that has like a uh, water fountain thing that splashes on kids. Like this is what we're talking about. But there is a sort of a deep end to it.

Marco:  Yeah, it's like a giant mushroom and if you go under it, it spills water on you.

Amanda: Yeah. The deep end is still only like three feet. But if it's deep enough and no kids are in it, I can do laps in the little, like in circles, like a little goldfish. And so that's what I'll do because when I go later, there's usually that pool's more for like little kids at the beginning of the day kind of thing. And uh, at 4:00 clock I've learned this pool pretty well. They open up the water slide so that any kids that would have been in it, um, that are sort of mid sized go to the water slide. So anyway, Marco and I pretending that we're in our backyard and that we have this luxurious pool. He was sort of chilling in this wading pool and I'm like, you know, swimming little circles. And we started talking about travel that we'd like to do. Big trips, small trips, that kind of thing. And that's why I love pools, because it's a place to plan and dream for me.

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda: Swimming is in general. And so we started talking about a place that I've wanted to go to for a very long time.

Marco:  Yes.

Amanda: Uh, and are you cool if I get into that?

Marco:  100%. 100%.

Amanda: So, um, one of the things that, uh, I had sort of taped on our pbr, dvr, whatever you want to call it, was, I think this Is America or this Is Life with Lisa Ling. Just an interesting docu series on CNN kind of thing. And I happened to come across one called the Mediums of Lily Dale. And I was like folding laundry and watching this and I suddenly was very intrigued. So what I learned is, and you may have heard of this, and you may not have heard of this. I had never heard of this. But there is a town in sort of northwest New York that is a town made up of spiritualists and mediums of all kinds, really. Mediums these days. But it was founded in the 1800s by, um, you know, when spiritualism really became big.

Marco:  Sure. Seances and stuff like that.

Amanda: Yeah. And so, um. And it was. Yeah, that was sort of a thing in the Victorian era. And so during that time, a bunch of people who did that got together and decided to form a town. And so it is a very small town made up of people who, I'm assuming there's like Crystal stores.

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda: I know there's a Cafe Butterfly exhibit. There's a Ferry walk.

Marco:  Sure. There's a little forested area.

Amanda: Yeah. So all sorts of things that are ethereal.

Marco:  And we should mention that it's in Lilydale, New York, which is about what, three hours away, Amanda.

Amanda: From us. I immediately looked it up because I was like, I wonder how close that is. And it's three hours away. Yeah.

Marco:  And you know, I always talk about how much I love states. Mhm. Michigan, New Jersey, some of my favorite states. They often get maligned upstate New York. We're very fortunate because it's not far from where we live.

Amanda: That's right.

Marco:  It's probably the closest. Actually, it is. The closest to where we live in Toronto is Buffalo, Niagara Falls, New York.

Amanda: Mhm.

Marco:  And that tends to be an area that we will visit because it's so

Amanda: close and we haven't been in a while.

Marco:  We haven't been in a while. So I'm really looking forward to the drive.

Amanda: So. So we're going.

Marco:  We're going this weekend, folks.

Amanda: This weekend. So as we were talking, I was saying, maybe we go in September. You know, I'd like to go. It's something. It was on my radar. There's another documentary about it I had learned about that I hadn't watched. And Marco said, well, we can go now. We had some sort of tentative plans on Friday, and I thought those were not so tentative. I thought those were immovable. And you said, no, we can push all that to Monday. And so when that became an option, we started going, well, we could just go on Friday.

Marco:  We didn't check if the weather's gonna be nice. We didn't check anything. We just said, let's just do it.

Amanda: We didn't check about our car, Nothing. Which is why he has to go to the mechanic today, because it's making a bit of a sound. So he needs a little. Needs to go to the doctor and get a checkup. Yeah. So we, um, went home, thought about it, and I started looking up hotels. Found out that Jamestown, New York, is about 20 minutes or so from Lilydale, and Jamestown is the home of Lucille Ball.

Marco:  That's where she was born. Yes.

Amanda: And Jamestown has a Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Museum. There's also the National Museum of Comedy in the US Apparently. Is there? Who knew that was a thing?

Marco:  Any new listeners to the podcast might not know this, but Amanda and I met doing comedy, and comedy is one of our passions, even though we really try not to make the podcast episodes funny.

Amanda: And we mostly succeed.

Marco:  And we mostly succeed. Although some of our listeners are like, I. I laughed when you said this. And it's like. It's so not intentional.

Amanda: But yeah.

Marco:  So for us to go to a comedy museum and Lucille Ball Museum has two benefits. We're going to enjoy it.

Amanda: I found one of those, you know, comforting, nice hotel chains that Marco and I love. Actually, the one you love the most.

Marco:  I know there's one hotel chain I love the most, and Amanda knows that if we stay there, I always have a nice.

Amanda: It has a pool. It has a free breakfast.

Marco:  Hampton Inn.

Amanda: Hampton Inn there.

Marco:  I like Hampton Inn. I like what they do. That's my favorite.

Amanda: So I'm very comfortable there. So we're gonna stay at the Hampton Inn in Jamestown. I found two nights. I got Expedia points. Used those. Wow. We're just plug friends. We're getting money from none of these people. Just so you know.

Marco:  None of these people.

Amanda: This podcast sponsored by many lovely people

Marco:  but not these people and listeners who've reached out to me saying that some of the ads off the top of our show are loud. I am working on that, so please bear with us. Thank you for your patience. I'm sorry. I'm trying my best to work with the ACAST team to make them not loud.

Marco:  Mm.

Marco:  Uh, so thank you. But back to. So we're going on this trip.

Amanda: So we're getting two nights at the Hampton Inn. I used some points and paid some dollars, and it feels doable. And, um, we're hoping that we can drive there and back. That's the plan.

Marco:  That's what we're gonna do.

Amanda: So. And I bought tickets Saturday night to. Do you know what it's called? Actually, it's called Saturday Night Live.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda: At Lilydale.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda: And it's a. We don't really know what we're getting into here. It's a karaoke night, so it's a Sing along with mediums.

Marco:  There you go.

Amanda: No idea.

Marco:  Who wouldn't want to do that? So that's gonna be our weekend.

Amanda: Some museums, some. I'm gonna buy a crystal.

Marco:  Who says we don't know how to party? Okay. So then if that wasn't enough, Amanda. Then once we've booked the hotel, and we're like, all right, this is gonna be our weekend plan.

Amanda: And just in case you were wondering how addicted to water I am, um, I did this all in the tub.

Marco:  Yes. Yes, Amanda. Leave Amanda in a tub, and she will prune herself up.

Amanda: I will plan. Plan for all the futures. So then I. We booked Hampton, and then I went back in the tub. Then I came out again, and Amanda's

Marco:  like, hey, should we go to Saskatoon? Which is, you know, not something you hear every day.

Amanda: There's only one answer when someone asks you, should we go to Saskatoon?

Marco:  And how did I answer?

Amanda: I guess.

Marco:  And Amanda was like, here's the deal.

Amanda: And discount, uh, airline. I'm just gonna keep naming things. Flair Air, which is a Canadian discount airline, had a special on their cheap flights anyway, and then had, like, a 25% off special or something.

Marco:  Seat sale, I believe is what they

Amanda: call forward 20 years or 20% off at a seat sale. I looked and said we could do a weekend in Saskatoon for under 300 bucks for both of us. And it's a three hour fl. So it's a substantial flight for that price.

Marco:  Neither of us have been to the province of Saskatchewan.

Amanda: That's just it.

Marco:  So we're really excited to go visit Saskatchewan.

Amanda: We've been talking about it for a while. It never was financially feasible anytime we looked. Not that we've been doing deep dives on how to get there, but.

Marco:  But it's, it's a, it's a province that has been very curious to me all my life.

Amanda: Mhm.

Marco:  And you know, it's a very flat province. It's a prairie province. It's where a lot of the wheat that's grown in Canada comes from.

Amanda: That's right.

Marco:  I believe there's a lot of potash that is mined there.

Amanda: And again, we've been all of the. Or, uh, I've been to all of the provinces, but Saskatchewan.

Marco:  That's right. Because you. We went to Alberta recently.

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco:  Or not.

Amanda: And that was one that I hadn't been to.

Marco:  I haven't been to P.E.I. or Newfoundland.

Amanda: So I need to get him out there. Yeah.

Marco:  And so. So, yeah, so I need to get out there. And uh. You know, I always say this. I love traveling. I love to see other areas of, of my country because it makes me appreciate the area that I'm in and a further appreciation for people who live in other parts of the country. And I think that's one of the reasons I love to travel. So if you have any hot Saskatoon tips, please let us know because we have received some wonderful tips. Thank you to our listeners who've reached out and said, if you're going here,

Amanda: go visit this, do this, or Northwestern New York tips.

Marco:  Yeah.

Amanda: Uh, Jamestown. We're headed to Jamestown and to Lilydale, so let us know if there's a

Marco:  stop along the way. I've always wanted to go to Syracuse, New York too.

Amanda: Oh, okay.

Marco:  I don't know if we'll have time for it, but that's one, one area I'd like to go to.

Amanda: I think that might be because if you picture New York on a map, it's kind of like a, um, like a big piece of quiche.

Marco:  Like a trachea?

Amanda: No, like a trachea.

Marco:  I was just picking something random.

Amanda: No, that would be long and thin. No, that would be like Chile, Rhode island, trachea.

Marco:  Oh, sure.

Amanda: Or California would be in a large trachea.

Marco:  Um.

Amanda: No. Can you picture New York on a map?

Marco:  Yeah, I can.

Amanda: Yeah. So it's the north, but it's not the northern part. That would be upstate. It's the northwest part. So there's that part that kind of juts out to the west. That's where we're going, not the north, because the north would be like when we've been. Would be like Woodstock, New York and all of that. That's.

Marco:  No, Woodstock is not north.

Amanda: I thought it was.

Marco:  Woodstock is closer to. Oh, no, you know what? Well, um, okay, now I'm a little bit confused, but we drove from New York City to Woodstock, New York. So it's not that far from New York City versus from Buffalo.

Amanda: Mhm.

Marco:  So that's. That's why I'm getting confused. Anyways, this is the upcoming things that we have going on.

Amanda: Yeah. Exciting, exciting trips to random places.

Marco:  Amanda, for the next 10 minutes, what I did was while you look at where Woodstock is, I've gotten some random magazines. So what I do sometimes is if I see a magazine that looks a little bit. Meh, shall we say, or a little bit like, oh, here's a magazine that talks about just about nothing, really. I'll collect them to try to get inspired for podcast episodes.

Amanda: Oh, okay. So, um, this just in.

Marco:  Yes.

Amanda: So if you picture Manhattan, Woodstock is upstate New York. But what's funny is it's pretty much in line with, like, where Massachusetts and Connecticut meet. Okay, so it's not north. North. North. I was thinking it was more north. It really isn't. It's just the country kind of north.

Marco:  Exactly.

Amanda: But again, we are going to the. It really is like the Buffalo area.

Marco:  I know, I know that.

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco:  Okay, so I've picked up. Picked up a few of those magazines to give us inspiration. And you have one in front of you, and I have one in front of me. And I'm going to look through the magazine. I've already picked a. Selected an article. The magazine that I currently am holding is called on the Bay, Celebrating Life and People in Southern Georgian Bay.

Amanda: And I've got the journal of, uh, Porter Airlines, which is called Re Porter.

Marco:  Yeah, the. The magazine you get on the airplane.

Amanda: And since we're talking about random companies today, gotta tell everyone how much we love Porter Air.

Marco:  It's true. It's true. So there's an article about growing butternuts. And the black walnut is endangered. Is an endangered species of butternut. Amanda.

Amanda: Oh.

Marco:  And so there's a woman here, her name is Charlie Dobson, that you can ask questions about your gardening life.

Amanda: Uh-huh.

Marco:  And this person, Allison from Thornbury, is planting these black walnut butternuts.

Amanda: Nice.

Marco:  And so asks Charlie for some advice when planting this particular tree.

Amanda: Uh-huh.

Marco:  And here I'm going to give you three pieces of advice. Should you be planting butternut trees?

Amanda: Okay. Thank you.

Marco:  So butternut trees require lots of sun, so hire an arborist if necessary, to trim Back any other trees that might be shading your butternut. Okay.

Amanda: Okay.

Marco:  So here's another tip from Charlie Dobbin from this article. Since your tree is still young, this is the best time to prune, shape the plant for longevity, and once again, use the arborist. It seems like Charlie likes to give work to, uh, an arborist. Yeah.

Amanda: Okay.

Marco:  And lastly, a soil test will determine whether fertilizing is important for your tree. Generally, a good quality, rich, loamy soil will support your tree's health.

Amanda: All right, so I've opened up and, um, this is an article on a tea sommelier. Ooh, Somebody named Hoda Peripush, who's a tea sommelier in Yorkville.

Marco:  Very ritzy area of Toronto.

Amanda: Um, here are the questions they ask her. Tell me which one you want to hear answered. What does tea mean to you? Why Yorkville? Describe your perfect solo Saturday. What is your favorite spot for a cup of tea? And what are your favorite neighborhoods in Toronto?

Marco:  Well, I don't want to know what their favorite neighborhoods in Toronto are, but I do want to know. What was the first question?

Amanda: Actually, it's funny. She talks about something we've talked about in her favorite neighborhoods.

Marco:  Okay, go for it.

Amanda: All right, I'll start with that. So she says what? It says, what are your favorite neighborhoods in Toronto? And she says to me, Yorkville is a destination, but Summerhill is my everyday. It's surrounded by green space and has a small town vibe. And there are still specialty grocers and cool cafes. Taroni is one of my favorites.

Marco:  Oh, isn't that funny? The restaurant that we talked about. I know.

Amanda: She says I often order an extra pizza to take home because it tastes even more glorious the next day. I also love mineral, which I've never heard of, which serves inventive Filipino cuisine. Sounds good.

Marco:  Sounds great.

Amanda: I know. Isn't that funny that she talks about Toroni of all places? Well, it's sort of the restaurant of Toronto, I think.

Marco:  It's certainly one of them. A local's favorite, shall we say?

Amanda: Um, what other. What was the other one? What does tea mean to you?

Marco:  No, the second one.

Amanda: Perfect solo Saturday.

Marco:  No.

Amanda: Favorite spot to have a cup of tea.

Marco:  There you go.

Amanda: All right. She says, hands down, Joanie in the Park Hyatt, which was refurbished last year. The attention to detail is incredible. It's a combination of modern meets Gatsby with mixed textures of marble, walnut, and brass. I also love Holt's Cafe. You and I have been there. On the second floor of Holt Renfrew's flagship on, um, Blur.

Marco:  Yeah. These are all ritzy places, though.

Amanda: Yeah, they are.

Marco:  I think. I think this person needs to take it down a notch.

Amanda: Okay.

Marco:  I've got some hanging tips for you.

Amanda: Okay, thank you.

Marco:  From the magazine called on the Bay.

Amanda: All right.

Marco:  Life and love in Georgian Bay. I don't love, but. So these are hanging tips. When you hang artwork, Amanda, here are three things you need to keep in mind.

Amanda: Yeah, I need this because I need to hang some artwork.

Marco:  Find your center. Museums like to hang works somewhere between 56 to 60 inches from the floor to create. Uh, sorry. From the floor to create to center to the center of the piece. So from the floor to the center of your artwork. 56 to 60 inches. This person likes to hang it around 58.

Amanda: Okay.

Marco:  The other tip is frame it up. It's under the. Under the title. Frame it up quote. I prefer to frame paintings, especially abstracts, in simple profiles to give it polish without distracting from the work. Natural, neutral, white, black, or colorful. All worked independently on the tone of the piece. I'm not sure what that means. Like picking up a pair of shoes. It should complement the outfit. Consider the wood tones. Oh, I guess for the framing. Right.

Amanda: Huh.

Marco:  So keep it simple. Keep the framing simple. If you have abstract work.

Amanda: Okay, that's good to know.

Marco:  And then the last piece of advice is under the heading. Don't forget the sunscreen. If it's valuable piece and hung close to a window, I Recommend Museum glass. 99% UV protection with minimal reflection.

Amanda: That's good to know. I didn't know that was a thing.

Marco:  I like minimal, uh. Uh, 99% protection with minimal reflection.

Amanda: Nice.

Marco:  That's my new motto.

Amanda: That's a great motto.

Marco:  That's all I have from. From that magazine.

Amanda: Do you want me to keep going?

Marco:  Yeah, we have, like, about three minutes or two minutes.

Amanda: All right. Um, so there's some stuff on Boston here.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda: Why is Boston called Beantown?

Marco:  They eat a lot of beans, probably.

Amanda: Do you want to hear about it?

Marco:  Of course.

Amanda: The musical fruit, I don't think. Is it a fruit? No, it's a legume. You don't know beans until you come to Boston. Or so said the early 20th century marketing slogan. The origin of the. Sorry. The origin of the nickname Beantown, however, stretches much further back, while Chicago has been. Has a giant bean. Sorry. The lighting in here is a little hard.

Marco:  Oh, it's intense. Because the filter fell off yours.

Amanda: No, no, that's. That's good.

>> Nidhi Khanna: It's.

Amanda: My eyes are having a hard time focusing age. I Think while Chicago has one giant bean, which we know. We've been to that bean.

Marco:  That's great. Millennium. Millennium Park, I think it's in Boston.

Amanda: Has millions. Historically, they were baked in maple syrup by the dishes indigenous originators, before being adopted by 17th century Puritans, who served theirs with molasses instead.

Marco:  I see.

Amanda: Interesting. In those days, a batch of beans was cooked on a Saturday for meals on Sunday. Getting around that sticky rule about not working on the Sabbath.

Marco:  I see.

Amanda: Uh, so it's a big pot of things that you could work, that you could have ready to go, and then you're not working on the Sabbath.

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda: Sailors passing through town quickly acquired a taste for the inexpensive dish, and they dubbed the port city of Beantown a name that stuck to, like, molasses to beans. Yeah, My. My mom makes it with molasses.

Marco:  I would like these beans. I've never had. I'm married to a Bostonian. Never had Boston beans.

Amanda: Well, you've had. You've had Amanda lentils.

Marco:  No, not the same. I want beans and molasses in one of those bean crockery pots.

Amanda: All right. Crockery in the fall.

Marco:  Where do you get that crockery?

Amanda: You just get it. A bean pot. My mom has some.

Marco:  Does she? Yeah, the Boston bean crocker.

Amanda: Yeah, she used to make those all the time. Yeah, in the. In the pot. Yeah, the brown pot. Yeah, yeah.

Marco:  She has it in Florida.

Amanda: I don't know if she does. I don't know how many beans they're eating in Florida.

Marco:  Well, I would like next time we visit Florida for some Boston stuff.

Amanda: Oh, Boston baked beans.

Marco:  Yeah.

Amanda: Hers are really good. She probably hasn't made them in a long time.

Marco:  Oh, my goodness.

Amanda: The look Marco just gave me, like, how could you keep this from me?

Marco:  Well, the fact that you're like, they're really good. She hasn't made them in a long time, makes me feel like maybe I'm not worthy of Boston baked beans.

Amanda: I think it has more to do with the fact that they live in Florida. And who wants a huge pot of baked beans?

Marco:  Who doesn't want a huge pot of baked beans?

Amanda: Also, my dad is diabetic, so my mom would probably say it's sugary. And I don't want to make him sugary bean.

Marco:  That's fair. That's fair. But maybe she can use a sugar free molasses.

Amanda: You know what? Knowing my mom, that's exactly what she'll do.

Marco:  Well, there you go. We'll keep you updated with our travels to Lilydale, Saskatoon, and whether or not Marco gets baked beans.

Amanda: Lily Dale and Saskatoon. But hey, fun. Two fun little trips for sure.

Marco:  You know, you don't have to travel far to have a nice weekend somewhere. You can just drive three hours away. Figure out what three hours away looks like from where you live.

Amanda: Mhm.

Marco:  And tell us, where would that bring you? I'd love to know. Until next time. I hope you were able, or we hope you were able, to listen and sleep.

In this calming episode of The Insomnia Project, hosts Marco Timpano and Amanda Barker wander through a pair of quietly delightful topics: puzzling and herb gardening. Their gentle, meandering conversation begins with listener-suggested topics and drifts into the curious world of puzzles. While neither host considers themselves an avid puzzler, Amanda reflects on why puzzles never quite captured her imagination, while Marco introduces a whimsical concept for a puzzle game he calls “Poozle,” sparking a light and playful discussion.
From there, the conversation slowly shifts into the soothing territory of herb gardening. Marco and Amanda share their experiences growing herbs, discussing the small pleasures and mild frustrations that come with tending a garden. Along the way, their chat unexpectedly wanders into Madrigal songs and the quirks of basil cultivation, creating the kind of relaxed, winding conversation that listeners of this sleep podcast have come to love.
Marco even shares a few simple herb-gardening tips for listeners who might want to try growing their own plants at home. Whether you’re listening in bed, winding down after a long day, or quietly playing the episode while working to ease anxiety, this gentle episode is designed to help your mind slow down.
The Insomnia Project is one of the top sleep podcasts and sleepcasts for people looking for calm, quiet conversation that can help ease insomnia and guide listeners toward rest.

​Puzzling & Herb Gardening

 Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm, uneventful, unimportant, uninteresting conversation that you do not have to stay till the end of it. If you drift off within six minutes, that's perfectly fine.

Amanda:   But we invite you to stay if you want, of course.

Marco: I'm your host, Marco Timpano.

Amanda:   And I'm the other hostess, Amanda.

Marco: Uh, thank you for, uh, joining us today, Amanda. We're going to go back to listener suggestions because we only got through one.

Amanda:   Well, that's the way we. That's how we do.

Marco: That's how we roll.

Amanda:   Yeah.

Marco: So one of our listeners asked us to talk about puzzling as a topic of interest.

Amanda:   Dear God.

Marco: Amanda is not.

Amanda:   Are you there? It's me, Amanda. Uh, I don't like puzzles.

Marco: You don't like puzzles?

Amanda:   I like Judy Blume, but I don't like puzzles.

Marco: Not even the crossword puzzles or Sudoku puzzles?

Amanda:   You say Sudoku.

Marco: Sudoku.

Amanda:   I thought Sudoku.

Marco: Oh, maybe it is.

Amanda:   I don't. To be honest, I've never done one.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda:   I've never done a. The aforementioned puzzle.

Marco: Yes, I've done them. I like them.

Amanda:   Yeah. If I got you a book of them, would you be like, happy?

Marco: No, I wouldn't. I wouldn't do a book. But sometimes when I'm on the plane.

Amanda:   Uh-huh.

Marco: If it's in the newspaper, I have. I'll do it.

Amanda:   Mhm.

Marco: And if I was on a bus, I might do it.

Amanda:   Your mom likes a good word search. Is that a puzzle?

Marco: Yeah, my mom likes a. Good work at word search. We bought her plenty of word searches.

Amanda:   I bought her a massive book of word searches in Italian.

Marco: And she, she, she tears through them.

Amanda:   Yeah, she does.

Marco: So she's, she's very good at that. You and I are not Jigsaw Puz.

Amanda:   Now. We're also not working out, people. And sometimes I wonder, and not to change the topic, but I wonder, is this a collective thing that we've an unspoken agreement that we've just decided that's not who we are as a couple?

Marco: Right.

Amanda:   Because would you be doing Jigsaw? If I was into Jigsaw, would you be like, yeah, great, we're gonna dig into one?

Marco: I might. Here's what I've been wanting to do with jigsaw puzzles. So I know that you and I like. I wanted to do board games. And you were on board for it. And we've gotten into board games.

Amanda:   Every pun intended. Yeah, I was on board.

Marco: Oh, on board. I see.

Amanda:   Get it?

Marco: No, I didn't get it in the moment, but I do now. Um, and so we've played puzzles. I mean, we've played puzzles. We've played board games.

Amanda:   Playing puzzles. I think I want to normalize that phrase in the vernacular. I'm gonna go play puzzle.

Marco: Play puzzle. And, uh, that's been. Our puzzling thing has been board games. And we've talked a lot about them. We played one earlier today.

Amanda:   Yeah, we did. That's true.

Marco: But I do like to do a puzzle every once in a blue moon. We have friends like Daniela Lascalic and Joel like to do puzzles, and they even have that mat that when you're not done, you roll up the puzzle in the mat so it stays where you want it.

Amanda:   I get it. I get that. Because that's a real thing, right?

Marco: Yeah. But here's what I wanted to do.

Amanda:   Okay.

Marco: So we had a yard sale not too long ago. Some people call them garage sales. Car boot sales.

Amanda:   Car boot sales.

Marco: That's what they say in the uk.

Amanda:   Really?

Marco: Yeah.

Amanda:   Oh, okay.

Marco: The car boot is what we refer to as a trunk.

Amanda:   I know. And I've heard trunk sale, although I never really thought of it as a car trunk. I always thought it meant like. Like an old timey trunk like that you came over. Oh, a trunk like that on Ellis island with.

Marco: I see you like a white elephant sale. You always talk about white elephant.

Amanda:   My grandmother was into white elephant sails. And it's one of the stories passed down that she loved a white elephant sale at the church that she would. My mom. My mom always laughs because apparently my grandmother loved to volunteer at the church. And it had nothing to do with the church. It had everything to do with the fact that she liked to have first dibs on the white elephant sale. And I respect that.

Marco: Yeah. And we. We went to a 1. What do you call those kind of shops that. That resell consignment? No, not consignment, but donation shops, I guess.

Amanda:   And they, ah, vintage shops or um,

Marco: a little more casual than that, you know.

