In Hung Up and Ironed Out — Ironing Tips, Marco and Amanda settle into a softly spoken exploration of one of life’s most ordinary rituals: ironing. What might seem purely practical becomes surprisingly soothing as they walk through heat settings, fabric types, and the quiet satisfaction of smoothing out stubborn wrinkles. From debating the merits of starch to laughing over the pronunciation of “hanger,” their gentle banter keeps the tone light and companionable.
They share small, methodical tips — matching heat to fabric, working in order, using steam wisely, and even lining the ironing board with foil for efficiency — all delivered at an unhurried pace. There’s something calming about the steady rhythm of long, smooth strokes and the simple act of caring for clothes.
As always, this calming podcast is designed to help you fall asleep, ease anxiety, or quiet racing thoughts. The conversation is relaxed and intentionally low-stakes, making it perfect for background listening at bedtime or during a middle-of-the-night wake-up. Let the familiar hum of domestic routine and easy humour guide you gently toward rest.

​Hung up and Ironed out -- Ironing tips
(Original airdate: July 17, 2024)


Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I'm Amanda Barker and I'm smelling your hand

Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation that's meant to help you find your way to sleep in whatever shape or form that becomes. Thank you for listening. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.

Amanda:  I'm Amanda Barker and I'm smelling my hand.

Marco:  Why are you smelling your hand?

Amanda:  I don't usually use the hand soap down Here. And it has quite a particular smell.

Marco:  Good or bad?

Amanda:  good in small doses.

Marco:  I see. Okay. Well, I hope it's in a small dose. What flavor is it?

Amanda:  It's the flavor of gardenia.

Marco:  Oh, okay.

Amanda:  Yummy, yummy.

Marco:  Gardenia can be strong scented.

Amanda:  It can be. Yeah. This is a soap.

Marco:  I remember one of my friends wanted it as her prom corsage.

Amanda:  they were really big in the 90s.

Marco:  Were they?

Amanda:  Yeah.

Marco:  I didn't realize that.

Amanda:  Yeah, they were.

Marco:  It's not my favorite scent of flowers, that's for sure.

Amanda:  What does a gardenia look like?

Marco:  It's kind of like a white, mini peonies almost. Look it up if you want. And it kind of has a flouncy look to it.

Amanda:  Oh, flouncy. Unlike those stern flowers that everybody's into.

Marco:  Well, there are some stern, sturdy flowers.

Amanda:  What would you call a stern flower?

Marco:  well, a sturdy flower I would say is a. Is a, Anthurium would be sturdy. It could hold up to a little bit of joseline. Stern. A stern flower would be like, something prickly or that has sharp edges, like, bird of paradise.

Amanda:  So colorful though.

Marco:  Okay, so stern for you is something that's like one color and one color only.

Amanda:  Yeah. Bird of paradise could be both. I mean, you can be colorful and stern. I've known people that have been both very colorful and very stern. So.

Marco:  Yeah, I'm trying to think of a flower that's not delicate, that can take a little bit of,

Amanda:  I'm with you.

Marco:  Chrysanthemum, maybe?

Amanda:  Sure. Also an interesting scent.

Marco:  Yeah.

Amanda:  We had soap. That scent.

Marco:  Really?

Amanda:  We did, yeah. Remember? My sister loved it. And then we had about half a thing left. I took it up to the cottage.

Marco:  I see. Okay.

Amanda:  So that's the history. Do you know the other flowers in our other bathrooms? You know the other. It sounds like we have so many bathrooms, it's just so not the case.

Marco:  But I don't. I know that the kitchen has soap that smells like them. That smells like orange.

Amanda:  Yeah. So that one is called daisy. So that's supposed to be the smell of daisies.

Marco:  Okay. But the actual soap that we use for dishes smells like orange.

Amanda:  Oh, yeah. Okay. But that's not hand soap.

Marco:  Daisies don't have a smell.

Amanda:  Smell it. And you might think otherwise because you're really like, oh, that does smell like a daisy.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda:  Hm. Fresh as a daisy.

Marco:  I guess.

Amanda:  And then we have rose in the second floor bathroom. Rose.

Marco:  You have to be light. Light touch with rose and gardenia and gardenia for sure. Yeah.

Amanda:  Light touch. They're friends. Yeah, the light touch.


Flowers. I love lilac, but only when it's the real deal

Flowers. And then upstairs, I'm trying to remember. Is it lavender?

Marco:  No, it's not lavender.

Amanda:  Oh, no, no. I don't remember.

Marco:  I can't. I feel like it's a, winter green or some sort of like.

Amanda:  Like a eucalyptus or something.

Marco:  Something like that.

Amanda:  I think it's a flower also. What did your mouth just do?

Marco:  What do you mean?

Amanda:  Did you not hear that?

Marco:  No. I'll have to listen.

Amanda:  You'll hear it when you listen back.

Marco:  Okay. Well, there you go.

Amanda:  Sounds like Donald Duck.

Marco:  Is there a flower that you do do like the scent of that? You're like, this is the flower that

Amanda:  I. I love a lilac, but only when it's the real deal.

Marco:  I see.

Amanda:  And I love an orange blossom, too, so I'll go with those.

Marco:  When it's a real deal or also when it's not.

Amanda:  Mostly when it's the real deal. But it's hard to find the real deal with orange blossoms. Now, sure, orange groves ain't what they used to be.

Marco:  That is the truth.

Amanda:  At least near my parents. They used to have tons, but they've been,

Marco:  They've called back.

Amanda:  Called back. There were blights and things. And now they're gonna be, I think, condos. So.

Marco:  Okay, there you go. I'm sure there's orange groves. You just have to find them.

Amanda:  Yeah, just not near my parents.

Marco:  Yeah, fair enough.


Men are at a disadvantage when it comes to ironing, according to experts

Okay, so I wanted to talk to you about tips, on ironing.

Amanda:  Well, that's going to be all you, because I don't. That's my tip.

Marco:  Don't iron.

Amanda:  Don't.

Marco:  Okay. Or buy fabrics that don't work well,

Amanda:  buy some rayon and call it a day. That's my hot tip on ironing. I don't iron. There's a few things I own that would maybe require it. And what I do is I'll take them to a hotel where it just seems easier to iron, and I might iron them there, if at all. And usually I end up getting rid of them because I'm like, ugh, I don't want that shirt. I have to iron it.

Marco:  I, on the other hand, iron.

Amanda:  I don't think men have a choice.

Marco:  Yeah, it's true.

Amanda:  And I think we just need to say that you're at a disadvantage when it comes to ironing. Women can. And I know this to be true because I am one. And I wear suits, I wear button down shirts, but I do as much as I want natural fibers. I Gotta be honest, I buy non natural fibers. I just m. Try to buy them all secondhand and I try to wear them until I can't wear them anymore.

Marco:  I have to go to the cleaners tomorrow to pick up my suits because I have them dry cleaned.

Amanda:  That's right. Oh, I ordered belts, by the way.

Marco:  Okay, that's good to know. What kind of belts?

Amanda:  Stretchy ones. I need stretchy belts.

Marco:  Thick belts or thin belts?

Amanda:  Thick.


Do you remember when eel skin was really popular

Marco:  Do you remember when eel skin was really popular?

Amanda:  Oh, my gosh, no.

Marco:  You don't remember Eelskin? Yeah. Eel skin wallets, eel skin belts.

Amanda:  What year was that?

Marco:  In the, in the eel years? In the Ely years. the 80s, 80s, 90s. Eel skin was like all the rage where I grew up. Eel. Like the little, snake like creature.

Amanda:  The eel.

Marco:  Like the eel. E E L Eel.

Amanda:  Was it a byproduct of people? Because I don't remember eating eel ever. And then next thing you know, it's like every sushi place is giving you some eel.

Marco:  Eel is great.

Amanda:  Well, it's over farmed, I think, actually.

Marco:  Well, it depends on the eel that you get.

Amanda:  I see. I don't know enough about that, but I definitely don't remember that time of the late 80s, early 90s where eel skin was all the rage. I missed that fact.

Marco:  I had an eel skin wallet. It was fantastic.

Amanda:  why don't they make them anymore? Why don't I see these things?

Marco:  Because eels are over farmed, I guess. I don't know why, but it went out of fashion.

Amanda:  I mean, it'd be great for all the sushi eels if we were making wallets out of the skin. It just feels like it's getting going in a weird place.


Different fabrics need different heat settings, Amanda. Check the level on your garment

Marco:  All right, let me go to the ironing board.

Amanda:  Please, please go and, I'll just lay back and listen.

Marco:  Great. So some of the tips I've received online I agree with, and some not as much. So heated up. Right. Is one of them controversy. Different fabrics need different heat settings, Amanda. I don't know if you know that. So with your nylon or fake fabrics, you want to heat low because you'll melt them. Because you'll melt them.

Amanda:  But here's the thing. I want to heat.

Marco:  No. Okay.

Amanda:  Because I'm not going to iron them. I.

Marco:  We. We understand, but linens and things, you have to turn up the heat.

Amanda:  All right?

Marco:  And you've got to be careful because if you turn up the heat on the iron and you. You're not aware, you could actually, you could actually burn your clothes. So just Be careful with that. Check the level on your garment, Amanda, to avoid, scorching or melting your shirts or whatever you're ironing.

Amanda:  I just gave Marco a sip of my coffee, which hopefully won't keep him up all night, but that's what I brought into the booth just because I feel like his mouth is a little bit on the noisy side.

Marco:  A little dry tonight.

Amanda:  You got some eels in your mouth.


You need starch to iron Marco's shirts

Marco:  Okay, work in. Order iron clothes in a specific order to save time and avoid re. Wrinkling. A common approach is to start with starched items. I love starching the collars of my shirt.

Amanda:  Amanda, what year is it? You starch your shirts?

Marco:  The collar? Of course I do.

Amanda:  We've been married 14 years. I didn't know this. Where do you keep the starch?

Marco:  I have it on our shelf by the, washing machine.

Amanda:  No one has so many things. I'm always like, why is there so many things on the shelf? It's like, what does one need? A stain remover? A Basta?

Marco:  No, no. You need starch. Remember I was so excited when we found starch on sale?

Amanda:  Oh, yeah.

Marco:  At the superstore. I bought three, so I'm really happy.

Amanda:  Exciting day in our marriage, folks.

Marco:  Well, I'm telling you, I was looking for starch, and starch is not inexpensive, so I was happy.

Amanda:  I would argue it's not easy to find because there's not legions of people that are like, starched shirt night. Like, I think people don't do that anymore. I feel like it's, like, from Mad Men.

Marco:  No. People starch their shirt. People with class starch their shirt.

Amanda:  Now, here's a question. Could you. If you're like, ah, I'm out of starch. Got a starch shortage in my house. Could you take starch from other sources, I.e. pasta, water,

Marco:  and what, like, drink it and then spray it on your. On your shirt?

Amanda:  I think you skip the drinking, and you just put it in the bottle and spray it. That would have starch, wouldn't it?

Marco:  Well, I mean, I. I don't know. I think.

Amanda:  Isn't that what starch is?

Marco:  I think it would leave a residue.

Amanda:  I mean, probably.

Marco:  Okay, so this isn't about. Let's find things to use to starch Marco's shirts. I have beautiful starch that I spray on my collar and I iron. Okay, here's another tip. Master your moves. Use long, smooth strokes with the iron. Glide it across the fabric. Amanda, avoid pressing down too hard or making choppy movements which can wrinkle or stretch the garment.

Amanda:  Well, that's me. Every time I do it, it's, chop a thon.

Marco:  Amanda doesn't hang her suits after she takes it off, and it drives me a little bit crazy.

Amanda:  Oh, my God. You're throwing me under the bus. For all of our listeners. I do, also. I do as much as you do. No, I hang my suits all over my stuff. You hang them?

Marco:  No, I brought my suits to be dry cleaned, so that's why I didn't hang them this last time. Okay.

Amanda:  Sometimes I go into the spare room and it's a suit. A thon. With your suits not being hung on the bed and other places.

Marco:  I think you're mistaken.

Amanda:  Sometimes you're like, you know where I want to hang this suit? On this door knob. I think I'm going to leave it here for months.

Marco:  Perfect place on the hanger. I do that with the hanger.

Amanda:  Oh, say hanger again.

Marco:  Hanger.

Amanda:  No. Is that how you say it?

Marco:  Hanger.

Amanda:  Like it rhymes with anger?

Marco:  Hanger.

Amanda:  Hanger, hanger.

Marco:  Like I'm a hanger.

Amanda:  I'm feeling a little hanger tonight.

Marco:  No, I hang my suit on a hanger. What do you say?

Amanda:  Hanger. I don't say the G. It's

Marco:  not a silent g. Hanger, hanger, hanger. No, I put my suit on the hangar. Don't laugh into the microphone. I put the suit on the hanger.

Amanda:  This isn't real.

Marco:  Okay. What kind of steak? If you get a hanger steak, what do you say?


You say a word very differently than me. What do you say? Hanger

Amanda:  I don't. I say hanger. Put it in the put. The airplane goes into the hangar. I don't say into the hangar. Are you kidding me?

Marco:  No. The airplane goes into the hangar.

Amanda:  Oh, my gosh. I've never heard you say this.

Marco:  Pass me the metal hanger. No, that's what I say.

Amanda:  I'm really not. 14 years we've been married. 16 probably. I think we've been together. That's a long time for me to not know that. You say a word very differently than me.

Marco:  What do you say? Hanger. Hanger. What do you say?

Amanda:  I don't pronounce the G. All G. Like it's a soft G. Like lasagna.

Marco:  No, it's not ng. It's g. Oh, I guess it is ng.

Amanda:  It is ng.

Marco:  Okay, It's N G. But it's not an Italian word.

Amanda:  I don't say lasagna.

Marco:  Yeah, because that's an Italian word.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  Hanger is an Italian word.

Amanda:  Hanger is hang. Do you say you hang?

Marco:  I hang. I hang. My clothes.

Amanda:  No, you don't pronounce the G when you hang your clothes.

Marco:  Let's play hangman. What do you say?

Amanda:  Hangman. No, I don't. No.

Marco:  What do you say?

Amanda:  Hangman.

Marco:  Hangman.

Amanda:  Wait, say it again.

Marco:  Let's play hangman.

Amanda:  Say it again. Say it slow.

Marco:  Let's play hangman.

Amanda:  Well, I didn't hear it there.

Marco:  Well, okay, listen, wait, just say, like,

Amanda:  hey, babe, I gotta hang my clothes.

Marco:  Hey, Amanda, I'm going to hang my clothes and hang your clothes.

Amanda:  That doesn't have the G. It has

Marco:  the G. It has the G. For

Amanda:  real, you say hanger?

Marco:  Hanger. Yeah, I think. I'm pretty sure I do. You'll have to catch me off guard because now I'm hyper focused on it. Okay, this isn't a bit about.

Amanda:  Oh, it's not a bit. This is real.

Marco:  This is.

Amanda:  This is real life, folks. This is our. If I had a YouTube camera channel. And I'm like, look at my marriage, everybody. And we have all these followers, and I'm like, look what my husband does. There's people that do that and they make millions.

Marco:  Well, okay, I don't think we would.

Amanda:  It's not us, but our life would be so boring.


I have a friend who swears by washing all her clothes inside out

Marco:  Can I go back to my tips?

Amanda:  Sure. Or your tip.

Marco:  All right, all right.

Amanda:  Do it.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda:  Don't put your hands on your hips, on your hip. Don't hang your head in despair.

Marco:  How do you say drawer?

Amanda:  Okay, that's not fair.

Marco:  It's not. Okay. All right. I won't get Amanda to say it because she. She doesn't know how to say it.

Amanda:  Drawer.

Marco:  She comes from a land where they don't know how to say drawer. Okay. Befriend the inside out. Amanda. this is something I don't do, but I should do. Iron. Clothes inside out can protect buttons, your buttons in particular. When I iron your clothes can be a little bit tricky.

Amanda:  I have a friend, her name is Viviana Zurillo. Very talented theater, actress, and she. Oh, and she's also in the next step, so I guess she does more than theater. Anyway, she swears she's very frugal. She's taught me a few lovely frugal tips. And she swears by washing all of your clothes inside out. She doesn't put anything in the. In the washing machine that isn't inside out.

Marco:  She's right.

Amanda:  Is she?

Marco:  Yeah. a lot of your clothes I. I put inside out.

Amanda:  What? Really?

Marco:  Yeah. In particular, black clothes that I want the clothes to remain black.

Amanda:  Oh, wow.

Marco:  Or some of your Fancier clothes. I'll pull them inside out. And jeans, too. It's good to have them inside out.

Amanda:  Really?

Marco:  Yeah. It keeps them blue longer.

Amanda:  Oh, wow. Okay.

Marco:  I do that often. I'm surprised.

Amanda:  Here I thought it was this magical tip that shows you how much laundry I do.

Marco:  Exactly.

Amanda:  Keep going.

Marco:  Okay, so, as soon as you finish ironing an item, hang, it up immediately to prevent wrinkles from setting in.

Amanda:  I heard the G there.

Marco:  If hanging isn't an option, neatly fold the garment while it's still warm, which I try to do.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  I love folding garments when they're still warm. Sometimes I'll throw a warm towel on Amanda, who's lying down while I'm folding clothes.

Amanda:  That's what I do. That's what I bring to the. To the laundry.


You go through different phases with your folding

I have a question about. I'm trying to remember my question. You. And this is not meant as a dig. It's meant as a curious exploratory question, truly. But it's gonna sound like a dick. You go through different phases with your folding. Can you talk a little bit about that? Because I'm often curious about that.

Marco:  I don't know what you say about phases.

Amanda:  Phases you went through when you went through your spark, joy. what's her name?

Marco:  Maria Kondo. Yes.

Amanda:  Marie.

Marco:  Marie Kondo.

Amanda:  Maria Kondo. It's the Italian version. when you, went through that phase, you were very specific with me on how I had to fold everything. We had to fold it like her, which is a very specific way of folding.

Marco:  You're not a good folder at all.

Amanda:  Okay. This was meant to be a curious, exploratory conversation, but you went for the jugular. I do my best. Okay. I'm not gonna tell you I'm, expert, but I do my best. Anyway, you institute in this house, and you were very strict about it that we do her style of folding. And I do.

Marco:  Yeah, for the most part, I do her fold. Her style.

Amanda:  When you bring your laundry up and stuff and you folded it, none of it is folded like that anym. You did do that for a while. You even made a YouTube video about it. And then with Matt, whenever. That video is who. You and Matt Campagna did, a YouTube video about how to fold your clothes like Marie Kondo.

Marco:  I think we did. Yeah.

Amanda:  The fact that you guys did that is something that we could also explore.

Marco:  The shirts are hard to fold her way.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  And. And I don't fold pants because I hang pants, so I don't even.

Amanda:  Jeans.

Marco:  Yeah, I hang jeans.

Amanda:  Okay. Well, I don't.

Marco:  I have a drawer, full of jeans. No, I hang my jeans and jeans. When you pull them out of the dryer, if they're a little bit damp, you can hang them and they'll dry straight, which is really nice. But what don't I fold like Marie Kondo?

Amanda:  Well, jeans, underwear, which I could care less.

Marco:  The crotch is weird when you fold pants her way.

Amanda:  Well, I do it because you made me do it. This happens sometimes. You institute a rule.

Marco:  It's true.

Amanda:  And then you bet you bail on the rule. And I'm years later, here I am a decade later, I'm still doing it.

Marco:  But aren't you richer for folding your jeans that way?

Amanda:  I don't think so.

Marco:  How would you fold them if you weren't folding normal way, which is not

Amanda:  folding the crotch up and then folding

Marco:  the sides in, which is what?

Amanda:  Just the way the good old American folding.

Marco:  Roll it up in a ball. Like, roll it up like a sausage.

Amanda:  I don't do a ton of rolling when I pack. I roll. But in drawers that we've established. I can't say drawers, drawers. the reason I can't say it. I think we've talked about this on the show before, but if you're new to my mouth. I'm from Massachusetts. I grew up saying, draw, put it in the draw. So in the draw. So sometimes I still say draw.

Marco:  And what's funny is Amanda will tell you to draw a picture.

Amanda:  It's not true. so, yes, I do get hung up on that. I get hung up on that word. But in any event, I forget where we're going this. And I guess nowhere good. But, I just. I noticed that you instituted folding, and I'm still doing it. And you've done something else, and I'm doing folding the way I learned in my house.

Marco:  Good.


I like to fold underwear. If I had time, I would iron our underwear

Well, we can continue to do that.

Amanda:  Okay. Also, I did grow up in a house where you didn't. You never folded underwear.

Marco:  Oh, really?

Amanda:  None of us folded underwear. Oh, my parents. My mom would never fold underwear. She would say, what a waste of time.

Marco:  No, I like to fold underwear.

Amanda:  Shove it in the drawer just like that.

Marco:  Just like. Like a box of tissue. You pull it out.

Amanda:  Yeah, yeah. No, I also. And this is not.

Marco:  If I had. If I had time, I would iron our underwear.

Amanda:  Oh, my God. Really? Yeah.