Amanda:   What is that, like a.

Marco: You had a coupon for it? Just a donation center. Right? Like a secondhand. Secondhand store. That's it. So we went to the secondhand store and I noticed a bunch of puzzles. And I know you and I don't do puzzles, but here's.

Amanda:   We don't play puzzle.

Marco: No, we don't play puzzle, but here, hear me out.

Amanda:   I'm hearing, I'm listening.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda:   That's my half of my job today.

Marco: What I'd like to do is get a puzzle. Right?

Amanda:   Mhm.

Marco: Picture a seascape.

Amanda:   Okay. I'm picturing it.

Marco: Sailboats, seashells, people frolicking on the beach. Thousand, thousand piece jigsaw puzzle.

Amanda:   Oh, my God. Nightmare.

Marco: Okay. So I would put it in a box that doesn't have the picture on it.

Amanda:   Okay.

Marco: And then I'd put three envelopes that give clues to the puzzle you're about to do.

Amanda:   Sure.

Marco: And then we give it to a friend and they have to put it together.

Amanda:   I feel like this is a totally new thing that you would really enjoy. And there'd be a glint in your eye.

Marco: Yeah.

Amanda:   Uh, I don't know about seascape. I'd like it to be a funny, wacky reveal of a photo versus kids frolicking in sand.

Marco: Okay, well, whatever. That was the puzzle I saw at the secondhand shop.

Amanda:   I like it if it's. You put it together and then once they get the puzzle together, there's one missing piece and they have to go find it. And then they find the missing piece and it's like, we're taking you on a trip to, you know, Grenada. Okay, well, this is my. The gift I like. That's pretty cool, because at the end of it, I get a trip to Grenada.

Marco: I see. Well, that's not gonna happen with my idea.

Amanda:   Your idea is I get a puzzle, and the reveal is it's a puzzle.

Marco: You have to do it without. Without using any sort of guide. Like you have no idea what the picture is, and it unfolds as you go.

Amanda:   Why is this fun?

Marco: Because it's a surprise. I don't know. That's what I was thinking.

Amanda:   I don't see. The joy in your eyes and in your voice of describing it is one of the things I love the most about you. So I aim not to crush that joy.

Marco: You're really good at crushing the joy.

Amanda:   I'm exceptional at it. But I don't understand it. I don't understand the root of it. So I love it. I appreciate it. I. I appreciate that you love it. I don't want to have any part of it.

Marco: I'm not saying I would give it to you, but I would give it to friends and say.

Amanda:   And I'd say, I don't understand it either. Marco's idea. Please enjoy. And we would have friends who would love it, like Michelle or Dale, who would probably love it.

Marco: Right.

Amanda:   Because I think they think more like you. And there's just things I don't understand in this world and puzzles are one of them. Because you're creating a thing to tear it down. I don't know.

Marco: But they're also good for mental stimulation, apparently. And relaxation. Some people find a great deal of relaxation in it.

Amanda:   Mhm.

Marco: My niece likes to do a puzzle.

Amanda:   I respect them. I just, I don't know, I just can think of other things that I would enjoy at the end. More like cleaning a bathroom.

Marco: Sure, okay, fair enough. Between you, your brother who's never been on the podcast, and your sister who has been on the podcast, um, who would more likely be the one to do a puzzle?

Amanda:   My sister for sure.

Marco: Is she a puzzle type person?

Amanda:   Yeah, I think we used to do them. I think she used to do them. Yeah. My brother I think is more wired like me. If it doesn't have a productive result at the end, he's less inclined to spend his time doing it. Oh, my sister enjoys a pursuit for pursuit's sake. She is at her heart an academic. And I would say that my brother and I are not. He's a very hands on, practical person. He likes to build things. So he enjoys the puzzle of trying, of having a challenge.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda:   In his job, in his life, uh, of we need this thing, but we don't know how to make it happen. We don't know how to create it. That for him is a puzzle and he gets to create it. And I would say in one of my many jobs, I actually work at a place that is named after a puzzle. And the reason it is named as, uh, such is, is because casting. It's a casting job where I help cast actors and commercials. I think I'm allowed to say that, um, it is a puzzle.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda:   Because there are certain things that, you know, in any commercial, for example, or any role in any film, the commercials are even more of a puzzle. I think because you have many different people who have different agendas and really what you're trying to do is to meet the needs of all of those. The director to the advertisers themselves to the in between. People at the agency who created an advertising, uh, concept that they want executed. And you really have to make all those people happy. And you put ahead. Here are some options of people that could take it to the next level.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda:   And execute your vision. And oftentimes, you know, most commercials are more than one person. So you really have to fit a family together, for example, a group of friends together. And that is a puzzle.

Marco: And.

Amanda:   And that's why we call it the name that they call it. So puzzles in my day to day life, in terms of creating, my brother and I are like that. But a pursuit for pursuit's sake is not your thing. I somewhat wish it was.

Marco: Here's the thing. If I could contribute one thing to the puzzling.

Amanda:   Please. Because I want to appreciate them.

Marco: Yeah. If I could contribute one thing to the puzzling community, it would be to change the pronunciation of puzzle to poozle.

Amanda:   And what would the benefit of that be?

Marco: I just think it sounds funnier. You want to do a poozle?

Amanda:   Well, perhaps you could make a type of puzzle called a poozel.

Marco: Oh, yeah.

Amanda:   And maybe it's a puzzle where you don't have the picture at the end.

Marco: Oh, I like that.

Amanda:   Like a secret poozel.

Marco: That's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna do that for a friend and I'm gonna call it a pool.

Amanda:   No, I think you pitch this and I sell it to and go to Shark Tank. See, this is where it becomes not a pursuit for pursuit's sake, but, uh,

Marco: uh, not an academic.

Amanda:   Yeah, and that's part of my problem. I'm too wired to make things into a business.

Marco: Well, let me see how you feel about our next topic. So I think puzzling or poozling came to us from Emma, and this next one comes from T, who messaged us on our Instagram account. And T wants us to speak about gardening and herb usage. Or herb usage.

Amanda:   Are we done? Was that our big exploration of puzzles? Yeah, that was it.

Marco: Yeah.

Amanda:   I thought we were just getting started.

Marco: You're not a fan of puzzling.

Amanda:   I know, but I want to be. So keep making the case for it.

Marco: Well, we'll come back to it. We're halfway through, so I want to cover.

Amanda:   I would like to change. If there's one thing I could do, it's change gardening to goudening.

Marco: And what would that encompass? Gouding.

Amanda:   It's like a garden, but you plant seeds and you have no idea what you've planted. And then they come up and it's all a reveal.

Marco: I would See, here's the thing. I would love that. Imagine someone gave you a bunch of seeds at the beginning of the season and. And said, plant these and it'll be a surprise.

Amanda:   Perhaps.

Marco: I would love that. You would hate it.

Amanda:   Perhaps it's time to talk about the very, very, very first time I ever met Marco, he sat down at a table full of people I was hired to Do a job. He had been part of that cast for a long time. And he sat down with the same joy in his eyes and was very excited because he had just gotten a bunch of seeds and he had planted them in his mother's backyard. And she, in the spring was going to find all these flowers coming up and not know where they had come from.

Marco: Yeah. She was unaware.

Amanda:   Brown Eyed Susans, I think.

Marco: Brown Eyed Susan.

Amanda:   And so you were very excited. And I was like, who is this man that has such a relationship with his mother? Like, the whole thing was very foreign to me, but it was intriguing. That's the first time I ever met you.

Marco: Listen, if you can plant seeds in your mother's garden without telling her, and all of a sudden a bunch of flowers she doesn't expect come up, I think that's hilarious. Even though I might not be there for the reveal, I think that's a very funny thing.

Amanda:   And what happened? I never heard how that story ended.

Marco: Uh, I think either she pulled them out before they became brownhouse Susans, which is.

Amanda:   That's what my mother would say. I don't know what this is.

Marco: Yank, Yank. Or they came up. She liked them and.

Amanda:   Oh, we'll never know.

Marco: And we'll never know. But getting back to gardening and herbs.

Amanda:   Goodening and herbs.

Marco: Do you say herbs or herbs?

Amanda:   I've never. Herbs with, uh, the pronounced H. Never once. And it falls funny on mine ears. My American ears.

Marco: Fair enough. Well, we do have some herbs growing in our backyard.

Amanda:   We do, Yeah.

Marco: I planted. So I had an issue with basil this year because basil was very expensive for some reason in our gardening store.

Amanda:   A personal theoretical issue with basil.

Marco: That's right. Yeah, that's right. So I was like, I'm not planting basil. I'm not. Sorry. I'm not buying basil.

Amanda:   When most people say I had an issue with basil, it means I tried to plant basil and it didn't come up. Your issue was not that.

Marco: No, my issue was it was expensive. And so I got seeds.

Amanda:   The basil industry was, was, was plotting, uh, against me. It was. And you wanted to take it in your own hands.

Marco: So what I did was I got some seeds.

Amanda:   Basil economy.

Marco: And I planted some basil in pots.

Amanda:   Mhm.

Marco: And they're slowly now they're starting to look like basil. But I should have done that back in April.

Amanda:   We will have our basil in October, friends.

Marco: We will have basil. But it won't be.

Amanda:   And then we'll have a lot of it.

Marco: It won't come at the same time that tomatoes are ripe. When it should. It'll come just after that. But basil's coming. I planted, uh, sage.

Amanda:   Mhm.

Marco: Rosemary, thyme. Mhm. Chives. And they're all doing lovely.

Amanda:   They are. They look beautiful.

Marco: And we've been harvesting, uh, it.

Amanda:   Yeah.

Marco: Having a good time, enjoying it.

Amanda:   We've made pasta with buttered sage.

Marco: And Amanda picked up just yesterday 10 pounds of scapes.

Amanda:   So let's talk about scapes.

Marco: Let's talk about scapes.

Amanda:   It's Scapegate 2023. So somebody, uh, on one of my community groups said, my husband and I run a small farm up north. We have a lot of scapes. So what is escape? It's not something you normally eat. Let's make sure we're all on the same page with what escape is.

Marco: Sure. Escape is a rope, like growth from garlic.

Amanda:   Mhm.

Marco: Before the garlic bulb blooms underground, it produces a stem, if you will, that kind of ropes around kind of like, you know how an onion has the green of the onion, like a green onion. Like a green onion.

Amanda:   Or even called a scallion.

Marco: Or even the onion, like a proper onion, shoots up the green leaves that you pull.

Amanda:   Yeah.

Marco: Those green leaves that come from a, uh, garlic.

Amanda:   Mhm.

Marco: Those leaves do come up, but then escape comes up, which is more like a rope texture.

Amanda:   It's thicker. Yeah. It's a cylinder. Yeah, it's a cylinder that has to.

Marco: I wouldn't say it's a cylinder. Cylindrical.

Amanda:   Okay. Cylindrical. Yeah. And it has usually a little, um,

Marco: like flower on the end of it, that wood flower. And that's where the seeds would be if you let it grow.

Amanda:   Yeah. Which we have tons of those. So if you want garlic seeds.

Marco: We do.

Amanda:   Well, we have the scapes.

Marco: No, but it has to mature.

Amanda:   Oh, it does.

Marco: Those aren't mature. Yeah, you have to let them go for the season. And then that would be seeds.

Amanda:   Oh, I didn't realize that. M. Okay. So in any event, we have the scapes. And it was $10 for a five pound bag. I thought that sounds good. A five pound bag, friends, is a very, very big bag of scapes. So everybody in our lives are getting individual bags filled with scapes.

Marco: Who have you given scapes to so far?

Amanda:   Right now, just Dale tonight. And I have a bag ready to go out to my friend Lois who

Marco: was on the podcast not too long ago.

Amanda:   Yep. She's gonna, uh, it's her daughter's graduation from junior high and so she's going to go ahead. Well, that's not her grad present. Don't worry. But I Have a proper grad present for her daughter.

Marco: But I, uh, think scapes is a great present for everything. You're getting married. Happy marriage. Here's some scapes.

Amanda:   Here's something that's like, uh. Scape is like garlic and an onion. Had a baby.

Marco: That's a rope, baby.

Amanda:   A rope.

Marco: God. And it's delicious. That's what Wonderful.

Amanda:   Delicious and easy to cook.

Marco: How would you cook a scape?

Amanda:   An easiest way is you just saute them, same as you would a green onion or garlic.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda:   But they're heartier. They're thicker and heartier than green onions. Um, but they're green, unlike your normal garlic. If you mince it or chop it, whatever.

Marco: So great with eggs.

Amanda:   Yeah, wonderful with eggs Anywhere you would use green onion or garlic. You could use escape, but. And so much more.

Marco: You can make pesto out escapes, we were told.

Amanda:   Yeah. So we might do that. And I have a feeling we're going to be making pesto in the fall with all this basil that is slowly making its way into the world.

Marco: That is not a problem for me.

Amanda:   We're taking on the basil industry.

Marco: We are taking on the basil industry. Although I have to say, this year the sage has done very well. It's like we can't keep on top of our sage.

Amanda:   For me, we have more knowledge. I wonder.

Marco: Oh, I hope so.

Amanda:   We are wise. And sage, like, the sage has been great. And we had it with pasta, with ravioli. I had made like just big leaves, fried buttered sage with pasta.

Marco: So good.

Amanda:   So good.

Marco: And, uh, so we have a little. What's called a strawberry pot. Even though Amanda doesn't like strawberries.

Amanda:   I don't.

Marco: It's a clay pot that allows you to grow herbs.

Amanda:   And I want to hear from all my people that don't like strawberries, because so far in my entire life, I've only met one.

Marco: Okay, so you stand. You don't stand alone anymore.

Amanda:   It's me and a woman who did my hair for a movie once.

Marco: Okay. So I'm at Costco and I see a bunch of herbs for sale.

Amanda:   Mhm.

Marco: So I text Amanda. I'm like, what herbs should I get? And she's like, think of the Simon and Garfunkel song.

Amanda:   Right. Which is the old English folk song. They didn't write that song.

Marco: Oh, it's an old English folk song.

Amanda:   Oh, you didn't know that?

Marco: No.

Amanda:   Yeah, it's like, um, a madrigal. I think it is a madrigal because it's like, um, in Canada, they always talk about the Friendly Giant in that song. Early one morning Just as the sun was rising.

Marco: Yes.

Amanda:   That I knew that song, but that it was just used as a theme song.

Marco: I thought it was a theme song. This is the first time.

Amanda:   I know. It's a really well known song from the turn of the century.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda:   Uh, I knew. I think it was in Pollyanna, but I, I always knew that song and always sang, um, was actually a good vocal warm up song.

Marco: The copyright ran out on it, so they.

Amanda:   Yeah, so they used it. So same with. But this. I think it's older. Um, Scarborough, uh, Fair. Scarborough, England.

Marco: Right, right, of course.

Amanda:   Yeah. So it's. It's. Yeah, it's not like Scarborough, the Bronx or whatever.

Marco: Sure. Or Scarborough in Toronto.

Amanda:   No, I know, but Simon and Garfunkel, they were from Brooklyn, I think.

Marco: Sure, sure.

Amanda:   Um, yeah, no, that was. That's an old English. I think it might be a madrigal.

Marco: Oh, wow.

Amanda:   Yeah.

Marco: Well, Amanda said, think of that song. That's what you plant in the. In the strawberry pods.

Amanda:   So again, we're just talking about our, uh. I don't need to sing it, right?

Marco: No, but what, what are the. What are the herbs that are in that song?

Amanda:   So sing it with me. Are you going to Scarborough Fair? Go for it.

Marco: Rosemary, thyme, delicious chives. What is it?

Amanda:   It's not how it goes.

Marco: Well, what are the.

>> Speaker A: What is.

Amanda:   I like that person. It's parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. But I really wish they could rewrite it and get cilantro in there because I have wanted some cilantro this summer. And we've been out,

Marco: so we have chives though as well.

Amanda:   Mhm.

Marco: And I bought a head, a vase head. I don't know how you would describe it. So we went to the museum and saw this beautiful art exhibit of Cassatt. Mary Cassatt.

Amanda:   Mary Cassatt, yeah. Just the Art Gallery of Ontario for anyone following along.

Marco: And Helen McNicol.

Amanda:   Mhm.

Marco: Two impressionist painters who never knew each other. One was Canadian, one was American, one moved to France, one moved to England.

Amanda:   Very interesting women, both of them.

Marco: And wonderful artists. Beautiful paintings. So we saw that. And when we went to the little gift shop upon the exit of the exhibit, there was a bust of a woman from the neck up.

Amanda:   Mhm.

Marco: And in her head you could plant a plant.

Amanda:   Yeah. To me it almost looks like. I don't even think it was a woman, but I guess it is. Almost looked Roman to me.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda:   Like a Roman. You know, sort of, uh, urn, or whatever. But yeah, you can the plant grows out of the head of the. Of the head.

Marco: So when I showed Amanda, she's like. Amanda was like, that's what it's gonna look like. They had an example of a. Of a flower coming out of fake

Amanda:   flowers coming out of the house.

Marco: And Amanda was. I could tell Amanda was not impressed with it, and I thought it was hilarious.

Amanda:   Things that are Roman or Grecian in people's normal houses, I'm not normally for

Marco: sure that's not your thing.

Amanda:   It's not. But in a garden, it can be nice.

Marco: Sure. In a home, it can be nice. It's just not your aesthetics.

Amanda:   Fair. Very fair.

Marco: So I bought the head of this woman, this bust of a woman.

Amanda:   We should give her a name.

Marco: McNichol.

Amanda:   Perfect.

Marco: Because I like McNichols better than Cassatts.

Amanda:   I know. She won.

Marco: She won for me. It was never a competition. It's just. I gravitated more towards McNichols because I don't want to make two great female impressionist painters a, uh, competition between each other.

Amanda:   And what did I say it was like? It was like when they got J. Lo and Shakira to do the Super Bowl.

Marco: Right.

Amanda:   Both amazing artists in their own right. Both should have been able to just have and own a Super bowl show on their own.

Marco: Right.

Amanda:   But for some reason, they decided to mush them together. That's what I thought it was like.

Marco: Yeah. Amanda was a little bit upset by that, and rightly so.

Amanda:   That's what I thought would be the JLo, just in case you were wondering.

Marco: Okay. So I'm more of a Shakira impressionist person. I bought the head of this, and it has. The head doesn't look like either of the two artists. It's just a random.

Amanda:   I don't know why it was there. I think it was just sort of in the style. Ish. Of a woman. I mean, they were.

Marco: I don't know.

Amanda:   It was there, a loose net of, um, women things.

Marco: So I'm going to plant cilantro in the head of this woman in this McNicol pot that I have.

Amanda:   It's gonna be great.

Marco: And we'll have cilantro. How long does cilantro take to grow?

Amanda:   It's like parsley.

Marco: Okay. So it should grow.

Amanda:   It should go quickly.

>> Speaker A: Yeah.

Amanda:   Uh, do you want me to pick up some time?

Marco: No, I'll do that while you're driving

Amanda:   up to the Graduate. The big graduation.

Marco: The big graduation. So. Yeah. So, um, that's some of our. We kind of didn't talk about our gardening Experiences. But we certainly talked about the herbs that are in our garden.

Amanda:   Well, we can pick up where we left off next time and go right into gardening.

Marco: Sure, sure. But we'll probably have other topics. Uh, we have some listeners that gave us a few topics, so.

Amanda:   I know, and we are getting through them and we love them and, uh, we will get there. Listen, we're on our own time.

Marco: We are grateful for the suggestions.

Amanda:   We need them, which is so awesome.

Marco: Yeah. Is there any herb that you would never need in your garden?

Amanda:   Oh, um, not. Is there one that you have? Because I don't have any off the top of my head. I don't do a lot of coriander seed, I have to be honest. Oh, you know what? Caraway.

Marco: Caraway is not your thing.

Amanda:   It's a seed.

Marco: Right.

Amanda:   So I don't know if it really counts, but I think I have some stomach aversion to caraway seeds. Anytime I have them, which is, you know, pretty rare. Sometimes they're in rye bread. I always have a stomach ache.

Marco: You don't love them.

Amanda:   Yeah.

Marco: Now, it says here to share tips for beginners and highlights of low maintenance plants. I'll say this. Um, just plant them, see what happens. Don't worry too much, Water them, put them in sun. If they grow great, snip them with a pair of shears, put them in your food, have fun.

Amanda:   I mean, we are. We're city people for the most part and have a container garden for the most part. So in the world of container gardening and in the world of herbs or herbs, what would you say is the easiest of all to learn?

Marco: That's a great question. So the thing with. Okay, great. So the thing with basil is it needs sun and it needs water and it doesn't like drafts. If it gets cold, it'll die. So, you know, when we start to get towards fall, you want to really eat up your basil.

Amanda:   It's a true Italian. It doesn't want to get a little wind on its neck.

Marco: No, it doesn't. That basil is a little bit sensitive like that. Now, sage is the kind of thing that's hardy and it likes cold weather. Like, it's not, it's, it's not gonna, it's not gonna wilt on you or dry up on you if it gets

Amanda:   back and it comes back. Yeah. It can be an annual.

Marco: You can plant it in your front garden, too.

Amanda:   A, uh, perennial, rather. Yeah, yeah. Which we did.

Marco: I think we had chives that came up for a couple of years in the front, front of our house.

Amanda:   We had sage, too.

Marco: We had these, like. We just planted some herbs in our front with our roses and our other flowers, and they'd come up and they were kind of hidden, so you couldn't really tell. I've never had success with lavender.

Amanda:   And you try it every year.

Marco: I don't think we have the sun for the lavender. Lavender likes a lot of sun and it likes sand. Yeah.

Amanda:   A sandy, you know, like the south coast of France.

Marco: Yeah. And our front is certainly not the south coast of France.

Amanda:   No.

Marco: It's many things, and that's not what it is.

Amanda:   It's not even the north coast of France. Not even Normandy.

Marco: No. It doesn't resemble France in the least. So that's, um, two herbs. I'm trying to think of the other ones.

Amanda:   I'm going to say this.

Marco: Yes.

Amanda:   If you want to plant one herb, one fun herb, and that's all you have, is mint.

Marco: Mint.

Amanda:   Mint is so hearty, and there's so many different versions of mint, and you don't think you need it much, but you find interesting and creative ways to incorporate it. Like mint, beet and goat cheese salad is delicious.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda:   Or any version of that. Um, obviously, mint in cocktails is a lovely, lovely piece of heaven.

Marco: Hot water. Throw some mint in it.

Amanda:   Yeah. Mint tea, for sure.

Marco: You have a soda, you want to spice up. Throw a little bit of mint in it.

Amanda:   It's just so hearty. Now, the only problem is, uh, I

Marco: was gonna say there's a warning with mint. It's best grown in a container, because mint is like a weed. It will take over, it will come back the next year and it will spread. So you want it contained, because if you just plant it in your garden, it's going to be like the blob. It's just going to take over.

Amanda:   And our mint has just been in a simple container. We didn't put anything over it, I think all winter. And it's coming back.

Marco: I was really surprised it came back, to be honest with you. I didn't think it would.

Amanda:   We're not particularly lovely to our herbs.

Marco: No, we're not. But that's. That's. That's the road you take. Yeah.

Amanda:   You get.

Marco: When you're an herb, that's the road you get. And speaking of roads you get, that's the road you got for today. Today's episode. I hope you enjoyed puzzling poozling and gardening and herbs until next week. We hope you were able to listen and slee.

In this calming Season 7 finale of The Insomnia Project, hosts Marco Timpano and Amanda Barker guide listeners through another gently wandering conversation designed to help quiet the mind and encourage rest. In “Clacks, Rue and Flavoured Water,” the hosts explore dreams, plants, and sparkling beverages in the slow, soothing style that listeners have come to love.
The episode begins with Marco recounting a vivid dream about arriving on the mysterious Clack Island. Curious about whether such a place might exist, Amanda joins the investigation, bringing her thoughtful research skills to the conversation. Their quiet exploration of dreams and curious places unfolds in a relaxed, reflective way that invites listeners to simply drift along with the discussion.
Along the way, Marco shares a small story about rescuing Gerbera daisies from the curb and wonders about the surprising resilience of pansies. The conversation continues into the garden as he discusses rue, an herb that recently caught his attention while browsing at a store.
Amanda then turns to a refreshingly simple topic: flavoured bubbly water. She reflects on what makes some sparkling waters pleasantly crisp while others miss the mark, offering a calm and lightly humorous exploration of effervescent drinks.
Whether you’re listening in bed to help with insomnia, winding down after a long day, or playing the episode quietly while working to ease anxiety, The Insomnia Project provides peaceful, meandering conversation designed to help you relax. It has become one of the top sleep podcasts and sleepcasts for listeners seeking a calm, gentle audio experience before sleep.

​Clacks, Rue and Flavoured Water
(Original airdate: July 31, 2023) 

Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you just chill, relax, and who knows, maybe even fall asleep. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.

Amanda:  I'm Amanda Barker and I am one step away from falling asleep on a hammock right now.

Marco:  Okay, well there you've heard it from Amanda.

Amanda:  Amanda.

Marco:  That's Amanda. And this is the last episode for this season. Season seven.

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  So I hope you enjoy it. We have a huge back catalog, so none to worry. We will be back in the middle of September, so not too long. Far away.

Amanda:  I love when you say back catalog. It makes me feel like we're like Springsteen.

Marco:  We are a little bit. Except we own our own music. I think he sold.

Amanda:  But listen, it's all for sale.

Marco:  It's all for sale.

Amanda:  Anybody who wants to buy that back catalog, come make us a deal. Sure.

Marco:  If you're. Imagine a wealthy magnet who can't sleep and this helps you buy our back catalog. No problem. It'd be awesome. Um, yeah, so that's, that's, that's, uh, a little bit of housekeeping, if you will.

Amanda:  Or housekeeping as I say it.

Marco:  Yes.

Amanda:  I'm just all about the. This is what happens when I'm tired. I think I just get more. I get more Virgo.

Marco:  Yes.

Amanda:  I get. Not Vertigo. I get more Virgo and I get more sag. So I get more nitpicky and you laugh it off. I don't know.

Marco:  I don't know. I just. It doesn't bother me. I guess I want to travel. Makes me want to travel. Speaking of travel, we just got back from a weekend away and that's why we're feeling a little bit zonked on this Monday. And it's odd. People will be listening today thinking, wait a second, Wednesdays and Thursdays is when the episode comes out, what's happening. But we wanted to finish the season with the end of this month. So I'm GLAD it was 31 days because I didn't think we'd be able to do it.

Amanda:  Yeah, we got that bonus day today.

Marco:  We got that bonus day.

Amanda:  I'm thinking of today as a bonus day.

Marco:  What makes a bonus day for you?

Amanda:  Well, when you get that extra day of the month, it can be like, okay, you know what? In this case, today, it's not August yet. We're still in July. There's plenty of summer left.

Marco:  Sure. I love bonus days when I was a kid where it was like, oh, today we don't go to school and you forget about that and you wake up and it's like, no, there's no school today. There's a PA day or whatnot. Or if you're working and there's a scheduled holiday or a resource, if you

Amanda:  get paid every two weeks and you get an extra pay period week. Some people that Happens to them, sure.

Marco:  That's wonderful too.

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  If you haven't had a chance to give us a five star review yet, please do so. That's the only thing I'll mention today.

Amanda:  That's our bonus day.

Marco:  That's our bonus day. When you, when you're able to do that. Makes. Makes our podcast stand out a bit. And that's always good.

Amanda:  Well, what did you want to talk about today? To end off this month and end off this season?

Marco:  You know, I feel like we've talked quite a bit about flowers. That, uh, lately been my topic du jour.

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  Ever since I read an article that says that, you know, men are reluctant to talk about flowers because we've been conditioned to feel that it's not a masculine topic to talk about. I've made it my mission to sort of talk about flowers and appreciate flowers. And I just want to say this. So they are doing quite a bit of work in front of our home right now. The city is replacing pipes and there's

Amanda:  pipes and know that it's the city. And we're not people who have a luscious lawn that we're paying people to do work. No, it's, uh, our front of our house is a sidewalk.

Marco:  Yeah. Ah.

Amanda:  Pretty much the city's ripping them all up.

Marco:  Ripping them up. And it's just been a little bit of a harrowed mess out there. But it has slowed traffic on our little quiet street, which makes me happy.

Amanda:  That's true, actually. See, there's the silver lining.

Marco:  Most definitely. What I wanted to mention was that there was a gerber daisy growing somehow in the curb of our street near one of the hoses that is currently.

Amanda:  Is that what it was? And also you say Gerber, not gerbera.

Marco:  I say gerber.

Amanda:  They're both correct, I think.

Marco:  Of course I say Gerber.

Amanda:  And do you say caramel or Carmel?

Marco:  I don't know. I always feel like I say the wrong one when I, I notice it when it comes out of my mouth that it feels wrong. So I think caramel. Uh, I think I said caramel. Can I have a caramel sundae the

Amanda:  other day or whatever. I think you said caramel and then you said, wait, is it caramel?

Marco:  These are hard things, karma. Like Carmel, California.

Amanda:  And I'm like, I dreamt last night that somebody was making fun of how I said draw drawer.

Marco:  Oh, for drawer.

Amanda:  Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, fair enough.

Marco:  Um, I dreamt that I was off the coast of Clack Island. I think I told you this island, which I don't think exists. But in my mind it was.

Amanda:  Is that what it was called? Clack Island.

Marco:  Clack Island.

Amanda:  I'm going to look that up.

Marco:  Yeah, Clack Island. And it's in northern, Northern Ontario.

Amanda:  Okay, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to look up Clack island, and if it exists, we'll have to go there.

Marco:  I'll tell you this, folks. If you're looking for a spot to take your dreams to go to Clack Island. It's a beautiful little island somewhere in the north. Is there a Clack Island?

Amanda:  There is a Clack Island. We gotta go where I just made a commitment, so now we have to do it. It's part of the Great Barrier Reef in, uh, Queensland, Australia.

Marco:  See, I was thinking Ontario. So tell me about Clack Island.

Amanda:  All right, I will, man.

Marco:  We're gonna go on a deep klaki.

Amanda:  It's at the tip of Cape Melville in Bathurst Bay, Australia. And it is northeast of Denim island and Flinders Island. Um, it is a major place in Aboriginal m. Ritual and mythology.

Marco:  I see. Okay.

Amanda:  It also has a large number of paintings. Really. It is the traditional center for male ritual activities. It's the resting place of the two culture heroes, um, Ichibiya and Albaren, who are the dominant figures of traditional mythology in the region.

Marco:  Wow.

Amanda:  It's almost like it came to you and. How do you say male ritual activities.

Marco:  There you go. It was in my dream. How do you spell that?

Amanda:  Clack C L, A C, K. That's

Marco:  how I envisioned it.

Amanda:  There is a Clack island in Northern Australia in Queensland. I don't know if we could go. It's part of Flinders Group National Park.

Marco:  Mhm. But there's no Kla island in Ontario because that's where I. That's where my dream took me was to, I guess a place. I know I haven't been to Australia, but I would like to certainly go. Of course I've been.

Amanda:  But I've never been to that area. So certainly if we went, I would want to go to that area. So that's really interesting. Oh my goodness. Okay. There's a Clark island in Nunavut.

Marco:  Okay. No, no Clack.

Amanda:  Because Nunavut would be more what you were dreaming of.

Marco:  Mm. But it was Clack. I remember it being.

Amanda:  Oh, that's Clack island is, um, the

Marco:  reason I remember it being Clack was definitely in Australia. In our car we have a device that is magnetic that we can put our phone on so that it stays.

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  And it makes kind of a clack sound when you put it. And when we were driving, I said to Amanda, can you clack the phone on there so I can see where we're going? And we both laughed at the word clack. So it stayed in my head.

Amanda:  But it's interesting that it's a very important place spiritually and that it's, uh, for male rituals.

Marco:  There you go.

Amanda:  Yeah.

Marco:  So there knows what was going on.

Amanda:  Who knows indeed.

Marco:  Okay, so back to my gerber daisy. So there was this gerber daisy growing out from the curb, uh, where there was a big blue hose distributing water to all our neighbors because they're doing pipe work. And it was growing in between the two. Between the hose and the curb was a beautiful yellow gerber daisy.

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  And my fear was when they start to remove the hose, the daisy would be no more.

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  So I plucked it very gingerly from the curb and I planted it in our planter. And it looks like it's living its best life. That's great, because it was a little bit kind of crooked trying to figure its way from the curb. And now it's sort of straightened itself out.

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  And then I go the next day, and there's an orange gerber daisy next to where the yellow one was.

Amanda:  Oh, wow.

Marco:  So I gingerly dug that one up, put it in our planter next to the yellow, and they look very happy. If flowers can be happy, I think

Amanda:  they can be happy for sure.

Marco:  Yeah. So. And I did something else recently. And then I'll get off my flower train.

Amanda:  No, stay on it. Stay on that train all the way to dreamland.

Marco:  So you might remember from an episode this season where I talked about getting this planter of pansies.

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  Purple and orange pansies.

Amanda:  Clack island pansies.

Marco:  Clack island pansies. I'm not a pansy.

Amanda:  This is. The whole episode is just you saying things weirdly and me calling you out,

Marco:  which is totally fine. My mouth is just. My lips feel like rubber. They're just on. On their own journey.

Amanda:  We're tired today. I think it's fair to say so.

Marco:  If you saw me, you wouldn't be like, that's the kind of guy who's gonna buy orange and purple pansies. I would say it, but I saw,

Amanda:  because I know you.

Marco:  I. But pansies aren't my thing. And certainly those two colors are not my colors.

Amanda:  I mean, I. I wouldn't. There's never been a moment where like, you know what? You know what Marco's thing is? Pansies.

Marco:  You know what I Should buy Marco for his birthday a bowl of pansies.

Amanda:  Well, now.

Marco:  So I saw them. They looked.

Amanda:  Pansies have gotten a bad rap. I think we bring pansies back.

Marco:  You can eat pansies.

Amanda:  Yeah.

Marco:  In your salad.

Amanda:  We didn't. I could have cut them up and put them on. We had salad for lunch.

Marco:  I don't like eating flowers, to be quite honest with you. That's not my thing.

Amanda:  Well, um, I didn't do it.

Marco:  Okay. So I saw them in the window. Not in the window. I saw them when I was walking to the grocery store, and I'm like, oh, these look really pretty. So I got them. I put them in our front.

Amanda:  Mm.

Marco:  They were wonderful in the spring. Then in the summer, they got a bit leggy. They started to kind of creep over the planter that it was in, and they were, like, really kind of just, like fast and loose pansies. And it got a little bit too much. M. So I said to you. I said, can I cut back the pansies? And you're like, they're your pansies. Do what you wish.

Amanda:  Is that what I said?

Marco:  No, you were nicer than that. Actually, I don't.

Amanda:  I don't really remember this, I'm sure.

Marco:  I think you can. And you said, don't worry about it. If it doesn't work out, it's. It's all good. We really enjoyed them. So I cut the pansies, and I put them in a bowl of water. Not a bowl. Uh, uh, a vase. A square, stout vase.

Amanda:  Uh-huh.

Marco:  Or do you say vase?

Amanda:  Vase.

Marco:  Right. So I put them in that. And those pansies lasted so long.

Amanda:  They did. Yeah.

Marco:  They lasted so long that I'm like, why aren't we putting pansies in vases? Or vases instead of these other flowers that just weep and go away so quick? So that's my tip. If you have pansies, cut them back, put them in a vase or vase.

Amanda:  Oh, my mom does. If anyone wants to follow wonderful flowers on Facebook, go to my mother's Facebook page. I'll tell her to let people in. Her name is Valerie Barker.

Marco:  All of a sudden, she's got thousands of followers.

Amanda:  I guess you'd have to Facebook friend me first, which you're welcome to Amanda Barker. Just let me know how I know. Um, and, uh, Valerie Barker is my mom, and she puts a bouquet cutting from her garden every single week.

Marco:  It's true. And I always like them.

Amanda:  They're lovely.

Marco:  Yeah, it's great.

Amanda:  She just fills her Facebook up with flowers. I love it.

Marco:  I'll take a photo of the gerber or gerbera daisies and put it on our social media so people can see it.

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  And see how I salvage these wild flowers.

Amanda:  And what if somebody comes in and says that's not actually a gerber daisy. What you have here is a orange mum of the daisy variety.

Marco:  That's fine too.

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  I don't have a problem with that. If you want to, if you want to help, help educate me on flowers.

Amanda:  Flower debate.

Marco:  It's my, it's my thing this year. 2013, year of the flower for me.

Amanda:  2013, 2000, we've come back in time.

Marco:  2023, you're the flower for me.

Amanda:  You're just off by a few there by a decade.

Marco:  So I drove yesterday the whole way and I was hoping to find a little what we call en routes or these little, um, drive offs from the highway.

Amanda:  Yeah. What do they call them in the States? There's a word for them in the States, I can't think of it. Truck stops, I guess.

Marco:  Sure, truck stop.

Amanda:  But it's one of those comprehensive ones that's like five different sort of places to eat in one, you know.

Marco:  But we had also committed to going to a friend's birthday. We had to be there by 8:30 and we got into a bit of traffic at the border and so it just took forever. And I knew that we didn't have time for me to pull over.

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  On anything other than a truck. Truck stop. M. And so we didn't. And I just drove straight. And I'm pretty, pretty zonked. So if I'm sounding a little bit off, it's because we're both wonky today.

Amanda:  That's okay.

Marco:  So. But I wanted to also say that above and beyond the daisies and the pansies, you.

Amanda:  Hm.

Marco:  Like to drink bubbly water that's flavored.

Amanda:  Oh. I did not see this curveball of

Marco:  conversation coming because we had a conversation on this moments ago.

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  And I asked you of the brands, which ones you prefer. I won't ask you of the brands, which ones you prefer, but what makes a good sparkling flavored water for you?

Amanda:  I um, don't want it to be too sweet.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda:  I don't want it to taste like, oh, there's not sugar in here. I thought there was. I want it to mostly taste like soda water with just a hint, a promise of something more.

Marco:  I see. So then what flavored bubbly water do you prefer?

Amanda:  Well, it's gonna be, it's gonna sound contradictory because we both really love cherry Bubbly.

Marco:  We do.

Amanda:  And that one's pretty heavily flavored. But I like the flavor. But I might. I don't like anything. I can, I can say the ones I don't like, right?

Marco:  Yeah, of course you can.

Amanda:  So I don't like raspberry bubbly. And when we say bubbly, some people call it buble. I think it's called bubbly.

Marco:  That's a brand. B U B L Y. I think

Amanda:  it's owned by the. One of the big ones.

Marco:  Sure, sure.

Amanda:  Um, but there's also also controversial name Lacroix or Lacroix, depending on where you live and who you are. But I do think it's. Well, it's controversial. Obviously the original word is Lacroix, which means the cross. Right. But it's from a spring that is more commonly called La Croix because it's from La Croix spring in like Washington or something.

Marco:  I see, I see.

Amanda:  And everyone there calls it La Croix and that's what it's called from, so.

Marco:  Got it.

Amanda:  I don't know. Anyway, right now I'm drinking a peach pear Lacroix.

Marco:  Mhm.

Amanda:  Very tasty.

Marco:  I'm not a big fan of the BlackBerry flavored ones.

Amanda:  Yeah, you don't like BlackBerry.

Marco:  And the watermelon one tastes like cucumber to me.

Amanda:  So I don't mind it as long as I'm embracing that it's cucumber, not watermelon.

Marco:  I know. The problem is I look at it and I think, oh, watermelon delish. And then it's cucumber and I think

Amanda:  it'd be too sweet if it actually did taste like watermelon.

Marco:  That's fair. That's fair. And I do like cucumbers, don't get me wrong. Speaking of cucumbers and watermelon, I made a tremendous cucumber watermelon feta salad.

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  That just needs to be stated.

Amanda:  You keep talking about it.

Marco:  I know, I'm so.

Amanda:  We don't want to make people hungry.

Marco:  It's true. So ignore that.

Amanda:  But uh, I made a beautiful tomato salad for lunch.

Marco:  It's true.

Amanda:  No one has to hear about that.

Marco:  People who are listening might be thinking is, has Marco's basil that he planted for from seed coming up yet?

Amanda:  Yeah, I've been wondering and yes it has.

Marco:  I've got a nice. Finally I've got a nice crop of basil or basil. Do you say basil or basil Beasel Beezel.

Amanda:  Wow, controversial pronunciation.

Marco:  So my bezel is. My bezel is up and it is tasty. But we have so much sage That I don't know what to do with the. And our sage looks so beautiful.

Amanda:  Yeah, it does.

Marco:  So if you have sage ideas you want to pass our way, I should

Amanda:  make some ravioli with buttered sage. I'll do that. But. And then what else is sage good for? Stuffing.

Marco:  Sure. But you could make a sage tea.

Amanda:  I know you always say that. You always pitch me teas.

Marco:  I'm going to make a sage tea.

Amanda:  I don't want to drink a sage tea. Really?

Marco:  Imagine an iced sage tea.

Amanda:  I can imagine it. I don't know if I can imagine it.

Marco:  How about a cold brew iced sage tea?

Amanda:  I mean, it could be good. I don't know. Sage is good for stuffing or, uh, dressings and turkey, like that kind of thing. I don't know what else it's good for. I gotta look it up. Sage recipes.

Marco:  Can I talk about our roux?

Amanda:  Yeah, talk about roux. And I'm gonna look up things to do with sage.

Marco:  I mean, it's gonna look up things to do with sage. I don't know why it's coming. I never call her that. But that's how it's coming out today. So I discovered rue this year. And I don't know if you know of ru, dear listeners, but let me tell you about rue. R U E. Supposedly it's from the Sage family. That's why I bring it forward. But I don't know, it doesn't seem like sage to me. But I was at our, uh, local garden shop and they are discounting a lot of the flowers and peppers that haven't been purchased. And I'm like, let me see what's there. And I was looking for cilantro. That's what I was on. Look on the hunt for. And I'll be honest with you, the cilantro looked pretty measly. Didn't look great.

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  But I bought it. But the roux looked great. And I was like, what is this roux I've never heard of? Right. And I think we may have talked about it on the other, uh, I can't remember a couple shows ago. So I bought the roux. And it turns out it's a very good medicinal plant. M for many things, but for pain in particular, which I thought was interesting. But I liked it because it's the type of plant that comes back every year. What's that called? Not perennial.

Amanda:  It is a perennial.

Marco:  It's a perennial.

Amanda:  Yeah.

Marco:  So it comes back every year. It's not a. What's the other kind of plant? Annual Annual. So it's a perennial. I'm m like, I'm going to get this. I'm going to plant it with our mint. It looks pretty, it looks decorative. And I'm like, that way I don't have to worry about that box. It'll come back next year and everyone's happy.

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  But I had a sore ankle. So I was like, well, it says that the oil from the plant is very good for sore muscles and sore aches and pains.

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  So I'm like, I'm gonna go snip a piece and rub it on my ankle. M Nowhere did I read that's what you do. But that's what I did. And lo and behold, it made my ankle feel better, Amanda.

Amanda:  And so I have to support this. So I had been working on my feet quite a bit last week and he did the same thing to my feet. Just rubbed it all over my feet. When I came home. They were like, you know, it was one of those, I've been on my feet all day cement. They're just tired, exhausted, sore. And it was amazing. It was like magic, honestly. Like he rubbed it all over my feet and I'm telling you, it was gone. The pain was gone. I feel like we're doing some sort of weird multi level marketing pitch or something right now.

Marco:  No, the reason I'm just telling people about a plant, the reason I bring that up is because then I went into a store on the weekend, like a mystical shop, you know, that has crystals and books and incensey things and little, uh, angely type things. And I walk in thinking Amanda's gonna walk in behind me. And instead Amanda, look, get, takes one look in the store, realizes there's nothing in that store we want or need. And it's not the best example of that kind of store. It was very small.

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  So. And it had a lot of jangly clothes and beads and things like that that geared mainly for women too.

Amanda:  I also was drinking a delicious Fresca and we had already been in one store and they wouldn't allow drinks in the store, so I didn't want to deal with that. And there were wasps and I didn't want to leave my frisk outside with a wasp.

Marco:  So I walk in thinking Amanda's gonna walk in behind me and she goes, oh, I'm just gonna stay outside. And she closes the door behind me. And I was like, goodbye. I was like, oh no, now I'm in the store.

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  And every, every. All the eyes were on me.

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  So I was like, oh. Ah. So I start looking around, and I'm looking at all these things that I don't need or want.

Amanda:  Right.

Marco:  And they're all quite pricey. So a jangly necklace attached to a jangly vesty, uh, thing was very expensive, and happy birthday, and I didn't want it. So I was looking and looking and looking, and I was like, I gotta spend a little time in here because we made a little bit of a kerfuffle when we walked in. So I was like, okay, I think it's fine. So I wanted to spend some time to show that I was a serious shopper

Amanda:  and I'm committed to the story, even though my wife is outside enjoying it. Delicious fresco.

Marco:  And I'm like, okay. So I'm looking and I'm looking, and they had things that were not my style. But then I saw they had a little. What would you call it? Like, you know, like a Chiclet stand. Like a, uh, chicklet stand where you would.

Amanda:  What? You know, like Chiclets. The gum from the 80s.

Marco:  Yeah. I couldn't think of gum. So, you know, when you go into a store and where they put the gum, it's kind of like a little stand of some sort. That's Amanda hitting the table. Uh, even though I. I always say watch your feet on the table.

Amanda:  Okay. But. And then when I have sciatic nerve

Marco:  stuff going on, that's what the roux is for.

Amanda:  Yeah.

Marco:  Okay. So what would you call a Chiclet stand? A gum stand. A gum for.

Amanda:  I'm never not gonna call it a Chiclet stand. No. You know, you have a. When you have a large display of Chiclets, and you're like, I just want. How do I display all these Chiclets in my store? I've just got so many flavors of Chiclets. Oh, I know. Let's get a Chiclet stand.

Marco:  So this person had what I'll refer to as a Chiclet stand.

Amanda:  This is why we don't do this when we're this tired.

Marco:  So. But there was no Chiclets in the Chiclet stand. There was instead, shocking smudge sticks. So, uh, conceivably you could call it a smudge stick stand.

Amanda:  Okay, well, I'm not allowed to laugh at any of this anymore, so. Okay, not allowed. But just.

Marco:  I don't think you choose not to.

Amanda:  I don't think it's a good choice. Sure.

Marco:  So there was a bunch of smudge sticks, right. And I was, like, looking at them, like, oh, that's Cool. You know, the, the, the sage ones, actually, they were all sage. And then I saw there was a bundle of what looked like green twigs.

Amanda:  Right.

Marco:  And I was like, I've never seen this kind of stick, smudge stick that was made of green twigs. I've seen it with sweet grass and I've seen it made with, um, white sage. White sage and with, um, lavender and things like that. But this looked very twiggy. Like when you, when you bundle a bunch of twigs.

Amanda:  M. Right.

Marco:  If you were to like put them on the side of the road to have them taken away for the season kind of thing. Right. So I was like, okay. So I picked up this bundle of green twigs and I turned to the woman who's engaged in a conversation with another woman about Newark and how she flew in from the Newark airport. Okay. I interrupt and I say, what is this bundle of twigs? Like, what are they in this smudge Chiclet stand?

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  And the woman said, oh, that's a rue bundle. And I was like, I stopped in my tracks and I said, what? And so I interrupted their conversation. And this woman was trying to tell me about rue. And it was like, oh, no, I've discovered rue this year. And the woman who owned the shop, who, um, had a very particular look to her, she was a very awesome, energetic type person with very short hair. And she turns and she says, yeah. She goes, when I bought them to sell, it had a very distinct scent to it. I said, yeah, roux has, uh, its own sort of medicinal scent to it. And then she was trying to remember what it was good for. M. And then I said to her, I just recently planted in my garden. And I told her what, what I was using it for. So we got, we both got very excited about something that she wasn't excited about. Nor was I when I first bought it.

Amanda:  Awesome.

Marco:  So I ended up buying the bundle of rue and Amanda was concerned when I crossed the border, if that would be problematic. Wasn't a problem. Nor did I mention we had RU in the car.

Amanda:  All the things to cross a border with. I don't know if a bundle of herbs.

Marco:  Green twigs. Yeah.

Amanda:  Green twig, dried herbs in a stash, like bundled up and then wrapped in paper and then put in a brown bag.

Marco:  Like, certainly we would not recommend it.

Amanda:  I don't think it was the wisest choice.

Marco:  It probably wasn't. But I needed to bring that roux home. So now it's home.

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  So I'm going to need to figure out what to do with It. But I have a bundle of roux.

Amanda:  Mhm.

Marco:  Even though I have a tremendous amount of roux in the garden that I could probably bundle late in the fall.

Amanda:  But did you buy it because you thought you wanted to show you were a serious shopper of this, um, Roux Chiclet stand?

Marco:  I think I just got excited about the roux. And at that point we had conversed so much and I.

Amanda:  How much was that?

Marco:  Five bucks.

Amanda:  Well, uh, what are you gonna do?

Marco:  I didn't think that was too much.

Amanda:  I don't think it's too much.

Marco:  Everything else in that store was so expensive for things I didn't want or need.

Amanda:  But again, five bucks us.

Marco:  True.

Amanda:  That's a six dollars. Fifty dollar a roux.

Marco:  Yeah.

Amanda:  In our monies. But honestly, she was lovely and the store was lovely and our trip, which we'll talk about in later episodes, was lovely as well.

Marco:  Yeah, we'll talk about that in the Patreon episodes. But that brings us to the end of this episode and the end of our season. Amanda. Wow. What a lovely season. Is there something you remember from this season that we did?

Amanda:  I don't remember a thing. Right. Uh, my brain is tabula rasa. Is that what they call it?

Marco:  Never heard of that.

Amanda:  Tabula rasa. You never heard of that?

Marco:  No. What is that?

Amanda:  Blank slate.

Marco:  Oh, but what are you saying? Tablet Ralaza. It sounds like somebody's name is what I heard. Tablet Raza.

Amanda:  Tabula rasa. Isn't that what it's called?

Marco:  I've never heard this term before.

Amanda:  Oh, God. Have I made this up? I don't think so. I feel like this is like Psych 101.

Marco:  It might be something like. I thought Clack island wasn't something. When you discovered Clack island was.

Amanda:  And it came to you in a dream. So now we have to go. Yeah. Tabula rasa in Latin means scraped tablet. It just means that, um, the human mind, uh, is blank before ideas are imprinted on it. It's a concept. Right.

Marco:  Well, listen, we hope you are tabula relazza right now.

Amanda:  Tabula relaxing.

Marco:  We hope it's your tabula is completely relaxed from this episode and we will see you will hear us next season. Any messages you want to leave our listeners with Amanda.