Marco:  It's so great to put on a freshly ironed pair of underwear.

Amanda:  Yes.

Marco:  Wonderful.

Amanda:  Well, when we're rich with our YouTube channel of our boring life called this Boring Life, this boring Canadian life. then we can hire somebody to fold our underwear or to iron and fold our underwear.

Marco:  I wish I had time to iron sheets.

Amanda:  That's fair.

Marco:  It takes so long. Iron sheets are so wonderful. And I don't. I've done it. I've done it a few times. When we have guests, I usually iron the sheets.

Marco:  And I really love ironed sheets. And so it's just a lot of work.

Marco:  And if, if, if I could, maybe I'll start ironing sheets. I'll put a program on an iron sheets.

Amanda:  I mean, do it for you. Don't do it for me.

Marco:  Of course I do it for me.


Never iron dirty clothes, Amanda says. Your dirt and stains can leave permanent marks

Amanda:  Okay, next tip.

Marco:  Never iron dirty clothes. Amanda. this is something that I have to say.

Amanda:  Always iron people do that. Why would you be like, it's filthy but it's pressed.

Marco:  Cuz here's the thing. I could see you. Oh, I have an audition. I've got to iron this shirt. This is the shirt I need to wear. Then all of a sudden, you iron. Your dirt and stains can actually like leave permanent marks if you iron it.

Amanda:  In this hypothetical world, I have a shirt that needs ironing because I own an iron bull shirt, which I don't really. I do own one right now.

Marco:  You have one, the blue and white stripe? Yep.

Amanda:  And those two Hawaiian ones, I know them well.

Marco:  I do iron some of your nice shirts when we're. One where we're, when we're working.

Amanda:  But I prefer to spray them and hang them and hope for the best.

Marco:  Oh, really?

Amanda:  Yeah. I don't, I don't want them iron.

Marco:  I usually iron them because I'm ironing mine.

Amanda:  I know, but they're synthetic. I'm afraid, I'm always afraid you're gonna get them melted.

Marco:  I did melt one once by accident.

Amanda:  Which one?

Marco:  The white one.

Amanda:  What? Really?

Marco:  Yeah, on the back of the collar. You don't really see it, but yeah.

Amanda:  Oh. Yeah. Leave them alone.

Marco:  I won't touch your shirts.

Amanda:  Great. Next tip. Don't touch my shirts.

Marco:  Well, this is a weird one.

Amanda:  Okay,

Marco:  foil for faster ironing. For an ironing hack, try lining your ironing board with aluminum foil, shiny side up under the pad. The foil reflects the heat back up through the garment, essentially ironing both sides at once, speeding up the process.

Amanda:  That's insane. It's not a Panino fair.

Marco:  I would not do that.

Amanda:  I wouldn't do it. It's not a grilled cheese. I, I think that's crazy. You do that and you. Then you're It's.

Marco:  I don't think it's crazy. There's going to be some people who, who listen, who do that and they find it very rewarding. You just don't like ironing. There's a, there's a Zenness to ironing that I don't think you've ever attuned with.

Amanda:  I've had an ironing bias sometimes when

Marco:  I iron and if I have the television on or if I'm doing something, listening to a program, let's say it can be very relaxing.

Amanda:  I'll take your word for it.

Marco:  Another thing that you can do, which I don't do for really stubborn, stubborn wrinkles, use a damp pressing cloth between the iron and the garment.

Amanda:  What do you do? Or do you just.

Marco:  The moisture helps the heat penetrate the fabric more effectively, releasing those deep creases. Now I use the, I use the two knobs that are often found on irons. The spray. Spritzes from the top or the steam spritz it from the middle.

Amanda:  I'm always worried with those. I'm always afraid there's some old water or something funky and then you spray it and then boom. You wrecked a shirt.

Marco:  Well, yes, that's happened in hotels where the waters have been calcified. That's why I try to, I try to release the steam before I even put it on. On any garment that we have.

Marco:  So that's, that's a tip that I would say. So those are the tips I have, Amanda.

Amanda:  You might say they're hot tip.

Marco:  You could say they're hot tips. Sure. Or you could say they're ironed tips. Iron clad tips, if you will. So those are, those are, those are my ironing tips. Also. I don't like to iron on an ironing board that doesn't have a thick fabric to it.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  Sometimes you go to hotels and it's like an ironing board has like a metal frame and then they have a very thin sort of cloth to it.

Amanda:  Yeah.

Marco:  And that. I hate that. I hate the feel of it. It doesn't iron the clothes. Right. Sometimes what I'll do in hotels is I'll put a towel underneath it just to give me a little bit more,

Amanda:  cushion for the cushion.

Marco:  Yeah, for sure. So that's, that's what I use.


Don't buy clothes that need ironing. That's not necessarily a practical tip for women. And I know clothes are not gendered always,

And ours has a, has a very thick pad and it works great.

Amanda:  Great.

Marco:  Now I've had iron steamers before. You don't like them because they take up too much room

Amanda:  if we used it daily. And you're like, I don't need an ironing board. I have the steamer. I'd be fine with it. But if it's a big, clunky thing that never really gets used and involves a lot of cleaning and setup and tear down and it's huge, then no, I'm not a fan. But I mean, I would be forward if you're like, wow, this thing's amazing. And we use it for everything.

Marco:  They have ones that are. Are that you. That are like, a almost like a squeegee that you would use in the shower. And they're detachable. That's one I would like. Not that. No, it wasn't quite that. It had a cord. I like the one that you can sort of charge and then use.

Amanda:  Oh, I see. Okay.

Marco:  So often when you're like, I don't know what to get you, you're the hardest person to shop for.

Amanda:  You want it. I wouldn't do that. That's like getting. That just feels wrong. It's like getting somebody a vacuum. Like, they might want it, but it's like, oh, love, now you can clean me better for our house. I don't know. Just doesn't feel like a love gift. Well, too practical.

Marco:  I would like it because it would make ironing your clothes easier. But anyways.

Amanda:  Well, I know it will make it easier. I get rid of those three shirts that I barely wear for ironing.

Marco:  Then do it.

Amanda:  Yeah, the Hawaiian ones are going. Going. Bye. Bye.

Marco:  Soon. Those are my ironing tips, Amanda.

Amanda:  Great.

Marco:  I have washing machine or washing tips, too, but I'm not going to use them.

Amanda:  Oh, today.

Marco:  Because we're getting towards the end of our episode, so I just figured I

Amanda:  had the one tip and I stick by it.

Marco:  Don't buy clothes that need ironing. That's not necessarily a practical tip for women.

Amanda:  Totally.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda:  Or anyone who wears women's clothes. Totally. And I know clothes are not gendered always, but fair enough.

Marco:  Fair enough. Well, I do like a starched collar. I'll just say that.

Amanda:  All right. And you can have it.

Marco:  There you go. I don't mind ironing. I don't. I really don't mind ironing.

Amanda:  I, know you like ironing and you like laundry.

Marco:  I do like doing, laundry. That's the one thing I like doing.

Amanda:  We've always had the agreement. We did it, like, the first week we were dating. You like laundry. I like cooking. I will cook, take care of the kitchen, launder, and you will launder, and we live happily ever after. Welcome to our boring life.

Marco:  Yep, it certainly isn't.

Amanda:  Click like and subscribe.

Marco:  There you go. Yes, please, please subscribe to the podcast or tell any friend who you may know who needs a little relax in their day and doesn't know where to find it. Our podcast is suited for that. Or if they cannot sleep. I should always do these sort of asks on the top of our show when people are still awake. But for those of you who we have listeners who will listen to the podcast episode three or four times to get to the end of it. Amanda and I'm just going to say this, you do not have to do that for us. If you fall asleep and you never get to the end of it, that's perfectly fine. But if you choose to, well, welcome back.

Marco:  All right, till next time. We hope your ironing goes smoothly and we hope you were able to listen and sleep.

In Montreal Misadventures & Shakespearean Dreams, Marco and Amanda ease into a softly spoken recap of their recent time in Montreal. Marco reflects on leading a podcasting workshop with the Quebec Writers Federation alongside Linda Morra, host of Getting Lit with Linda. Meanwhile, Amanda shares her peaceful visit to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts* (Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal)* and a soothing bath-time read of The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin.
The conversation drifts into book recommendations, including Valley of the Birdtail by Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson, before gently touching on their recent eclipse experience and fond Shakespearean memories. As always, this calming podcast unfolds at an unhurried pace, offering a relaxing conversation designed to help you fall asleep, ease anxiety, or quiet racing thoughts. Perfect for background listening at bedtime or during a middle-of-the-night wake-up, this episode provides steady companionship and literary daydreams to guide you toward rest.

​Montreal Misadventures & Shakespearean Dreams
(Original airdate:April 17, 2024)


Insomnia Project podcast features Barely awake Amanda Barker and Marco Timpano

Marco: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation of approximately 26 minutes to help bring you to slumber, hopefully, or just to have you relax, whatever it is. We want to thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.

Amanda:  I'm the barely awake Amanda Barker.

Marco: The Barely awake Amanda Barker and I are sorry we, we didn't have an episode last week, Amanda.

Amanda:  I guess I slept through it.

Marco: I guess you did. But we're here this week, so you're here, Amanda. I wanted to. I don't have any set, topics for today's episode other than to thank our listeners.


Amanda Snyderman was recently in Montreal for a podcasting workshop

Amanda:  Well, maybe we'll just begin with our weekend.

Marco: Oh, sure.

Amanda:  so you have a lot of work in the world of podcasting.

Marco: That's right. I was in Montreal at the Quebec Writers Federation. I met a whole bunch of wonderful prospective podcasters who.

Amanda:  Lovely people. The Quebec Writers Federation. Yeah.

Marco: Laurie in particular. I did that with Linda Mora. She was my co host, or we were, co hosting workshop together. And that was really wonderful. And I cannot wait to hear some of the brilliant podcasts that are going to come forth from, from that workshop.

Amanda:  And, that is Linda Mora of Getting lit with Linda, which is such a fabulous podcast. if you're into books or reading at all, it's, Canadian Literature Focus and I just love it.

Marco: She just recommended a book that you jumped on and said you're really enjoying it.

Amanda:  And I'm loving it. And it's so funny because I've had, as I've mentioned before, I love my library app on my phone, the Libby app. it hooks into your local library, it sources things from other libraries, and it allows you to listen to audiobooks for free. you can actually peruse magazines for free, and you can read books for free on whatever e reader device you use, even if it's a phone, which I've done a few times, but generally I use use it for audiobooks. And I have a whole bunch of audiobooks ready to go. in fact, because we were driving to Montreal.

Marco: That's right.

Amanda:  And I love to listen to an audiobook, as we drive. And so I have a lot of biographies because that's the type of thing I like. A non fiction audiobook.

Marco: Sure, sure.

Amanda:  It's hard for me to get into a fiction audiobook, which is ironic since I narrate them. But in any event, I happened to download one, from a discussion with her, and out of the 10 or so, I gave each one, you know, a couple of minutes and then I have to decide if I like the person's voice.

Marco: If you want to invest your time into listening to it.

Amanda:  Yeah. If the content is resonating with me in that moment, sure. You know, if I've done a lot of, Brene Browns or even Catlin morons, then I might not want a feminist self Help type of genre I might want, you know. So, anyway, I uploaded this book, Valley of the Bird Tale, and, this is a very organic plug. I didn't really mean to be plugging it, but she's actually doing, an interview with the authors at the end of this month.

Marco: She being Linda.

Amanda:  Yeah, Linda. We're still on Linda. and so she. She was mentioning to me these two authors who got together to write this book. so anyway, it's called Valley of the Bird, An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda:  And I wasn't sure. You know, some of those things are quite heavy talk, so I wasn't sure. But it's told in a very, I don't know how else to put it. A very listenable way.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda:  And it really hooked me. it's narrative, so I'm interested in the narrative of these people's lives. it's also very informative, and, of course, it's dealing with some what we call heavy subjects. But I think there's a real lightness to it and playfulness to it. And I. And I gotta be honest, I'm really enjoying it.

Marco: And who are the authors?

Amanda:  the authors are. This is important.

Marco: Man is gonna get that.

Amanda:  Yeah. The authors are Douglas Sanderson, I believe, and Andrew. And now it's gone. Hang on. Andrew Sto. Sniderman. And why does it keep going?

Marco: Amanda's fiddling with her phone right now. I'll have it in our show notes.

Amanda:  Douglas Sanderson.

Marco: I got it.

Amanda:  Right. Yeah. So Andrew Stobo, Snyderman and Douglas Sanderson wrote this.

Marco: And I'll have a link to that in our show notes.

Amanda:  Yeah.


We were in the direct path of an eclipse this week, but clouds blocked view

Marco: And speaking of two, we had an eclipse of the sun and the moon this week as well. We were in the direct path of that eclipse here in Toronto, but unfortunately, the clouds did not allow for us to view it.

Amanda:  Not when it was at its 99th percent. and I had a lot of eclipse envy. Oh, yeah. I'm not an envious person. Overall, I don't think. you know, different people have different vices. Envy isn't usually mine.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda:  I've got lots of others, don't worry. But, But I had a lot of eclipse envy because I noticed on social media and so on everyone. And of course, the eclipse was. Was very specific to location. So, of course, around the world, as so many of our listeners are, you know, that they weren't part of it. But for us here in what we call the Greater Toronto area, there was

Marco: a Lot of eclipse potential action happening. So if you were in Niagara Falls, in Hamilton, in Cornwall, in, Port Perry, I want to say Port Hope.

Amanda:  Anything along that southern U.S. border, like the. The border between Canada and the U.S. sure. which meant, of course, on the other side. but it's a fairly small little path, that an eclipse, you know, you can. You can go 10 miles and be outside of the. What they call the totality.

Marco: Right, right, right. See, and for me, celestial things like that do nothing. So I was neither here nor there with it. I'm not. I was saying this to Amanda last night. I was like, that stuff because we were talking about Halley's Comet, and she's like, do you remember Haley's comet back in Whenever.

Amanda:  I don't remember seeing it, but I certainly remember talking about it.

Marco: I don't remember. And. And to be honest with you, if it was in the zeitgeist back then, I wouldn't have paid much mind to it because, like. Like I said, celestial bodies. Bodies aren't my thing. I know oftentimes Amanda will point out different galaxies or star clusters and she'll name them, and I'll be like, okay.

Amanda:  Constellation.

Marco: Constellation, yes.

Amanda:  I love the idea that I could see different galaxies with my known eyes.

Marco: If you concentrate, maybe you can.

Amanda:  I mean, in my mind, the galaxies of my brain. Yeah. I never heard this term totality before. And suddenly that's what everybody was talking about. It became a buzzword for us anyways in this past week. But, yeah, it was pretty cloudy, and we weren't going to get the full. The full deal. And the full deal means it goes fully to night. For a few minutes, the stars come out, and then it goes back into the daytime. So now I kind of want to have that experience in my lifetime. So I might become an eclipse chaser and go to, like, Spain or Iceland next year. I don't know. We'll see.

Marco: Have fun with that.

Amanda:  or two years from now, whenever it is.

Marco: Okay.


You bulldozed right over me talking about the museum this week

So you also dove into some Shakespeare this week?

Amanda:  I did. I want to talk to the museum, too.

Marco: What museum?

Amanda:  I was trying to. I was angling from Montreal so I could talk about the museum.

Marco: Oh, sure, of course.

Amanda:  And then you just. You just bulldozed right over. You're like. Anyway, but now let's talk about the eclipse. sure, let's go to the museum. But I'll talk about Shakespeare.

Marco: No, let's talk about your museum.

Amanda:  It's not my museum.

Marco: Oh, the museum that you were foreseen

Amanda:  in this agenda, it was a new museum for me. So for me it was a big deal. But you weren't part of that because you were teaching at the Quebec Writers Federation while I had a lovely day by myself.


Marco Miller went to the Fine Arts Museum in Montreal for a guided tour

Marco: Okay, tell us about your museum experience.

Amanda:  So, I had this beauty. I just wanted to describe to listeners my wonderful day. We had a beautiful, deep soaker bathtub in our hotel. We had a kind of older hotel. and we had a free breakfast. It wasn't great, but it was free. So I went down and got my two hard boiled eggs and some cheese. And then I drew myself a beautiful bath. And I know probably most people's fantasies isn't eating hard boiled eggs and cheese, but that's what they had. And I read a new book that I'm reading called the 100 Days of Lenny and Margo. I think that's what it's called.

Marco: I thought you were going to say the 100 years of solitude.

Amanda:  No, the 100 days of Lenny and Margot. which is an interesting Scottish book. Or it takes place in Scotland anyway, so in a hospital in Scotland. So I, I got in maybe 30 pages, 50 pages or so of that, and then I went, okay, museum time. And I walked myself down to the Musee des Beaux Arts, which is the Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal. And I'd never been. And that's pretty incredible because we've spent a lot of time in Montreal.

Marco: We have.

Amanda:  But I've never made it to the, to the museum there, the Fine Arts Museum. And it was lovely. It was so lovely. They had, ah, an exhibit that compared the lives and works of Georgia o',

Marco: Keeffe, which Amanda's a big fan of.

Amanda:  And I can't even remember his name.

Marco: Moore.

Amanda:  What's his first name?

Marco: Henry Moore. Henry Moore, which I'm a big fan of. You went to the museum?

Amanda:  I know now I don't remember. It was like o' Keefe and Moore. no, his sculptures are interesting. He carved a lot from stone. That sound is Marco looking for his name.

Marco: Oh, was it clicking? Sorry.

Amanda:  Yeah, he carved a lot from stone and, he always wanted it to still look like the stone.

Marco: Henry Spencer Moore.

Amanda:  There you go. Georgia o'. Keefe.

Marco: I like when I say Henry Moore. You're like, Henry. Is it Henry Moore? As if I was wrong.

Amanda:  I thought that was an author too. Henry Moore, perhaps.

Marco: I mean, Henry Moore's not a.

Amanda:  The Yellow Wallpaper. I feel like somebody wrote the Yellow Wallpaper.

Marco: Never even heard that book.

Amanda:  It's a short story. I felt like, that was somebody named Henry Mor, too. But I'm also, as I mentioned, half awake or half asleep. Anyhow, I had a beautiful. A beautiful stroll through this museum. And, it was lovely. And that comparative exhibit was lovely. And I happened upon a free tour.

Marco: Oh, that's lovely.

Amanda:  So what happens? I love, a guided tour. As we've established, I love audiobooks. And so I will pay the extra $10 or whatever it is for the guided audio tour of, something, whether

Marco: that be a person or a headphone, walk around.

Amanda:  Well, usually it's a headphone. And so when you, you know, press your language and make sure the headphones work and let it guide you and you go through the rooms or whatever. So that's what I was expecting, but they didn't offer that. That wasn't on offer. Instead, what they had is volunteers giving you, really interesting insights into the works of these two authors. And so I just wanted to say, I got a guided tour by this lovely, older British woman named Mary. And she was fantastic.

Marco: Awesome.

Amanda:  She knew so much about each, and she had interesting little tidbits of information. And that's what's interesting to me, those personal stories. And you're looking at me like you want to tell me who wrote the Yellow Wallpaper.

Marco: Yeah, I looked it up. It's not Henry Moore. The Yellow Wallpaper, original title, the Yellow Wallpaper a story, is a short story by American writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

Amanda:  More.

Marco: No, there's no more in there.

Amanda:  I don't know. I don't know who.

Marco: I'm never even heard of this short story.

Amanda:  Okay. Why are you so angry about?

Marco: I'm not. Not angry, but all right. I like how you thought it was Henry Moore.

Amanda:  There's maybe it's Henry Miller, but there's a author of that time. Well, Henry, I know a lot of people, and I have a lot of names that float in my brain.

Marco: Fair enough. Fair enough.


Henry Moore was hugely influential in Quebecois art

So you got to see Henry Moore. You got to see Georgia o' Keeffe's works. Were there other works that you saw in that museum that you enjoyed?

Amanda:  Yeah, I learned about a Quebecois artist that I didn't really know. Ripol.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda:  Jean. R, I, P, O, L, L, E. I might be saying it wrong.

Marco: RuPaul.

Amanda:  Ripol.

Marco: Ripol.

Amanda:  apparently huge, hugely influential in Quebecois art.

Marco: Oh, fantastic. That's Art from Quebec. In case some international listeners are wondering what that word is.

Amanda:  Jean Paul Ro. I still can't say it. Can you say that?

Marco: Of course. Ripollet.

Amanda:  Oh, yeah. Ah, that's a tie. R, I O P E L L E. Jean Paul Rio Pal.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda:  Anyway. But, really influential.

Marco: Oh, wonderful.

Amanda:  I, guess somewhat abstract painter from the 60s. And, really interesting stuff. And they've got a lot of his work there. And, he. He's part of that whole movement of Quebec in the 60s and 70s, like alongside Leonard Cohen and, who is obviously a famous poet. And then later on, singer. But just so many of the artists of Quebec of that time, which I thought was really fascinating.