Amanda:  I just want everyone to let go and let life take you where it wants to.

Marco:  There you go. And until next season, we hope you're able to listen and sleep.

In this episode of The Insomnia Project, Marco Timpano and Amanda Barker are joined by special guest Becka Barker from Halifax for a gentle conversation inspired by the charm and quiet beauty of Canada’s East Coast. This calming podcast episode drifts through thoughtful reflections on Halifax and nearby Dartmouth, inviting listeners into a relaxing conversation about favourite places, hidden corners, and everyday discoveries. Becka shares her love of libraries, describing the cozy nooks and peaceful spaces that make them such comforting community hubs, while Marco and Amanda reflect on their own memorable library moments. The conversation moves slowly and naturally, making it perfect for background listening while you unwind, quiet racing thoughts, or settle in to fall asleep.
Along the way, the trio wander into other soothing topics, including the rich flavour and history of amaro, fascinating animals that inspire curiosity, and the distinctive blue arts building in Halifax’s North End, a colourful symbol of creativity and community. Becka also highlights a few favourite spots around Halifax and Dartmouth, offering gentle travel inspiration for anyone who enjoys discovering new cities at an unhurried pace. As always, the easy rhythm of the conversation keeps things calm and lightly curious, creating a peaceful listening experience designed to help ease anxiety and guide you toward rest.

​Bask in Halifax:
(Original airdate: May 25, 2023)

 Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, folks, relax, enjoy a sip of something, and hopefully this episode will just take you where you want to go and maybe even help you find sleep. Thank you for joining us today. I'm your host, Marco Timpano, and Amanda is not not joining me today. In fact, this episode's coming a little bit later than it usually does. Amanda had to have some surgery. She's fine. Um, so. But she wasn't feeling up to recording an episode. But as luck would have it, a special guest is in town from Halifax and so I implored them if they would like to join me on the podcast episode. And they said yes, of course, because they're so gracious and lovely. You might remember some episodes way back. Welcome back in our history on New to Bronx. I'm welcoming Becka Barker, Amanda's sister, back to the podcast. Welcome, Becka.

Becka Barker Thanks for having me back, Marco.

Marco:  Thank you for jumping in and just being gracious and lovely, as you always are.

Becka Barker Oh, I, you know, it doesn't feel like a gracious move. It just feels like, yeah, I want to talk into a microphone for a few minutes.

Marco:  Uh, you were just mentioning how you used, uh, to be on the radio back in Halifax at university. Right?

Becka Barker Yeah. Um, not really when I was a student, or not where I was a student anyway. But, um, a lot of cities have community or campus community sort of radio stations. And so CKDU is located at Dalhousie University. Um, but I was not a Dal student, so general community members can come in and volunteer. And that was the thing I used to love doing back in the 90s.

Marco:  What was the name of your radio show? Um, if you can. If you can mention it or feel comfortable mentioning it.

Becka Barker Yes, I totally can. Ah. So I helped out on a show called Cod is my co pilot. I see cod as in the fish, because Maritimes.

Marco:  Sure, yeah.

Becka Barker Um, and it wasn't initially my show. It was my friend's show.

Marco:  Okay.

Becka Barker And, uh, uh, he'd been doing it for a few years and he was pretty well known at the time, um, correspondent for Brave New Waves and did a lot of writing about, like, the Halifax scene in the 90s and stuff.

Marco:  So can we send a shout out to him? Absolutely, if you're listening.

Becka Barker Yeah.

Marco:  We're actually going to raise a class of amato.

Becka Barker See, that's all nice.

Marco:  That's the sound of. So one thing. Well, first we should say yes.

Becka Barker So, uh, this is a shout out to James Covey. Um, the former host of Cod is my copilot.

Marco:  There you go. From us here in Toronto on this podcast. That's my other podcast on the Insomnia Project. So one thing I delight when you're in town, Becca, is that Becca loves amato. I love amato. My wife doesn't like amato. So when you're in town, you and I indulge and enjoy amatos.

Becka Barker Yes.

Marco:  Tonight we're drinking. So if you hear the sound of clinking, uh, ice, that's the sound of us drinking. Uh, we're drinking amato Nonino, which is one of my favorite. It's a more subtle amato.

Becka Barker What do you think of it, um, I'm liking it. I can't remember if I tried this one when I was here before, when you took me on that, like, you put out a map of Italy, and then you took all your different bottles of amato and you place them on the parts of the map where they were from. Right. Which was, like, totally delightful. And I can't remember where this one was from. I think I did taste it, but I don't remember.

Marco:  Okay. This one here happens to be from my mom's part of Italy, which is Friuli, the northern part. For our listeners who aren't familiar. Familiar with what a nemato is. A nemato is an Italian word that means bitter. And in this case, we are drinking a bitter liquor or digestive. And it's made by infusing a mix of herbs, spices, roots, and other botanical ingredients into a base alcohol. The combination of these ingredients gives amato its distinct bitter taste. And the reason I sort of gave you this sort of map flight of amatos is that each region of Italy will have different botanicals that they'll infuse into their amato. So you'll have different flavors. As you go further south in Italy, you'll get more citrus flavors, because citrus trees, uh, tend to do very well in the southern parts of Italy. So they have some orange or lemon flavored, uh, our essences in those amatos. Anyways, we're drinking an amato, and we're happy to be here. You just flew in. How was your flight today?

Becka Barker It was, um, totally uneventful. Which is what you want. Yeah.

Marco:  And how are things in Halifax?

Becka Barker Um, uh, Halifax seems to be doing all right. Uh, there's a lot going on. Um, what area or what subtopic of Halifax are you interested in learning about?

Marco:  Okay, so here's what I'd love to. I love for our listeners. Okay, so if you were to recommend something for a visitor to Halifax who's never been there before, walk me through what you would recommend they do.

Becka Barker Okay, so if they were somebody who, you know, I didn't really know very well, or I wasn't sure what kinds of things they were into or why they were visiting, I think the first thing I would do would actually be to take them to our public library in downtown Halifax, which is the Halifax Central Library. Um, we are all very, very proud of, um, was built about. Not quite 10 years ago. And, uh, when it was first built, it won all these sort of architecture awards and stuff. Um, but it's really lovely because for years and years and years we had a very, um, it was an older building, um, so it had a lot of older building problems. Ah, for our downtown library. Um, and this was a new build and there's a lot of new builds that I just don't really like. But this is a beautiful, well thought out, very open sort of space. It just feels very light. It doesn't feel very stressful, it doesn't feel heavy. Tons of books in there. Obviously it's a library. Um, there's a beautiful. Along one wall there's original artwork by um, Canadian artist Cliff Eland, who for many, many years made part of his subject matter, um, three by five tiny paintings. Um, like library card, like um, ah, old card catalog cards.

Marco:  I see. Okay.

Becka Barker Yeah, but they're actually tiny canvases and they're just so. There's like a wall full of them, hundreds of them, all spaced out, um, just really beautifully laid out. Um, the new library is five stories and when you go up to the very top, there's just this really nice, airy, open reading room and you have a beautiful view of the Halifax harbor to the south, Citadel Hill to the and downtown to the east.

Marco:  Are there any comfy nooks in this library?

Becka Barker Yes, oh, many, many, many. And of varying kinds too.

Marco:  I love a good library nook.

Becka Barker Yeah, yeah. And you wouldn't necessarily think so because it's so open concept when you first walk in. So you're just like, oh, everything's out in the open. Um, yes, but there are also these like, they almost remind me of like canopy beds almost. They have sort of four posts and a little roof, but it's like a little, almost like a restaurant table kind of within that. So they have a bunch of those that you can park yourself at. Um, there are lots of rooms that um, are either dedicated to certain, uh, kinds of activities that one in the old fashioned library days might not have associated with libraries.

Marco:  Like what?

Becka Barker Well for example there is the Lou Duggan Creative Studio. And it's um, sort of a multifunctional kind of creative workspace. Like they have 3D printers you can use. They have a kitchen with an. So you can have like cooking classes or cooking meetups. They do like um, crocheting nights and things like that. And the staff person who runs it is actually uh, not unlike myself, an independent, uh, animator, animation artist. And so, uh, her name is Sarah Jinyak. And um, we actually a couple times now have done these sort of animation drop ins where uh, people will draw different little animated sequences and we'll film Them, and we'll kind of put them together and have little screenings and stuff. So there's another. So that's a really great room.

Marco:  Um, how delightful. That's so wonderful. I also appreciate how you and. I'm sorry, I didn't catch the name of the person.

Becka Barker Sarah.

Marco:  Sarah.

Becka Barker Ah, yeah.

Marco:  Share your artistic mastery with other people and allow them to take joy in what you. You create.

Becka Barker As an artist, it's the thing I love the most about animation because there's always that. Even when it's, you know, not done on film, even when it's digital, if you're working frame by frame, there's always that moment of astonishment and magic where you play it back and you're like, oh, I made a thing move. And my favoritest. Favoritest thing sure is watching people have that moment. Like, I love having that moment, and so I know what it feels like. And when people, uh, you know, any and anybody can do it. Right. Right. Like, it's so. It's. It's such a joy.

Marco:  Do you still have those moments or are you kind of like, oh, yeah, yeah. Oh, okay.

Becka Barker I think if you really love doing that kind of work, you're never over that kind of moment. Wow. It's the best.

Marco:  It's almost like bringing something to life. Like, you know, that's really cool.

Becka Barker I mean, the word animate means to give life.

Marco:  So there you go. There you go. I've never been to that library, so. I've been to Halifax many times.

Becka Barker What?

Marco:  And I love libraries. No.

Becka Barker Oh, I am a terrible sister.

Marco:  No, you're not. No, you're not. Here's the thing, you know, we're taking you next time. I'm definitely going next time.

Becka Barker Yeah.

Marco:  I think most of the times that I was. I was there, it wasn't completed yet.

Becka Barker Yeah.

Marco:  And then when it was completed, I was going for different reasons, like to see my new nephew and to hang out and. And a wedding and whatnot. So you don't always have the time,

Becka Barker but next time have to take you.

Marco:  I love a library. I love a library that has nooks. And you brought up something very lovely about many libraries, is that it's also a place where you can see artwork. And I don't think people realize that. And I think we need more artwork in libraries. We need more libraries in general, in my opinion.

Becka Barker Oh, yeah. They're, uh, one of the very few, like, truly public spaces.

Marco:  Yeah. And it's the great. It's a library. And, uh, my listeners know this about me. I have such a Passion for libraries. It's one of the great equalizers because a library is, you know, will lend books to anyone, no matter, you know, who you are, what you have, what baggage you have or don't have. The library doesn't care.

Becka Barker Yeah.

Marco:  And I kind of love that. So. Okay, so you take us to the library, this cool library. What's the name again?

Becka Barker The, uh, Halifax Central Library.

Marco:  Okay.

Becka Barker Yeah.

Marco:  Right. Where would you take us next?

Becka Barker Oh, after the library. Yeah. Oh, gosh. Um, well, if the weather is like it is now and over the next few months, um, that's the reason why people bother living in Halifax is the summer and the fall are absolutely beautiful. Winter and spring, total crap. But, um, it makes you appreciate the summer and the fall even more.

Marco:  Sure.

Becka Barker So assuming it's this kind of, you know, this time of year, uh, I would likely want to take you down to Point Pleasant Park.

Marco:  Nice.

Becka Barker Which is, um, for those who may not know, the city of Halifax, uh, which is also known by its original name in Mi', Kmaqbuktuk, um, is actually a peninsula. Um, and so on one side, and it sort of faces the southernmost, like, fringes of Nova Scotia or Mikmaki. Um, um, and that's sort of like we're on the eastern edge of the continent. Right. And so the very bottom, southernmost shore, is like a lot of little coves and inlets. It almost looks like little fingers or fringes coming out. And so Halifax is one of these. It's a little peninsula. And so one side you have the Bedford Basin, which is sort of the main harbor. And then on the other side, you have a skinny little arm called the Northwest Arm, and that's its own little, tiny, um, sort of inlet or basin. So, um, Point Pleasant park is the very tip of the peninsula. So it's the very southernmost point of the city. And it's, um, you know, acres and acres of, um, fairly untouched, fairly natural, still, um, forest and a few sort of grassy areas, but mostly forest, um, but lots of, like, walking trails. A lot of people like to walk their dogs there. Um, but some of the trails sort of, of course, go around the very edge of it. So you get all these beautiful, uh, harbor views. Um. Yeah. And so I would. I would definitely want to take people to Point Pleasant because you get this great, um, sort of, you know, view of the ocean and sort of perspective of, um, you know, where the. Where the city sort of interfaces with, um, the surrounding areas, like Dartmouth or Spryfield on the other side.

Marco:  That's really neat. I've Never been to this place either. Just when you think you know a city, you talk to a haligonian like yourself and you find out there's so much more to see.

Becka Barker I am a terrible person because I can't believe we've never taken you there.

Marco:  Listen, you've taken me to some great place.

Becka Barker This is like.

Marco:  We tend to go to the.

Becka Barker Where. Where do you. Where do you remember going?

Marco:  Well, we went to the Fairview Arms a few times, which is a local, uh, eatery. Um, That's a great question. Thank you for asking me this. Where else do I remember going? You know, I know I could visualize walking from Sobeys to your house without a problem. I feel like I know we took you to Sobeys, which is a grocery store.

Becka Barker Such a great host.

Marco:  No, I'm trying to think like I could walk that in my mind's eye. Uh, but we've also been to. You know, I've. The fascinating thing is I've done a lot of Halifax before I came into your family.

Becka Barker That's true.

Marco:  So I saw a lot of it prior to that. And so some of the stuff that you would take a new person visiting the city to, I've already seen and indulged in.

Becka Barker Maybe I assumed those things, but I

Marco:  also feel like we tend to go and share experiences of food and drink, which is something we both love, and hence the amato that we're having this evening. So I feel like you take me to some interesting spots like that, where it's like, I'm going to take you to this really cool. Like, you've taken me to brunch many times because, you know, I love brunch. So I've seen a lot of brunch places with you.

Becka Barker Yes. Yeah.

Marco:  And along with amato, you and I love a good coffee. So you've taken me to a bunch of different coffee places, but you know what?

Becka Barker This. And I'm glad you enjoyed that, because obviously I enjoy that, too. Um. Uh, I still haven't taken you to my very favorite coffee place, which is a tiny little spot in a tiny little warehouse market called Espresso 46.

Marco:  Okay, um, Mark that down, folks.

Becka Barker Yes. Uh, it's run by a lovely couple, Federico and his, uh, partner, Emily. And, um, two of the people who work there as baristas. Uh, one of them is named Palmer, another one is named Laura, and when they work together, I love calling them Laura Palmer. And apparently, nobody else had ever made that Twin Peaks joke before I did, which is bizarre. But, um. Yeah, so. But Amanda Went there with me last time she was there.

Marco:  And did she enjoy it?

Becka Barker Yes, she did. Yeah. So we still have to take you,

Marco:  Marco, but stay tuned to next week's episode where I ask Amanda if she really, indeed enjoyed that place.

Becka Barker So I feel confident she's. I'm sure she will.

Marco:  I'm sure she did. But here's my thing. If we mention your name when we're there, will we get our first espresso free?

Becka Barker I could probably ensure that that would happen.

Marco:  Okay, you heard it here, folks. If you're in Halifax putting it out there, go to, uh, espresso 46.

Becka Barker Yeah.

Marco:  And mention Becka Barkerr's name.

Becka Barker Yeah.

Marco:  And your first espresso.

Becka Barker Wait, wait, no. I said you would get one. I didn't say. Oh, no, no. Our listeners.

Marco:  No, you've opened. Listeners. Did you. I thought she said our listeners, whoever went would get their first espresso free, so.

Becka Barker I did not say that. Well, you're the one who can do the editing, I guess.

Marco:  Listen, it's gonna happen. You'll see. Listen, what do you care? They'll just say. They'll say it at that place, and they'll be like, becca, did you say that? They're kidding.

Becka Barker Halifax. Here's the other thing about Halifax. It's a small town. My name will be mud if you do that.

Marco:  I see, I see.

Becka Barker Let's see if I can't afford to be run out of town.

Marco:  If we can sully Becca's name by ordering espressos on her. Okay, so when you say it's a small town.

Becka Barker Yes.

Marco:  What is the population of Halifax?

Becka Barker Oh, gosh, I think, um, it has actually grown a lot in the last few years. Okay. Um, but last, uh, time I paid attention, which was several years ago. Sure. Um, the population of the city proper was about 150,000, I think. And the Greater Halifax Municipality is more like 300,000.

Marco:  I see, I see, I see.

Becka Barker But it's probably more than that.

Marco:  Okay, fair enough.

Becka Barker I haven't been paying attention. You know where else I would take you?

Marco:  Yeah, it's cool.

Becka Barker And this is new to me.

Marco:  Okay.

Becka Barker Is actually Dartmouth.

Marco:  Okay.

Becka Barker Which is the other side of Halifax. Um, I am in what I jokingly call a bicoastal relationship.

Marco:  Oh.

Becka Barker My partner lives in Dartmouth.

Marco:  Okay.

Becka Barker I was always a peninsular Halifax snob.

Marco:  Yes, I can see that about you.

Becka Barker Totally. Yeah. Right. And I don't own a car, so I don't really get out. I don't get off the peninsula a whole lot. Um, but now that I have more reason to, uh, Go over to Dartmouth. Um, and my partner has lived in Dartmouth for almost 25 years.

Marco:  Is he a Dartmarthian?

Becka Barker I, uh, guess he is now.

Marco:  Is that what you call them?

Becka Barker I think so. Dartmouthian. Um, he's originally from Spryfield, so he's actually from the other side.

Marco:  Oh, he was a Sprygolian.

Becka Barker You know what, I'm gonna have to ask him what we call them. Um, that's a very different place. But, uh, yeah, so for a lot of.

Marco:  Probably Spryton, that sounds more like, you know, Spartan.

Becka Barker I'm totally. Yeah. Um, but yes. So he's been a Dartmouth human for like 25 years.

Marco:  Okay.

Becka Barker And, um, he seems to have this agenda to make me warm up to Dartmouth. Cause I was like, ugh. Ah, Dartmouth. I don't know those malls and stuff. Right.

Marco:  And it is the Dartmouth Mall.

Becka Barker It's to the. So there's the Micmac Mall.

Marco:  Yes, that's the one.

Becka Barker And there's Dartmouth Crossing, which is like, you know, that concept they had a few years ago where like, let's take a mall, but let's explode it out and make it try to feel like an old timey town square, but really it's not. And you still have to drive to all the parks, parking lots, and it's actually worse than a mall.

Marco:  And those places work great in warm places like California.

Becka Barker You know where is not warm? Halifax.

Marco:  You know what's even less warm? Dartmouth.

Becka Barker Exactly. You think Halifax is cool, wait till I take you to Dartmouth. But here's a couple things I love about Dartmouth. One, um, you get a great view of Halifax.

Marco:  Just when you think she's going to be kind to Dartmouth, she takes a left hand turn. I love it.

Becka Barker But it, but it's true. You have the most beautiful view of the skyline. And, um, and the ferry ride to go back and forth between Halifax and Dartmouth is like the cheapest harbor cruise you can get.

Marco:  Oh, that's great.

Becka Barker It's like a couple bucks and you know, or 225 or 250. So it. And it's, it's quite lovely. Um, but the other thing that I'm really coming to appreciate about Dartmouth is there are a lot of really nice walking trails, walking and running trails, um, many of which skirt along, yes, the highway, but also on the other side, um, these parks and lakes. And Dartmouth is known as the City of Lakes.

Marco:  I didn't know that.

Becka Barker Yeah, tons of lakes. And so you'll get on this trail and you'll be like next to a highway and you'll Be like, well, okay, I guess. And then just within a few steps, you're just like in the trees on the trail, you can hear the highway, but you can barely see it. And there are these beautiful lakes and you start to hear all these birds and see woodland creatures and you're just like. It seems so hidden, but they're just beautiful, beautiful walking trails and they can take you all over, around the lakes and all over Dartmouth.

Marco:  That's fantastic.

Becka Barker It really is. Yeah.

Marco:  The thing I appreciate about Dartmouth is that when you're there, you often send me photos of beautiful cocktails you're enjoying in Dartmouth. And it's funny because of course I do a podcast about food and drink. And I've noticed on my Instagram feeds that I follow there's a lot of great bars and things in Dartmouth that have just appeared in a lot of great cocktail bars too.

Becka Barker Yeah, yeah. I mean, a few years ago people would sort of jokingly call Dartmouth the, like the Brooklyn of Halifax, which is ridiculous. Cause, you know, it's such a tiny city.

Marco:  Sure, sure.

Becka Barker But it is like, you know, a bedroom community whose downtown has sort of flourished as, you know, housing prices are too expensive in Halifax. She moved to Dartmouth. And then more artists move out there and it kind of gets hit. Get hipstered up a little bit or

Marco:  there's a trendy aspect to places like that, which I love.

Becka Barker Yeah, yeah. Dartmouth is kind of trendy in parts now. But yeah, there's some really, really great, uh, little, little nooks, little bars, um, that make fantastic cocktails. Um, and some of them are in Dartmouth. Yeah, there you go.

Marco:  So you've mentioned nature a couple of times. I'm curious. What is some of the nature that you see in your city, in your province that always wows you when you see it?

Becka Barker Oh gosh.

Marco:  While you're thinking, I'll tell you about a couple that, that always impress me when I see them.

Becka Barker Yeah.

Marco:  Here. Just to give you a second to think. So whenever I see a blue jay.

Becka Barker I was gonna say a blue jay.

Marco:  There's something about blue jays that are impressive when you see them because that flash of blue that you don't expect to see flitter by or fly by.

Becka Barker Mhm.

Marco:  And they're mean. They're not nice birds. So blue jays are ones. Cardinals, another.

Becka Barker Yeah.

Marco:  Possums. If I ever see a possum, they're always, uh, you know, they're, they're not the, the prettiest or most lovely looking creature, but they're very beneficial because they eat a lot of ticks. And so I love to see a good possum because I always feel like a good possum is taking care of business. So those are three animals, I guess. I love seeing bees, big, big bumblebees in flowers. That's another thing I'm always. I don't like squirrels because they're very.

Becka Barker I know how you feel about squirrels.

Marco:  They just tear up my. My world.

Becka Barker That's why. That's why your. Your nephew. My kid and I tried to make a play structure for them that time. You had something to do so they wouldn't hurt your plants.

Marco:  Too welcoming to the squirrels.

Becka Barker Maybe. We were. But we. We. We were kind of into the squirrels that summer.

Marco:  Fair enough.

Becka Barker Yeah. And I'm not normally big on squirrels, although when they do run across the power lines, as my kid and I walk to school, like, we joke that that's the squirrel highway.

Marco:  Right.

Becka Barker This is pretty cute. Um, I think in terms of wildlife or nature, um, some of the things we, uh, I tend to appreciate, uh, will be in the harbor. Like, sometimes we get otters and seals. Right. In Halifax harbor, which is kind of fun. Um, and of course, we have a lot of whale watching tours.

Marco:  Um, but do you ever spot a whale when you're walking by the water and you're like, oh, there's a whale.

Becka Barker Not in Halifax, but on the south shore, which I know you also love.

Marco:  Love the south shore.

Becka Barker Yeah, yeah. Queensland beach. Uh, we saw a whale. Sort of like, um. I'm not sure what the right term is, but when they sort of. They're not breaching, but they're sort of like wee, you know, in the sun.

Marco:  Basking, maybe.

Becka Barker Basking? Is that the right word?

Marco:  I'm not sure what we. Um, just to. To visualize it. Becca said we, and she kind of leaned her head back. Back with a bit of a smile on her face. So I'm gonna say basking.

Becka Barker Yeah.

Marco:  Enjoying the moment.

Becka Barker If it were me, yes, I would say I was basking, Sure. I don't know if a whale would call it that.

Marco:  When was the last time you basked?

Becka Barker Uh.

Marco:  And where were you?

Becka Barker Um. Good question. You know what? Is it a good question?

Marco:  When was the last time you basked? I'm gonna put that on Twitter, see if anyone.

Becka Barker It's a terrible question, but I'm gonna answer it.

Marco:  Okay. I love it.

Becka Barker Um, and I believe we've kind of come full circle in my answer, because, truly, the last time I backed was in that reading room in the library. It was a really sunny day, and it was like floor to ceiling windows and I was in a really comfy chair and I was kind of just. I just kind of leaned back and enjoyed the sun on my face.

Marco:  Oh, that's wonderful.

Becka Barker There you go.

Marco:  Wow.

Becka Barker I actually. That is the true answer.

Marco:  I love it. Well, thank you for taking us to the library, then to Dartmouth, and then back to the library. Oh, yes.

Becka Barker Can I take you one more place?

Marco:  Please, please. Let's end with. With the last place you take us.

Becka Barker Okay, well, this isn't the last place I would take you.

Marco:  Okay.

Becka Barker Because that would probably be like a garbage dump or something.

Marco:  Sure. Fair enough.

Becka Barker But another must see would be, um, a little place in the north end called, um, the Blue Building. And it's literally a blue building.

Marco:  Okay.

Becka Barker It used to be a kind of industrial sort of building. Um, it is now owned by the fabulous and curator Emily Felenki. Okay. And that building houses, um, not only Emily's gallery, the Blue Building Gallery.

Marco:  Is this on Argyll?

Becka Barker No.

Marco:  Okay.

Becka Barker It is on Maynard street in the north end.

Marco:  Argyle's not the north end.