Marco: Singer, songwriter. Yeah. That's wonderful. There's a big mural on one of the condo buildings in Montreal that we drove by of Leonard Cohen, that is. And,


Museums need to find ways to engage kids, especially immersive ones

So you had a great time at the museum.

Amanda:  I did. I just wanted to share that because a new museum is a new adventure. And they're some of the best adventures, museums, because you feel like you're going inward, you're going internally. You know, when I was a child, I didn't really get museums. I liked going. I liked the big spaces and the high ceilings. But I didn't really understand what was to be gained from just staring at art or, you know, paintings on a wall or sculptures. But these days, for me, it's an adventure into an artistic spirit, a creative movement, someone's life. And that's what's interesting to me.

Marco: I took our niece and nephew to the Bata Shoe Museum. How was it during their spring break? It was a neat museum, but I don't think the kids had much patience for the shoes. All the shoes. After a while, they were like, okay, how many pairs of shoes can we possibly look at?

Amanda:  And kids in museums, it's a hard sell anyway. Which is why most museums find other ways to draw families in and engage the kids. As I was there, I, They had a whole engagement area for the kids where they were making paintings and sculptures out of pine cones.

Marco: Oh, that's cool.

Amanda:  Pinecone thing. Yeah.

Marco: I would have loved that as a kid.

Amanda:  Yeah, well, that's what I mean. And that's what art should be fluid. It shouldn't be something to just stare on a wall. Because at some point in someone's life, it was movement and it was expression and it was thought and emotion and feeling. So I think you need to find ways to bring that to people. That's why the immersive, exhibits are so powerful and, I think, so popular. Like immersive Van Gogh.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda:  Immersive, Klaminsky, I think.

Marco: Gustav Klimt. There's a Klimt Immersive.

Amanda:  I can't get anyone's name right today. Frida Kahlo. I did an immersive Frida Kahlo.

Amanda:  but the Van Gogh. And out of all of them that we did immersive Disney, which is a tour into Disney animation. I do think the immersive Van Gogh at the end of the day, and I hope I'm not, making any mortal enemies with this, is still my favorite, personal favorite. Although the Disney one is really interesting.

Marco: Yeah, it was a pretty cool knockout, that one.

Amanda:  And even for an adult, you know, obviously it's geared more to families in terms of the marketing, but I think as an adult, it was a very interesting m. Adventure into the animation of Disney.


There are some places that offer lunchtime shows. For example, the Lunchbox Theater in Calgary

Marco: Now, we mentioned this earlier in the show. You've been working with some people in Shakespeare. Would you see a immersive Shakespeare if they had that experience?

Amanda:  I don't know how you would do that. I mean, isn't Shakespeare meant to be immersive? isn't that what a good Shakespearean play is? In a way, yes.

Marco: But not all his works. But imagine if you went in and you heard excerpts from all his works with people around.

Amanda:  There's a very famous show called the Complete Works of William Shakespeare, which I saw in London. Was that good in the West End? yeah. It's funny. A lot of shows have sort of mimicked that formula Gotcha. Where it's let's do big things fast and they'll be funny if they're fast, if everybody knows what's happening. Because we're doing it at this farcical, frenetic pace. Right. That's essentially what it was. But I do remember, I mean, it was many years ago that I saw. But I do remember enjoying it.

Marco: I know it came into town. I should have gone to see it when I was in town. But.

Amanda:  Yeah, and there's a. There's a Harry Potter sort of version of that. years ago there was a show called, it was a Tom Stoppard play called Cahoots. I don't want to say the Scottish play, but anyway, it has like, Cahoots, the Scottish play, something Hamlet. It's, a pretty famous play. But inside of it, there's a play within a play, and that is called the 15 Minute Hamlet.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda:  And I remember my, university theater did just the 15 minute hamlet as a lunchtime show.

Marco: Oh, that's neat.

Amanda:  By Tom Stoppard. Tom Stoppard. who. Who unfortunately left us this week, right?

Marco: Oh, this week, yeah.

Amanda:  This past week.

Marco: Okay. You know, it's interesting. I love the idea of seeing a quick show during your lunch, especially if you're like, you know, oftentimes you're working and in a place where you haven't worked before or a new location and you don't know too many people or you don't feel like having lunch with people.

Marco: But imagine being able to eat your lunch and watch a show. For me, that's a wonderful, wonderful experience, which I have yet to do.

Amanda:  But there are places that we know of that do that.

Marco: Yeah.

Amanda:  For example, the Lunchbox Theater in Calgary, has had a long, long, History. History, yeah. Of doing exactly that. Lunchtime shows. I don't know if they offer evening shows as well.

Marco: I don't think so.

Amanda:  No, just lunchtime. there used to be one downtown Toronto that did.

Marco: Oh, there was, yeah.

Amanda:  it was called the Stage. And what happened was they offered lunchtime adult shows. And by adult I just mean not family shows, but you know, a one act, a 40 minute or whatever show. right downtown. Like at Bay and Queen. downtown and in the heart of the city. Yeah. Like in the underground sort of where we have a big underground tunnel system. It was in there. And because they were, you know, rent is high, as it always is. M. They also on the weekends offered children's shows. And what happened was the children's shows became more popular than the lunchtime shows. And so then they had two spaces, one for children and one for adults. But the children one basically won out and they had to close the adults.

Marco: Yeah. Because I only know that as the, as a kid's theater. So I didn't know it as an adult lunchtime theater.

Amanda:  It was my first professional theater gig in Toronto and my second ever professional theater gig ever in my life. And you know, I was so excited. I was getting paid to do theater. It was pretty low budget and but anyways, and everybody would say to us, solar Stage. Oh yeah, they used to do the lunchtime shows. Do they still have that theater? So I heard about it a lot, but it didn't exist by the time I was there. So that's been a long time now.

Marco: Wow.

Amanda:  Wow.


This morning I auditioned for a Shakespeare play, a outdoor Shakespeare play

Marco: I remember years ago, and I meant to tell you this. This morning I auditioned for a Shakespeare play, a outdoor Shakespeare play.

Amanda:  Oh. Ah, yeah.

Marco: At Earl Bales Park. I think this is when I was in high school. So many, many years ago.

Amanda:  I think you told me your drama teacher took you and someone else and

Marco: my best friend at the time.

Amanda:  Yeah.

Marco: A role that had two lines.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco: It was for Fliance was the name of the character in one of the plays. I couldn't even tell you which one.

Amanda:  I think that's a history play. I think that's like a Henry. The Henry. The, fourth or fifth.

Marco: It could be the Scottish play. I remember my lines.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco: The moon is down and I have not yet seen the clock, sir. And then.

Amanda:  Oh, and that might be the Scottish play.

Marco: And then the next line is I take it as later or something like that. I still remember the lines.

Amanda:  They were gonna hire somebody for two lines.

Marco: Yeah. Like it was outdoor. Like they. They were gonna hire a kid. Right. So, you know, the opportunity to go audition for Shakespeare.

Amanda:  Right.

Marco: You know, in high school was really exciting.

Marco: And me and my best friend Danny at the time went. And neither of us got it. But, I wonder who booked that. I know. I wonder who booked it as well. I remember my teacher saying to Anglicize my name because she was worried that they wouldn't hire me because they thought I was too ethnic for the part.

Amanda:  That's insane. And that teacher was also Italian.

Marco: Yes.

Amanda:  So that's why she thought that, I think. Yeah.

Marco: No, she knew. She knew. I think there was m. More to

Amanda:  it that era of people were told to do that. Right.

Marco: I think she knew more about the director and stuff. So. Yeah. So I think it was. I think it was a little more complex than that.

Amanda:  And did you Anglicize your name?

Marco: I think, when I said it, I didn't because I didn't think. I didn't remember to do so. So who knows? Who knows?

Amanda:  What would an Anglicized version of your name be?

Marco: I think Mark is what I was supposed to say.

Amanda:  Mark Timms, I guess.

Marco: I don't know. I mean, it was so long ago. Amanda. Like Amanda's trying to. She's trying to Nancy Drew my.

Amanda:  No, I'm not trying to Nancy Drew anything. No, I just. I'm just interested. And that. That's an interesting story to me.

Marco: What's more interesting is I remember the lines from the audition from. In high school.

Amanda:  I remember my monologue from an audition that I think I did in high school. And I was reminded of it yesterday because it was A Midsummer Night's Dream. And I heard it, quite a few times yesterday, as I, sat, watching, you know, people audition for this, for A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Marco: Why did you pick that as your audition piece?

Amanda:  Gosh, I don't really know. I Don't really know of the ones back then. It was because we were given five, I think.

Marco: Oh, I see.

Amanda:  So you had to pick one out of the five. And I don't think I wanted to do anything super dramatic. I also wanted something that wasn't. That was age appropriate.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda:  And the four lovers, Hermia, Helena, Demetrius, Lysander in Midsummer Night's Dream, are generally considered Young in their 20s. So I was, you know, 17 or whatever. So that. That's probably why I chose it.

Marco: That's. That's pretty neat. Yeah.


I remember my first audition in grade school for the Christmas play

Amanda:  Yeah, but it's. But it. Like a song. Those things stay in your brain, right. As a child, like.

Marco: Sure. Of course.

Amanda:  Your brain still, like, you remember these two lines, and yet you've done thousands of auditions since then, and you wouldn't know the lines of any of them.

Marco: I remember my first audition in grade school for the Christmas play.

Amanda:  Oh, wow.

Marco: Where I got to play shepherd number three. I got the part.

Amanda:  Nice.

Marco: And so I nailed that one. Yeah. No, that's a shepherd number three. I think I've mentioned it on the podcast before. A very important shepherd, because shepherd number three says, we will follow the stars. And so it was because of shepherd number three that the shepherds knew where to go. And then I had to say the line, perhaps, which my father thought I said craps. And I'm like, why would a shepherd say craps? It doesn't make sense. Especially a biblical shepherd. I don't think there was a content warning for the nativity play that I did in grade school, especially because I was eight.

Amanda:  Maybe the shepherds were gambling. They just. They ducked out of the area. And just to. I shouldn't even say this. I don't want to offend anyone.

Marco: No.

Amanda:  Fair enough.


Amanda, thank you for sharing your experiences in museums and literature

Marco: Well, speaking of which, let's wrap up this episode so we don't offend anyone as we approach our 26th minute. Amanda, thank you for, regaling us with your adventures in museums and literature.

Amanda:  Well, you're very welcome. And, when in Montreal go to Musee des Beaux Arts, I can't say it. Musee des Beaux Arts. or Museum of Fine Arts. Definitely go there, because it's, just an interesting exhibit. And you and I will have more about Georgia o' Keeffe and her art and life fairly soon.

Marco: That's right. Until then, we hope you were able to listen and sleep.

In Language Learning, Lumping Clay, and Blown Away Dreams, Marco and Amanda ease into a gently curious conversation inspired by a listener request about their experiences with the language app Duolingo. Amanda shares her progress with Italian vocabulary, while Marco reflects on the challenges of French pronunciation, all delivered with their usual soft humour and unhurried pace. What begins as talk of language learning slowly drifts into the tactile world of pottery, as Amanda suggests taking a class and they reflect on their talented potter sister-in-law — along with a lighthearted story involving their friend Michael Miranda and an especially enthusiastic ceramics discussion.
The episode continues into the creative realm with nods to The Great Pottery Throw Down and Blown Away, exploring the quiet satisfaction of shaping clay and glass. As always, this calming podcast unfolds at a relaxed, steady rhythm, offering a relaxing conversation designed to help you fall asleep, ease anxiety, or quiet racing thoughts. Perfect for background listening at bedtime or during a middle-of-the-night wake-up, this episode provides gentle companionship and creative daydreams to guide you toward rest.

 Language Learning, Lumping Clay, and Blown Away Dreams
(Original airdate: March 13, 2024)

Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I'm Amanda Barker and Marco Timpano

Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a ever so calm conversation meant to help you find your way to sleep. Drift off, Relax. Sit back. You know the drill. You've been listening. And if you haven't been listening, welcome. I'm your host Marco Timpano.

Amanda: I'm Amanda Barker.

Marco: Amanda and I are. You know, I just. I just put paws on the washing machine and the dryer that were tumbling behind us. Amanda.

Amanda: There was lots of tumbles.

Marco: So many tumbles. Last week we did an episode based on one of our listener suggestions. Amanda. This week, this suggestion was sent in by susanross88 on Instagram.

Amanda: Oh, wow.

Marco: And I particularly love the winter scenes that Susan has on, their Instagram. Instagram, page. They want to know, Amanda, what your approach to duolingo is.

Amanda: Oh, that's an interesting question.

Marco: And adults learning new things.

Amanda: Ooh, okay. well, that might be. That's a pretty rich topic, I think.

Marco: And there's more, too, but we'll start there.


Duolingo is a language app to help you learn a second language

Amanda: Well, let me start with the first question. Duolingo. Here's, the thing I've realized about myself, actually, rather recently, that I am very task and goal driven. So for me, I like to achieve a goal, particularly an attainable or somewhat attainable goal.

Marco: We should mention that Duolingo is a language app to help you learn a

Amanda: second language or several second languages. Second languages, including English. or to brush up on language skills. It's. It's actually quite an amazing app. I believe it was developed because, Well, a. To help populations learn other languages, sure.

Marco: But also to transcribe literary works or. Or stuff that's on the Internet.

Amanda: Right.

Marco: Old scrolls.

Amanda: I. Yeah, maybe I thought it was

Marco: like a Wikipedia thing, but maybe it was to. It was to.

Amanda: Oh, no, now I'm something. Translate works.

Marco: To translate the works in other languages.

Amanda: I thought it was Wikipedia. Well, now I don't know.

Marco: Okay, so there's some obscurity to that. But, Amanda, you have been doing duolingo for how many days straight?

Amanda: I'm gonna look it up right now.

Marco: Okay, Amanda's gonna look it up. Because Amanda has been so active on duolingo, I also started doing duolingo in French to brush up my French, because, of course, I studied French in high school, in grade school, but that's where it stopped. And I've always wanted to develop my French better. And I'll be going to Montreal in April twice. So I'm going to be able to practice what I've been learning. And I tell you this, my French, I can tell, has already gotten better.

Amanda: I know your French has gotten better. I am on day, as of today, 1532 of my Italian studies. And the truth is, I had about 50 days prior to that, and then I lost my streak. So one of the Things they have on duolingo is streak freezes and streaks, and so they. They kind of encourage you to keep up your stre streak. And you can. You're in points, and you can buy with the points a streak freeze in case you need a day off or. Or take a day off inadvertently.

Marco: A streak is consecutive days of doing.

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco: The tasks.

Amanda: So I've definitely used streak freezes, so I want to be really upfront with that.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: But that being said, it's day 1532.

Marco: We'll just count the 50 that you lost as one streak.

Amanda: Yeah, there you go. I would say, you know, my approach to Italian at this point is very much was my approach to becoming an actor, which was, I'm going to do it or I will die trying.

Marco: Okay, fair enough.

Amanda: I hope that sounds okay. But that was my, approach to becoming m an actor because there were so many people. I didn't really try to start acting legitimately until I was probably 25. And I had heard a lot of, like, reasons to do other things.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: Like you do. And, I finally just went, well, I want to know that I've tried, so I'm gonna go there and I'm gonna try, and I'll just keep trying until I can't try anymore.

Marco: And your Italian has gotten much better since you've been doing it.

Amanda: I will say.

Marco: Yeah, your pronunciation is really lovely.

Amanda: It's definitely help with pronunciation. I've learned a lot of vocabulary.

Marco: Amanda turned to me the other day, and you know what I learned? And I was the one. She's like, franco Bolli. And I was like, oh, m. My God, stamps. You had just learned about stamps. How to say stamps.

Amanda: I feel like people on this podcast don't understand how beautiful and melodic your Italian is. I would love it if you did a full episode in Italian.

Marco: we don't have m many listeners from Italy who listen to the show.

Amanda: Yeah. Okay. But it would be nice for people, I find. Listen, I had a German movie on the other day, and that German, which

Marco: put me to sleep.

Amanda: Put you to sleep. Which one would argue German is a lot less melodic than Italian. I think it's a fair argument, but sometimes hearing another language and just the soft sounds of someone speaking in another language is enough to soothe you into sleep.

Marco: Well, maybe I will. We'll see what our listeners say to that.

Amanda: Okay.

Marco: I'm looking for listener suggestions. So that's your approach. So.


Amanda uses duolingo to learn Italian for conversational purposes

So, Amanda, how do you address your duolingo? Like, do you do it in the morning? Do you do it in the afternoon.

Amanda: I find I tend to do it at night before I go sleep, because I'm like, oh, I haven't done it yet. I should do it before the day is out. But I often will do it if I'm waiting, like waiting for an appointment at a doctor's or dentist's office. or, sometimes I'll do it if I have a little bit of a lull at work for a few minutes just to grab a coffee, I'll do it there.

Marco: I see.

Amanda: sometimes I do it first thing in the day when I'm, you know, spending some quality time in the, In the bathroom.

Marco: I see. So that's your approach to using duolingo. And how do you find it as far as language acquisition and language knowledge is concerned?

Amanda: I'm going to be really honest. I found there's aspects to it for myself that I find frustrating because I find for conversation, my brain still goes to French. That's its first thing. And I'm frustrated that I'm, you know, almost 1500 days or past 1500 days of this, and then I'm still. When I actually want to have conversational Italian in a real world setting.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: That is speaking to your mom or her friends that might. Her English is great, obviously, but there are other people in her life where they mostly speak Italian to her.

Marco: Right.

Amanda: so I would love to have a conversation in Italian with some of your mom's friends. That would. That for me, would be a huge accomplishment. However, I'm not there, and that's what's frustrating to me. So it's the conversational stuff where I'm lacking the. How do I put the sentences together is still not where I would like it to be. I can tell you what stamps are or the press or all the animals or various foods. There's lots I can tell you about Italian.

Marco: Is there a favorite word that you can tell us?

Amanda: M. You know what's funny? When you ask me that, all I can think of is Elizabeth Gilbert's favorite word in Italian.

Marco: Well, if we had Elizabeth Gilbert in the studio, that would be amazing.

Amanda: Yeah. Author Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love, she talks about the word, I think, and she does it in a weird phrasing, but it's like, to cross. It's like Albert. Now I can't remember the word, but.

Marco: Travisiamo. Like, to cross the street.

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco: I thought you meant to, like, do the sign of the cross.

Amanda: I was trying to think of that. I don't know, genuflect. but, yeah, so that's always the first one that comes. Franco Boli is my favorite. I have to say the word for bus is one of my favorites because it was unexpected.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: Il Pullman.

Marco: Pullman?

Amanda: Yeah, like a Pullman bus. somehow there's no other word for bus other than Pullman.

Marco: There you go.

Amanda: Which is really funny to me that it's not a slang for bus, but actually the word for bus, so I guess that's mine. Well, how about you for French? Have you learned some new words that make you laugh?

Marco: Schwette or shouette? Oh, yeah, I wasn't expecting that.

Marco: And what's the one that I was saying just the other day and you were like, oh, yeah, they. They use that a lot in French for each or every shock, shock, shock.

Amanda: Like oni. Like thinking Italian. Ogni is each and every. Right?

Marco: Yes.

Amanda: Do they use that a lot in Italian? I think they say this and that a lot in Italian. Questa. I hear that a lot with your family.

Marco: Yeah, so. So, yeah. So those were the two words.

Amanda: Oh, that's so funny. for a time with Duolingo, I would go back and forth between French and Italian, but I've stayed pretty consistent with my Italian in the last year. just because I want to. I really do want to get better and to grow. I will say language acquisition general. so to answer the question in terms of my strategy.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: I see lots of people on it. I invite you to follow me on dual lingo. I don't know how you can do that, but.

Marco: What's your handle?

Amanda: I don't know. It's my name, I think. I don't know. I'd have to.

Marco: If you want to be Amanda's friend and then. And you can challenge your friends to where's your profile?

Amanda: Like, how do you.

Marco: I don't have my phone here, otherwise I'd look. But look at who you're friends with.

Amanda: It should say, friends with John Bork.

Marco: No, don't say who you're friends with. Look at what it says.


For me, learning a language is about consistency and doing it every day

Like the challenges you currently have with friends.

Amanda: Oh, okay.

Marco: while Amanda's looking that up.

Amanda: Okay, Hang on. Me and Mitch, he's a. Okay, so it's Amanda. JB.

Marco: Okay, Amanda. JB.

Amanda: It's Amanda. JB.

Marco: Perfect.

Amanda: So just find me at Amanda JB. There's 67 people following me. but I find with some friends, I see them, and they're doing a ton. There's one friend of ours who's learning Danish and you know it because when you have to do challenges, because you get paired up with friends to do challenges, which just means you both are committing and they'll give you little goals because they have what they call xp, which are just points.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: I don't know why they're called xp, but, so sometimes it'll be a lot of xp and you'll think, well, that's a huge goal. But that's because that person, that's the norm for them. It's their algorithm rhythm that you're tapping into. For me, it's about consistency and doing it every day. If I only do two minutes and do a little tiny challenge for two minutes, then at least I've done two minutes of Italian a day. My goal is I'll just keep speaking Italian every day until I someday, the dream is someday can say I speak Italian.

Marco: Maybe we go for two weeks and you learn and you get to use what you've spent a hundred and fifteen hundred days learning.

Amanda: Well, that's what I was going to say. With French, I spent years and years and years with textbooks and in classes. But the vast majority of French that I learned was from doing a French immersion program for six weeks, five weeks, where the, there was many benefits to it. We don't have to talk about the program. Sure, we can talk about it another time if people are interested. But it's a very special program they have in Canada. And, and the rule, was if you get caught speaking English more than twice, you're gone. And I had a lot of incentive to stay in the program.

Marco: Did anyone get kicked out while you were there?

Amanda: Oh, two people did.

Marco: Oh, wow.

Amanda: Yeah, they were really, it was, it was real, it was strict. And, you know, we found workarounds. We, we would hover around faucets, if you can believe it, and whisper in English. but still, when you think that that's, that's the world you're in, you're gonna learn a language pretty quickly.

Marco: You have to by necessity. Right.

Amanda: And so that's the most French I ever learned to this day was from those five weeks of going to a bar, going to a restaurant, going to class, eating lunch, hanging out, having a coffee with people. And you erase, when you do that, you erase the self consciousness of, I'm not very good because none of you are very good. But you're all trying and working and finding it together. it really changed the way I look at language.

Marco: There you go.


Susan Ross: How do you feel about adults learning new things

So how do you feel about adults learning new things? Do you think they can. Or do you think they can't?

Amanda: I think they can't. No. Can you imagine?

Marco: There you go. Susan Ross, you wanted the answer to that.

Amanda: well, I mean, I have lots of thoughts, but I feel like I've done a lot of talking. How do you feel about this topic?

Marco: I think it's a great way where it's like, okay, you're an adult now. Learn the things you've always wanted to learn.

Marco: And not the things you think you should learn. Because whatever, you know, I mean, like, at this point in my life, do I need to learn trig? No, because it doesn't. It doesn't. It doesn't excite me. I'm never going to use it. And if I have to use it, I'll phone a friend. But I really want to. You got a pasta. A pasta maker? I want to learn how to make pasta with a pasta maker.

Amanda: That's a very achievable goal, I feel like.

Marco: So that's one thing I want to do. I wanted to bake.

Amanda: Uh-huh.

Marco: But I didn't. I didn't do any baking. I suppose I was going to take a class, but then they wouldn't let me into the class. Maybe because I was an adult. They didn't believe in adult learners.

Amanda: That's not true. And you know that it's interesting that we're having this discussion today because I, I went for a long walk today, sort of out of necessity and sort of out of joy and play. I. Marco had the car, so I was coming home from my work and it was a beautiful day. And I thought, I wonder what it would be like if I walked all the way home. I didn't do that because I. It's two hours. It's a two hour walk. It's quite a hefty walk. but I did probably about an hour of it, and then the other hour I took transit.

Marco: Ah.

Amanda: Sort of a 45 minutes on each side or whatever it was. Yeah, it was a journey.


I was listening to the Power of Vulnerability by Brene Brown

But my point is, during that time, I was listening to the Power of Vulnerability by Brene Brown.

Marco: Do you recommend this book?

Amanda: Oh, yeah, I really do. I recommend any book I've ever listened to by Brene Brown. I've only ever listened to her books. I love listening to her books. all but one. She narrates and she's an amazing narrator. And this one is actually a live lecture series that's been taped and made into a book.

Marco: Who read the one that she didn't and did you like their reading?

Amanda: No, I spent about three minutes with it and went, I can't do this.

Marco: Oh, wow.

Amanda: Yeah, it's one of her earlier books. And I think she just didn't have the courage.

Marco: I see.

Amanda: Which is unfortunate because she's amazing. But she talks a lot about all those types of things. And she's a. If you don't know Brene Brown, she's a. She's many things, but she's a researcher on the, She's a researcher on the concept of shame.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: And so all of her studies emerge from that. And so this. The power of vulnerability. M. She talks a lot about vulnerability in all of her work. and this is about particular wholehearted living. So it's like a lecture series on living a wholehearted life.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda: And what does that mean? And what do the wholehearted among us people, what do they do? How are they different?

Marco: And they walk. They walk home from work.


Today she talked about how important play is for us

Amanda: Well, so today she was talking about this idea of play and how important play is, and really embracing play because we're not a species that does a ton of that.

Marco: At least not after a certain age. He's not valued well.

Amanda: It's just like, you go have fun. I have a job.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: In fact, at one point she said, enjoy your art. I have a job. Which was really funny.

Marco: Was.

Amanda: Was when I was walking. Anyway. but the truth is, in terms of our wholehearted life, of our mental well being, how important play is for us. And so she defines play. And so I was thinking a lot about that today, and I think learning new things. Sometimes what I've done this year, or trying to do anyway, is to go back to the things that I loved as a child.

Marco: I see.

Amanda: I don't think people change that much. I don't think I've changed that much. I've learned a lot. I've grown a lot.

Marco: So what did you love as a child that you're going to go back to?

Amanda: I loved swimming, and we've talked a lot about that.

Marco: Amanda bought a swim cap.

Amanda: I did. And I haven't worn a swim cap. There's a picture of me in New Hampshire at about 10 years old wearing a swim cap. And I look hilarious with a strawberry shortcake bathing suit. Oh, that's, amazing. I feel like I'm gonna. I'm going back to that person now. I loved dancing. I haven't quite re. Embraced that, but that is definitely on the agenda. I loved languages as a child.

Marco: There you go.

Amanda: I had no opportunity to learn them. So I would make them up, which I don't recommend as an adult, but I would make them up constantly. but I loved this concept of travel and of languages. I love the idea of travel as a child. I love cooking.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: I think I've been edging closer to getting back, like, to getting into pottery. I loved pottery.

Marco: Got to get you in that class. Knitwise wants to know when you're going to be taking that class. Okay. So.

Amanda: But the question is, am I doing it alone?

Marco: I'll do it with you.

Amanda: But do you want to do it with me, though?

Marco: I'll do it with you if you want me to do it with you. Okay. I will do it with you because we really.

Amanda: No, I want you. Okay. Do you want to do it with me? It's not about what I want. It's about, do you want to do it? Because I don't want to do it without you. If you actually want to do it.

Marco: Listen, I could be convinced either way.

Amanda: However, I don't need to convince you. I just want to know where you stand on a pottery.


We need to get Michael Miranda on the podcast to talk about pottery

Marco: Well, since we've been watching the Pottery Throwdown, which is an awesome show, folks, if you're looking for a show to watch.

Amanda: And now we're watching the great Canadian Pottery Throw Down.

Marco: And so. And we have a friend who we ran into recently who's a potter. Yes, you should do Michael Miranda. I should have Michael Miranda.

Amanda: I have Michael Miranda on the show to talk about pottery. He's a lovely person, a great potter, and a very talented actor as well.

Marco: He'll probably never hear this that we're going on. He's fantastic. I gave him a big hug. And you know those moments where your friend is trying to get to their car and drive home, but you want to talk to them for one last minute, and so you kind of hold them in the vestibule of a, location.

Amanda: Movie theater.

Marco: In a movie theater. And his lovely wife was just standing there as I spoke to him for easily 20 minutes. I know about pottery.

Amanda: I know.

Marco: And, folks, you would think as you listen to this podcast that I would be calm and easygoing about it, but rather, I was yelling, grabbing his hands and shaking him as I screamed about pottery and the great Pottery Throwdown. So funny in his face. And he seemed to love every minute. And his wife was just looking at me and you thinking, who are these two?

Amanda: Yep.

Marco: So we do need to get him on the podcast.

Amanda: We do.

Marco: So, Michael, that's an open invitation for you on the podcast, But I also Want to talk about Blown Away?

Amanda: All right, let's do it.


Susan wanted to ask about swimming in Florida in the Atlantic Ocean

Marco: Okay, so we've got six minutes left. Sorry, Susan, wanted to ask about swimming in Florida in the Atlantic Ocean. Beach swimming and things related to it. Walks or things we do in Florida. But that'll have to wait.

Amanda: Are we recording next week?

Marco: Yes, we have to pre record for next week.

Amanda: Oh, pre record.

Marco: Yeah.

Amanda: Well, I was going to say are, we recording on location? Because we're on location next week.

Marco: Well, I'm not bringing a microphone.

Amanda: Okay.

Marco: Should I bring a microphone?

Amanda: I don't know. We'll figure it out. But that would address the swimming question.

Marco: Okay, so we'll see. We'll see. If I have.

Amanda: If you don't want to, then you don't have to. Do I want you to have a vacation?

Marco: Yeah, it's true.


Blown Away is a competition show that takes place in Hamilton, Ontario

So we were going to talk about Blown Away.

Amanda: Let's be blown away by Blown Away.

Marco: So Blown Away is this competition show that takes place that, that is filmed in Hamilton, Ontario. So not far from us. We have friends who just moved to Hamilton. We did shout out to Connor Thompson and Ashley Kamal and where they create things out of glass. They blow glass, they spin glass, they pull glass. They do all kinds of glassy things.

Amanda: They do.

Marco: And when it first came on, we both thought it was ridiculous. Then we were home for two years and we got into it and now we can't get enough of it. And season four is out now on Netflix here in Canada. But look, look for Blown Away, wherever you are and you'll probably really enjoy it.

Marco: That's all I have to say about that.

Amanda: Well, and Blown Away has made me think a lot about this idea of play. Sure. Because they talk about the type of people that are drawn to creating glass and working with glass. There's different types of people. some work more with blown glass, others are more sculptor kind of people that got into it and use glass as a medium. So I do think of creative pursuits and one of the things I was listening to Brene Brown say today is the number of people who, when you talk about it or really investigate. A lot of us were told at younger ages that we weren't particularly gifted in some type of creativity. Whether it's like you can't draw.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: you know, she said one teacher said to a kid, it's so good you're smart because this does not look like a horse. And just an off candid comment. Right. Probably set out of love. Right. But after that he just realized he he Had a real issue with drawing.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda: Was asked to do it on a university application, like, draw what this feels like to you or something for Rice University. And then he didn't go because he didn't want to do the drawing.

Marco: Wow.

Amanda: Yeah. So I think we. And part of it is you don't, you know, we're all creative and it doesn't have to be perfect or good. you know, you don't have to be an amazing painter to take a painting class. Or in my case, you know, I have a sister in law who's an amazing potter. Right. So there's a little piece of me that's like, oh, I don't. I would never give her. I would take a beginner pottery class and then hand her, you know, a bowl that I made because I'd feel really, like self conscious about my beginner bowl.

Marco: She actually knows someone who's a judge on the great pottery throw down.

Amanda: Yeah, she's up there in the pottery world, right.

Marco: I want to see her on a pottery throwdown.

Amanda: I'd like to see her do pottery.

Marco: I'd like to see her pottery and hold it.

Amanda: You know, that's a member of our family. Then. We've never seen her do one of the things that she's incredible at doing. When I think about it, you know,

Marco: what you said just made me think of a, line from a song. Tell me I'm not perfect, but I'm perfect for you. You gotta bring that to the, the task that you thought you weren't perfect or someone told you you weren't perfect and just know that you're perfect.

Amanda: I'm perfect for this moment and that's all I need to be. I'm perfect for myself enough. Because really, who are you creating for exactly?

Marco: Do you know who wrote that song or who sings that? Grace Jones, in case anyone's wondering.

Amanda: Oh, that's not what I thought you'd say at all. Yeah, I thought it'd be like Willie Nelson.

Marco: No, he's a great songwriter, don't get me wrong. But every once in a while you got to throw out, a Grace Jones for sure.

Amanda: It's a great place to end it, I guess.


Amanda: We have a lot of listeners who listen during the day

Marco: And this is where we are, Amanda. We're at the end of our podcast. I also want to give a lovely whisper out. Not a shout out, because at this point in our show, hopefully people have fallen asleep. But we have a lot of listeners who listen during the day. They like to listen as they start their day, and they have no intention of listening for sleep, but they like to hear the sound of our voices. So I want to thank those listeners very much for being, the listeners who listen to the end of the podcast and enjoy it.

Amanda: Hm.

Marco: And whoever you are out there, please know that we value you and we're

Amanda: happy to have you, and we're happy to start a beautiful day with you.

Marco: So I hope it's a beautiful day wherever you are. And until next time, Amanda, I hope you were able to listen, enjoy, and maybe sleep.

In A Detailed Tour of The Insomnia Project Basement, Marco and Amanda respond to a listener suggestion and guide you on a softly narrated walk through one of the most ordinary — and surprisingly storied — parts of their home. What begins as a simple basement tour gently unfolds into reflections on an auction-winning painting, the thoughtful choices behind its placement, and the careful selection of tiles that define their laundry room. Each detail is shared at an unhurried pace, turning practical design decisions into a calming exploration of space and memory.
As the episode meanders, Marco reflects on his poster collection and the stories behind each piece, offering small glimpses into his eclectic tastes. The focus stays grounded in everyday surroundings, inviting you to imagine the textures, colours, and quiet corners along the way.
Like every episode of this calming podcast, the tone is steady and intentionally low-key — a relaxing conversation designed to help you fall asleep, ease anxiety, or quiet racing thoughts. Perfect for background listening at bedtime or during a middle-of-the-night wake-up, this basement tour provides gentle companionship and a peaceful place for your mind to wander.

​A Detailed Tour of The Insomnia Project Basement
(Original airdate: April 24, 2024)


The Insomnia Project focuses on one item in great detail

Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm and mundane and chill conversation that's meant to help you find your way to sleep or just to have you relax a bit. I'm your Host Marco Timpano.

Amanda:  I'm Amanda Barker.

Marco: Thank you for joining us, Amanda. One of our listeners asked us to do an episode where we just focus on one thing in great detail. Like the backpack episode that we did.

Amanda:  I would love to do that. And I'm gonna tell you, Marco, I often want to keep going with a thing and then you switch topics. You've got to stay with me.

Marco: Ok. So this is from Kashek on Instagram.

Amanda:  Thank you, Kashek.

Marco: And I hope I'm saying the right, the name. Right. Keshek says to focus solely on one item bracket purchased, like the backpack episode and go into minute detail. I love the photos, especially the Season 1 seasonal ones on their Instagram. So Amanda, what can we go into great detail? A recent purchase or not. Or not. So recent purchase or some item that we can really focus in on.

Amanda:  Oh my goodness. Well, we were just talking about renovations so I could walk everybody through our basement. Reno. And I could. I don't know, I'm just hearing this for the first time so I could go through the minute details of each room in our house.

Marco: Great.

Amanda:  I find that very relaxing myself.


Let's focus on the basement rental that we did. How many years ago? 2016. Was it really 2016? 17, 18, 19.

Marco: Let's focus on the basement rental that we did. How many years ago?

Amanda:  2016. So, quite a few.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda:  Gosh. 2016. Was it really 2016? 17, 18, 19. Seven years ago. Okay.

Marco: Seven year Renault. Seven years ago Renault for this episode where we focus on the seven year Renault.


Marco's basement was sold as a finished basement many years ago

So let me set the scene of what our basement was like before. Before.

Amanda:  Yeah, give us the before because it was many years.

Marco: So it was sold as a finished basement. But picture finished with a. Those elliptical brackets.

Amanda:  Because it was finished.

Marco: It was finished.

Amanda:  It had a carpet.

Marco: It had a carpet.

Amanda:  It had walls.

Marco: The carpet was dingy. The walls were a little bit grayish. It was a little bit sad. And it became an area where I would just store things in. It had a very deep closet that you'd have to sort of launch yourself into to take anything out of.

Amanda:  It had, it had an unfinished area and that was where you, your washer and dryer was. So I'm going to walk people through it.

Marco: And tiny, tiny windows on either side.

Amanda:  So you would walk down the stairs and on the immediate right was a cinder block sort of area, almost like it could be a storage space of some kind. And that's what it was used for. And then next to that on the right were those tiny little dingy yellowish basement windows. And there was a sliding, what we call an accordion door. The kind that you'd open in the middle, I believe. Was it at the middle or the side?

Marco: And it was made of plastic. Hard plastic.

Amanda:  Yeah. And that concealed poorly a washer and dryer. Marco adorned it with some posters.

Marco: That's right.

Amanda:  Both the unfinished wall behind the washer and dryer and I believe the little plasticky doors. One was of a woman's body and I believe one was of the Pussycat Dolls.

Marco: That's correct. That's correct.

Amanda:  I don't know how you came to own these posters.

Marco: The Pussycat Dolls poster I got for free.

Amanda:  I mean, I'm glad to hear that. But also I kind of wish you had bought it. But anyway, who. Who gave you a Pussycat Dolls poster for free?

Marco: I want to say Chris Bond.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco: I want to say Chris Bond, friend of the podcast. Friend of the podcast. He has a podcast. We like theme parks is the name of the podcast.

Amanda:  We like theme parks. Yes.

Marco: Awesome individual. I feel like I got it from him.

Marco: But maybe not. Anyway, and the other one was a woman smoking.

Amanda:  Oh, she was smoking.

Marco: She was. She had a cigarette dangling from her mouth. A blonde woman, right?

Amanda:  No, I don't, I don't think. No, you couldn't see her face? I don't think. Oh, are you thinking there was another woman? Okay. It was a lot of like scantily clad 80s posters.

Marco: I used to work at Athena. Do you remember Athena?

Amanda:  Yeah. Is that where you got these posters?

Marco: I think I may have gotten. I got.

Amanda:  There was one of like a black and white and it was a woman's bare back. do you not remember that?

Marco: Barely get it. No, no, I, I'm,

Amanda:  Okay, we're not.


I remember when you bought this house, I didn't know you very well

We're gonna delve into one thing. It's not about where you bought a poster. Okay. Anyway, some old ratty dated posters on the right, if I can remember that.

Marco: And then I think I feel poster shamed a little bit.

Amanda:  You should. They were bad. And then I think just storage on the wall. That was all on the right. It's sort of long and narrow. and then there's a furnace room. So if you're looking. So you've gone down the stairs. That was all along the right wall. Then in front of you was a little bit of storage space. Ah, a furnace room. A furnace room. And then sort of just open space behind, like adjacent to the stairs and behind where the stairs are. And again, as Marco said, a dingy carpet. And the walls, I remember them being a light blue. I don't know if they were, but that's what I remember. But like a very pale blue, like a white blue.

Marco: And there was yellow. There was probably person previous had painted some things yellow down.

Amanda:  There was some yellow, some light blue. Maybe it was yellow. And then they painted to sell it a more neutralized kind of color. Like something bluey white.

Marco: Yeah, something like that.

Amanda:  And that was kind of it. It was really just used for storage. But I do remember when you bought this house, I didn't know you very well, but I. I came to your housewarming and I actually was hoping other friends would show up because I didn't know you very well and I didn't know any of your friends very well. And I really only came because you were part of the same cast as me. We had the same. We were in a show that we've talked about a lot. And so I wanted to be a supportive cast member and come since I was invited. But I was a little wary about.

Marco: Did I invite you?

Amanda:  Yeah.

Marco: Okay.

Amanda:  Well, I didn't just show up. and I was a little wary of being here because I didn't. Which is funny because now it's my house. But I didn't think I'd know anyone. You had family members here and I didn't know any of them, so. And they were all in the kitchen, I remember. So I went down into the basement and kind of hung out. And you just had some folding chairs.

Marco: That's right. That's right.

Amanda:  In the basement in a sort of circle. That's all there was. So we kind of sat in a circle and talked a bit. And that was kind of it, really. And so that was more or less the basement. It was a little bit cobwebby,

Marco: mostly,

Amanda:  used for storage and a very dingy laundry space. So we decided to renovate it.

Marco: And here we go.

Amanda:  And, saved up for this. Hired a great person, for it. And he was sort of a one man show, A friend of another podcast I was involved in. And that's how I knew him. And he ripped up all the carpet. And now the space is as such, we ripped up the carpet and after a lot of research decided to go with tiles. And the reason we went with tiles is because. Well, sort of two reasons. One, if there would ever be any leakage, which basements can have basements flood and also washer and drying machines. Washing machines can leak. Then it wouldn't damage any hardwood, any vinyl, wood, any type of wood, like product tile is the one thing that can, you know, kind of. It won't get ruined.

Marco: And I Think you were even considering a tile that looked like wood?

Amanda:  I was. That was. I was very much wanting the tile that. What looked like wood. It looked like big, intricate kind of squares of wood. Almost like a very intricate parquet floor. Right. But that parquet floor, because they were big, square tiles. Chris, Chris Emanuel, the man who was doing the reno for us, said it would be more difficult because they were so big, and it would be easier to have smaller sort of more normal sized tiles because you can fit them to the drain. They're less likely to get ruined.

Marco: One by one tiles.

Amanda:  Yeah, one by one.


We went with white tiles that have a blue and brown pattern on them

So anyway, we went with, in the end, white tiles that have a blue and brown pattern on them. Mostly white. A little bit of a blue Moroccan sort of design, and then a brown little square right in the middle. So they're predominantly white and blue. So if you can think of a Moroccan tile that sort of, sort of comes in at the top, widens out in the center, comes back in.