Becka Barker No, Argyle is downtown.

Marco:  Okay.

Becka Barker Yeah, you might be thinking of Agricola Street.

Marco:  Agricola street, is that the north end?

Becka Barker Agricola is North End.

Marco:  That's what I was thinking, but it's

Becka Barker not the street that this building is on.

Marco:  That's exactly what I was pretty close to. Okay, thank you. Thank you. I'm so glad that you knew where I was trying to go with that.

Becka Barker 2A Street.

Marco:  Yeah. Yeah. Sorry, you were saying. So, so in this blue building.

Becka Barker Yeah, so the Blue building has, uh, Emily's gallery, uh, which is a commercial gallery, but for contemporary art features. Um, a lot of local artists too. Um, but they are local yet internationally known artists, so they're kind of a big deal.

Marco:  I love it.

Becka Barker Yeah, it's fantastic. But also, um, there are several, um, artist studios that are rentable, which is kind of a big deal in our city. For such a small city, we kind of punch above our weight in terms of artistic production.

Marco:  Sure.

Becka Barker Um, and finding a decent, affordable studio space is always really difficult because of that. And, uh, so this building has tons of studio spaces that, um, are active every day with working artists of all kinds. Um, of. But the most special thing about this building, I'm going to say, is one of the main, uh, open spaces, which is called, uh, which belongs to an organization called Wonderneath. Wonderneath is a community arts based organization run by, uh, professional artists, um, who are also educators and very invested in just art being accessible to everybody. And they do this amazing thing every Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon called Open Studio. And that is literally what it is. They open their doors. Anybody of any age can come in and do whatever they want basically in terms of art making.

Marco:  Sure.

Becka Barker And so you walk in and you see just walls of very well organized, like colored pencils and paints. And not only those kind of traditional art materials, but also things like needle, uh, felting, uh, woodworking, sewing machines. Um, they have screen printing and we

Marco:  can just the general. So if I'm free so I could screen print, which is something I've always wanted to do and would there be somebody there to assist me or.

Becka Barker Well, they don't really. The facilitators at Open Studio don't really do like how to's so much, but they do, you know, they offer guidance when it's requested.

Marco:  I see.

Becka Barker And certainly with a couple of things like woodworking gear, let's say there's, you know, safety concerns sometimes.

Marco:  Of course, of course.

Becka Barker But that's generally the idea is they're there to help you if you need the help, if you want the help. And it's a great way to, in a very low stakes, very low stress way. Just try different, try different ways of making art. And so we have lots of kids come in. Absolutely. But you know, kids will come in with a caregiver or a parent and they'll just sit and make stuff together. It can be whatever you want. Um, they do. Once in a while you walk in and you might feel a bit like there's too much choice and you can't decide what to do. So they do have like a featured project each week. Like if you just want to walk in and do a thing and you need help sort of focusing, they do a featured project. And sometimes we do animation drop ins there too.

Marco:  Oh, so wonderful. I really think that's awesome.

Becka Barker It's, it's so great. And the vibe is that kind of, well, kind of like I was describing with the, like the animation earlier, you get that moment of like, oh, I made a thing move. You can get that feeling from like screen printing the first time you like, you know, successfully make a print or you learn how to needle felt or. And the people there are always lovely. There's always like, you know, snacks on hand.

Marco:  Sure. Um, I need to ask you this as we end this episode.

Becka Barker Yeah.

Marco:  So it's a blue building you said, right?

Becka Barker Yes.

Marco:  You're an artist sometimes.

Becka Barker Yeah.

Marco:  No, you are an artist. Okay, I will confirm that. Uh, what shade of blue is this building?

Becka Barker Oh yeah, it's like. It's not. It's like a light, um, cobalt. It's like a colder blue. It's not like cerulean.

Marco:  I was thinking cerulean, but now. Okay, so it's a colder blue. Like a cobalt.

Becka Barker It's like a more cobalt, um, royal, ish blue, but not like, super deep.

Marco:  Sure.

Becka Barker It's. Yeah, I mean, it's. It's. It's what I think of when I think of, like, a standard blue.

Marco:  Okay.

Becka Barker Which is not helpful. Well, listen, not the best artist description

Marco:  of blue, Becca, but it's beautiful. I. I bet it is. Thank you for sharing all this. You. Listen, Amanda's resting upstairs, and I appreciate you jumping into the studio with me here in Toronto to bask in Halifax on today's episode.

Becka Barker Thanks for having me.

Marco:  And, folks, I hope you enjoy this episode. We always love having you, Becca. You're always welcome on the podcast. Until next time. I hope you were able to listen and sleep.

In this episode of The Insomnia Project, hosts Marco Timpano and Amanda Barker ease into a wonderfully meandering conversation that begins with a simple question about the difference between thread and string. As with many moments on this calming podcast, that small curiosity opens the door to an unexpected chain of ideas. Their relaxing conversation drifts from everyday objects and language to surprising cultural references, eventually leading to Grandmaster Flash and even the big ideas behind string theory. The result is a gentle, unpredictable discussion that unfolds at an easy pace, perfect for background listening while you unwind or settle in to fall asleep.
Marco and Amanda follow the thread (or string!) of their thoughts wherever it leads, reflecting on how simple topics can spark surprisingly wide-ranging conversations. The tone remains soft and unhurried throughout, creating the kind of listening experience that helps quiet racing thoughts and ease anxiety at the end of the day. Like all episodes of The Insomnia Project, the goal isn’t to keep you fully alert but to offer calm companionship through everyday musings and curious tangents. Whether you’re listening in bed, during a late-night wake-up, or simply looking for a relaxing moment during the day, this episode provides a soothing conversation that may gently guide you toward rest.

​The String Theory of Grandmaster Flash
(Original airdate May 17, 2023)

Marco  Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a chill conversation about the unextraordinary to help you sort of drift off and find your way to sleep. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.

Amanda: Channel the normal. I'm Amanda Barker.

Marco  Amanda, you know, I had great vision of what I wanted to, uh, talk about on today's show, and it's coming to us a little bit later than it usually does on this Wednesday. If you happen to be listening on a Wednesday. That's when we usually release our podcast episodes. But, uh, I was stuck on a ladder hanging lights earlier today and my back is a bit sore from that. But I hung up all these lights, outdoor lights that we recently purchased. They're, uh, LED lights. And Amanda, I think we may have too many lights out there.

Amanda: Yeah, because they're casting when they're plugged in. Quite a glow. We're just in a townhouse, so there's some shared space in a way. Shared light.

Marco  I think you can see our house from space with all the light. We have so much light that when darkness falls, it doesn't fall on our backyard. There's so much light.

Amanda: Because of those, I'm a little bit concerned that our neighbors are going to write Complaint letters to, um, Toronto Life magazine, like, Dear Toronto Life, like a real Toronto problem. Because there's a. It's my favorite part of Toronto Life, where people write their very Toronto specific problems, like dealing with their raccoons or dealing with the TTC or whatever, and, um, spec Toronto sort of problems. And I feel like that would maybe qualify. Like, my neighbors were in a freehold townhouse, and my neighbor has. So there's no board because it's freehold. I can't complain to anybody. And they have all these lights strung up. And so I'm not sure. I might get. And the response might be, hey, why don't you leave a friendly note on your neighbor's door? So I'm afraid of that kind of retaliation.

Marco  Well, the challenge was faced because I tried to string the lights around the perimeter of our backyard. And then I went, Amanda's yawning. What you're hearing in the background there.

Amanda: I was gonna stifle. I've already stifled one. I was gonna stifle this. But sometimes when you yawn, you make others yawn. And maybe that's relaxing.

Marco  Maybe. Maybe climbing up a tree and stringing lights around it and then finding out that you didn't have as much slack in the lights to connect the other set of lights. So you turn to your spouse and you say, what should I do? And she says, get another string of lights. So we have three strings of LED lights.

Amanda: More is more in this household.

Marco  But if you're concerned, people are. It's. It doesn't feel like nighttime when I turn out the back, when I turn on the backyard lights.

Amanda: Now I think we're going a little bit exaggeration. Okay, well, there's just a bright bunch of lights.

Marco  We'll see if we get a friendly note saying, our lights are too bright.

Amanda: Yeah, maybe. So we have. We went from you saying we only needed one strand.

Marco  Right.

Amanda: And then hanging the second and saying we have far too many.

Marco  Right.

Amanda: And then going, it was actually you that said, we need a third strand.

Marco  Well, I was like, either I dismantle everything that I've done and put less lights on the tree.

Amanda: Right.

Marco  And, uh, you wanted more lights in one area. And it was becoming a challenge. And you're like, just get another string of lights. So we have. I think 48 times.

Amanda: I'm to blame.

Marco  3.

Amanda: What's funny is we didn't do the perimeter on the right side.

Marco  I asked you.

Amanda: No, I know. And I was like, no, I think it's crazy. But now I'm not sure. I don't know. I think we leave it like this and then if we want to change it, we change it. Uh, but you don't want to change it. You want it, um, done.

Marco  Well, my back is sore, so I don't want to change it.

Amanda: And we borrow the ladder from our neighbor.

Marco  Yeah. And it's, it's a lot of me twisting around the tree.

Amanda: I'm fine with that.

Marco  I'm sure you are.

Amanda: It's well lit for sure, but that means at night I can read in my hammock.

Marco  Okay, well, we'll see. We'll see if we get any friendly or not so friendly notes and we'll report back. We had a little discussion about string versus thumb thread the other day.

Amanda: We did. You needed string.

Marco  And I said thread.

Amanda: No, no, I said no, you said

Marco  string and you said what you need is thread.

Amanda: I think you said that because you got, you said, where's our string? That's what I said. I don't think we have any. And then I said, we have floss. Dental floss. Isn't that a kind of string?

Marco  And I was like, no, like a needle and string.

Amanda: And I said, that's thread. And so then it began.

Marco  That's what I meant, a discussion of

Amanda: the difference between thread and string.

Marco  So what is the difference, Amanda?

Amanda: String is made up of a series of threads.

Marco  Oh, I see.

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco  So string has more threads. Thread is its own little thing. Thing. I see. So we solve the mystery of string versus thread.

Amanda: Yeah, the mystery you didn't know anybody was investigating.

Marco  Well, do you know what string theory is? Because then I decided to look up string theory.

Amanda: You know, I don't think I do. I think you should explain it to me.

Marco  In physics, string theory is the theoretical framework in which the point like particles or particle physics are replaced by one dimensional objects called strings. String theory describes how these strings propagate through space and Internet, interact with each other on distance scales larger than the string scale. A string looks just like an ordinary particle, Amanda.

Amanda: Mhm.

Marco  With its mass, charge and other properties determined by the vibrational state of the string. In string theory, one of the many vibrational states of the string corresponds to the gravitation, or the gravation, I should say, or the graviton, actually a quantum mechanical particle that carries the gravitational force. There's the gravitational part. Thus string theory is a theory of quantum gravity.

Amanda: There you go.

Marco  Things you didn't know you were going

Amanda: to learn, didn't know you wanted to know them, or.

Marco  I still don't even know what I was saying there, to be quite honest

Amanda: with you, I kind of tuned out.

Marco  Fair enough.

Amanda: I find I do that when people do financial talk, which is not good because I'm listening to a financial book right now. And then I find I drift off and I have to rewind it and re listen. Which is fine. I did.

Marco  Sure, sure. What else do you drift off to?

Amanda: But we had a lull.

Marco  We had a little lull in there.

Amanda: We had a lull in a while.

Marco  Mhm.

Amanda: It's because we don't know who wants to speak. We don't want to speak over each other.

Marco  It's true. It's true. Today I got. I. I had some issues getting on our scooter and I think it was because the switch, the kill switch, was actually not completely off.

Amanda: Mhm.

Marco  And so it wasn't starting and I was having a little bit of a, uh.

Amanda: To come home.

Marco  Yeah. I was kind of like, oh no, what am I going to do here? And then I decided to use the screwdriver to tighten up this screw. That. That helps to. I m. Don't know what it does, to be honest with you, but when it's cold, it helps. I'm sure people listening who know scooters are like, he doesn't know what he's doing. But I was told to do this by the person who owned the scooter before us.

Amanda: Oh.

Marco  So I did that and it started.

Amanda: Oh, good.

Marco  But it had like a muffly noise. So I kind of.

Amanda: Oh no.

Marco  I kind of released a little bit of the screw and then it was better.

Amanda: Hey, if you want to talk cars, do you want me to tell you what we need to get done on our car?

Marco  Uh, sure. We had. We replaced our snow tires or changed out our snow tires not too long ago. Right, Amanda?

Amanda: That's the thing you have to do here. Yeah.

Marco  So. And usually we try to do it earlier in the spring, but, uh, we didn't get to it. So it happened in May.

Amanda: So here's what we need. I made a note on my phone. We need sway bar links and ball joints. Oh, I don't know what those things are, but apparently ours are worn.

Marco  Okay, fair enough.

Amanda: And I, uh, always write notes in my. Not, um, my Marco Polo. My uh, Voxer.

Marco  Okay.

Amanda: And. And I'm just looking. And somebody named Marcus Eric says, hey, Amanda, I know you don't know me and I don't know anything about you, but I'm looking to strike up friendship and possibly more.

Marco  Oh, I don't like this person.

Amanda: Should I Reach out to Marcus, Eric.

Marco  You just let Marcus know that you have a Marco in your life and you don't need any Marcus in your life.

Amanda: That's very forward. I have a lot of hello dears on here too.

Marco  Oh, I'm sure you love it when people say call you dear.

Amanda: Hello, dear.

Marco  Yeah, I get a lot of, um, uh, for some reason, Instagram, I've had a lot of scantily clad people reaching out to me, saying they need friendship and they want how loved we are, I guess. And I'm like, delete. I'm trying to block on our Instagram, on the Insomnia project. Instagram.

Amanda: That's where we really need the friendship.

Marco  The Insomnia Project Instagram account. People will latch on and try to like, like say, follow this link or sell this or something. And our listeners are like, I think you have a bot following you.

Amanda: And so I'm always trying to delete, hello, dear. Follow this link.

Marco  I'm sexy and I'm lonely.

Amanda: You know what I've been doing as a super sleuth?

Marco  Sure.

Amanda: Um. Um, like the string thread. Mystery solver that I am.

Marco  Yes.

Amanda: On Facebook, uh, community groups, there has been a trend in the last two months where people say they found. It could be a bunch of different things.

Marco  Sure.

Amanda: A lost dog, lost child, uh, various things. Anyways, they say there's no contact info, but it says, please bump, want to find owner or something like that. There's a few different versions, but they're mostly all the same. Or please help me find my uncle or whatever. Um, so what I've been doing is. Because they're all fake. What I've been doing is I've been taking the photo that they use, whatever they use, um, and doing a reverse image search.

Marco  Right.

Amanda: Which is pretty easy to do. You can just go into Google really, and plug it in to Google Images and then it'll show you where else it was used. I see taking a screenshot of that and then putting it on the thread, or if the thread is closed for commenting, then I'll just put it as the next entry into the group. So, for example, in the Aurelia buy and sell group, where this happens a lot.

Marco  I didn't realize you were in the Aurelia, uh, buy and sell group.

Amanda: I think I got into it because a friend, considering we live nowhere near

Marco  Aurelia, our cottage is like an hour away from Aurelia, so I actually think

Amanda: it was our friend David, um, David S. Who posted one of these in earnest. And we've had Other friends do this too, you know, sweet souls who go, oh, someone lost a dog or whatever. And so that's how. That's been my injury. And so then I go in and I post, here's. Here's where else this dog was lost. New Hampshire, four years ago, or whatever.

Marco  Sure.

Amanda: And I'll post that and, uh, you know, become the super sleuth truth teller that I am and tell people not to.

Marco  And do people appreciate it?

Amanda: Some do, yeah. But people just continue. Because you look at one of those bogus posts and they have like 4,000 shares.

Marco  Right, right.

Amanda: And you're like, come on.

Marco  We. We saw something very. Or you saw something very funny on a Facebook post today and you shared it with me and some friends.

Amanda: We haven't seen one like that in a long time.

Marco  M. It just made me laugh.

Amanda: But what made me laugh the most was it was a pretty well known actor. And we're in the middle of a whole acting thing now, a dispute, and that involves our union. And it's, you know, uniony stuff. So I won't bore you with that. Unless you want me to.

Marco  The commercial agreement.

Amanda: Yeah, the commercial. Very fascinating stuff. The, um, Producers association and commercial agreement. And I was on a very long union call today listening to all of that. So anyway, a fellow actor post her thoughts on the ratification and the agreement and then.

Marco  And she was none too pleased about it.

Amanda: No, she wasn't happy about it.

Marco  Fair enough.

Amanda: So she was trying to rally her people to not support this amendment or

Marco  whatever, as is her right.

Amanda: As is her right. But. So people are weighing in however they will. But one person in particular, and it's one of Canada's top playwrights. That's what made me laugh about it.

Marco  Wrote, I've so just set the scene. This fellow friend actor is like, the ratified agreement is not working in our favor. We need to, um, you know, not support it. And please, M. Um, consider.

Amanda: Vote yes.

Marco  Consider that it's 20% less, blah, blah, blah. And then this famous playwright writes, writes,

Amanda: I've just put beyond meat burgers in the oven. And then. And then some people kind of made different comments or different, like question marks or laugh. And then she wrote, oh, no, I can't delete. I'm sorry.

Marco  So the post just lives there, Waiting lives there.

Amanda: Uh, so it begs the question, why would you put beyond meat burgers in the oven?

Marco  Um, I don't know. In the oven sometimes.

Amanda: Who cooks burgers in the oven?

Marco  Maybe that's why it was an emergency. And she had to also ratify This, I guess. Oh, my goodness.

Amanda: Her vegetarian option for dinner tonight went into the oven. I don't know where. Where. This playwright, she's one of Canada's most famous playwrights. That's what's making me laugh about it. It's not like this person's mom or whatever.

Marco  It's like we have a friend who accidentally posted on a, um. Like a memorial, um.

Amanda: Oh, God.

Marco  Like.

Marco  Like a memorial Facebook tribute page.

Amanda: Okay. Do you want me to explain?

Marco  No, we don't want to get too far into it.

Amanda: I won't get specific, but it was for a very famous nautical disaster more

Marco  recently than, like, a memorial for that nautical disaster.

Amanda: It was, like, 20 years ago. It's well known. It's not well known in the world, but it's well known in her area.

Marco  Right.

Amanda: And my friend does know people that were affected by this nautical moment. And so people were saying, finally they've. The post was finally they've. The plaque to honor our people, everyone affected. And my friend, who's very closely tied to those people and personally affected and, uh, has good friends and wants to support.

Marco  Sure. Sure.

Amanda: Herself.

Marco  And this friend happens to be one of those people that you can always rely on who, if you need a, um, helping hand or support, they're there for you.

Amanda: And she's needed that support, too. And different things that have happened in her own life.

Marco  Sure.

Amanda: So she's drawn on her community, which is these people. Anyhow. But inadvertently, she posted a woman eating popcorn, rolling her eyes in bed to this memorial. Finally, um, the memorial for.

Marco  For this nautical issue for our men

Amanda: kind of thing, and didn't realize that that's what she had posted until dinner the next night. So it had been up there an entire day of. Oh, please. Eating popcorn and rolling her eyes. So that was a blunder. You know what? One of my favorite Facebook blunders, since we're on that now, is, uh, and I think it still exists, if you Google it, people who try to tag their grandparents and things, but instead tag Grandmaster Flash as you do.

Marco  As you do. And if you don't know who Grandmaster Flash is, he is a famous, uh, rap musician. Right, Amanda?

Amanda: I think so. One of the originals. Emojis.

Marco  Oh, my goodness.

Amanda: Um, I'm gonna read you some if I can find it.

Marco  And then I'll tell you one incident that I had, uh, with a text to my boss instead of Amanda.

Amanda: Yeah. Grandmas keep accidentally tagging themselves, so the grandparents. Grandmas keep accidentally tagging themselves as Grandmaster Flash on Facebook. This is pretty old, but, um, I mean, it's a couple years old, but it still makes me laugh. Um, so here's just a handful of the examples. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Timothy. Happy birthday to you. How old are you now? Love, Grandmaster Flash. Hi, Gabrielle. I loved our Ladies out day. You have my love and best wishes. Love, Grandmaster Flash. Um, let me look here, Logan, Grandpa and I are praying for you as you embark on your college career. Grandpa says to keep your nose clean in your spirits up. Love Grandpa and Grandmaster Flash.

Marco  They're good like that, those two are.

Amanda: Our youngest granddaughter, Ruth turns six years old today. She will be starting first grade soon. Happy birthday, Ruth. We love you. Love Grandpa and Grandmaster Flash.

Marco  It's great. Yeah, sure, because you want to type in grandma, but because Grandmaster Flash is probably so utilized that it just.

Amanda: And then Kathleen Thomas wrote to Grandmaster Flash, I didn't mean to hit the Grandmaster Flash, whatever that is. That's great. My grandson Jack's turning the big three today. I would like to wish him a happy birthday. Love you, Grandmaster Flash.

Marco  It's great.

Amanda: Oh, uh, it makes me so fun.

Marco  It's so. It's so endearing when these things happen

Amanda: and Grandmaster Flash apparently loves it as.

Marco  As. As they should.

Amanda: Right.

Marco  Um. I once was, um, doing a corporate gig and I meant to text Amanda. I was in the. And I was. I was in the US doing a corporate gig and I. I wanted to text Amanda that I was having some intestinal issues, but I accidentally.

Amanda: Which. Which just gives you a little window into our relationship. That. That's. We share those types of details.

Marco  Well. But I. I wanted some sympathy. Instead, I texted my boss, Ann, about my intestinal issues and she wrote back, I hope you're okay, because she knew I was about to perform.

Amanda: It was an urgent moment for you.

Marco  I guess it was. My goodness. Anyway, well, this podcast episode certainly took

Amanda: a turn I wasn't expecting from Thread to Grandmaster Flash.

Marco  As. As it happens. As it happens, you know, we really cover the gamut of. Of topics.

Amanda: How did we get on to that?

Marco  I don't even know. Sometimes. Sometimes the turns that we take. Only when I, uh.

Amanda: Talking about, uh, the playwright that put pian meat burgers in the oven.

Marco  Such a funny moment.

Amanda: Yeah. Anyway.

Marco  Oh my goodness. And we had something interesting happen to us this week too. Amanda got a parking ticket.

Amanda: Mhm.

Marco  And she had paid for the parking, so she wasn't too happy about it. I said, don't worry, I'll take care of it. Because when it comes to fighting tickets or dealing with that, usually I'm the one who takes that on and found, uh, out that they put in the wrong license plate number. And so they have no way of tracking our car. And you did pay for it because I have the receipt. And so when I called them, they said, don't worry about it. And so that. That was no longer a worry. But someone who has our license plate with one number off may be getting a ticket for parking, uh, near a restaurant you were at.

Amanda: Yeah. It's going to be as unexpected as a birthday greeting from grandpa and Grandmaster Flash.

Marco  Have you ever gotten anything that you didn't expect in the mail that you may have ordered or that you.

Amanda: Um, I went through a phase where I kept getting aviator sunglasses. And I don't know from who or from what.

Marco  They just kept coming.

Amanda: I got, like, three sets of them. Yeah. I don't know who was sending me aviator sunglasses. They weren't good ones. They were cheap ones.

Marco  Right.

Amanda: I don't know if it was from Amazon or what, but it was like, I just kept getting these weird aviator sunglasses. We still have some around.

Marco  Yeah, we had a bunch of aviators. Yeah. Uh, which I don't really wear.

Amanda: Nor do I. So they weren't maybe as well received, but.

Marco  Sure.

Amanda: I don't know if somebody was. I think it was just a mistake, like an accounting thing where somebody just kept sending them to us. I don't know.

Marco  Sure, sure.

Amanda: I ordered shoes once, and I thought. I deleted them, and then two pairs showed up.

Marco  I got soap. Remember when I was all into toilet soap? I had ordered toilet soap, which is soap. Uh, what we refer to as soap is actually toilet soap. Remember we had this conversation. You said, don't refer. You didn't like me referring to it.

Amanda: I don't like it. That's what it is. It sounds like you take a bath in the toilet.

Marco  No, no. It's toilet soap. That's what. Anyhow, Anyways, I wasn't expecting a second package of toilet soap to come in, and I got a second package, so I had to write them to say, stop sending me toilet soap or regular soap.

Amanda: Well, I have to tell you, this episode has kind of put me to sleep. I'm kind of tired.

Marco  Are you?

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco  You still have some work to do, don't you?

Amanda: I'll do in the morning.

Marco  I have a little bit of work of the podcast that I had to do to get this episode up tonight.

Amanda: Stress everybody out about the work we have to do.

Marco  That's true. That's true. It's all work that I enjoy. It's not even work. It's. It's pleasure. And, uh, we like to watch our Jeopardy. So we're gonna watch episodes.

Amanda: Oh, yeah, we have Jeopardy. To watch.

Marco  Yeah. Jeopardy. Masters, which we're really digging.

Amanda: I don't know if I'm gonna make it through. Oh, no.

Marco  Well, that's Amanda yawning. I guess I'm gonna. I'm gonna call this shine off. I'm gonna call the show. We've. We've got four minutes left. But I just figured, you know what I'll do, Amanda, while you're yawning, I'm gonna read a little bit more about string theory for people to fall. To fall fast asleep in case the episode was too exciting for you. So where did I leave off on the string theory? Well, I think I'll just take it from. String theory is a broad and varied subject that attempts to address a number of deep questions of fundamental physics. String theory has contributed a number of advances to mathematical physics, which have been applied to a variety of problems in black hole physics, early universe cosmology, nuclear physics, and condensed matter physics. And it has stimulated a number of major developments in pure mathematics. Because string theory potentially provides a unified description of gravity and particle physics, it is a candidate of a theory of everything, a self contained mathematical model that describes all fundamental forces and forms of matter. Despite much work on these problems, it is not known to what extent string theory describes the real world or how much freedom the theory allows in the choice of its details. String theory was first studied in the late 1960s as a theory of the strong nuclear force, before being abandoned in favor of quantum chromodynamics. Amanda maybe I'll leave it there. Some of these words are really big to read, and I'm taking that from Wikipedia. If you look up string theory and it's not a theory, there's also M theory. Amanda uh, mhm. Prior to 1995, theorists believed that there were five consistent versions of superstring theory, type 1, type 2a, type 2b, and two versions of heteronic string theory. The understanding changed in 1995 when Edward Wittenberg suggested that the five theories were just special limiting cases of an 11 dimensional theory called M. M theory. Witten's conjecture was based on the work of a number of other physicists, including Ashok Sen, Chris Hall, Paul Townsend, and of course, Michael Duff. His announcement led to a flurry of of research and that research activity now known as the second superstring revolution. And with that, I will end my conversation about string theory.

Amanda: Amanda uh, sounds good.

Marco  And that pretty much brings us to the end of today's episode. I hope you learned something, Amanda. I hope you're taking something away with you.

Amanda: I think I'm taking sleep. All right, so to bed with me. That's what I'm taking.

Marco  That's where Amanda's going. Wherever you go on this podcast journey, I want to thank you for being here with us, and we really value you as a listener, and, uh, we hope you were able to listen to this particular episode, relax, maybe giggle, and hopefully even fall asleep.

In this episode of The Insomnia Project, host Marco Timpano is joined by guest co-host Lois Tucker Keating for a gentle, meandering conversation that drifts from everyday curiosities to the welcoming culture of Newfoundland. This calming podcast episode unfolds at an easy pace as Marco and Lois talk about quilting, travel memories, and the warmth of Newfoundland’s people, music, and landscape. Their relaxing conversation also touches on the idea of a traditional Newfoundland “boil up,” and the meaning behind the beloved Canadian coffee order known as a double double. As always, the tone is soft and unhurried, creating the perfect background listening for anyone hoping to unwind, ease anxiety, or quiet racing thoughts before bed.
The discussion continues with reflections on the musical Come From Away, which celebrates Newfoundland’s remarkable hospitality during a difficult moment in history. Lois shares her experience learning the button accordion, an instrument deeply connected to Newfoundland’s folk traditions, while Marco imagines the luxury of a dedicated gift-wrapping room. From there, the conversation wanders into the curious mystery of missing scissors and the surprising usefulness of everyday tools like staple removers, drain snakes, and extension cord helpers. The gentle rhythm of the episode keeps the focus on small, ordinary moments, making it a soothing companion whether you’re settling in to fall asleep or simply looking for a calm and comforting listen.

​Newfoundland, the double double and where are my scissors?

(Original airdate: June 1, 2023)

 Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation or a calm conversation about the mundane. And it's meant for you to just listen, relax, think of nothing else, and let it take you where it will. Thank you for joining us. Hi, I'm your host, Marco Timpano. Amanda is still a little under the weather, so I'm very grateful to a dear friend of ours who has joined me this evening in the studio. Welcome, Lois Tucker Keating back to the Insomnia Project.

Lois Keating: Hey, thanks for having me.

Marco:  Lois, you were on an episode way back when about quilting and it's actually one of the fan favourite episodes that, that people actually find very relaxing. So thank you. I don't know if I ever told you that, but it's one of the ones people quote is the quilting episode.

Lois Keating: Oh, that's so awesome. I finished the quilt that I was working on at the time, so I don't know if we talked about that, but eventually I did, yeah.

Marco:  And was it an accomplishment? Were you happy or were you sad to see it end?

Lois Keating: No, I was really looking forward to it. It took seven years overall and uh, it's a queen size quilt and all the bits and pieces I learned along the way, uh, kind of all came together in the end, and it was really a, uh, great accomplishment. I'm so glad that I did it.

Marco:  You know, quilts often hold sentimental value and can be passed down through generations. Can you share a story about a quilt that you made that holds special meaning and memory to you?

Lois Keating: Sure. So the quilt that I made was a, um, memory quilt from my late husband's clothes that I made for my daughter, Briar. And so it was all different kinds of shirts and pants and, uh, swimsuits and Hawaiian shirts, All different fabrics cut up to different pieces into, like, a scrappy kind of pattern.

Marco:  Okay.

Lois Keating: Um, and then I also put our little family logo in there. I love it. And then with the free motion quilting part, I wrote some secret messages in there for her, too. So this will be a quilt for my daughter to have with all the memories of her dad.

Marco:  That's wonderful. That's wonderful. And I like that it's scrappy because Paul was scrappy, you know, It's a wonderful way to honor him.

Lois Keating: True, true. I never thought of that.

Marco:  Yeah, yeah. Uh, Lois. I'm very fortunate because Lois has made us some m. Quilted pieces that I cherish. Ones that we take out for Christmas are Christmas placemats. And we have Christmas, like mug mats.

Lois Keating: Mug rugs.

Marco:  Mug rugs, which I love. Just for the record. I just need to say that.

Lois Keating: Oh, that's so cool.

Marco:  And a practical quilt that you've done. Quilt quilting that you've done for us that is so helpful is you made luggage arm covers. I don't know how to describe that.

Lois Keating: Uh, I call those tag my bags. And so they're little. Yeah. Velcro pieces you put over your handle instead of tying ribbon or a bag to your luggage so you can find it. And they're also soft for when you have to carry it.

Marco:  And our luggage is black. And so when it comes off the carousel, so many luggage is black. And that beautiful quilted bright pattern you put stands out. I see it from a mile away, and I'm like, that's my black luggage. And it stands out from everyone else's. So I'm very grateful to you.

Lois Keating: Oh, you're welcome.

Marco:  One of the things I love about Lois, listeners, is that she's such a great host. Whenever we go to your home, you always provide a warmth and a very. A very caring, uh, way of, like, bringing us coffee or tea. But it's also very casual, so it never feels like, you know, you're doting on us, but you're very, like, what can I get you? I've got this new drink or whatnot, and I just want to thank you for that because I feel like I learned a lot from how you treat us when we're guests in your home. Um, what's your approach to that?

Lois Keating: Um, well, I'm from the east coast of Canada, so people stop by for a cup of tea or a cup of coffee or whatever, regularly. It's not, like, always a planned event, like, it might be amongst us or with, um, our friends here in the city. So, I don't know. I guess it's usually just a. It's a thing I'm used to doing all the time, just having. Even if somebody comes over or stops in, you just, you know, have a little cup of tea or coffee or something, and then, you know, it's such a pleasure to be able to have your friends in your home. And that's even more so now since, you know, the pandemic and everything.

Marco:  Sure, sure. Uh, Lois is from Newfoundland, and we'll talk about that in a minute. But listeners. So Lois came over to record the podcast, and I wanted to show her my backyard because, as you know, we've lit it with a lot of lights, and I wanted an honest opinion about how it looks. And. Because Lois and I share this sort of love of home caring and homemaking, and we often get into long conversations about, you know, what latest thing we purchased at Costco that works at the home, or, you know, cutting the grass and whatnot. And I love having conversations with Lois. So I said, lois, can you be honest and tell me what you think of the lights in our backyard? And you were. And I appreciate that.

Lois Keating: It's pretty good.

Marco:  Yeah. You like. You like them? It made me feel really good, actually.

Lois Keating: Like them.

Marco:  So we mentioned this. You're from Newfoundland originally. You now live in Ontario, and you're a dear friend of ours, in particular Amanda's. But I wanted to ask you, can you, uh, share a memorable experience or story that highlights the warmth and friendliness of Newfoundlanders like yourself?

Lois Keating: Um, there's a lot of stereotypical stories, I guess. M. One story that I remember from my childhood. So we lived outside the city, and, um, you know, maybe about 15, 20 minutes. And we're kind of on a country road, and it was a snowstorm, and, um, I was pretty young, maybe like eight or so. And, um, this gentleman knocked on the door, and it was at night and it was dark.

Marco:  Sure.

Lois Keating: And, uh, in the middle of a snowstorm. And, um, this guy in my memory was very Big. He had a lot of hair, big beard. Um, and, uh, he was stranded. His car broke down or something. And so I remember, um, I was, like, watching at the door, waiting to see what was gonna happen because it seemed like something out of a movie.

Marco:  It sounds like. Was it around Christmas? Cause it sounds like a Hallmark Christmas movie you're describing. And this is Santa.

Lois Keating: That's what I'm talking to. But so this guy came in and he ended up staying with us for a bit till the storm passed. And he could get his car dug, uh, out of the part of the road or the plow came. And, um, so he came in and we chatted, and I think we were making some dinner. And he helped, um, season it in a different way that we weren't used to. And it was kind of like one of those you hear stories about people welcoming people into their home all the time. But I hadn't really experienced that with strangers because we knew everybody around us. So that was pretty much one where, you know, this guy needed some help and he knocked on our door and we. He weathered the storm with us.

Marco:  Wow.

Lois Keating: Yeah.

Marco:  You know, there's a lot of sense of community when people talk about Newfoundlanders in Newfoundland. How do you think this has shape the identity of the province?

Lois Keating: Well, I think that Newfoundlanders have always been typically known to be a friendly population.

Marco:  Sure.

Lois Keating: Um, and so definitely tourism is really very popular because of that. And you can literally, I have so many friends who I recommend where to go at home and then they go and they have these little experiences in little towns where they go. And I always say, oh, ask for so and so, because, you know, we might be really, to them there. If you pop in and they're like, no, we're not going to say that. And it's like, of course you should. You might really run into people we know. Um, so definitely, like, tourism has really brought in a lot of people and the way things are going, I mean, this year's an incredible year for icebergs. But, uh, I think that's really been a big industry for us, for sure. But I think, um, the more people come, like, Newfoundland has such a good other side of things where, you know, there's so much high tech and so much, you know, industry happening as well, that, um, it's really diversified for such a small population place. Yeah.

Marco:  I'm so wanting to go. I've never been, and I'm so wanting to go. And if you haven't, um, had a chance to see the play come from away, that takes Place in Gander, Newfoundland. Um, that certainly shows a sense of community. Uh, but how do you feel about that particular uh, play? I loved it when I saw it.

Lois Keating: I loved it too. I've seen it several places and you know it is on in Gander this summer.

Marco:  That's right.

Lois Keating: And ah, so that's going to be a real special event this summer for it to be hosted and homed in Gander there. I mean there's so much history from 911 and all the things there that you can see at the town hall and all the different pieces of the Twin Towers, beams that are there and different things. Um, but yeah, it's gonna be really exciting for that to be there but I think it's lovely and I really enjoyed um, seeing it in Toronto. Um, and that it's really bringing a bit of the culture to the rest of the world and the music is fantastic.

Marco:  The music is wonderful and it really is lasting. And I'm not, I'm saying this Lois, I'm not someone who loves musicals. That's not my thing. Um, Amanda loves going to see musicals. Me, I'm a harder sell. And we took our Amanda's parents, my father in law and my mother in law and I sat with my father in law and Amanda sat in a different section with her mother and we all four of us had the most wonderful time even though we weren't next to each other and we were just having so much fun, you know. Newfoundland is also known for its stunning natural landscapes. What are some of your favorite places to explore and what are some outdoor activities that uh, you find engaging?

Lois Keating: Okay, so I will say that this time of year, if you were home in Newfoundland, definitely going to look at the icebergs is hot topic this time of year. Um, but if there's a lot of icebergs it's going to be really cold usually. So that makes the weather not as seasonable. Um, but my favorite place, um, I have a couple of favorite places.

Marco:  Oh, you can tell them all.

Lois Keating: So where we're from, our family's from St. Philip's and my aunt and uncle, um, my uncle lives there now and they call it out on the Point. And it's a little, you know, looking over the harbor and you can see the ocean and you can see Bell island in the distance and it's a really cute uh, view from St. Philip's beach down there. That's really nice because that's where we're from. And then um, my other favorite place and my daughter's absolute favorite place is called Trout river on the west coast of Newfoundland in Gros Morne. And that's where my grandmother's family was from. And we have lots of relatives still out there, and, uh, that has a really beautiful wide beach. Um, and, uh, they have a come home year sometimes where, like, they have a big festival in the summer and everybody comes home from away. Literally right home from away. And, um, they have a big celebration. And so a few years ago, we went to that and got to no more relatives. And it was just so lovely.

Marco:  Is this your mom's mom or your dad's mom?

Lois Keating: My mom's mom.

Marco:  Your mom's mom. Okay. I know Lois's parents, too, and they're really lovely. Um, now let me ask you this. How do you think the natural beauty of the province has impacted your connection to the environment?

Lois Keating: Huh? Good question. Yeah.

Marco:  Because you have a stunning backyard. You have a way. Now, I know something interesting about Lois is she's allergic to flowers.

Lois Keating: Yes.

Marco:  You're allergic to flowers. And so you have to really deal with nature in a different way than most people.

Lois Keating: Yeah. So my favorite thing about COVID uh, is that when I went to the garden center and I had my mask on, it was so much better. So now I just wear my mask all the time to the garden center when I'm picking out plants for the house or for the yard. Um, but my family, most people think of Newfoundland as all fisher people, but my dad's family were all fishermen, farmers. We still have farmers in that side of the family.

Marco:  Right.

Lois Keating: Uh, so you'd think I have a green thumb, and I don't think that. I don't. But it's not my love, it's not my passion, for sure. But I do enjoy sometimes I have a little garden, um, that we made over the last couple years. And so I have a few things I've planted there. But, um, how would I say? I definitely like having a bit of space and land. I do enjoy that. Um, for sure, I'd prefer if it was close to the ocean, but could have this kind of weather. If I could find a way to do that here, that would be really great.

Marco:  Um, it's been very warm here lately, so that's what Lois is referring to. But as you mentioned, in Newfoundland, especially this time of year, could be very cold, depending on how many icebergs are there. Right.

Lois Keating: Yeah. But no, uh, I definitely appreciate nature. Right. Um, we spent a lot of time in nature growing up and in the woods and going for a boil up where you take your kettle and you go into the woods and you make a fire and have, like, tea and beans or tea and hot dogs.

Marco:  I've never heard of this boil up. And now all I want to do is go on a boil up. This sounds amazing.

Lois Keating: Yeah, we'll get my brother to help take you on when we go home.

Marco:  I, um, love Lois's brother. I think I met him once, and he is one of my favorite people on social media. I just need to say that. I don't know if he's gonna listen to this episode, but I just need to say it to you because your brother's one of my favorite people. And when I do go to Newfoundland, I just want to hang out with him for a bit.

Lois Keating: Yeah, he's really, uh, he loves a good boil up. So they take their quad, or side by side, which is like an ATV all terrain vehicle, into the woods, and you have your stuff. You need to make a fire, and then you go and you have like, a lunch, and then you drive around and then you pack up and you come home. That's like a day on the weekend in Newfoundland.

Marco:  Sounds awesome. Yeah, I love that. I love just doing something spontaneous like that. Enjoying nature, but also the comforts of home. Like a nice, warm tea. I m. Love a good tea. Do you take your tea with milk and sugar?

Lois Keating: Just milk. I gave up Sugar in 2004 with Paul Lois.

Marco:  I didn't know that. I wish I could give up sugar. It's really difficult for me.

Lois Keating: I was a double double all the time in everything. Tea, coffee, anything. And then I went to cut, uh, back, switched, uh, to artificial sweetener, and it was horrible. So then I stopped, and so now I'm down to just milk or cream.

Marco:  Oh, that's great. For our international listeners, a double double is what Canadians refer to when we want two, um, teaspoons of sugar and two creamers in our coffee. Whether it be cream or milk. That's what we call a double double. And, uh, so in case you're like, well, what exactly is that? Uh, it's one of my favorite things now. All right, so we've talked about the community, we've talked about nature and the environment. Newfoundland, if our listeners don't already know this, has a rich musical tradition, including its own genres, like Newfoundland and Labrador folk music. Let me ask you how the local music scene has influenced your own musical tastes or style.

Lois Keating: Well, I definitely love traditional Newfoundland music, which is definitely based on a lot of Irish music.

Marco:  Sure.

Lois Keating: Um, you know, Newfoundland was primarily settled by the English and the French. And the Irish. Um, so definitely there's a lot of Irish kind of music and a lot of fiddle and accordion and um, the boron drum and those are, you know, traditional instruments. Um, for me, I definitely love all of that. I think it's great. I definitely follow a lot of our generation folk artists.

Marco:  Okay.

Lois Keating: Um, that's been, you know, people who are kind of keeping the traditions alive while also developing their own kind of more modern styles. I find that.

Marco:  Who would be an example of who you might recommend people to see?

Lois Keating: Maybe Ian Foster or a buddy of mine, Chris Pickle. He does some of that too. Um, there's quite a few and, uh, they are really, ah, great.

Marco:  Um, and you were saying sorry, before I cut you off. I apologize.

Lois Keating: Craig, um, Young is another one.

Marco:  Okay.

Lois Keating: Um, yeah, so there's just so many great artists and music. A lot of people play music in that I find here where we live, I don't have a lot of friends who, you know, play guitar or like, we're sitting around, bring out instruments.

Marco:  Sure.

Lois Keating: Um, but, uh, back home that's pretty popular. Um, and then I did learn to play the button accordion, uh, when I wrote a play back in 2005. So there was quite a few years before that, but I used it in the play. Um, so I have a little bit of that that I do sometimes.

Marco:  Was it tricky to learn how to play the button or accordion?

Lois Keating: Well, there's this. I'm not sure the name of the company, but you, um, could buy these books of how to play by number. So somebody had written a book series on how to play. So I learned that way. But then, um, because I read music a little bit, I was able to adapt it. But anybody who wants to learn, there's definitely some easy ways to learn how to play. It's pretty. It's pretty easy.

Marco:  Is it?

Lois Keating: Well, the button part on the right, but the in and out with the bellows, that's a little bit harder. Like to get the bass and all that in at the same time.

Marco:  It's an instrument. I remember as a kid, some of my contemporaries were forced to learn it by their folks. And I was grateful that I didn't have to learn it because it just seemed like a lot's going on with the accordion right now. I'm talking about the accordion, the traditional accordion, or I don't know what that

Lois Keating: one's called, with like the piano keys.

Marco:  The piano keys and the squeezing and ah, those other. It's the other buttons that I never understood. Like I could understand the piano but I couldn't understand what the other buttons do.

Lois Keating: Yeah, I think it's chords and stuff. Really. It's a bit beyond me. I'm still hoping to find someone who would teach this virtually over the Internet.

Marco:  Is there something you would like to learn to do that you have an interest in that you haven't already? Because you're very crafty, and you also have a very strong business side to you.

Lois Keating: I don't know nothing that I can think of off the top of my head at the moment. I'm gonna be thinking about that. I'm gonna wake up in the middle of the night, and you'll be like,

Marco:  I know what it is I've always wanted. Now this is something. This is a conversation I would have with Lois regardless of whether we were recording in a studio. So you're just gonna be privy to my conversation. So, Lois, one of my dreams is that I would have a room with just gift wrapping stuff, because I think it was Erin Spelling's wife. They had, obviously, a mansion, and she had a gift wrapping room. And I was like, how great would it be to have a room that has all your paper, all your ribbons, all your tape, all your tags, and you just go to that room to wrap any gift, no matter what the occasion? What are your thoughts on that?

Lois Keating: My God, Marco. Uh, I made a gift making, um. What would the word be? A thing. I sewed a thing that hangs on the door that holds all the stuff.

Marco:  Like, a thing where you would put, like, a. Oh, you did?

Lois Keating: Yeah. So, um, that would be an amazing room because I know you're very detailed with your gift wrapping. You would really, really do well at that. Paul was really good, too. I'm more like. I wrap things until people. Briar did.

Marco:  I see.

Lois Keating: Um. But yeah, so I made this, like, version. I'll have to show you the pictures of. It hangs off a bar that goes on your door and holds all your gift wrap and ribbons and cards and paper and all that stuff. That would be fascinating.

Marco:  I hate having to search for the tools that I need. The scissors get taken away, and they're in a drawer, or they're under the bed, or they end up. I don't know where. And then it's like, where's the ribbon? We had these tags. Where did those go? Even envelopes. Like, I have. I have a envelope and letter stamp. Little area in our office that I don't like Amanda to go near because I always like to know where my stamps are, where my. You know how you get those address Labels. I have all our address labels there. I have, like, all the things that I need when I put a letter together. And I want that same sort of thing for my gift wrapping.

Lois Keating: That would be great.

Marco:  It's a dream of mine. Yeah.

Lois Keating: Ah. Uh, I like to have that kind of stuff together. But what is it about the scissors that they go missing?

Marco:  I don't know.

Lois Keating: My mother used to complain and freak out if I took the scissors from the kitchen drawer all the time. And now I have become that person.

Marco:  I like to have scissors at an arm's length reach at any point of where I am. So we have our kitchen scissors in the kitchen, and that's where I like them to be. But I'm not going to point fingers. But Amanda, uh, will take them and use them for, you know, when she has to cut paper and stuff. And I'm like, these are kitchen scissors. Let's keep them in the kitchen. Then we have scissors to just open letters. So we have this, like, really long, long, um, pincer scissors that. That are rounded at the end for letter opening. I don't know where we got that or how we had it, but I love it because it's just four letters. Don't cut tape with it, because when you cut tape with it, the tape ends up on the scissors and then makes a bit of, uh, a glue.

Lois Keating: Sticky.

Marco:  Yeah, uh, glue. Or makes it thicker so it doesn't cut. Right. So I tell a minute, that's not for cutting cellophane tape with, but I have these other scissors for that. So I'm very particular. And I'm sure people listening are like, wow, he's very particular with his scissors, but that's me.

Lois Keating: So you know that sewing scissors, you can never cut paper with paint. Yeah.

Marco:  I had a pair of sewing scissors that I loved, and I used to use them for fine, detailed work. Amanda took them with her, thinking they were just scissors when she went traveling. And then I never saw them again. And they were very pricey scissors. And I don't even care that I spent, like, $22 on, because they're small scissors. Right. It's just I can't find those scissors. And they were precision scissors, and I loved them. Yeah, yeah, I'm. I'm very particular if once we open this door, you're gonna see I have a little. A little, um. It's almost like a planter box. Like a. Like something you put plants in a pot. And I've got two or three pairs of scissors in there. And I leave them there because I know Amanda doesn't even go near it. And I can always grab scissors from there.

Lois Keating: That's amazing. I feel like I've stashed scissors all over the place at my house now and then. Briar always takes the scissors. The ones I'm gonna look for, we

Marco:  have a Christmas, uh, cupboard. And our Christmas stuff has to fit in that one cupboard. And that's it. No more, no less. We don't dedicate any more space to Christmas stuff. It has to be in the cupboard. And I have Christmas scissors that stay in that cupboard that only come out for Christmas time for when you cut Christmas paper. Because otherwise we're searching the house for. And otherwise she's. I shouldn't just blame Amanda. We're using kitchen scissors to cut Christmas paper. And that. That drives me crazy.

Lois Keating: Yeah, there's a lot of good uses for scissors.

Marco:  What about your tools? Like, are you particular with your tools?

Lois Keating: Um, yes. Probably not as particular as some people's. So my sewing tools would be. They're definitely in my sewing room. And I have specific spots for my rotary cutter and my tools that I hang, I like to do that. My tools in my garage. Those are also pretty, um, organized.

Marco:  Yeah, they're organized.

Lois Keating: They were started by Paul. Um, but, um, I try. I have some things I want to do to that area to make it a little bit more user friendly and a little bit easier. But, uh, yeah, they're pretty, pretty organized. Everything's kind of labeled and in, like, kind of groups.

Marco:  That's wonderful. I've always admired how your tools are because you have certain things that I'm like, I need that. Like, you have that, you know, your extension cord wrapper. You have that thing that you wrap it in that kind of encloses in on cell phone.

Lois Keating: Oh, it's a cord buddy. I don't know who made those, but they're brilliant.

Marco:  Yeah. Uh, it's just. I saw it. I'm like, oh, of course Lois has that. And now, now I need that in my life. So that's one of the things I'm gonna actually tell Amanda because, you know when she's like, you're so hard to shop for. I'm like, I want a cord buddy. That's all I need. Get me that. And I'm happy. So I'm gonna mention that to her.

Lois Keating: Okay. That's a good one. That's a really useful tool.

Marco:  Yeah. I love it when you find a useful tool tool and you're, like, happy to share it with people who'll appreciate it. And it's like, do you have this? Because this is awesome.

Lois Keating: I got a new one this week.

Marco:  Tell me.

Lois Keating: So I do this thing where on the outdoor patio, I cover it with like a vinyl tablecloth and I staple gun it on. While every year I need to take it off and put on a new one. You have to take the staples out. Did you know there's a special tool for removing staples? Not just like the office staple one, but for like industrial, um, like upholstery staples or at the hardware store.

Marco:  Yeah. Does it look like a, um, duckbill?

Lois Keating: A little bit. Like it's got a triangle and then another piece on top.

Marco:  I'm thinking of something else. Okay.