Marco: Yeah, it has a name. I can't remember it.

Amanda:  Yeah, it looks like an onion almost. You know, like a. Like a big Vidalia onion. Anyway, that kind of shape that's in blue, and then there's a little blue or a, little, brown square in the middle. So fairly simple design. So that's what we went with. But I wanted something somewhat ornate, Moroccan or Portuguese, because I had been in Portugal right before I bought them and right before we ran out. And so I really wanted. Maybe it's actually 2017, now that I think about it. I think it was.

Marco: Sure. I like this tile still. Yeah, I do.

Amanda:  I wanted something that was reminiscent of all the beautiful blue tiles in Portugal that I love so much. So it. It's a little homage to that. So now when you walk down, we ripped out the carpet on the stairs and painted them, actually, after much discussion, a royal blue.

Marco: That's right.

Amanda:  The stairs also have a,

Marco: They're wooden stairs that are painted blue.

Amanda:  They're wooden stairs that are painted blue. and then there's white between the blue. So if you look up at the stairs, the stair. the steps are blue, and then the in between is white.

Marco: The kick plate.

Amanda:  Is that what it's called?

Marco: I think it's called a kick plate. Or anyone who knows what a kick plate will know what that is.

Amanda:  There's the parts.

Marco: Yeah, it's the part you would kick on the stairs, but not the part you step on.

Amanda:  What's the name of the wood Butcher block? So we have sort of butcher block handles, for the railings. Right. Those we put in with black, things to fasten them. I don't know what that's called. And then as you walk down those stairs now, in fact the first thing that actually greets you is a wall versus the, the cement little storage area, storage closety kind of area, which used to be the first thing you would see. There's in fact a wall there. sheet rock or drywall.

Marco: drywall.

Amanda:  And on that wall we have a very big old painting that I won in an auction. It looks like it's from like the 1800s and. And it's actually a scene of a, ah, child, watching a, gypsy woman dance.

Marco: That's right. With a tambourine. I think that's what it's called.

Amanda:  It's called the gypsies, I think. And

Marco: We didn't name it. That just happens.

Amanda:  No, that's what the painter named it. I really, really loved it when I saw it. There's something alluring, interesting about it.

Marco: there's a gentleman playing a I want to say accordion in it.

Amanda:  We'd have to look at it again.

Marco: I'll take a photo and I'll put it up for everyone to see.

Amanda:  That would be great.

Marco: Yeah, I will do.

Amanda:  And if they have any insight on the painting, that would be great because we actually won it at an auction. It was donated by actually a very wealthy family, I think, to this auction. And no one else bid on it. And we got it for $30, I'm ashamed to say, but we do love it.

Marco: We love it so much.

Amanda:  And even the frame is beautiful.

Marco: The frame is worth more than $30.

Amanda:  So anyhow, that painting is there and we have a lot of blue velvet down here. And I'll tell you, ways that we incorporate blue velvet sort of organically happened. So the first piece of blue velvet you'll see is a little ottoman. Just a little small circle, mid century looking ottoman. The top comes off of this ottoman. So it's a storage piece and a little seat. We use it for props for our auditions.

Marco: That's right.

Amanda:  So it sits next to the painting like a little seat. And then behind that wall is this studio.

Marco: That's right, yeah.

Amanda:  So we put in. We realized I really wanted to put a bathroom into the basement, but with various plans.

Marco: A full bath, right?

Amanda:  Yeah, like with a shower. And we had a friend who was an architect. So he actually very graciously, I'll, say his name. I guess his name is Brad Tapson, he's easy to find. Brad Tabson. And, he's a great architect. He was between jobs at that time, so he drew up two versions of plans for us incorporating a bathroom. However, because of where our meter is,

Marco: I think our water meter is the

Amanda:  way we wanted to do it, or what we had settled in basically meant we couldn't put the shower where we wanted to. One version of it was putting a shower here where we're sitting, but because it's cinder block, we couldn't.


You were always looking for space to podcast. And you came up with the brilliant idea

So we'd have to move it and it was closer to the mirror. In any event, we ended up with this space that was cinder blocks. And to us, it just seemed the only logical thing was to make a

Marco: studio to you, actually, because I was like, oh, maybe we make it into a sauna. Maybe we make it into something, a bar. I was trying to think because it was kind of dead space. And you came up with the brilliant idea. You said, what we need is a studio.

Amanda:  At that time you had started podcasting, you were maybe a year into the journey, not much more than a year, if that. And you were always looking for space to podcast. You were never quite happy with where you found. And I said, we should. We're already renovating. And, we were in the middle of it at that point. So we had already ripped up, you know, he. Chris had already started.

Marco: Right.

Amanda:  And that wasn't in the plans. But when we realized we had this sort of space, I thought, let's put a door and make it a studio. And that's what we did now. Full of, What are these called?

Marco: Acoustic tiles.

Amanda:  Acoustic black tiles. Like the kind you can imagine from a recording studio. so you open up a door. So it's. The door is perpendicular to that wall. So if you come down the stairs, you see the wall with the, gypsy painting. I feel weird calling it a gypsy painting. It feels like a weird.

Marco: We can just call it the Romney Dance. Yeah, dance. Dancing. Painting.

Amanda:  The dancing painting. Yeah. It doesn't feel right, but that is what it's called anyway. and, so perpendicular to that wall is the door for the studio. It's a very. It's, you know, a bit bigger than a closet, but not by much. You have had three people in here. But it's tight.

Marco: It's tight.

Amanda:  It's really just a two person studio with a small desk or table.

Marco: It's a, outdoor table that I sawed a third of it off.

Amanda:  Do you want to walk people through what the studio looks like acoustic tile

Marco: on the walls and on the ceiling. There's two lights, which I've had to put, What do you call this? Paper?

Amanda:  Gels.

Marco: Gels.

Amanda:  To soften lighting gels that you would use in a theater to make lights

Marco: different colors because they were a bit intense for when I would do a zoom, I would look like I was going to be beamed onto the Star Trek space. Right.

Amanda:  It's above light. Right. That sort of drops onto you. So to soften that, he put one with a blue gel and one with a. I think it's a reddish orangish kind of color.

Marco: Then I put a couple of shelves up, and they're not proper shelves. They're like shelves. you would put knickknacks on, like,

Amanda:  a knickknack, like a half shelf. Because there isn't. There just isn't the space to do a full shelf. Yeah.

Marco: And that's it.

Amanda:  And so then there's also hooks.

Marco: There's a bunch of hooks on the wall.

Amanda:  So again, trying to walk people through the space. So when you open the door, you see the acoustic tiles, the gelled lights on the ceiling. On the far wall facing the door, there are hooks, three of them. Each one has headphones on it, and one has a mic. is that called a spit guard? Hanging from it. He also has a series of pins that are stuck into the acoustic tiles. And these little pins, most of them are bare, but at various times have inspirational messages on them. Inspirational, drawings that Marco has drawn. He's very artistic.

Marco: This one has a bill on it.

Amanda:  I see a bill for our hydro. I'm not sure why that's there. So things to be reminded of. He simply uses these little pins.

Marco: They're T pins.

Amanda:  T pins, they're called. And he puts them onto the tile so they kind of live on the wall. different reminders for podcasting. You also teach podcasting out of the studio, and you often use the studio for other zoom work that you do, corporate work. So it serves truly. It's a studio and an office, really.

Marco: It really is. I get a lot of work done, and a lot of work happens in this studio. So I'm very.

Amanda:  It is a very small space, but it's certainly your. And that is our studio.


The door is perpendicular to the studio so that it faces the stairs

Now, moving forward, was there anything else you wanted to add?

Marco: I wanted to mention the reason the door is perpendicular is because we thought we would have the door. As soon as you come down the stairs, you would open the door and walk into the studio. But we couldn't put the door so that it faced the studio. or sorry, the door so that it faced. It didn't have enough clearance to the stairs. There was something about it that. That wouldn't allow you to do so. So I'm much happier that it's perpendicular. And you kind of have to turn

Amanda:  around to get it actually gives us truly just like a foot of more space. Not much more than that. So that's the studio. Then where that washer and dryer used to be on the right wall is now a bathroom.

Marco: That's right.

Amanda:  And as mentioned, it's not a full bath, it's a sink and a toilet. So what we call a half bath in real estate terms.

Marco: Pow.

Amanda:  Sure. A powder room. because it didn't, we couldn't put the shower in. And maybe there'll be a time I have an idea for, if we do want to at a later date, put a shower down here in. But in any event, it's a sliding door, a pocket door, if you will, for, space reasons. So it its, I guess 90 degrees from the door of the studio. Sure. And it's a white pocket door. and it's fastened with a latch, although not terribly effectively, I have to be honest. We usually just sort of slide it mostly shut and hope for the best. But you can latch it. And when you slide it open, you are greeted first by the window. That dingy, yellowed, tiny window that we had on that side of the basement, is now a bigger window. We bought a window that is twice the size that opens up. So it is at ground level. So we have it sort of dug out the way you can with the basement so that you're opening it up to, you know, you're not opening it on the ground, it's dug out. and there's some like river stones on the bottom. So you can open it up there, but you can fully open the windows now, which we never could. And the bathroom is a tropical palm leaf. I went for really bright, big and bold. I wanted palm fronds. And I realized that there's banana leaves and palm leaves in at least six years ago. The wallpaper options of the time. And then I found one that had both palm and banana leaves.

Marco: And that's what you want.

Amanda:  And that's what I went with. I also was wanting everything to be gold. So we have a toilet on the left. So you slide open the door and there's a toilet on the. And it has a gold handle. I have a little Palm leaf candle that I found. So that kind of has sat there for a long time. And then on the right is a sink that I got very much on sale. I think it was $30.

Marco: Yeah, it was like marked down.

Amanda:  It was insane.

Marco: And you were looking for that type of sink.

Amanda:  I was looking for a pedestal sink.

Marco: And you couldn't find one. You couldn't find.

Amanda:  I could not find one.

Marco: Expensive ones you did not like. There was like $600 ones. And you're like, I don't like this one.

Amanda:  So I happened to find one. They had one literally. Next door to our house is a. What's called the home hardware. And they were just trying to get rid of them. They had like three or four and they were $30. And the reason people didn't like them was because it was a pedestal sink that was a little wider on top where it kind of has a scalloped edge. And it's a little bit more ornate. Not. Maybe not or neat, but wider. But I loved it because it gives. It actually offers a tiny bit of counter space versus a normal pedestal sink, which would just be the basin and that's it. So it's just enough counter space that you can put a candle, some soaps. so it's a pedestal sink that has a sort of flare on the. On each side of it. and I ordered a brass. Brass knobs for it and a very wide brass or gold. It's gold, but it's brass. Ah, wide gold spout.

Marco: So it's a very swan neck type spout.

Amanda:  Yeah, swan neck spout. So it's a very wide stream. But I. That's what I wanted. I wanted gold and palm leaves. I really wanted to sort of lean into that aesthetic more like the letter

Marco: C than like a backwards C than a swan neck. But. But you get the drift.


We're going to continue the basement tour on another podcast

Amanda:  The mirror is a gold brass mirror with, sort of a geometric kind of shape to it. not quite a diamond. It has like little bars sort of over it. It's kind of intricate. I forget where I got that, but, it works there, I think. And that's. I think that's the bathroom. Oh, and we have a gold, light fixture. Gold light fixture. Trying to remember what it looks like now.

Marco: It looks like a. Oh, yeah, like a Sputnik satellite.

Amanda:  Like a Sputnik satellite over sort of, Yeah, like starburst almost. above the mirror. Above the mirror. So I really wanted a mid-60s 70s gold palm leaf kind of aesthetic in there, and I went for it. The floor is a white Moroccan tile. And, someday I'm going to regrout the floor for a darker grout. but that's a discussion for another time. Is that all?

Marco: With the time we have, that's pretty much the time. You have a minute to do the rest.

Amanda:  I think we're going to continue the basement tour on another podcast. Okay, well, there you go. Because I just think, this is meant to be a methodical room tour, which many people, including myself, find extremely relaxing.

Marco: Of course. And this episode was from Kishek on Instagram mentioned that they wanted a episode that goes into minute detail on an item like the backpack episode. And while it's not a particular item, it's certainly the basement.

Amanda:  And we will continue because that's one corner of our basement. And although our basement is definitely not large, we were very careful to really plan and pack as much as we could into that renovation. So I think we'll. We'll will continue to walk people through the rest of the space on our next episode.

Marco: Thank you for staying with us, and thank you for your suggestions for episodes until next time. We hope you enjoyed this one on the basement, and we hope you were able to listen and sleep.

In Unwind with Us: Cue Cards, Highlighters & Penmanship Preferences, Marco and Amanda settle into a softly spoken, delightfully detailed conversation about the soothing world of office supplies. What might seem ordinary — cue cards, pens, pencils, and highlighters — becomes a surprisingly calming landscape of colour, texture, and personal preference. They reflect on how cue cards help them stay organized, debate the merits of pencils versus pens, and gently spar over favourite ink colours and highlighter shades.
The discussion lingers on penmanship preferences and the small rituals of writing by hand — the feel of a good pen, the satisfaction of a crisp card, the quiet joy of highlighting just the right line. As always, this calming podcast unfolds at an unhurried pace, offering a relaxing conversation designed to help you fall asleep, ease anxiety, or quiet racing thoughts. It’s perfect for background listening at bedtime or during a middle-of-the-night wake-up. Let the gentle nostalgia of school supplies and steady banter guide you toward rest.

​Unwind with Us_ Cue Cards, Highlighters & Penmanship Preferences
(Original airdate: March 28, 2024)


Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we discuss relaxation topics

Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm, relaxing, chill conversation about the mundane or mundane topics to help you sort of float your way to relaxation and who knows, even sleep. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco. Tim Pano.

Amanda: When you said chill, I gotta chill.

Marco:  There you go.

Amanda: I'm Amanda. Hi.

Marco:  And please let your friends and family know about this podcast. Feel free to share it on your social media. The more listeners we get, the better. And of course, we value you as listeners. Those who listen for sleep and those who listen for otherwise.

Amanda: And, our dear friend of the program and alumna, of the program, Nidhi Khanna was recognized not too long ago.

Marco:  That's right.

Amanda: For her voice.

Marco:  Yeah. She was doing a, speech. She was Speaking in front of a crowd. Public speaking, not public speaking. She was actually speaking in front of a crowd, engaging a crowd. And someone came up to her afterwards and said, you know, I could. I recognize your voice. And I remember hearing the voice. I had to place it. And then she said, and then I realized I listened to the podcast during my pregnancy because I was. It, was the only thing that would relax them.

Amanda: So, so nice.

Marco:  Yeah. Such a lovely thing.

Amanda: We love Nidhi as well. And obviously she's always welcome back on the program anytime, but it just became easier as we. She doesn't live in this house. Although she could imagine the three of

Marco:  us together, it would be a lot of fun.


I wanted to talk about cue cards because I often use cue cards

I wanted to talk about cue cards because I often use cue cards and you don't use cue cards.

Amanda: I saw a dear friend of ours today who actually did a really great audition using cue cards.

Marco:  Oh, there you go. I love a cue card. I like my white cue cards and my multicolored cue cards and I use them for different reasons and I find them very useful. You know me, I'm always writing on a cue card.

Amanda: Indeed you are. Yeah. You love them. I don't use them too much.

Marco:  No, you don't.

Amanda: I just use them in a very weird way. I used to use them for debating in high school.

Marco:  Well, that makes sense. That's a logical reason to.

Amanda: That's not weird, I guess. But what I did use them in a weird way was I used them for whatever reason on my application to university.

Marco:  Oh really?

Amanda: I wrote answers on cue cards and numbered them.

Marco:  That's fascinating.

Amanda: M. Yeah. I don't think it was the right choice. I got in.

Marco:  Well, it was a lucky choice then.

Amanda: I don't think it was the way I should have done it, but that's what I did. I don't know why I did that.

Marco:  I use cue cards in particular when I'm teaching a course. I have cue cards in front of me. I use them as, models for my students to use and I have to order some for something I'm going to be doing in Montreal in a week's time.

Amanda: What is it about cue cards that you love so much? Why cue cue cards and not a sheet of paper or.

Marco:  It's a great question. I, I like cue cards because you're kind of subjected to writing whatever you need to write in that space and you can't go. You, you're forced in a way to be concise.

Marco:  And I like that they are, they're, they're not static. In other words, when I'm organizing my thoughts. So let's say I had to do a presentation and I wrote my presentation on cue cards, or even points on different cue cards. I could mix where they appear in the presentation. So it allows me that flexibility. Whereas if I was to write it on the computer, I'd have to copy and paste.

Marco:  But you don't get the visual perspective. So for me it's like geography or a puzzle. I can put what I need to do in whatever order. And visually, I guess because I'm m a visual person, it makes sense to me. And then color, as you know, is also something that I use to help organize my thoughts. Because I always have many highlighters. I like to have highlighters. I like to have a highlighter at arm's reach at any point. So I've got some in my nightstand table. I have some near the television set. I have some on like. Amanda will find highlighters just about everywhere, right?

Amanda: They're everywhere. I remember, Ellie talking to you about your highlighting. You, you love to highlight things and you have a bag that is labeled highlighters. Yes, it seems to. Whenever I need a highlighter, it's a weird thing, I can never find one. And yet I know we have multiples.

Marco:  Whenever you need a highlighter.

Amanda: What did I say?

Marco:  Eat. I heard eat. Whenever I eat a highlighter.

Amanda: I hope not. Well, whenever I want to eat a highlighter, it's not there. That's probably a good thing.

Marco:  Yeah, it's probably a good thing.

Amanda: sometimes when I was little, sometimes

Marco:  you don't put caps on the highlighters.

Amanda: One doesn't. Not me in particular.

Marco:  No, no, you. I'm saying you. So my highlighters dry out. And you know what I find tricky with highlighters?

Amanda: Why I don't use your highlighters.

Marco:  I, find it difficult to find green highlighters. So when you get, when you get a bundle, it's usually purple, orange, yellow, blue, pink. But not green.

Marco:  But there are green ones out there, so I always covet the green ones.

Amanda: I didn't know this about you.

Marco:  Yeah. And so I'm always perplexed when I see you using the green one because I fear that my green will lose its cap and dry out. And I get my green, generally speaking, from one of the, one of the jobs we do in London, Ontario, they always have green highlighters in the rooms.

Amanda: I didn't know any of this. Shedding so much light onto so many aspects of my, my home life.

Marco:  Oftentimes that green highlighter somehow gets put in my backpack and travels home with me.

Amanda: Right.

Marco:  And that's how the green highlighter appears in our home.


Do you know what highlighter I am most likely to use in a

Amanda: Do you know what highlighter I am most likely to use in a, in a. if all highlighters were on the table, do you know which one I would take first? Yellow.

Marco:  no. Pink?

Amanda: Nope.

Marco:  Orange.

Amanda: I don't.

Marco:  How do you say orange?

Amanda: Why did you say it like that?

Marco:  I just said it for fun.

Amanda: orange. Do you know why?

Marco:  Because you worked for a company that. I should have guessed it. I should have, I should have deduced it. But you worked for a company whose color was that color of orange.

Amanda: And so one of our promotional products, because everything was orange, the signage was orange, the banners, everything was orange. and all of our promotional products were that sort of highlighter. Orange, bright orange. And so we had highlighters. That was one of the things we would hand out. And they would say the name of the company on them. So I always had orange highlighters around because they were easy to come by there. And so when I left that company, I must have had a couple of boxes of those orange highlighters. So for me, they're the most, easy to access or my brain will say, okay, that's the cheapest highlighter. And I know that your highlighters are coveted. And you know, it's not like I have my own highlighter stash. I have to dig into your highlighter situation.

Marco:  I can get you your own private highlighter stash. I wouldn't mind that. I don't like using purple because it's often too dark.

Amanda: It's too dark. Now, one of the things that we use highlighters for, because we do use them a lot in this house.

Marco:  I do.

Amanda: We don't have a, you know, a 16 year old son who's doing report on something. Like. Right. I feel like highlighters are very specific. But the reason that we use them as much as we do, one of the reasons is because we are actors and we're auditioning all the time. And so a big part of the audition process is printing out your script and then highlighting possibly your lines, the other person's lines. We each have different ways of going about it. If I hand you a script and I'm playing a role and there are, two or three other characters in the script, I will pick different colors of highlighter to differentiate. And I think you do the same. So if I'm reading for Sarah, Sarah's gonna be orange. Well, actually, the way I do it is I don't highlight Sarah. At all. I'll highlight George, who's orange. I'll make John blue. And then I'll make Tammy the coveted green.

Marco:  Right.

Amanda: and, that way, you know, to maybe do a different intonation or a different voice as we, as we do it. And of course, most of our additions are done at home.

Marco:  Right. So I'll often make notes for some of the work that we do. And I'll highlight in different colors.

Marco:  And I'll draw little pictures. And then sometimes you borrow my notes and you'll see clouds and certain symbols.

Amanda: Yeah. Which does nothing for me, but I'm glad that they help you. and yes, I borrow your notes. I feel like that was a dig. Was that a dig or just.

Marco:  No, I just make good notes is all I'm saying.

Amanda: You do make good notes. You're very organized in, in that way.

Marco:  And I'm not, which is fine.

Amanda: I was never particularly gifted student in that way. I always wanted to be.

Marco:  Now, you said earlier you ate crayons for fun. You were eating crayons or pencils.

Amanda: Pencils. I used to eat pencils when I was like 6 and 7. I would chew on the tops of pencils until the erasers would pop out and I would. I loved crunching the metal in my teeth. I know it's not a good.

Marco:  This is not.

Amanda: This is why I needed caps on all my teeth. I guess by the time I was in my early 20s. but yeah, I used to. And I can sort of still taste the. The taste of the lead in the wood, which is, you know, can't be a good thing for a child to eat for a lot of reasons.


Are you more likely to use a pencil or a pen if they're equidistant

Marco:  Are you more likely to use a pencil or a pen if they were equidistant from when you needed to write something?

Amanda: It's interesting that you say that because I also took pencils from a job that we did. They had a whole bunch of pencils, so I took one or two. And today I was writing notes and I normally would work in a pen. The place that I work now actually has really lovely pens, that are part of their promotional thing.

Marco:  And I could use a box of those pens.

Amanda: Yeah, they're not easy to come by.

Marco:  Oh really?

Amanda: But you know, I did almost take one today and I didn't. I left it there. I like those on purpose. I was like, I need to stop taking pens. We have a lot of those pens.

Marco:  No, we don't. We really don't.

Amanda: We don't.

Marco:  No, I like those pens.

Amanda: Well, I noticed there's one of my favorite pens is on the floor here. And I'm. I like. Oh, that's where it is.

Marco:  What pen is that?

Amanda: The highball pen.

Marco:  Oh, it is a nice pen.

Amanda: Dance on the floor right here.

Marco:  Our friend. Our friends have a company and. And the pen is like, it looks like rose gold. But I don't think you've answered my question of would you grab the pen or the pencil?

Amanda: What is for the per. What's the purpose of the writing?

Marco:  I don't know. You just need to jot something down. You're writing a letter to the king.

Amanda: Probably a letter to the king.

Marco:  I don't know. You're like, what's the purpose of king?

Amanda: Like King Charles.

Marco:  Yeah.

Amanda: I would probably take a pen.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda: But I do I. What I was trying to say was I. I actually worked in pencil today and it was a nice change.

Marco:  Oh, I see.

Amanda: That's all, that's all I wanted to say.


It depends on the color of the pen. I like blue ink, but I don't like black

Marco:  Now, Amanda, how about you?

Amanda: What would you use?

Marco:  It depends on the color of the pen.

Amanda: Right. So let's talk about that I think

Marco:  we've talked about on the show, but I'll re. Mention it. I like blue ink. I don't like to write in black ink.

Amanda: Why is that?

Marco:  Unless the black ink is a liquid

Amanda: black ink, like the kind that smears on your pinky when you write.

Marco:  Like the kind that you're. The company that you work for right now has. Right. That's. That's. Is that what you're talking about? The smeary kind?

Amanda: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Marco:  That's the kind I like.

Amanda: Like when you're writing a nice card to someone and you've worked really hard on what you're gonna say, and then your pinky becomes like a stamp, an ink stamp, and then smudges all over it. Does that ever happen to you?

Marco:  Not really.

Amanda: Really? No.

Marco:  No, I'm careful when I write.

Amanda: I'm very careful. That's how I know that it makes that stamp.

Marco:  Fair enough. No, I like blue or purple ink, but I don't like. Yeah, like, I like a purple pen has purple ink. There's a lot of pens that have purple.

Amanda: Planet Fitness pen.

Marco:  Yeah, no, those are just purple. Yeah, I guess they are purple ink. I. I like a darker purple ink, but blue would be my go to ink.

Amanda: Okay.

Marco:  I don't like to write with black ink.

Amanda: Would an indigo be your indigo ink? Be your most coveted since it's purple and blue?

Marco:  Most definitely. Most definitely. Yeah. That's. That's the ink I like. To use.

Amanda: All right.

Marco:  so if it's blue, I'll use blue. If it's. If it's a liquid kind, I'll use black. I don't have a problem with that. And pencils. If it's sharp, I like to use a sharp pencil.

Amanda: I had a nice sharp one today, so it's kind of satisfying. Yeah. but a dull pencil is the worst.

Marco:  Yeah, dull pencils. The worst.

Amanda: The worst.

Marco:  I also don't mind when you have to use a knife to. To sharpen the pencil and the lead becomes very thick.

Amanda: I don't do that. I guess I know what you're talking about, but I've never done that. A knife. To sharpen a pencil.

Marco:  You've never used a knife to sharpen a pencil?

Amanda: Oh, what year is this? No. Is it 1948? No, I don't use a knife to sharpen a pencil.

Marco:  We always used to sharpen our pencil with a knife. Yes.

Amanda: What kind of school did you go to? Dangerous Minds?

Marco:  No, we went to. We went to the Sharpen your pencils, the jets and the Sharks school. no, we, we. We.

Amanda: School of musical theater.

Marco:  Yeah. No, we had.

Amanda: Did you know how. Pencil sharpeners.

Marco:  We did, but sometimes you don't have time to sharpen with a sharpener. You have to use what's close at hand, and sometimes that's a knife.

Amanda: What? Why would you have a knife close at hand in school?

Marco:  No, I'm talking at home.

Amanda: Why would you have a knife close at hand at home, like in the kitchen?

Marco:  I think it's probably because you.


A flat, wide pencil is often used by trades people

Okay. Are you familiar with a, a work pencil for, like, people who do, like, manual labor?

Amanda: Like an IKEA pencil?

Marco:  No, they're like flat pencils that, that, like construction workers or people who work on job sites would use, and they. They can tuck easily.

Amanda: What, a flat pencil?

Marco:  Yeah. So it's like a pencil that's made to go behind your ear, and it's often used by trades people.

Amanda: I don't know this pencil.

Marco:  Yeah. so they're flat and wide. You've never seen these pencils?

Amanda: No. I mean, not the ones you put the leads in.

Marco:  No, not. Not a mechanical pencil. That's not what I said. Like, it's a. I. I'll look it up. I think it's. It's a. It's definitely something that's used by the trade. So if you went to a Home Depot or a lumber store, they would have.

Amanda: Yeah, I know. IKEA pencils. Those little guys. Also known as a mini putt. Pencil.

Marco:  Golf pencil, I believe is what those are called.

Amanda: Oh, really?

Marco:  Yeah. No, these are pencils that are used,

Amanda: aren't they, at bowling alleys too? Bowling pencils?

Marco:  I guess, I guess any place where you. Where m. You need a pencil to fill in a form of some sort. And they don't want to go through,

Amanda: they just want little ones.

Marco:  Yeah. So it's a pencil that, that's. That is wide and flat.

Amanda: I can't picture this at all. And I'm fascinated that there's a whole world of pencils I didn't know about. Yeah, for the trades, apparently.

Marco:  Yeah. I'm trying to look it up and you're asking me questions. so it's a pencil and anyways, so a tradesperson would have that pencil. Right.

Amanda: Okay. Do you want me to look it up?

Marco:  Yeah, look it up. And they wouldn't be able to sharpen it with a sharpener because how do you sharpen a flat, wide pencil? and they're likely to have some sort of knife, whether that be an exacto knife or a carpet cutting knife or a vinyl knife. I don't know, whatever knife one might have.

Amanda: Carpenter pencil.

Marco:  Yeah, maybe it's a carpenter pencil. Can you show me what it looks like? Yeah, that's it. That's it.

Amanda: I've never seen this before.

Marco:  A carpenter pencil. Thank you. I was saying tradesperson pencil.

Amanda: I mean, you're not wrong. I've just never seen this.

Marco:  So just picture it. You could put it behind your ear and it's not going to fall. Like a round pencil will fall out of your ear.

Amanda: Do you know how much one carpenter pencil is?

Marco:  No. I'm curious.

Amanda: $68.

Marco:  No, that's impossible. That must be a box of them. There's no way one Carpenter pencil is $68.

Amanda: Oh yeah, it's a pack of 72.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda: I was like, wow, what a coveted pencil.


So my dad always had those pencils, right? Of course

Marco:  So my dad always had those pencils, right?

Amanda: Of course.

Marco:  And he would sharpen them with a knife. And so when I was a kid and I was like, I need my pencil sharpener.

Amanda: He'd be like, come here, kid. Yeah, I got my pencil knife.

Marco:  And he would use a knife. Whatever. No, usually it was like a, a pretty big knife from the kitchen.

Amanda: Your dad was so handy and mine was so not.

Marco:  There you go.

Amanda: So he tried, but.

Marco:  So I take it your dad did not use a carpet?

Amanda: He did not. I don't even know if he would have known where the pencil sharpener was.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda: so no, I mean he used, but actually My dad used pencils at work. He would make charts for. To chart growth. Kind of like he would, you know, what we would picture as a sort of normal Excel spreadsheet. I remember he would have the graph paper and he would make it himself.

Marco:  Oh, wow.

Amanda: And do it all, by hand. Charting the growth of different products and things like that and how they did from month to month. He had this huge big chart that he made and that was all in pencil. Ah. I think about it.

Marco:  Have you ever used a wax pencil?

Amanda: I don't think so. What would you use that for?

Marco:  So wax pencils. Do you know what a wax pencil is?

Amanda: I don't think so.

Marco:  So a wax pencil, if I'm not mistaken, were those pencils that you could peel of the rind of it?

Amanda: Oh, yeah, like a peely pencil thing. And, and the, it's almost like a wax crayon. Really.

Marco:  Yeah, yeah. And the lead that was inside it was soft. It wasn't a lead.

Amanda: It was, it was like a crayon. Yeah.

Marco:  It was kind of waxy, right?

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco:  And I feel like it was, it was used to write on certain surfaces, like on wax paper. I think, like that's what butchers would use to write on. To write on butcher paper.

Amanda: Really?

Marco:  And if I'm, listen, I could be wrong. Don't, you know, take it with a grain of salt. But that's what I remember.

Amanda: Butcher, grain of salt.

Marco:  Yeah. And then. Did you ever see the kind of chalky thing that seamstresses or tailors use when they're marking clothes?

Amanda: Is that also one of those things that you can peel back?

Marco:  No, it's more like a bar, like a thin bar of soap, let's say. But like hand sized. Kind of reminds me of. Isn't it just chalk when you go to a hotel and you get the thin bars of soap that they give. That's what it reminds me of. But I think it was made of, of a. I want to say talc. No, I think it was made of chalk. like you said.

Amanda: Okay. A, a chalk bar.

Marco:  Do you know what I'm talking about though? Like what, what that is?

Amanda: I, I always think of chalk, but maybe it's not chalk.

Marco:  No, I think it is chalk, but it's a certain type of. I remember it being.

Amanda: I don't really. I mean, I also didn't go to a lot of seamstresses growing up. a little bit. It feels like you grew up in the 30s. You're,

Marco:  Yeah, well, my, my grandmother.

Amanda: It seems like I'm like, you know what cobblers use? No, I don't. Do you know what seamstresses? The. The. The butchers and seamstresses and hunters.

Marco:  My grandmother was a very astute seamstress or tailor.

Amanda: She was pretty great.

Marco:  And so she always had those around.

Amanda: Oh, I see.

Marco:  And as kids, you just want to play with them because, you know, they make marks.

Amanda: Right.

Marco:  And so she must have loved that. I guess. I don't know. Like, you know, I'm sure we were pains by always touching those kind of. Kind of things.


There's been a real crafting, um, movement in the last few years

And, yeah, so we always had those kind of, you know, the inkling to. To make marks everywhere.

Amanda: Oh, my goodness. All the. All the tools of old.

Marco:  Yeah. I mean, they. They served a purpose, right?

Amanda: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I. And a lot of those trade coming back, right?

Marco:  For sure.

Amanda: Like, dressmaking, I think is. Is having somewhat of a resurgence. Certainly seen, like, people wanting to create. There's been a real crafting, movement. Movement in the last few years, I think.

Marco:  I recently did some. Is it cross stitch?

Amanda: I did, yeah. Ah.

Marco:  For a friend. Is that called cross stitch?

Amanda: Yeah, I was going to say embroidery, but I think you're right. It's called cross stitch when it's in the little circle thing.

Marco:  All I know is that I made little X's to make words for a friend's birthday, and she loved it.

Amanda: And I had the same people that are the owners of these nice pens that we were talking about.

Marco:  Highball pens.

Amanda: Highball pens and, highball tv. So it's not a. It's a streamer. Not a boozy thing.

Marco:  Yeah, definitely. Check out Highball tv. M. And, yeah, I'd never. I'd never done that before. And my mom, once again, was a very proficient cross stitcher.

Amanda: Do you remember your mother's needle cushion? Pin cushion.

Marco:  I think it was a tomato.

Amanda: Tomato. Yeah. They all had the tomato. Yeah, some had, a strawberry with a little strawberry attached to it. I don't know if you had that one.

Marco:  I always thought that was the tomato that had a little pepper, like a hot pepper.

Amanda: Maybe it was a hot pepper, but my mom had a tomato. It's so funny, we've never spoken about this, but my mom had the tomato pin cushion as well. And I used to.

Marco:  Pincushions are there if you didn't have the tomato.

Amanda: Was that a thing in the 70s? Oh, you got to get the tomato pin cushion, like, now.

Marco:  There was a satiny, There was a satiny pin cushion that I think had little. Little figures Looking in on it.

Amanda: Okay.

Marco:  Did you ever see that?

Amanda: No, no, we just had a sewing machine and the tomato pin cushion.

Marco:  Yeah, we actually.


Did your mom sew as much as she did other hobbies

Okay, so for the.

Amanda: Did you. Did your mom sew as much?

Marco:  She, she would do more knitting and crocheting and needlepoint and. What's the other one called?

Amanda: well, she's a big crocheter.

Marco:  Crochet and knits and things like that.

Amanda: See, my mom would make pillows, right? So she'd make pillow covers. When she got bored of her pillow, she just buy some fabric, cheap fabric. And I mean, she'd buy good fabric on sale always. and she'd make pillows. She always was making curtains. My mother makes new curtains like every three years, I swear.

Marco:  Yeah. And we, we got some of her curtains.

Amanda: Yeah, she's always making curtains.

Marco:  And we use them. Really? They were the perfect size for one of the sliders up at our cottage. And then I washed them and I didn't realize you're not supposed to wash. And I shrunk them.

Amanda: Yeah, they're usually dry clean.

Marco:  Only I didn't realize.

Amanda: But you know what? Those cur. Those particular ones, it bugs her that we use them because they don't have the proper backing on them because she made them for a condo that she was renting with my dad for a very short time in Tennessee. Right. But that's how much my mom makes curtains. That they were in a condo for three months or whatever it was, and she still was like, okay, you know what, we need specific curtains. So she made curtains, but she never put a backing on them because they were more just temporary and for show. But we took them and we put them, you know, we use them and they should have like a thicker backing to them, but anyway, they don't. So. I've never been good at making curtains. But my mom always says, oh, I'm not a seamstress, I'm not a seamstress. I guess her mother was right. I mean, that's the thing, right? Back in those days, you had to be sure.

Marco:  I recently sewed a button on my shirt.

Amanda: You did? Yesterday.

Marco:  I couldn't find. I couldn't find thread.

Marco:  So I had to use some embroidery thread for the button.

Amanda: Well, that's the other thing when you actually need to do like. And it really is just sewing a button or maybe sewing a hem into pants if you're feeling a bit ambitious. for me, maybe darning a sock. If you really like a pair of socks and there's a hole that's happened. Do you have you ever darned a sock?

Marco:  I think I have, but I remember seeing people darning socks. And I don't know if it was my grandmother or my mother or who it was, but they would take a light bulb and put it in the sock so that you. Have you never seen that? So you could darn the sock where the hole is because the light bulb. Yeah.

Amanda: Smart, though.

Marco:  Yeah. Would. Would. Would allow the hole to be visually present, I guess, for you. that's. I've seen that before, which I always thought was kind of neat.

Amanda: But what I was going to say is, like, I used to when I moved in here, I had a little box of buttons, some thread, some needles. Like I had that. I don't even have that anymore. I don't know where that went.

Marco:  I know where there's a box of buttons. I just found. There's so many buttons. I thought the thread would be there, but.

Amanda: Is, it my box or yours?

Marco:  No, it's my box. But I'm wondering if your buttons made it to my box.

Amanda: They must have, because I don't think I have them anymore. I don't know.

Marco:  Well, because I don't.

Amanda: It's a good reminder, though, that it's time to clean. When you don't know where that random box of buttons is or when you need to sew a button, and you realize the only thread you have is either from a hotel sewing kit, which is often the case for me.

Marco:  That's not good quality thread.

Amanda: No. But sometimes you don't care.

Marco:  It's a thread you need in a pinch.

Amanda: Yeah. or in your case, an embroidery kit from a friend. But it's true, we don't. Sewing, has always been a thing I wanted to get into and never quite did. And I know we've had Lois, my good friend Lois on the program talking about her quilting.

Marco:  Right.

Amanda: journey. Which has been incredible. But, I've always thought, oh, yeah, I'll get some some year. That will be my New Year's resolution. Like to start sewing.


Did you make anything in home ec. when you were in high school

Marco:  Well, we have a lot of listeners who are very crafty. I know if there's a thread you would recommend that we purchase and have in the house for when we have

Amanda: thread needs or like a sewing machine that would be good for somebody just starting out that may wanna even just hem something or.

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda: Fashion a skirt or something simple like homeack101 kind of thing.

Marco:  And if you know what those. What that tailor's chalk is made of, let us know.

Amanda: Did you make anything in home ec. When you were in high school, do you ever.

Marco:  I feel like we made a. A little pillow. Maybe it was a pin cushion pillow.

Amanda: I made pants. I made gaucho pants.

Marco:  Oh, my goodness. No, we.

Amanda: They weren't great. I'd have to wear a belt with them because they didn't really. I couldn't really tackle the waist too well. But I think, I would wear them.

Marco:  I think we made a little bear that we stuffed. And you made pants. Wow.

Amanda: I wanted to make something useful. I made black. It was 1991. I made black gaucho pants. Or 1990, but like, it was. I just remember Madonna's Vogue just came out. Maybe 91. Madonna's Vogue came out. So I wanted pants like what she was wearing in that video.

Marco:  What did you cobble in Cobble class?

Amanda: I did have cobalt, but I did make Rice Krispies squares in Home ec. Wow.

Marco:  Tasty. Well, we'll leave you with that little tasty treat. Pardon the pun. And we hope you were. that's.

Amanda: Why is it a pun?

Marco:  Tasty treat, Rice Krispie squares.

Amanda: Why is that a pun?

Marco:  Isn't that Pardon the pun? Isn't that the expression?

Amanda: If it's a pun, what do you say?

Marco:  Pardon the.

Amanda: You don't pardon it.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda: Uh-huh.

Marco:  Well, don't. Oh, I can't believe I got. I'm gonna write on a cue card.

Amanda: Well, if you were like. And with that, we're gonna snap, crackle and pop. Pardon the pun. That would probably be a pun. Okay, how about tasty treat is.

Marco:  Sorry, you said Rice Krispies square.

Amanda: Yeah.

Marco:  It's a tasty treat, isn't it?

Amanda: It is, but that's not a pun.

Marco:  I guess not. Okay.

Amanda: I mean, maybe we'll have to do another episode on what is a pun? What makes a pun.

Marco:  Maybe we will. And I'll leave you with that. All right. Till next time. Thank you for listening. I hope you were able to listen and sleep and come up with a pun. Maybe.

Marco:  Until next time.

In Tidy Hacks, Tulip Talk & Grocery Lists, Marco and Amanda settle into a softly meandering conversation about the small systems that keep life running smoothly. They begin with gentle tidying strategies and time-saving hacks, including their discovery of the app Tody — not a sponsor, just a curious find. From there, the discussion drifts into creative ways to upcycle leftover coffee grounds, lingering on the simple satisfaction of making use of what’s already at hand.
As often happens, the conversation blooms into tulip talk, reflecting on their surprising height variations and the quiet joy of noticing small details in the garden. The episode rounds out with grocery list habits, fridge magnets, and the lighthearted debate over what truly makes a thoughtful gift.
Like every episode of this calming podcast, the tone is unhurried and companionable — a relaxing conversation designed to help you fall asleep, ease anxiety, or quiet racing thoughts. It’s perfect for background listening at bedtime or during a middle-of-the-night wake-up. Let these tidy reflections and everyday musings guide you gently toward rest.

​Tidy Hacks, Tulip Talk & Grocery Lists
(Original airdate April 21, 2024)

Marco:  Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm and mundane conversation that is meant to help you find your way to sleep. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.

Amanda:Who you calling mundane?

Marco:  Well, you're very loud there for people trying to sleep.