Lois Keating: Put it in like a little. You push it under the staple and then you pull it up and it kind of captures the staple and pulls it out straight. It's amazing. I had no idea that even existed till I saw it the other day.

Marco:  One of my favorite tools that when you have it, when you need it and you have it, you're so grateful for having it, is a snake for the drain.

Lois Keating: Huh?

Marco:  I'm telling you. So you can get small little ones that are just kind of like. My mother in law got this for Christmas as a stocking stuffer for me. And it's just a wiry little piece of wire that's kind of covered with a plastic. And on the end it has almost like a Velcro, uh, end to it. And that's for, for faucet sinks. And you just kind of snake it in, snake it in, snake it in. And it'll pull out whatever's clogging it. Right. So many times that has saved me. But those ones will only last so long. So she got it for me a few Christmases ago. Let's say five to seven. They're no good anymore. But I did find a snake, an industrial snake for big jobs that I got on sale. And I'm very happy. I haven't used it yet, but when I need it, I know I have it. If you ever need a snake, you let me know.

Lois Keating: Okay, I will. One of the biggest adulting jobs, I would say that made me feel like I was a homeowner was when I first had to do the bathtub drain. That is disgusting.

Marco:  Yeah, it's kind of the worst, but once you do it, it's the best feeling. Once you see the water go down fast and quick, you're like, I'm glad I did it. Well, I'm glad you were here to represent, to be on the podcast to give Amanda a break. Thank you, Lois, so much. You always make our episodes so wonderful.

Lois Keating: You're welcome. Um, thanks for having me.

Marco:  And if you haven't been to Newfoundland, we're giving it a rousing place to visit and enjoy. Until next time. We hope you were able to listen to this episode and hopefully sleep.

In this episode of The Insomnia Project, hosts Marco Timpano and Amanda Barker ease into a relaxed and gently meandering conversation about two surprisingly soothing topics: public television and coffee culture. This calming podcast episode drifts through memories of watching PBS specials, including the joy of spotting beloved performers like Bernadette Peters, while also reflecting on the quirky world of pledge drives and familiar television personalities. As always, the conversation moves slowly and comfortably, creating the kind of relaxing conversation that works perfectly as background listening while you unwind, quiet racing thoughts, or settle in to fall asleep.
From there, the discussion naturally flows into Marco’s love of cafés and espresso, where he shares what he believes makes a coffee shop truly special. Marco explains the difference between a single pull and a double pull of espresso, introduces listeners to the portafilter, and talks about the importance of the rich layer of crema that tops a well-made espresso. Along the way, Marco and Amanda reflect on favourite coffee spots from around the world, including cafés in Toronto, Monaco, and beyond. The conversation remains soft and unhurried throughout, offering a peaceful listening experience designed to ease anxiety and create a calm space for listeners. Whether you’re drifting off at bedtime or simply enjoying a quiet moment, this episode provides a warm, comforting companion.

​PBS & Pulling Epsressos:
(Original airdate: June 21, 2023) 
 Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about topics that you bring to the table today. Because, uh, people have reached out to us on, on Instagram after we asked for topic ideas. And so today's episode will be all about that. I want to thank you for listening. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.

Amanda:I'm right here. I'm Amanda Barker.

Marco: You're listening to the Insomnia Project. So if you tuned into a different podcast, get ready to be calm and drift away.

Amanda:Imagine you were tuning into something very different.

Marco: There is another podcast called the Insomnia Project, which is a sci fi podcast. Oh, no, I, I know. They decided to take or use the name that we've had for years.

Amanda:It's such a specific name. I know, I know, but, well, um, maybe sci fi. Maybe their sci fi puts people to sleep.

Marco: Maybe some of their sci fi listeners are listening to us.

Amanda:Maybe you can listen to us and imagine we're in another universe.

Marco: Speaking of universes, Amanda, we did a little Instagram story, I guess you could say.

Amanda:I don't know, I'm, um, so rarely on Instagram.

Marco: Well, you did a little chat. I did a little sort of hello and it received quite a bit of attention. People really liked seeing you.

Amanda:Thank you, everyone.

Marco: And we got more show ideas from that.

Amanda:That's so great. That's what it's about.

Marco: If you haven't followed us yet, you can follow us on Instagram Hensonia Project or on Twitter isttenandsleep.

Amanda:So what are some of these show ideas? I'm very intrigued.

Marco: So Lisa reached out to us and she's also.

Amanda:Hi, Lisa.

Marco: She's also a Patreon patron on Patreon and she has some ideas for the hi, Lisa here.

Amanda:And we'll say hi to Lisa when we do the Patreon episode. And probably a segue. Just a reminder, if you want to be a Patreon and receive ad free content, you can do it for a very low price. I actually don't know what that price is, but I think it's low.

Marco: Um, two, two dollars a month for the base and then depending on what you want. Like we do a segment where I ask you your book reviews.

Amanda:Hm.

Marco: And so I need to do one word there and you tell us the latest.

Amanda:I have some new ones, by the way. Yeah, I've been reading quite a bit lately anyways.

Marco: And it goes up from there.

Amanda:Cool. So that's just an option for anyone who ever wants it.

Marco: But patreon.com theinsomniaproject or go to our show notes where you'll find it.

Amanda:We don't plug. We're really not pluggy marketing people at all. So, uh, excuse us every now. And to be honest, it's just letting people know the service is there.

Marco: It's true.

Amanda:But this podcast is here you can listen to.

Marco: Speaking of plugs, did you remember PBS and how they would always have their fundraisers?

Amanda:Yeah, I loved them.

Marco: I love them too. I always found that to be very calm too. Was pbs.

Amanda:Yes. Very calm. Bernadette Peters telling you, you know, if you want to watch the whole thing, we work so hard to get this quality programming to you.

Marco: Bernadette Peters never told me.

Amanda:You know why? Because my parents in Florida watch a lot of pbs. They want a lot of. They watch a lot of Antiques Roadshow.

Marco: Love it.

Amanda:And then local Floridians, people who have homes or live in Florida at least part time or full time, do the PBS fund. And Bernadette Peters is one of them. I think she was.

Marco: She lives in Florida.

Amanda:She's got a house or something. Yeah.

Marco: Ah, she doesn't do it here in Toronto. Buffalo.

Amanda:Ours is Buffalo. And I grew up in the, uh, the flagship home of pbs, which is Boston.

Marco: Oh. And so what celeb did it there?

Amanda:Oh, gosh, um, I don't remember celebs. I just remember, you know, local PBS people.

Marco: I know here. There was always a woman with a Dorothy Hamill cut and she had kind of blonde hair.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco: I want to say her name was like Phoebe or Stevie or something like that.

Amanda:An E name.

Marco: Yeah.

Amanda:Evie.

Marco: Yeah. Uh, so, gosh, now I'm trying to

Amanda:remember the PBS fundraising drives of my youth. I think like older people, like old. So it would have been like people who were stars from like the 60s when we saw it in the 80s.

Marco: I see, I see. Okay, so sure.

Amanda:But I don't know who any of those people like the David Hasselhoff's of yesteryear kind of thing. Like quaffed older men.

Marco: I hate to break it to you, but David Hasselhoff is an old star. As we, um. When you say David Hasselhoff, that's what I mean.

Amanda:Because now he would be an older star. Right. He would be an old man or an older man on doing that kind of drive. So I mean of yesteryear. So the people who are on Bonanza.

Marco: Right. Michael Lind and Lorne Green.

Amanda:Michael Landon, I think did do pbs.

Marco: Well, he was on Bonanza. Lorne Green.

Amanda:Oh, was he?

Marco: Yeah, Lorne Green, the guy who played Hoss.

Amanda:Any of them. I don't know any of these names. I don't know these.

Marco: Old Kitty Carlisle or something like that.

Amanda:I don't know old Western Hollywoody. And then you'd yell, mom, um, that's somebody you like. I remember Loretta Lynn was on the Muppets. Whenever there was somebody on the Muppets like that, I would yell to my mom, guess who's on the Muppets?

Marco: I saw Loretta Lynn perform once live, and she was fantastic.

Amanda:I have a marital bone to pick with you.

Marco: This has nothing to do with what Lisa wants.

Amanda:Everything. This is so calming. Lisa said, please have a marital dispute on her. I think she did. Okay. Um, we will get to that in just a moment. But my. I just need to say this. I spent the last 13 years blissfully married to you, and I often hear. And we were together some time before that, and I often hear you say, oh, I saw this person. Uh, and I saw that person.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda:I saw them live. They were great.

Marco: Exactly.

Amanda:I noticed that we. You and I don't go to any of these shows together. You saw all these wonderful acts. And we have seen one or two things at best.

Marco: We saw Dolly.

Amanda:And what else did we see?

Marco: We saw.

Amanda:In 13 years.

Marco: We saw, um, Garth Brooks and his wife perform a Christmas show.

Amanda:Yeah, that wasn't Garth Brooks. That was Vince Gill.

Marco: Same thing.

Amanda:Not really.

Marco: And we saw.

Amanda:And also his wife, Amy.

Marco: Trish Yearwood.

Amanda:No, no.

Marco: Amy Grant.

Amanda:Amy Grant and Vince Gill.

Marco: That's right. They're married together.

Amanda:Don't do a key party with them. Amy Grant and Vince G. Trish Yearwood

Marco: is married to Garth Brooks, who we

Amanda:did not see live.

Marco: I saw them live when I thought it was with you. No, I did not see them.

Amanda:Yes. And they were. And Vince Gill and Amy M. Grant put on a beautiful, beautiful Christmas show at the Ryman in Nashville.

Marco: They're wonderful. If you get a chance to see

Amanda:what a beautiful show that M Was.

Marco: Uh, or Garth Brooks or Dolly Parton, or if you get a chance to watch a Loretta Lynn concert, I recommend it. Didn't.

Amanda:Isn't Loretta Lynn gone?

Marco: Yes, she is.

Amanda:You mean like a taped.

Marco: Yeah, a tape. Like a videotape. Or a.

Amanda:A, uh, videotape. If you can find a videotape in a yard sale and then find a VCR at Goodwill.

Marco: Or if you watch PBS in your city and they happen to show, um, past.

Amanda:You know who does a lot of PBS fundraising, drives Carol Burnett.

Marco: She's awesome.

Amanda:Yeah, she does a lot. And she did them in, in the. Yes, she was the Carol Bernerette of yesteryear as well. Yes, she did them a lot. Yeah, she's amazing.

Marco: She's so great. Okay, back to Lisa's question. Lisa, thank you for staying with us. As we.

Amanda:Well, we don't know that she did.

Marco: She may not have. Um, Lisa says what makes the best cafe or coffee shop, in your opinion.

Amanda:I feel like you have strong feelings about this.

Marco: I have very strong feelings about this. And I was actually speaking with friends recently. Yesterday. Just yesterday. About this.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco: Actually, I was actually, to be honest with you, I was speaking to friends at a restaurant yesterday and I also had a Facebook conversation with Lucy DeRosa, good friend of ours.

Amanda:Mhm.

Marco: Based in Brooklyn. Shout out to Lucy. She often listens about coffee.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco: And how oftentimes when you get drip coffee at coffee shops, it's not very good.

Amanda:Right.

Marco: It tastes like swamp water.

Amanda:Let's say it's thin and doesn't do what it needs to do.

Marco: Or it's too strong, like it's been boiling away till it gets too tar.

Amanda:I think a lot of coffee gives coffee a bad name.

Marco: Yeah, I agree.

Amanda:Because I was not a coffee drinker until you and I. I was an occasional coffee drinker, but I wasn't a daily coffee drinker, I don't think until you and I, um, joined forces. And, um, I, I think if. If you had been in my life sooner, I would have been a coffee drinker sooner. Sure. Um, but I do think most a lot of coffee gives coffee a bad name.

Marco: Yeah, I agree.

Amanda:I would say that.

Marco: So for me, Lisa, if I'm having espresso and I go into a coffee shop and they don't give the. Give me the option of a single or a double. And they always just pull doubles because that's what they do. I have a problem with that because I like my cappuccinos to be one part coffee, one part milk, one part

Amanda:froth, which is how they do it

Marco: in Italy, of course. Right. In Europe, I should say.

Amanda:Who's pulling the doubles? Americans and then Canadians.

Marco: No, no, I'm not gonna. No, I'm not gonna finger point at anyone because it happens in many places. So I find we go to coffee houses here in Toronto.

Amanda:Definitely in Toronto. It's a, It's a thing.

Marco: And they'll pull doubles and I'LL say, I want a single now.

Amanda:What do you mean? Not everyone knows what you mean when you say pull doubles.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda:That's a very technical term.

Marco: Uh, yeah, it's an industry term for sure. I don't know if it's a technical term. I don't know if they.

Amanda:It's not a term that I would just say, can you pull me a double? I don't. Not. Not in terms of coffee, anyway.

Marco: Sure. When would you use that? Can you pull me a double? I hate to guess, but anyways, so when you have an espresso, um, handle. I'll call it.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco: It has a proper term, and I can't think of it right now, but you know the thing that they use in the espresso machine?

Amanda:So the piece. I'm gonna try to describe it, and you tell me this is what you mean. The piece of the espresso machine that holds the coffee grinds themselves. That's the gateway between the machine and the cup that it's serving.

Marco: Correct. Okay, thank you. That's a great. That's a great way to describe it, and I appreciate that. So that handle will often have a sp. And if it has one spout, the

Amanda:handle will have a spout.

Marco: The bottom. The reservoir of the handle.

Amanda:That piece has a spout. Has a spout and a handle.

Marco: And a handle. That's correct. That's why I was saying. Yeah, it looks like. It kind of looks like, uh. That.

Amanda:Yes.

Marco: Actually, it has a name. You'll probably see it on there. So it has a group head, I

Amanda:think it's called here. No, the porta filter.

Marco: The porta filter is the filter part. Anyways, it doesn't matter.

Amanda:No, it does. I mean, we're talking about it intentionally, so it does matter.

Marco: Okay. So I guess it's called the group head. Okay, I've never heard it called that, but.

Amanda:No, I know, but you said the handle has a spout, so that means that's a different image that you're creating. So I just want to be clear with what we're saying.

Marco: Sorry. The handle doesn't have the spout. The filter basin that has the coffee grinds in it will have a spout. And if it has a single spout.

Amanda:Hm.

Marco: It will pull a single shot.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco: If it has a double spout, it will pull two shots. And when you say pull, it means it will percolate.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco: A single shot.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco: Or a double shot.

Amanda:Say that word again.

Marco: Percolate.

Amanda:I say percolate. Percolate.

Marco: I don't even Think it percolates? To be honest with you.

Amanda:Percolate.

Marco: It brews.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco: It brews. Yeah. Because it doesn't even really brew it.

Amanda:I say browse.

Marco: No, you don't. It performs the espresso, performs extraction. How would you say it?

Amanda:No, I like that it performs. The espresso extraction is a beautiful. I think everyone should weave that into their morning vernacular. I'm going to perform the espresso extraction.

Marco: So if you only have a single spout, it'll only do a single shot. If you have a double shot. A double spout, it will brew or perform. Perform a double shot for your double shot extraction.

Amanda:Or pull a double.

Marco: It'll pull a double. Right. Now here's the funny thing. Some of them don't even have the spouts, so they just kind of fall like it just has a. Mhm.

Amanda:I didn't know there was ever a spout involved. I'm learning this tonight.

Marco: So as a result, the now I lost my trip. As a result, the, uh, espresso, when you pull a double shot, it's intense and it's more coffee than I want.

Amanda:Twice the amount of coffee.

Marco: It doesn't balance with the amount of

Amanda:coffee in your latte or cappuccino.

Marco: So for me, it's too strong. I don't enjoy it that way.

Amanda:Huh.

Marco: So when I ask someone to pull a single shot, but they only have the double. Because a lot of restaurants will only have doubles.

Amanda:Uh-huh.

Marco: Double spouts. They will stop it. They'll start it and then they'll stop it manually.

Amanda:Oh, okay.

Marco: But the problem with that is you don't have the full expression. Expression of the crema, which is the,

Amanda:the full expression or espression of, uh, espresso expression.

Marco: It gets expressed. Right.

Amanda:And what is the crema?

Marco: The crema is. Is the top layer of the espresso coffee that's slightly frothed.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco: And it has a light brown color to it. So whereas espresso coffee is dark brown, it has a lighter brown. There's a little bit of texture and thickness in that crema and it has a smooth finish. So you want the crema.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco: But if you, if you manually stop it, you don't get the full expression of the coffee.

Amanda:I see. So is it the machine's fault?

Marco: No, it's the person who thinks that they can just stop it whenever they want to make a single shot. That's not how you do it. What you would do is you would put two small espresso cups under both spouts. Okay, hit the button. That'll time how long the espresso is being filtered through. Okay, let's say 26 seconds.

Amanda:Mhm.

Marco: And one spout would go in one espresso cup, one spout would go in another espresso cup and you would have a single shot in each.

Amanda:So since we're here, I'm going to ask a hotly debated question to someone who I believe knows the difference. What is the difference, the true difference between a cappuccino and a latte?

Marco: Okay, so that's a great question. So a cappuccino is one part espresso, one part milk, one part equal parts.

Amanda:I should say equal parts. I didn't know that.

Marco: Yeah. So equal parts espresso, milk and foam. But as we know it here in North America, it's not actually equal parts because we use bigger, we use bigger, uh, vessels drinking. Vessels drinking.

Amanda:Like a proper cappuccino is actually in a smaller cup. Right? Like a demi task.

Marco: Exactly, exactly. Yeah, exactly.

Amanda:But we often have cappuccinos that are big.

Marco: Right?

Amanda:Grandes or whatever.

Marco: Sure, sure, sure. And um, a latte is mainly milk with the slightest amount of foam on the top.

Amanda:So a latte has more milk.

Marco: It has more milk, yeah, because latte

Amanda:and less foam too.

Marco: So here's. Okay, so to answer Lisa, part of Lisa's question, uh, when I go to a coffee place that I like.

Amanda:Mhm.

Marco: How do I determine if I'm gonna have an espresso, a cappuccino or a latte? It often depends on what I'm going to be doing afterwards. So if I'm going for a longer card ride, I'm going to get a latte because it's going to last me longer. The volume of milk to coffee ratio is bigger and therefore I'm going to enjoy it on the road. If I'm having coffee with say a friend, Trevor Dale, Lucy in Brooklyn, I'm m probably going to have a cappuccino because we're going to sit and drink it out of a cup.

Amanda:I see.

Marco: And so I can monitor how much I'm gonna drink with my friends as we talk and laugh.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco: If I need to just get that dose of caffeine and I want to be in and out, I'll get the espresso. Or if I'm with friends and it's at the end of the evening or we're about to do some work, uh hm, I'll get an espresso corretto. And corretto means they do a glug Just a quick shot of liquor in your espresso.

Amanda:So here's my question.

Marco: Yes. And I do that with Daniela and Trevor.

Amanda:Warm milk has some. Something in it. Right. That makes people sleepy.

Marco: Yes, I would say so.

Amanda:So I always wondered, like, isn't it counterintuitive to put espresso into warm milk?

Marco: No, because the caffeine. The espresso is.

Amanda:Caffeine wins over the milk.

Marco: Well, listen, I'm not a bioscientist here.

Amanda:Yet.

Marco: Yet. Nor am I a lactician, so I don't know the difference.

Amanda:I always wondered that.

Marco: Yeah, it's a good question.

Amanda:Sometimes think a latte is going to make you sleepier because it's so much more milk that's heated.

Marco: I mean, I think the warm milk has a calming effect. I don't necessarily think it has a, um, sleepy effect.

Amanda:So since we're in Lisa's world here with Lisa's question, I would love to hear about some cafes you've visited in the past that you consider memorable.

Marco: Okay, great question.

Amanda:And why too? Paint a picture.

Marco: So I loved going to coffee places in Istanbul, Turkey. I didn't see that one coming. Right. Because I love.

Amanda:No, I think of. Didn't we have tea in Istanbul? No, I guess we had coffee. We did.

Marco: We had Turkish coffee.

Amanda:Yeah. Beautiful.

Marco: Which you. Which forces you to sit and wait for the grinds to fall before you drink it.

Amanda:Uh-huh.

Marco: Remember we had the Turkish coffee with a little bit of that.

Amanda:Yeah.

Marco: Liquor.

Amanda:Oh, yeah. Mastique. Yeah. The thing about Turkish coffee is that it begs for time and patience. So it's a process. You cannot just have a quick sip. It's the opposite, actually, of being in Italy at a bar where so many people in the morning go to. Go to a quick bar, cafe, whatever, and they don't even sit. They just stand at the bar, have a quick espresso, and off they go. Um, so a Turkish coffee would be the absolute opposite of that. Maybe something to have at night after a meal or mid afternoon. I think we did. We were in Turkey in, I believe, November, early December. So it was cooler then. I was wearing, I remember a big gray sweater. And so, um, it wasn't cold cold, but it was certainly a cooler European moment or Asian moment. Because Turkey is both, isn't it? It's both Asia and Europe.

Marco: Yeah, it. It spans, but it.

Amanda:The whole country is both Asia and Europe. Right. It's not half and half, I don't think. I think the whole thing is considered part of it.

Marco: I don't know. Exactly. And I don't want to make a mistake because.

Amanda:Sure. Well, anyway, Turkey is considered the gateway, the bridge of the two, um, and of course, Asia into the Middle East.

Marco: And I loved that we could also get that tea that you were talking about in Turkey at the cafe, that mint tea. It was mint. It was different teas, but they were in little glass, um, tall. Tall glass vessels.

Amanda:Mhm. And everything was served with just a little bit of. Just a little tiny square or two of Turkish delight. So that chewy, delicious, um, candied, almost covered in like a powdered sugar, um, pistachio flavor, pomegranate flavors. There's a few others, but really delicious.

Marco: Something so delightful about that, Amanda.

Amanda:Oh, so nice.

Marco: And I looked it up. That handle that I was talking about is called a Porta Filter. Is that what you said it was?

Amanda:A Porta Filter? I did at one point.

Marco: Okay. So, yeah, I'm confirming you're back there now. I just wanted to confirm that. So that was one of my cafes that I loved. I should say the cafes in Istanbul. I didn't pick one then. You know, there's certain cafes in Italy. Mhm. I love going to an autostop, uh, which is a pullover on the highway.

Amanda:Like an auto grill.

Marco: Like an auto grill, yeah. Thank you.

Amanda:Yeah. I was like, what's autostop?

Marco: Autogril. Autostop.

Amanda:They're called different things.

Marco: Auto grills are a chain.

Amanda:I see.

Marco: Yes. So, uh, an auto stop would mean you stop your auto, um, off the highway. And those are one of my favorite places to just grab a quick espresso down it and go. Or a, uh, coffee beverage.

Amanda:I know when I first. My very, very first day in Europe. We're on a Europe bender right now. My very first day in Europe was my first afternoon in Monaco and. And I went across the street from the little apartment that I was living in, um, and met my, at the time, my boss, who I was going to be working for, and his wife. And we met at the Cafe du Paris, which, you know, there's obviously one in Paris too.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda:But there's one in Monaco. And, uh, it's right by the casino in Monte Carlo. It's just your very typical, um, cafe bistro kind of thing. But I'll never forget going to that cafe and having a cafe au lait, um, you know, just sitting in the sun. And, uh, it was. I tried tartare for the first time there, which was all new to me at that age and that time. So that one really sticks out. I Think just because it was my very, very first moments in Europe. Um, so, yeah, that, that's one that sticks out to me. I'm trying to think of some other cafes.

Marco: One of my favorites is the one off of Oakwood. That what they did was they took an old house and you walk into the. As if you were walking into the door of a house and it's an espresso bar.

Amanda:Yeah. Do you remember the name of it?

Marco: I call it Acorn, but it's.

Amanda:And it has an acorn on it, but I believe it's called Oakwood Espresso, isn't it?

Marco: I think it's called Oakwood Espresso, but I called it Acorn and I made Amanda try to find.

Amanda:And he kept saying, look in the gps. Just type in Acorn.

Marco: Just type in there's one in Michigan.

Amanda:There's a place in Ohio. Actually, speaking of Ohio, there's an amazing cafe. As funny as this sounds, there's an amazing cafe in Akron, Ohio. Akron is a university town. A lot of great bands and music has come from Akron, from the Midwest, um, the Black Keys most recently. But there's lots of other ones too. And, and there's a place called Angel Hair Cafe in Akron, I believe. Uh, it's sort of a staple in Akron. And it was a beautiful cafe and it was one of those, I would say, like the quintessential, um, American university cafe experience. So huge delights, state squares and gluten free everything and every type of coffee and syrup imaginable, but done in a way that's very wholesome, homey, very lovely. I remember the staff there being lovely. And for me, that's a key part of any cafe experience. You want the warmth and the welcome.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda:Now Cafe du Paris was not that at all. It was the least warm thing. The waiters did not care about you at all. Um, but, um, Angel Hair Cafe, I believe that's what it's called. I'm gonna look it up just to be sure. I just remember the warmth of the people there, um, were so lovely and so sweet and, uh, it was a lovely experience. I haven't thought about that place in a while, so I hope it's still around.

Marco: What's so funny, Amanda, is we're getting to the end of our episode and we have like four other people who had things we wanted to talk about.

Amanda:Those are other episodes.

Marco: That's going to be other episodes. But I want to thank everyone who had topic topics that they brought forward on Instagram. Continue to do so. Thank you To T. We'll be talking about yours.

Amanda:Sorry, uh, you're not wrapping up, are you?

Marco: Soon? No, I've got time. But I just wanted to.