Amanda:Well, I'm sorry, that's the loudest I'll be today, I promise. I'm Amanda Barker.

Marco:  And I'm Marco Tympano. I don't know if I mentioned my

Amanda:name, but you did. But it's so nice. Say it twice.


Amanda: We have some listener requests for show topics

Marco:  Hey, so Amanda, I've been sort of. We have some listener requests for show topics, but they're going to require some research, so I'm not doing one today.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco:  But I couldn't think of a show topic, so I said, let me type into an AI platform.

Amanda:Marco, you're feeding the bees.

Marco:  I know, but this is a, just to ask for topics.

Amanda:This is where it helps, not hurts. This is where careers.

Marco:  I hope. Anyways, I just asked it to give me topics that we haven't covered on the Insomnia project, and I figured let it look up all the episodes we've done.

Amanda:Oh, wow. Oh.

Marco:  I don't know if it's a good thing or bad thing.

Amanda:Is that a good thing? I don't know. So it can a. You can AI this show.

Marco:  I, I, I don't know. There's so much you can do, but I can't worry about that right now. But I can tell you that it came up with five ideas.

Amanda:Oh, no, it's so helpful.

Marco:  It's so helpful.


Let's talk about the neverending chore debate. Chore hacks are great ideas

So let's talk about the neverending chore debate.

Amanda:Oh, that doesn't feel peaceful.

Marco:  You sure it does?

Amanda:The never ending chore debate.

Marco:  Like, are there any hacks or any funny little things that you do?

Amanda:Chore hacks.

Marco:  Okay. Chore hacks.

Amanda:I don't know if I have any, but it's a great topic.

Marco:  Certainly. We've been using an app that's proven to be quite interesting to help us keep on top of.

Amanda:yeah, let's start with that. So there's a few out there. The one should we name the one we've been using?

Marco:  Sure, we can name it.

Amanda:It's called Toady. And we don't, don't really get the name today.

Marco:  Tidy. I think they've combined those two.

Amanda:Two together to make Toady. Yeah.

Marco:  but we're not recommending it. It's just happening. They're not paying us to.

Amanda:I mean, I think you could almost make your own program. I mean, really what it does is it you, you program sort of all the rooms in your home or, or not even rooms, but spaces.

Marco:  Yes, your spaces. Because even the garden or the outside.

Amanda:Yeah. Or, you know, if you had like a one bedroom apartment, you might divide it up. main entrance, living area, that kind of thing. So whatever. However you see your home, you could

Marco:  put your car in there too, if you wanted to.

Amanda:It's actually not a bad idea.

Marco:  It's actually not a bad idea.

Amanda:There's a hack number one. Put your car in the cleaning App, because it's a forgotten piece if you have one. so for us. and actually, you know what else I'd like to put in that cleaning app, like tidying, sorting of receipts and sorting of papers, because that really, you know, it's a lifestyle thing, but it's also a tidying tool because we, you and I have a lot of receipts. But even people that don't have to keep their receipts need or want to keep their receipts, which I understand. Sure. having a place to sort them and, and allowing yourself the time each week, month, whatever it is to them in the right places, I think is a great choice.

Marco:  So this app that we use basically dedicates what area of the house, home, apartment, you name it. Space that you live needs to be cleaned in a certain monthly, weekly, daily basis.

Marco:  And it will remind you, wipe the counters in your kitchen, clean the inside of your fridge every month or so. Like, it'll give you a little friendly reminder of what needs to be done and prioritize that list for you.

Amanda:And we're both on. So we can see when a room is in need of something, it's red. When it's going to be in need of something, it's orange, which is weird. I would think yellow would be the right.

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda:and then when it's all up to date in its cleaning, then it's clear.

Marco:  Right. Or green.

Amanda:I don't think it's green.

Marco:  I think the task turns green. But you're right, it should be red, yellow and green.

Amanda:I mean, at the end, I mean it's, it's when you see a red room, red room that you kind of go, okay, what is it that needs to be done? And that was me last week. I thought the kitchen was perfectly clean. And then I looked and, and we had not cleaned the fridge, which, yes, on, on an intellectual level, I knew that the fridge, you know, had some milk spillage, hadn't been wiped down in a while. I knew all that. But then seeing it on an app, whether fortunately or unfortunately, kind of triggered my brain to go, okay, you know what? I'd like to do that tonight so I can have a little clear circle. Silly as it sounds, I almost wish, and I don't know if you wish this too, that there was some kind of reward system to the app, whether it was a gift card when your house was all clear, or if you had five days clear or something that you would get a dollar to something like something very small. But that for me would be a big motivator I see. You know, which basically means I'm a 10 year old. That would like chore money.

Marco:  Yeah. But that is an allowance, if you will.

Amanda:An allowance. Okay, if I will and I will. So maybe we can devise something for ourselves or I don't know.

Marco:  But here's a hack that I have.

Amanda:Give it.

Marco:  Okay, so you know your bathroom garbage? If you have a garbage in your bathroom, which I recommend.

Amanda:Yeah. You should probably. For those toilet paper rolls, etc.

Marco:  Exactly. Well, you know how the garbage in the bathroom garbage should have a. What do you call it? Liner. So that you can take it out and throw it away. What would you call that? It's not a liner but a bag. A bag.

Amanda:A liner or a bag, sure.

Marco:  So you know, sometimes your bathroom's not in the most conveniently located spot for you to get bags and bring them up. So I get a roll of bags. And I put it at the bottom of the garbage pail. So when I remove that garbage bag full of toilet paper rolls, makeup casings or whatever, I throw that away and the bag's there already ready to go.

Amanda:You know what's funny?


You never told me that you did that. And when did you realize that's what it was for

You never told me that you did that. And for years I was like, why are all these. Where's this role here? I just didn't. It didn't compute to my brain.

Marco:  And when did you realize that's what it was for?

Amanda:Right now.

Marco:  Okay, well, there you go.


Baking soda and vinegar can clean just about anything

Honestly, now the next thing on the list of us to talk about is the art of the perfect.

Amanda:Wait, we're not done. Shore hacks.

Marco:  Okay, what's your next?

Amanda:We can do a whole hour on Shore hacks.

Marco:  Okay, give me a chore hack. It didn't seem like you had any.

Amanda:I had. What did. Who decided that? You. Okay, I was going to say when I was in working in yoga studios, one of the things that they would say is that baking soda and vinegar can clean just about anything.

Marco:  Oh.

Amanda:And it's true. Baking soda and vinegar can honestly clean just about anything.

Marco:  But if you put baking soda and vinegar, doesn't it like foam? yeah. Like doesn't it become an eruption of.

Amanda:I mean, maybe, but you don't need them together. But in terms of like having a bit of grit to something versus a cleaning solvent, baking soda will do most of that work. And vinegar cleans like a vinegar water solution in a spray bottle, which is probably the majority of what you and I use. It's what I use to clean that fridge last week. is really great. I mean, I mean a Huge bottle of vinegar. Like a liter or gallon bottle, depending on where you buy liquids.

Marco:  They come in four little four liter jugs.

Amanda:Okay. Which would be four liters is a gallon?

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda:No, four liters would be two gallons, I think, or just about.

Marco:  Anyway, I don't, I don't work in

Amanda:gallons, so I couldn't tell you in any event. a, ah, regular sized spray bottle and I would say like, what would you say? Like a half cup, fourth cup of vinegar to water.

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda:works wonders and costs pennies. so I honestly think like for cleaning windows, for cleaning mirrors, for cleaning any glass surfaces, for cleaning the fridge, for cleaning the kitchen, obviously you don't have to worry about kids eating off of it. There's been a real movement in the last 10, 20 years for buying cleaning products that are all natural or mostly natural and not using things with, with heavy, solvents. Solvents or you know, you, you want a child to be able to eat off that surface right away. Vinegar and water will do most of the work for you. You don't have to pay a lot of money to get an all natural cleaner.

Marco:  If you have a volcano model and you want it to erupt. Vinegar and water does the trick too.

Amanda:Vinegar and water or vinegar and vinegar.

Marco:  and baking soda. Sorry, Vinegar. Baking soda in the, in the cylinder

Amanda:of the, of the baking soda is great for toilets, for tubs. Getting tub grime off.

Marco:  Oh, really?

Amanda:Yeah, it's really, really great.

Marco:  And do you have to make a little paste?

Amanda:Yeah, you can. I mean, the thing about tubs and toilets is they're usually naturally a little bit wet anyway, so you don't need much.

Marco:  I see.

Amanda:But like a toothbrush and some baking soda or a nice scrubby brush and some baking soda will do a lot of the work.

Marco:  You can brush your teeth with baking soda too.

Amanda:Yeah, you can. And they used to all the time.

Marco:  I know, I don't know if, I

Amanda:don't know if I want to, but

Marco:  I don't know if it's dental dentist recommended.

Amanda:Yeah, that's fair. another hack I would say is you and I do this now. This is for people who drink espresso is use the coffee grinds to cut grease.

Marco:  So I've never done this in a.

Amanda:I do this every day.

Marco:  I'm really curious to find out.

Amanda:You. Instead of just dumping your coffee grinds. But again, a fine grind.

Marco:  An espresso grind.

Amanda:Sure, an espresso grind. And we have espresso daily. So that's. And, and when I say we have espresso daily. Please do not picture, and I know most of you know this already, please do not picture a big fancy coffee, shop grade machine. We're using the little twenty dollar, what you would call a machina or bialetti, the brand name.

Marco:  It's called the mocha as well.

Amanda:Yeah, just a little, stove top coffee maker.

Marco:  By the way, they haven't been $20 since 1982. But we'll, we'll, we'll, we bought one for $20. A three person one maybe.

Amanda:Okay, fine, 40$.

Marco:  Okay. Still though, we're not fancy. I will. We are not fancy.

Amanda:We had one of those. We didn't, it didn't work for us.

Marco:  Yeah, a friend of us gave us one of those ones where you kind of first of all took up a lot of room. And we have a very, we have a small kitchen, folks. Maybe that's another hack. Have a small kitchen. and so we have just the stovetop and we love it and we have it every day.

Amanda:So dumping those coffee grinds, you know, I think a lot of people think, oh, they can't go down the drain. They'll clog up the drain.

Marco:  Clog that drain.

Amanda:No. Oh, sorry, no.

Marco:  That's where I thought you were going.


Use coffee grinds to cut through residual oil or grease in frying pans

Amanda:Not quite. I mean, a little bit. Basically, if you have anything greasy, if you fried any kind of anything, a saute or a fry, you're gonna have pans with a bit of residual oil or grease. That's just part of cooking. So a great little hack to cut into that grease is to use those coffee grinds. Just dump them in, let it soak there. the acid from the coffee is gonna cut the grease and then in your pan.

Marco:  Yeah. Oh, okay.

Amanda:And you, can use it as abrasive because it's not gonna scratch.

Marco:  That's true.

Amanda:A slightly abrasive thing, to just cut through that grease. Like I use soap too, so I'm not saying I don't, but it just helps the process along. And it's actually not bad if it's finely ground to kind of get some of those down the drain because it'll cut any of the oils, grease, fats that make their way down the drain.

Marco:  We also use coffee grinds in our plants. Sometimes we'll put them m in in our front garden. They add, I believe, acidity to the soil. So if you need acidity for your plants.


Coffee grinds and coconut oil make great exfoliating masks

Speaking of plants, our tulips came up.

Amanda:I know.

Marco:  And you were talking about how lovely long they are. Do you want to explain that to our listeners.

Amanda:Yeah. But I also wanted to say coffee grinds and coconut oil, make a great mask, like, for your square. It's like a nice exfoliating mask. Especially as the seasons are turning and you want a little refresh. if you. The. Honestly, The. The caffeine on your face kind of, gets the blood flowing and it moisturizes and it exfoliates nature.

Marco:  Can you use it if you have dry shoulders or dry.

Amanda:Yeah.

Marco:  Or dry knees.

Amanda:Yeah. Just do it in the bath. So that can go down the. The tub and same with the tub. Those. Those grinds going down the tub are great for, you know, helping out any of the dirt or grease that might be down there.

Marco:  From your. Really? Okay.

Amanda:Yeah. From your own body.

Marco:  Amanda's not a plumber, but she.

Amanda:I'm not a plumber, so don't take

Marco:  it with a grain of salt.

Amanda:I mean, I don't think you should dump them routinely. Daily. I think once or twice a week is plenty.

Marco:  Fair enough. Do we need a, espresso grind app that tells us when we can, dump that down the drain?

Amanda:Put it in the thing.


If you're after those nice, elegant, long tulips,

what was I going to say about the tulips? It seems, like, so off topic.

Marco:  Well, because our tulips just came up and you said how tall they are, and they didn't start off tall.

Amanda:Right. bulbed plants, which has really nothing to do with what we're talking about, except for that we use coffee grinds in a garden. Sometimes bulbed plants. I've noticed this is just. I am not a gardener. Has just. I've noticed that when you first plant them that first year, they're much shorter, and every year they get a little longer. So if you're after those nice, elegant, long tulips and you're in a climate that can grow tulips, which not everyone is, you know, a tulip that is a climate, rather, that's seasonal. Then you have to wait a few years for them to get long, and they seem to get longer every year because I noticed the ones you planted last year are nice and short.

Marco:  Well, they're stubby.

Amanda:They're squat. In our garden, the ones that I planted the first year we got married, and we're on year 14, I think, now. they, they're nice and long and elegant the way I wanted them to look when I planted them all those years ago. So there you go.

Marco:  All right. Any more hacks?


Let us know what cleaning hacks you use to keep your house tidy

Back to hacks.

Amanda:Cleaning hacks.

Marco:  Speaking of hacks, if you haven't Seen the television series Hacks? I really recommend it.

Marco:  strong language in that series.

Amanda:Yeah. Not in this one.

Marco:  I'm just giving Amanda time to think of hacks.

Amanda:I'm actually thinking about our circular vacuum and our robotic vacuum and why that hasn't been operated at all.

Marco:  I'll look at it. I think it needs a new battery.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco:  Because. Yeah, it was.

Amanda:Because our number one red thing on this app is vacuuming. And I'm like, well, that would be eliminated if I could just hit that little button and let it zip around. But I notice it's. It's been hibernating.

Marco:  Okay, I'll look into that vacuum.

Amanda:I think the other thing is, remember to clean up your entranceway. And I'm saying this mostly for myself. You know, the entranceway can take a lot of dirt coming in and out, people coming in and out of the house.

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda:And so you want to really stay on top of that almost daily. Like, let that be a daily task, which most people kind of forget about it or. And by most people, I mean myself.

Marco:  Well, the app tells us to do it.

Amanda:I know often we're behind. It's red, orange.

Marco:  Oh, is it red? Okay, so we'll get to that.

Amanda:I think that's good for hacks for now. I mean, there wasn't much, but I'm sure I have other ones. And I'd love it if people who are still awake, if they want to, add theirs, that would be.

Marco:  Yeah. Let us know what hacks you use to keep your house tidy. And any hacks you share with us on Instagram or, you know, any other method you want to get, reach out to us. We will share with our listeners.


Make a personalized grocery list for your mom for Mother's Day

Amanda:Uh-huh.

Marco:  The art of the perfect grocery list. Or grocery list, depending on how you say it.

Amanda:Have we not talked about that before? Sort of a tidying habit.

Marco:  I don't know. Have we? Amanda, you're asking me like I have a running order of everything we've talked about. Have we? I don't know. Okay.

Amanda:My mother, Valerie Barker, who does not

Marco:  listen to the program, nor will she appear on it.

Amanda:She always had a list on the fridge going, and I do the same. She was much more on top of it than I was, but. Or that I am. But for basic things or things I know we want to get. Next time, I write it down. As soon as we're running low or out. In my mother's case, she'd be half done something, and then she'd put it

Marco:  on the fridge when we're at your mom's house, I'll often write gator meat on her. I'll often write. So if you have. If you see a grocery list on someone's fridge, I recommend writing gator meat on it in their. In their handwriting.

Amanda:Unless they're vegan.

Marco:  Unless they're vegan, then definitely write Gatorade.

Amanda:but for basic things I like.

Marco:  She lives in Florida, by the way. For any new listeners who are like, why would you.

Amanda:Why would you write gator meat?

Marco:  Nor does she eat gator meat.

Amanda:Exactly. Well, she may have, but, so things like. For us, basics would be oil, tuna, mayo, sugar, salt. Are things that have been on that list.

Marco:  Coffee.

Amanda:Coffee.

Marco:  that's what we eat, folks.

Amanda:That's. Yeah, it's pretty much so boring. but other things. Milk.

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda:or whatever you use in that world. for us, we, drink probably too much soda. So I'll put. When we're out of certain pop or soda.

Marco:  Sure. I don't think we need to list what we put on our grocery list, but just if there's a.

Amanda:Those are basics. Yeah.

Marco:  now, do you. Do you write it on a particular type of paper?

Amanda:Well, my, My mother also likes to give us magnetic pads to put on our fridge for that reason. For her, that's a very useful gift. We should really be giving them to her, I realize.

Marco:  Well, that's a great idea. Mother's Day is coming up.

Amanda:Yeah. make a personalized grocery list. That's actually a good Mother's Day present for anyone who has. Doesn't know what to get their mom.

Marco:  Do you have hacks for avoiding impulse buys when you're grocery shopping?

Amanda:People always say, don't grocery shop hungry. And I think it's a really good titch. You know, other, people say shop the periphery aisles. I don't pay attention to that one because some of those things that I just listed, in fact, all of them would not be in the periphery aisles. And I don't think it's sensible to have cupboards, cabinets, or a fridge full of things that are going to spoil in a week or week and a half. Food waste is something I'm really passionate about in terms of eliminating it. And certainly in our own lives, I try really hard to not have any food waste or very little. So with that in mind, how

Marco:  are we on the mushroom train?


Stormy: My favorite place to go in the grocery store is the book section

We had a bunch of mushrooms.

Amanda:We have two fresh packs of mushrooms ready to go.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda:But I haven't opened them up. We used one.

Marco:  Great.

Amanda:They were a dollar mushrooms For a dollar. I mean, I couldn't believe it. I had to buy three.

Marco:  My thing is to shop the, bargain bin area of your grocery store, if you have one. It's my favorite place to go in the grocery store. We used to have a grocery store really close to our home. That is now condo, sadly. But it would have a book section. I know it doesn't make sense. Why would a grocery store have a small discounted book section? But it did. And nothing gave me more delight than to go to the book section. And I got some amazing books that I would never would have heard of in the grocery discount book section. It would have books and, like, pastry items and, like, chocolates and things from all over the world that were discounted. And nothing made me want.

Amanda:Was it on a cart?

Marco:  It had a permanent cart, so it looked like, you know, how oranges and grapefruit come on a wooden, station. It had a small station that was on wheels, but after a certain point, the wheels were no more because the book, the discount book slash international suite station was just too wonderful.

Amanda:Why did they get away? Do away with it? I don't understand. I remember when you and I first dated, started dating. You said, come to my grocery store. And then you said, first I go to the library.

Marco:  What did you think?

Amanda:And then we went back and what did you think when I discounted cookbooks? And I was like, okay, it wasn't just cookbooks. Okay, yes, but there were cookbooks there.

Marco:  Of course. I mean, it is a grocery store.

Amanda:It was a melange of all. It would be a foreign war correspondent, a cookbook, you know, cookies. It was a, an interesting catchall cart.

Marco:  I think more bookstores should have that kind of, feel to it.

Amanda:This is a chain grocery store, too. It wasn't an independent grocery store.

Marco:  No, no. This was a. A national chain grocery store. It had a library book section. What did you think when I said, let me take you to my grocery store library?

Amanda:I don't know. I was just following because you and I, and we've talked about this a lot, are different with our shopping. We grew up with different.

Marco:  Different philosophies.

Amanda:Yeah. Different cultural philosophies with food. Honestly? Truly.

Marco:  Sure, sure.

Amanda:And so I was not a grocery shop every. Every other day person. I'm still not. I. I need to know that the house has lots of food in it at all times and lots of options for food. I also shop like a thunders. Like. Like a snowstorm is imminent even in July.

Marco:  So like a thunderstorm too.

Amanda:Or thunderstorm or any kind of storm

Marco:  so that you actually shop like you are a storm in the. In the grocery store.

Amanda:A shop. Like, my name is Stormy.

Marco:  Yeah, okay, fair enough. and I flitter in and out of grocery stores as needed.

Amanda:Oh, a brick of coffee. I could use that. Or a nice baguette. These are nice. Ooh, these Dunkaroos are on sale. Or this. These vitamins are on sale. I think that's a good price. They don't expire yet. And an orange. That'll be a grocery shop for you.

Marco:  Yeah, I don't see anything wrong with that.

Amanda:some chocolates. or you'll be like, this is on sale. Or I picked up this.

Marco:  Don't forget, I al. Often will buy exotic things.

Amanda:Yes. Dragon fruit. Yes, please.

Marco:  Yeah. If it's something that I've never encountered before or something different, I'll bring it home.

Amanda:Whereas I'm like, get the. Get the grocery cart. Where's my list?