Amanda:I need to make a correction. I got the name wrong.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda:So can I just jump in? Of course you can. I'm sorry, T. I'm so sorry. But we will talk about yours. But it's called Angel Falls Coffee.

Marco: I see.

Amanda:There's no hair involved. No hair in your food. No hair in the title. Angel.

Marco: And they don't make angel hair pasta.

Amanda:They don't? That I know of. But see, like, look at the. When you just look at it, like the cinnamon buns and the lemon squares and just anything you could want of a baked goods coffee shop with Excell. Excellent coffee.

Marco: So it's called Angel.

Amanda:Angel Falls Coffee. Located Akron, Ohio.

Marco: Does it have the address there?

Amanda:Uh, sure, yeah. It's, um, 792 W. Market St. That's downtown. Downtown in Akron. I traveled all across the states. There's lots of cafes I could talk about, but that one really jumps out at me.

Marco: Cool. Well, once again, T, thank you for giving us a suggestion. Emma wanted to say that she. She gave us the suggestion from last week's episode, Birth Flowers and Their Meaning, and thought it was really hilarious how you were trying to pronounce their last name and.

Amanda:Did I get it right?

Marco: I don't think so.

Amanda:No one knows.

Marco: I think it's dolphin. I'm gonna guess Dolphin. There's a J in there, so it throws us off. Um, or throws me off.

Amanda:Love a silent J.

Marco: Who doesn't love a silent. Where do you. Where is.

Amanda:That'd be a great name for a cafe. Silent J.

Marco: Or a band.

Amanda:There used to be a cafe. Uh, I think it's still there in my. Called the Flying A. I've been to

Marco: flying Js, which are auto stops.

Amanda:Oh, okay. Well, there you go. You know what? I feel like there's so many more cafes to talk about, but maybe we can keep going in the Patreon episode and talk about more of cafes from around the world.

Marco: We'll do that for sure. Well, folks, thank you for joining us today, and we hope you were able to listen to our PBS coffee chat and fall asleep. If not, thank you for joining us and we'll see you next week. We hope you listened and you slept. I don't know. I didn't end it right.

Amanda:We hope you listen and, uh, sleep.

In this episode of The Insomnia Project, hosts Marco Timpano and Amanda Barker settle in for a light, meandering conversation about one of their shared guilty pleasures: game shows. This calming podcast episode explores the nostalgia and quiet comfort of classic television, as the hosts reflect on the shows they’ve watched over the years and the small rituals that come with following them. Their relaxing conversation moves gently through memories of watching Jeopardy and The Price Is Right, sharing personal stories, favourite moments, and the curious strategies viewers sometimes use when guessing answers from the couch. The slow rhythm of the discussion makes this episode ideal for background listening while you unwind, quiet racing thoughts, or ease anxiety before bed.
Along the way, Amanda shares her evolving relationship with Jeopardy, including a small lament about the show before rediscovering her appreciation for it. Marco talks about why The Price Is Right never quite felt like his game, even though he once had his own memorable experience connected to the show. The conversation also drifts into the world of lesser-known and delightfully odd Canadian game shows, including Bumper Stumpers and Mad Dash, as well as a brief look back at Alex Trebek and one of his earlier hosting roles. As always, the tone remains gentle, conversational, and comfortably mundane—perfect for listeners hoping to relax, wind down, and perhaps even fall asleep.

​Forest Bathing
(Original airdate: May 4, 2023)

Marco: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation about something that's in ordinary. Something that's, uh, you know, gentle, shall we say? Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.

Amanda: I'm Amanda Barker. Here I Am Amanda.

Marco: How are you doing today?

Amanda: I'm okay. I, uh, I've been searching through some Facebook groups that I belong to and discovering some things.

Marco: Like what? Have you discovered anything, uh, that you can share with us today?

Amanda: I mean, I. Sure, yeah. I've discovered that I have a lot of Facebook groups that are aimed toward retirement. And I think that's weird because it's not a word that I love.

Marco: I see. I didn't realize you had a lot

Amanda: of Facebook, um, groups either until this morning. I'm not sure how it happened, algorithms being what they are. You know, I think it's because I. I'm in a phase right now where I'm listening to a lot of financial books.

Marco: I see.

Amanda: I am a Virgo. And the reason I say this is Virgos are known for their organizational methods and to be analytical. So growing up I was a creative spirit. I think I still am. And because of that I was told and was that I was disorganized.

Marco: I see.

Amanda: So I was very disorganized. Like I couldn't. I was the kid that was always staying in to clean her room. And yet it never got cleaned.

Marco: I see.

Amanda: You know, as that kid. So what's interesting for me, and I think the first time I. I'm sure it's happened prior to this, but you and I. Well, we've just had a wedding anniversary.

Marco: That's right, we have.

Amanda: Thirteen years.

Marco: Thirteen. Lace, Lace, Lace.

Amanda: Oh my gosh. I haven't given you your gift.

Marco: It's okay.

Amanda: It's been days now.

Marco: I thought you lost it somewhere in the home.

Amanda: Oh, yeah. Okay. I'll look for it this morning. See, there we go. So disorganized.

Marco: Amanda put it somewhere very special.

Amanda: No idea where that is. Our house is not that big, dear friends.

Marco: It's really not that big.

Amanda: So there's not a lot of places that it can live. Live.

Marco: I know how that can happen. I've lost, you know. Um, mhm. Gift certificates in the house where it's like someone's given us gift certificates. I'm like, oh, I'll put this away when we're going to actually use them.

Amanda: And we used a gift certificate this week that I found.

Marco: Right.

Amanda: That did. I don't know if it ever really was officially missing in this house, but it wasn't located for a few years.

Marco: Yeah, it had gone.

Amanda: It had come and gone.

Marco: It had come and gone.

Amanda: And it came back again and we used it this week.

Marco: It's amazing how that sometimes happens. And all of a sudden it's like, oh, there it is. I've been looking for that for so long.

Amanda: And we can talk about that too. We went to a spa. It, uh, was a gift certificate I received for my birthday five years ago. Maybe for a pretty well known spa. About an hour or so, hour and a half north, two hours north of the city. And uh, we had a good time.

Marco: We had a great time. It's one of those spas where there's like the cold plunge pool and the heated pools and different types of saunas. There's the sauna, the wet sauna that has like aromas. I think it was eucalyptus was the aroma in that particular sauna.

Amanda: Mhm.

Marco: Areas where you could lay and read or sit and read.

Amanda: That actually was my favorite part.

Marco: I think, I think so too. And it's in a forested area, so you could. What do they call it?

Amanda: Forest bathing.

Marco: Forest bathing?

Amanda: Yeah, the Japanese art of forest bathing. There's lots of signs.

Marco: I didn't know it was a Japanese art.

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco: So tell me what you know about forest bathing.

Amanda: Well, uh, I think it's called Shinrin Yoku. So Shinrin meaning forest and Yoko meaning bath. So uh, it's the idea of bathing ourselves in the forest, taking it through our senses.

Marco: I didn't know this. So you just walk around the forest and just kind of admire your surroundings. And that's.

Amanda: Well, part of the ideology around it is opening our senses. So being in the forest with your hearing, your sight, your taste, your smell, your touch, allowing yourself to open up in all of those five ways, um, is really important. Uh, and it's part of, um, it's a concept anyway, in Japanese culture. I don't want to say it's the most popular thing in Japanese culture, but it's something that people certainly have latched onto in the last 10 years as being a thing that originates within a Japanese ideology.

Marco: We have dear friends who get up early every week, if not every day, and part of their day is spent forest bathing. And uh, we did not forest bathe at the spa.

Amanda: Well, I think we did though.

Marco: We did.

Amanda: We did. We sat in. I would argue that we did. We sat in. Because part of it isn't just like taking a walk through the forest, although that can be an example. But we sat on chairs a few times and, and looked out at the forest. There was a little pond.

Marco: Oh, that's right. That's right.

Amanda: That would be considered forest bathing.

Marco: Oh, I thought, I thought you had to actually like walk in the forest to bathe in it.

Amanda: No, I Don't think so. I mean, we were in the forest

Marco: and looking at it, but we were in the spa looking at the forest. So I don't know if that's.

Amanda: Well, the sign said that that's what we were doing.

Marco: Okay, so we'll take the sign at its face value and.

Amanda: But that was my favorite part, was actually just, um. The thing about this spa that I really loved is they made us put our phones away, so it was a no technology zone. We're all in robes. I think a lot of spas are like this.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: And so when you're sitting, you know, looking at a forest, at a pond, uh, we were looking at blue jays and orioles flying around.

Marco: That's right.

Amanda: You know, there is a real unfolding that happens, a real unwinding of your brain that happens because you are not distracting yourself with any technology or anything other than your own thoughts. It's a real meditation.

Marco: Sure. It certainly unfurls a lot of, um, things that you might be holding onto when you're submerged in water and letting the waterfall hit you in the back.

Amanda: And that's actual bathing, not forest bathing. But we were bathing in a forest, so maybe that counts.

Marco: Listen, if you can find a waterfall in a forest to hit your back, I say go make the forest your bathtub.

Amanda: Hey, what waterfalls have you been to in the world?

Marco: Niagara Falls, clearly, because it's very close.

Amanda: I was thinking of ones you can swim in and let the falls hit your back. I would not recommend doing that there.

Marco: No, no.

Amanda: Uh, they're majestic, though.

Marco: It's true.

Amanda: Everyone needs to go to Niagara Falls, Preferably. Sorry, I do have a bias. The Canadian side is more spectacular.

Marco: There you go. Write your letters to Amanda Barker, if you have.

Amanda: I've been to both. The American side is nice, too, but it's like the little cousin of the Canadian.

Marco: Right. Because ours is more of a horseshoe.

Amanda: Uh, it's majestic.

Marco: The most recent waterfalls I've been to were the waterfalls that, if anyone remembers the original series Fantasy island, at the very start of the show, a plane sort of drives or flies near a waterfall. And we were in Oahu and in Hawaii, and there were signs that said the Fantasy Island Fall. That's true.

Amanda: We were there. Yeah.

Marco: We drove to see them. So those were the most recent that I've seen. But I've never had the opportunity to bathe, really, in a river with the falls hitting me.

Amanda: So there's a few. There used to be one near, um, my house in New Brunswick that we used to climb and go To. I don't remember the name of it, but it was really close. And we would go to the top and go to the. It was quite a big waterfall. Oh, wow. Beautiful. Yeah. And if we were feeling adventurous, we would jump into the water. Um, although I only think we did that once. But, uh, more famous falls. Ocho Rios in Jamaica. Very famous waterfall there. Beautiful cascading falls there. And people routinely climb up it. But you can just sort of swim at the base as well.

Marco: I always see pictures of people, like, holding hands, climbing up.

Amanda: I wouldn't recommend that. And that is what they do. Cruise ship passengers, uh, every week do that. I used to watch them every week as I was working, uh, on the ship, but. But I've climbed it in my own time. A friend of mine back in the day, Catherine, she and I just climbed the falls, took lots of pictures, had a great time.

Marco: I guess you could consider that waterfall bathing.

Amanda: Yeah, for sure.

Marco: Nature's shower.

Amanda: So you've never been to one where you. An actual waterfall where you swam at the base? We have to make that happen?

Marco: No, only in, like, you know how some pools have that as a feature, as a water feature? That's the only time I've ever really done that.

Amanda: Yeah. Yeah. We have some friends. I think that one of their pools. They have beautiful pools and beautiful homes. And, uh, I feel like they had one that had that. I think.

Marco: I think so. I can't recall. Anyways. Um. Yeah, so I haven't been to many falls. Like, I haven't been to Victoria Falls in Africa or, you know, other spectacular falls. And what's funny is there is a drive near us on the way to Hamilton, which is a city about an hour and 20 minutes away from us. There's a drive that takes you to many falls.

Amanda: Why don't we do that? We should do that maybe this weekend.

Marco: Maybe. Might be a great idea.

Amanda: Actually on Saturday, maybe.

Marco: Yeah. Ah, and then there's that butter, um, tart store that we can go to.

Amanda: I see. I see. A trip. We'll hike the falls.

Marco: Yes.

Amanda: And the butter tart will be our Canadian reward.

Marco: Yes.

Amanda: Yeah. I'm trying to think of other falls. I've been to Puerto Rico.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: There's a nice one outside of San Juan that. That I remember going to.

Marco: What makes the falls. What makes falls impressive to you? Is it the amount of water? Is it the height? Could it be the color of the water?

Amanda: I think all of these things.

Marco: The splash quotient on the way down.

Amanda: Splash quotient?

Marco: Yeah. Like how important Is the backsplash from the falls hitting its surface, whether it be water or rock for you.

Amanda: Well, I think one of the things you have to understand about a waterfall is that it really, the time of year that you visit it is going to determine the amount of splash ratio to pool. Because generally speaking, I mean, I think there was one, a little tiny one behind my house in New Brunswick even.

Marco: How many falls were you close to in your hot.

Amanda: Remember, I was an hour from Grand Falls, which is a very big falls. That's the name of the town is

Marco: Grand Falls, New Brunswick. I've been there with you.

Amanda: Mhm. But there are many, many others in the woods. And behind our house there was a little one, like a little sort of stream, more of a stream and a pool. But if you go in May, then it's going to be quite a bit because the runoff and the snow and all of that. And then if you go at the end of the summer, some of these majestic falls can be much lower down to a trickle. So it really does depend if they're not, you know, artificially made, like with a dam, which many falls are. So it really does depend on, um, the time of year. I think, at least in this country.

Marco: That's what I was gonna, I was gonna say. Are you, are you making that assumption because we live in a country where the weather affects the rate of waterfall?

Amanda: I would say no, because I've been to falls in Bali as well, um, in Indonesia. And that falls, uh, in general, if they're coming from a freshwater source, fresh water in general, it really does depend on the time of the year because if it is the rainy season, so we have snow that melts and that creates a big fall in Canada most parts. But the rainy season anywhere is going to do much the same thing. And then of course, a drier season in the fall, generally speaking, or. Well, in Asia, the rainy season is the fall. So it does depend. But I think you have to look seasonally at how much water there is because that's going to determine it. Right.

Marco: M. But M, My question was still, what impresses you or what do you value in a waterfall?

Amanda: I like swimming in a waterfall.

Marco: I see.

Amanda: Okay. I like when there's little fish in the waterfall. That's fun for me.

Marco: Um, does it matter if it's secluded or not for you? Or does that matter?

Amanda: Yeah, I think more secluded is more magical. Right, right. I do think there's something to be said about hiking a long way to find a natural phenomenon.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: Remember when we hiked for two hours to find the green beach in Hawaii on the Big Island.

Marco: I do. And I was grateful that we took a, um, Jeep back.

Amanda: Yeah, me too. A Jeep driven by a girl who was watching Netflix on a cracked, um, iPad, and she was watching Working Moms, which is a show shot here where a lot of. We have a lot of friends in it. So we both had to laugh at that. But, um. Yeah. Yeah, I think, uh. I think having to hike to something, having no public access to something. Not to say that you should go places that are, you know, sectioned off, um, but that makes a difference. Remember Ellore Gorge? We went there last summer.

Marco: That's right. Yes.

Amanda: There's. I think there's falls there.

Marco: Uh, there was definitely moving water.

Amanda: So I imagine the gorge, I think, is like a low. That's more like an Ocho Rios kind of falls.

Marco: I see. That was the first gorge I've ever been to.

Amanda: Do we know the definition of gorge?

Marco: Gorge is. I. I think I looked it up. I feel like we actually talked about it probably on the podcast, and I looked it up.

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco: But it's kind of like a little valley or something.

Amanda: Like a. I don't know how we got on waterfalls today. I guess because we were talking about forest bathing and the waterfalls that, uh, at the spa. But, uh, yeah, I mean, we should maybe make a plan to go to some more waterfalls and make that our. A new. That's a good resolution for summer.

Marco: Yeah, we'll do that for sure. That sounds like fun. I was making plans with a friend of mine who's an architect, and I think we're gonna drive to Buffalo, New York, where there's a lot of Frank Lloyd Wright houses.

Amanda: I would love to go.

Marco: Or Franklin. Franklin Lloyd Wright, as I like to call it. And we're gonna go see some of the boys trip.

Amanda: I'm not allow.

Marco: Well, um, maybe it's okay.

Amanda: You can go without me.

Marco: We'll see. We'll see. That was a plan we were making. Um, and, uh, we'll see if it happens. But I would really like that, because I do like going to a destination with a planned purpose, so that you're like, okay, we're here this weekend to experience this. I remember one time, uh, when I was in Rome. So I was in Rome for. There was a. I want to say for work, but I can't. Anyways, I was in Rome, and I was staying with a friend. M. And I had been to Rome before, and Rome is wonderful, as you can imagine. But I didn't need to go see the sites that I had already seen, Coliseum, etc. Uh, so instead I said, oh, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to go to as many different fountains as I can. Speaking of running water, sort of, um, the city's waterfall, if you will.

Amanda: Mhm.

Marco: Because, you know, everyone knows the Trevi Fountain. Every, a lot of people know the, the fountains in the, you know, the, the Bernini fountains in the piazzas. And I was, I, I was, I said to myself, I want to see as many as I can, the unknown fountains, uh, the ones that don't have the same sort of prestige as say, the Trevi Fountain. And so I spent my days, just my day of, uh, my few days there, just wandering around, taking photos in front of fountains that I wouldn't have ordinarily seen. And in a way I was city bathing, uh, just looking for those, looking for those, uh, monuments.

Amanda: Well, I believe in city bathing. I used to believe that a relaxing vacation just wasn't possible when you're visiting a city for three days. That, that was that, you know, visiting a city for three days was the opposite of a relaxing vacation. But I've changed my mind, okay. In the last few years, I really have learned about us and about myself that going to see the sights in a city, it can be the most relaxing thing. And yes, even if you're walking and have a lot on your itinerary, depending, I think if you're open like you are with forest bathing, if all five of your senses, your touch, your smell, your taste, your hearing, your sight, if all of that is open as you stroll through a new city, new town, new location, then, uh, there's an adventure that can unfold for you if you're open to it. I really do believe that. And I think that going to a museum can be the most relaxing thing. Um, or, you know, going strolling down a busy street even, can be the most relaxing thing. And the reason I say that is because it is taking you out of what you know and it's giving your routine, everyday brain. Sure, that can be filled with tasks and errands and to do lists, and it's allowing you to park that and let it just sit. It's not going to hurt anyone where it is and allowing you to take a vacation from that and to just be open to absorbing yourself into something new, whatever is in front of you. So if it's a museum, which I love museums, um, for this exact reason, then, you know, you might go into a Picasso exhibit.

Marco: Yeah. At a gallery. Like art bathe, in a way, Art bathe.

Amanda: Like you and I when we went to the Leonard Cohen exhibit or when I went to frida Kahlo's house 10 years ago. That was a very, uh, immersive experience. It was art bathing for sure.

Marco: And you come out of that gallery, ah, or museum feeling as though you've been rejuvenated or refreshed or, uh, with a wash of serenity.

Amanda: It almost can feel like your molecular structure has been reorganized in a way that you can see things differently or maybe for the next day or two at least, experience things a little bit differently because you're seeing it through somebody else's eyes or through another culture's eyes. I think that's really important. So now, you know, when you and I planned our honeymoon, we're both travelers or we like to travel, I should say.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: Um, you know, it was a big decision because we were. And everyone said, you just want to relax, you want to relax, you want to relax. So we eventually booked two weeks. Beautiful. Two weeks on a private island, an all inclusive place. And what I learned about myself in that trip, although I wouldn't take anything back, it was a beautiful time. But I realized that if we had gone to a country we'd never been to and driven around and had that experience, that's only exhausting if you're not into it.

Marco: Right.

Amanda: You know, it's not exhausting if it's rejuvenating, if it's what you want to experience, see, and do. Um, I mean, for me, the ultimate vacation is something where you get to do all of it. Because I love a beach too. Don't get me wrong.

Marco: It should be noted that when Amanda does vacation, she always prefers to have a bath in her hotel room.

Amanda: Always.

Marco: You are a bather.

Amanda: It's so I'm a bather bather.

Marco: You're a proper bather bather.

Amanda: I'm a forest bather, I'm a city bather, I'm an art bather, and I'm a water bather.

Marco: So if we're going to talk about. If we're going to end the podcast with you as a bather bather.

Amanda: Okay.

Marco: What do you value in a bathtub? Your ideal bathtub, Whether it be in a hotel room, in your home, in a destination, et cetera.

Amanda: All right, first things first. It's better if it's nice and clean.

Marco: Well, yes. Okay, let's assume. Let's assume they're all clean.

Amanda: Depth.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: I like a good amount of depth. The more depth, the better. The ideal bathtub would go right up to my neck.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: And just surround my entire. Every ounce of skin other than my mouth with water over my head, you know? Um, so depth would be a big one. Smoothness. Oh, smoothness is big. Because if you're going to be in it for a while, you know, you. Some. I've been in a lot of bathtubs, and some of the older metal ones that were built in the 60s and 70s, they can wear over time, and they're not as smooth.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: A good porcelain usually will hold its integrity. Um, and then there's some that are more recent that are. I want to say they're plastic. I don't even know.

Marco: Yeah, there's a lot of plastic tubs anyway.

Amanda: I'll do any of them.

Marco: Like a hard plastic. Like a fiberglass.

Amanda: Exactly is what I would call it. And I don't mind a metal tub either, but, um, I've been in a wooden tub.

Marco: Oh, you have?

Amanda: In Korea, in the hotel room, there was a wooden tub. I was obsessed with it.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: Yeah. Um, it seemed to do the trick. It was fine. Yeah.

Marco: So what about, um, places near you in the tub that you can place your. Your items that you bring in?

Amanda: I love it. If I can put my feet up.

Marco: I see.

Amanda: And sometimes if I make myself too hot, then I like to be able to swing my legs over for a little bit of relief.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: Broiling. But I don't want to get out. Sure. I, um, do love a place where I can put some reading material. Reading in the bath or in the forest. Bath is. Is, uh, a great joy.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: As I think we've. I'm sure I've talked about it here before.

Marco: I notice you're not mentioning claw foots or the aesthetics of the tub. It sounds like that's not as important to you.

Amanda: That's important for me as somebody who has a bathroom in their home, but. Or, uh, you know, in my home and my apartment. In years past, actually, I don't think I've ever lived anywhere without a bathtub. No. The only place that I've lived without a bathtub for any length of time anyway was, um, the cruise ship. When you and I lived on the cruise ship, there was a tiny little shower, and I would sit at the bottom of that shower and pretend it was a bathroom. I can imagine how tiny it was because it was a small room to begin with. And then the bathrooms are quite petite.

Marco: Yeah. It's one of those kind of like corrugated plastic doors that you just kind of pull and you're standing there almost like Superman in a phone booth.

Amanda: Corrugated plastic. Because it's metal. It was a metal door. It was a folding door. Yeah.

Marco: Oh, it was a folding door. Okay.

Amanda: Sorry. You make it. I'm picturing like the kind of yellowed with the crack on the top, you

Marco: know, the ones that you pull and it kind of makes a concave.

Amanda: Uh, yeah, that's what I.

Marco: That's what I thought it was some old photos, I don't remember.

Amanda: I think it was a metal door.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: I think everything in there was metal because remember, the magnets would stick to everything.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: But in any event, I mean, it was basically an airport bathroom with a tiny shower.

Marco: Yeah.

Amanda: Be great if they had showers on airplanes. I'm sure some do.

Marco: I think some do.

Amanda: Yeah. Not ones that I pay for. Right.

Marco: Fair enough.

Amanda: Not my $106 special.

Marco: So I could picture you in a bathtub in the middle of a forest with a waterfall behind you.

Amanda: I'm not gonna say that I wouldn't love that.

Marco: Right.

Amanda: I have bathed outside a little bit, I think. I think, um, you know, in olden days, the oldest people in the oldest person in the house would get the bath first. So they say. I don't know, I went on some tour somewhere and they said that. And that the baby would be the last one. Like it would go by age. And that's where the expression throw the baby out with the bath water.

Marco: Sure. So when you say olden days, what exactly does that mean in olden days?

Amanda: When I say olden days, I'm thinking like Little House on the Prairie. I'm thinking like 1800s.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: You know, and they churned butter. But that's a really North American perspective on things. Eurocentric North American perspective.

Marco: So I don't know what Eurocentric. Because I'm sure in Europe when they think olden days, they probably don't think 1800s.

Amanda: That's probably more recent.

Marco: I think they think, uh, you know, this aqueduct was built in, you know, 10 BC or AD kind of thing. Exactly.

Amanda: Yeah. Their timelines are a little bit different, but, uh, that's my New England sensibility, I suppose.

Marco: Fair enough. Well, listen, listeners, thank you for joining us today on our bath episode. Bathing episode. I don't know because I think we've done episodes on baths.

Amanda: But forest bathing, forest bathing, art bathing, art bathing. I love the idea of art bathing, actually. I'm going to really embrace that even more. I've never put it in those terms, but now that you and I have coined this magical phrase. I'm going to invite more art baith. More art baths into my life.

Marco: Sure. Uh, I would invite our listeners as well. Go to your gallery or your museum and see if they have a membership. That, uh, is something you might want to join, because what we found is at our art gallery, if you join and become a member, it's actually less expensive to go more than once in a year. And you can access your art bath anytime you want.

Amanda: Well, you and I have only used it, I think, once or twice, and it expires next month, so we better.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: Go bathe in some art.

Marco: We're gonna bathe in some art. Until next time. We hope you are able to listen. Maybe get a bath in there and sleep.