Marco Timpano: Let us know your grocery or cleaning hacks

All right, let's do a shop. Although I have to be honest, I don't do that like I used to.

Marco:  It's true.

Amanda:We have a different system now. I use a lot of food boxes because I actually find. And I wrote I don't have one that I'm loyal to. I rotate in between three different companies usually. And, obviously, I don't have them coming in when we're away or whatever, but I usually get one of those if I know we're going to be home and working from home all week or whatever. And, so I get one of those. And then every six weeks or so, we do a big shop at a big. At a Costco. I can say it, for things like oil. Wow.

Marco:  We're running an oil. Oil bender.

Amanda:Well, we. We needed oil. We were down on oil this week. We got some. We're fine now.

Marco:  You can listen to our olive oil episode. A few. Few episodes back, we needed olive oil, and we mentioned the brand that we like.

Amanda:We got it.

Marco:  So.

Amanda:Yeah. Anyway, I know I keep saying oil. It's been a lot of. It's been an oily episode.

Marco:  It's true. It's true. yeah, and. And that's. That's basically how we.

Amanda:Grocery hacks.

Marco:  Grocery hacks, if you will.

Amanda:Buy that baking soda, buy that vinegar.

Marco:  And there you go. And that brings us to the end of this particular episode. Amanda, thank you so much. Amanda's going to scoot off to work in just a moment. I'm going to edit this episode and put it up and then I'm off to work a little bit later on today. Wherever you are, we hope this episode has helped you in some way, shape or form. Let us know your grocery or cleaning hacks and we'll mention on the show. Until next time, I'm Marco Timpano.

Amanda:I'm Amanda Barker.

Marco:  And we hope you were able to listen and of course, sleep.

In Dive Deep into the World of Olive Oil, Amanda and Marco pour themselves into a gently detailed conversation about one of the kitchen’s most quietly fascinating staples. From the differences between extra virgin and other grades to the mysteries of smoke points and flavour profiles, they explore olive oil with calm curiosity rather than culinary intensity. The discussion lingers on what good olive oil should taste like, how to choose a bottle at the grocery store, and whether they tend to drizzle delicately or pour with enthusiasm.
Along the way, they touch on unexpected uses beyond the kitchen, sharing mild confessions and practical tips in their usual soft, meandering style. As always, this calming podcast unfolds at an unhurried pace, offering a relaxing conversation designed to help you fall asleep, ease anxiety, or quiet racing thoughts. It’s perfect for background listening at bedtime or during a middle-of-the-night wake-up — steady voices, simple pleasures, and just enough detail to keep you company as you drift toward rest.

​Dive Deep into the World of Olive Oil
(Original airdate March 20, 2024)

Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I'm Amanda Barker and Marco Timpano

Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation. That, of course, is meant for you to drift off to sleep. Thank you for joining us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.

Amanda:  I'm Amanda Barker.

Marco:  Amanda, I noticed that there's other podcasts now doing boring talk podcasts. Trying to what? Yeah, I noticed one recently. Competition. Competition.

Amanda:  That's okay.

Marco:  That's all right.

Amanda:  There's room at the table for everyone.

Marco:  There is, there is. And I. I like our conversations. I have to say, I've listened to a couple of other ones and it's like. Feels a little forced.

Amanda:  Not us.

Marco:  Not us.

Amanda:  As natural as the day we were born. Friends.

Marco:  Well, I wouldn't say that we're wearing clothes, folks, in case you're wondering.


Amanda, are we going to do another listener topic?

Barely but that said, Amanda, you, you have said, are we going to do another listener topic?

Amanda:  And here's how it works. Just so everyone knows. I have no idea what he's gonna spring on me.

Marco:  And what's funny, listeners, is I sent Amanda an email with all the listener topics.

Amanda:  Okay. Do you want me to look it up?

Marco:  No, it's fine. I'll just tell you.

Amanda:  No, I thought you're just gonna introduce it. That. Isn't that part of the charm, that I don't know what's happening?

Marco:  No, part of the charm is you looking at topics and then saying, oh, let's do this one.

Amanda:  Oops.

Marco:  There you go.


Diane B. asked us to do an episode on olive oil on salads

Well, we have. Diane B. Has asked us to do an episode on olive oil, different kinds, and what goes on salad. With regards to the oils that we use.

Amanda:  I would like my mother to listen to this episode once when all is said and done. I can tell you that right now.

Marco:  Okay. So maybe we can get it to her.

Amanda:  She's always like, I bought you olive oil for the salad. Like, she doesn't understand the concept of oil on salad. Should I explain?

Marco:  Yeah, Because I'm a little confused.

Amanda:  My mother has olive oil for cooking. Right. For her, it's just for cooking. And she doesn't really differentiate between tastes. And I'm sure we'll get into all of that.

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda:  But for salads, she would never put oil and vinegar together on a salad. She would buy a salad dressing that sounds interesting to her, try it out, find one she likes. She's not a person that puts that on. Like, she'll only buy. She'll only put a bottled salad dressing on a salad.

Marco:  I see.

Amanda:  For as long as I've known her. Anyway, she might tell me I'm wrong, that she. Oh, no, she had her red vinegar days. I have no idea. But certainly in the last 30 years.

Marco:  Right.

Amanda:  That it's just been bottled salad dressing that she buys and likes.

Marco:  I've actually seen Amanda's mother saying, but you like this salad dressing. And Amanda's saying, I've never liked this salad dressing.

Amanda:  There's one that she loves, and. And it's great. I like it. But it has raw garlic in it. And it. Raw garlic is a little harsh on my stomach.

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda:  And so I always get stomach pains when I eat it. So I tell her, please leave it off. And she makes a big production about leaving it off. And then I say, do you just have oil and vinegar? I could just do that. And then it becomes a whole thing of, where's the oil? And where's the vinegar. That's what Mandy needs on her salad.

Marco:  Right, right.


Nadio does tours in olive groves and at olive presses

But today we're talking about olive oil.

Amanda:  We are. Or we're trying to.

Marco:  We're trying to. And, I used to do tours in olive, groves and at olive presses.

Amanda:  So why don't you. Because you really are the aficionado Nadio, on this topic, why don't you start by telling our listeners, because you did tours all throughout Italy.

Marco:  Right.

Amanda:  What part of Italy did you do the olive oil tours in?

Marco:  It was in Puglia. so that's where the. If you look at Italy like a boot. The heel.

Amanda:  The heel of the boot. Not to be confused with the toe of the boot.

Marco:  Right.

Amanda:  Which is where some of your family is from.

Marco:  That's correct. So I was doing it in Puglia, but there's olive, like olive growing areas all across Italy. In particular, Lucca in Tuscany.

Amanda:  Oh, Right. Luca with two Cs.

Marco:  Right. Is really well known for its olive oil. so having said that, Puglia produces more olive oil in that province than any other region.

Marco:  And they export a lot of olive oil that then gets cut with French olive oil. Yeah. The French will buy olive oil from Puglia, cut their oil with it, and so that they.

Amanda:  When you say cut, what you mean is mix.

Marco:  Mix, yeah.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  Yeah. They cut it or they, they mix it because they, they might not have enough supply. So they'll get some supply from there. Does that make sense?

Amanda:  It does. Yeah. Not everyone uses that term, cut. That feels like, a. A chef term or a drug vendor term, frankly.

Marco:  Sure. Pick what you want and use it to your liking.

Amanda:  But, so is French olive oil not as good as Puglies olive oil?

Marco:  I wouldn't say that. I wouldn't say that. I'll say.

Amanda:  The French have great olives, do they not?

Marco:  France has wonderful olives, wonderful food.

Amanda:  Let's not.

Marco:  I'm not going to disparage France or their culinary products because they're certainly fantastic. Diane, Amanda's trying to paint me in a corner.

Amanda:  Trying to oil you in a corner.

Marco:  She's trying to oil me in a corner. And that's not going to happen.

Amanda:  You're slippery.

Marco:  What I will say is this. So when it comes to olive oil, a good quality olive oil that is, ah, you know, virgin, extra virgin olive oil.

Amanda:  And what does that mean? Because a lot of people don't know what that means.

Marco:  I mean. Okay, so let me start by suppress.

Amanda:  Right.

Marco:  No, it's. So it means a couple of things. you're making me Try to think, to remember what we would learn. So the olives have to be picked and pressed right away. They cannot be sitting on the ground for a long time or you can't pick them and press them the next day. You're basically picking them or shaking them off.

Amanda:  So if you pick them fresh, get them off the tree, go right into the press. That would be virgin olive oil.

Marco:  And the first pressing of it is virgin, right?

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  Because you can press. You can press the olives even more second pressing and whatnot.

Amanda:  I see. I, see.

Marco:  And extra virgin olive. Virgin olive oil should have a peppery feel to it. So if you have a taste of it should look greenish. Like, you know, some olive oils look very yellow.

Amanda:  Yeah.

Marco:  And, for me, that's not a great quality olive oil.

Amanda:  Okay.


Margot recently got a really high quality olive oil as a gift

Marco:  So Diane B. Asked about olive oil, so I'm going to give some of my olive oil tips.

Amanda:  Great.

Marco:  You recently got a really high quality olive oil as a gift.

Amanda:  I did. It was a Secret Santa present. and when we have our. Not Secret Santa, what are they called? Like swap.

Marco:  Yankee?

Amanda:  Swap. I think they're called sometimes. But anyway, that at the Christmas party where you draw numbers and if you're one you go first and if you're 10, you go last. If there's 10 people. And so I went first and I. Which is not enviable because anyone can steal it from you. And I usually traditionally go for the bottle. So assuming, okay, it'll be a bottle of wine or liquor. And you can't go wrong with a bottle. I didn't go for the bottle one year. I went for the bottle two years ago or three years ago. And in the liquor bag was a book. And not even a good book. So I was not happy with that. And then last year I went, well, I'm not gonna get it tricked again. So I didn't go for the bottle. And it was this beautiful bottle of bourbon that I really wish I had grabbed. So this year I was like, okay, I'm back to my strategy. Just go for the bottle. And you know, it's hard because you don't wanna. If you don't like it, the person who. Kyle will be upset and all these things. So I really thought it was just a bottle of wine. And then I pulled it out and it was a bottle of olive oil. And I was like, olive oil. And at first I was a little bit like, And then, a new gal that works with us who's from Holland said it's really Expensive. In her little voice. And I looked at it and she said, I got it from Italy. And I was like, oh, yeah. And she goes, I actually, I said, believe me, I'm actually very happy with olive oil. I will always use olive oil.

Marco:  Right, Even though you were a little bit snarky off the top.

Amanda:  Well, I was trying not to be. I just wasn't expecting it to be a bottle of olive oil. What?

Marco:  No, no.

Amanda:  yeah.

Marco:  Then Amanda brought this olive oil home and I couldn't be happier.

Marco:  So just to clarify, Amanda, because I want to make sure that I give the totality of what extra virgin olive oil is.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  It's made from the first cold pressing.

Marco:  Of the olives and contains the least amount of fatty acids. 1%.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  It's the most fruity tasting and the most expensive of oils. Now, to me, olive oil doesn't taste like fruit. It has a peppery feel on the tongue. That's how I know. So that's, that's, that's how I, I distinguish it. But maybe for you, you taste the olives or you taste floral notes.

Amanda:  No, it. For me, it's peppery.

Marco:  I meant our listeners. I meant for, for you, the listener. So not for you. For one, for one. Now, olive oil or pure olive oil is a combination of refined olive oil and extra virgin. So you might be saying what's refined?

Amanda:  Right. What's. Well, what's refined, Margot.

Marco:  Refined means that the oil has underground undergone additional processing to neutralize any defects in the taste, aroma, or acidity.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  And I think that has to do with when you don't bring the olives quickly to be pressed.

Amanda:  Okay.


There are light and extra light olive oils. Light means the blend of refined oils

Marco:  That's my opinion. That's what I learned when I was on tours. People might say differently, but. Diane, that's what you heard from me. So then there's light and extra light olive oils.

Marco:  And they have some monosaturated fat and caloric content.

Amanda:  Right.

Marco:  As olive oil. Here, light means the blend of refined and extra virgin oils leaning heavily towards the refined.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  So the color, the aroma, the flavor are lighter and they're lighter relative to, you know, the greener, deeper olive oil colors.

Amanda:  Right.

Marco:  They look more like a, safflower oil or vegetable oil.

Amanda:  And they are a vegetable oil, just a. Their own version.

Marco:  But are all those vegetables or fruits?

Amanda:  Oh, gosh, I don't know. But I always consider, I mean, when a recipe calls for any vegetable oil, like a cake recipe, for example.

Marco:  Right.

Amanda:  I mean, we most normally have olive oil in the house, so that's what I use.

Marco:  You use olive oil in your cakes?

Amanda:  Yeah, I mean, if I have, you know, a safflower oil or grapeseed oil or something else, then I'll use our avocado oil. I'll use it. But we often don't have it. We often just have olive oil. So that's what I use.

Marco:  Okay, so. And you can make cake with olive oil?

Amanda:  Of course you can.


Has to be careful with Italian olive oils purchased here in North America

Marco:  So getting back to my recommendations with regards to olive oil, one.

Marco:  Has to be careful with Italian olive oils purchased here in North America.

Amanda:  Why is that?

Marco:  Because Italians can be a little bit m. How do I say this? I don't know, deceptive. With their oil.

Amanda:  What?

Marco:  So they will, keep very fine extra virgin olive oil for themselves and then they'll cut or mix olive oil with other oils that aren't even olive and send it across the pond.

Amanda:  So they could easily take like sunflower oil and olive oil and say, here's our olive oil.

Marco:  They could even take lamp oil and put it in. Well, they're not lamp oil.

Amanda:  No, I hope not. Don't tell our listeners.

Marco:  No, but it's like they're just, at

Amanda:  this point in the podcast, they're just cutting.

Marco:  Okay, so I'm very cautious with my olive oil from Italy because I need to know who's bottling and if they're not, if they're reputable.

Amanda:  How, how do you know these things? Is there an olive oil police?

Marco:  Okay, before I get to that, let me just say this. California has some delightful olive oil and they do a really good job. So I like California ol oil. I like olive oil from Israel, I like olive oil from. You know, there's a lot of olive oil coming from Spain, from Portugal, from Greece, from. You know, I'm only, I'm always cautious with European olive oil after what I heard that that happens.

Amanda:  Right?

Marco:  Because, you know, extra virgin olive oil is expensive and is time consuming and the process, you know, you know, takes time and, and so you also take

Amanda:  great pride in their wonderful olive oil.

Marco:  Right? The reputable people do.

Amanda:  Yeah.

Marco:  But there's a lot out there who will cut it. So if you're like, if you're like. But I want Italian olive oil because I like the taste. Because Italian olive oil is really delightful when you get good olive oil. My recommendation is go to Costco if you have one, because Costco is much like what you said, the olive oil police, where they ensure that their products meet their standards. And so the olive oil, makers would have to meet Costco's high standards.

Amanda:  So are you talking about the Kirkland brand? The Costco brand of olive oil?

Marco:  The Kirkland brand comes in Spanish and Italian. Both are fantastic. Okay, then they have non Kirkland Lake brands. So Kirkland, I believe is the, Costco label.

Amanda:  Yep.

Marco:  And I personally like a unfiltered olive oil. And the brand name happens to be Il Grezzo and El Grezzo is the brand name, but it's unfiltered, so it looks a little cloudy at the bottom.

Amanda:  But I don't know that our listeners all over the world have access to this. I mean, Costco is very, regional.

Marco:  Right. So then if you don't have access to a Costco.

Amanda:  Well, they might have a Costco, but it doesn't mean that they'll necessarily have El Grezzo.

Marco:  Sure. But I would argue that their olive oil, even if it's not their brand, is going to meet the standard.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  So if you buy your olive oil from a Costco, great. Otherwise, M. I would recommend getting your olive oil from a place that sells that deals in that kind of stuff so that it's not like your grocery store where they have a lot of different products.

Marco:  But when you, you deal with, let's say a specialty store like in Italy.

Marco:  They're going to have purveyors of good quality olive oil.

Marco:  If you don't have an Italy, a store that deals with, let's say olive oil, olives and the like, they'll be able to tell you if you can sample the olive oil. I, would say sample it. It should have a peppery feel in your mouth and that would be the olive oil and the finer. So when you're dealing with olive oil too, you could have a finishing olive oil. So that would be a high quality olive oil like the one that your friend, gifted you.

Amanda:  Right. Evie is her name.

Marco:  Evie got you on the, the Yankee swap or whatever you call it. I feel like that's not a correct term.

Amanda:  Well, I'm the Yankee here, so I'll take it back.


What do you use finishing olive oil for? The number one thing I use

Marco:  All right. So, and the, that's a great olive oil to finish things with Diane. So you have that sort of near. So you can put it on a salad or if you've baked some fresh bread and you've cut it and you're gonna serve it, put a little olive oil on that.

Amanda:  It's so good. I purposely have not been using. We're out of our El Grezzo right now. I do have some avocado Oil that's in a spray and m. Then I obviously have the really good stuff that I got that we're about halfway through. So I don't use it for cooking.

Marco:  So what do you use that finishing olive oil for?

Amanda:  The number one thing I use it for is a tomato salad. So when I make fresh bread, which I like to do a couple times, maybe twice a month, I'll make a fresh bread. I'll make a nice tomato salad with some fresh mozzarella and that's the oil that goes in there and that. So it's like so good with the bread.

Marco:  And a little bit of molten salt. Right.

Amanda:  Of course. Who am I?

Marco:  So that's what we use that for. You could even use it on Where else could you use olive oil like that on a pizza if you want to finish a pizza?

Amanda:  I have used it on our really good pizzas. We bought. We have like, we have a subscription box Right. Going right now of like really high quality pizzas that I'm enjoying frozen pizzas. And so they all say, well, not on all the pizzas, but certain pizzas they say finish it with a little bit of olive oil.

Marco:  I would argue too, you know how a lot of people will take the crust of pizzas and then they have some sort of dipping sauce. A jalapeno mayo type dipping sauce.

Amanda:  Or garlic. Yeah.

Marco:  If you have fine olive oil.

Marco:  You don't need those dipping sauces. You could just wave a little bit of that olive oil.

Amanda:  If it's a good Italian pizza, I'm with you. If it's like ah, sort of mass produced pizza, which to me is like a totally different beast, then I want the pre made dipping sauce.

Marco:  That's Amanda for you.

Amanda:  American and Italian.

Marco:  Right. I on the other hand, prefer to just eat the crust or a little bit of olive oil.

Amanda:  well, aren't you superior to me?

Marco:  No, just different strokes for different folks.

Amanda:  That's why they call it a Yankee swap, I guess.


What do you use olive oil for? Pretty much everything else

Marco:  All right, so then what if you save Evie's oil for finishing, what do you use the Il Grazo or the Kirkland Lake olive oil for?

Amanda:  Pretty much everything else. It's just, I'm out of it right now.

Marco:  Okay, so what would you be using it for?

Amanda:  I use it to saute.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda:  So if I'm making anything, you know, sauce or soup, whatever, very often you start with garlic and onion. Right. So when I'm sauteing either garlic and or onion, that's gonna go in with olive oil.

Marco:  Now if you're frying something and you don't usually fry. What oil are you using right now?

Amanda:  Avocado oil.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda:  Yeah. And that's usually what we have. That's usually what I'll use to fry because it has a higher smoking point. Right, right. So that's the thing. Yeah. Is it smoke point or smoking?

Marco:  Smoke point, I believe.

Amanda:  in other words, that's why you don't really fry in olive oil, because it can pop back out at you. Like, you know, you want an oil that can sustain a high temperature. And then when you put the. Whatever it is you're frying in there, say the fried chicken or the arancini or whatever it is, when you fry that in, you want it to just latch onto the food and fry it versus, you know, bubbling and spitting back at you.

Marco:  Right, right. So for me, smoking. Right, right. Because smoke point, it refers to the temperature when the oil starts to smoke.

Amanda:  Yeah.

Marco:  which it, which it will reach before its boiling point.

Amanda:  Right.

Marco:  So you, you know, if you're. If you're using something that's like a quick, quick cook, you. It doesn't really matter, like, if you're going to do eggs, let's say. Right. But, you know, you want to make sure. So, like, low, smoking oils would be like pumpkin seed or walnut or flaxseed. You don't want to be using those.

Amanda:  No, no. Those are really just made for eating, I think.

Marco:  Right, right. Or finishing for salads.

Amanda:  Right. Like walnut oil. Yeah, yeah.

Marco:  So, the last thing I wanted to say about olive oil is in some places, olive oil can be used even on dessert. Amanda.

Amanda:  Oh, really?

Marco:  Yeah.

Amanda:  Tell me more about that.

Marco:  Like, you could have a gelato and put a little bit of olive oil on it. I've actually had olive oil gelato years ago. Yeah, They. I didn't love it, but it was really interesting. I was at a very, let's say, fancy restaurant that they were doing, like, avant garde things with food, and I had it there and I was like, oh, this is interesting.

Amanda:  But olive oil has. I mean, we've used olive oil for so many things. For dry skin, you know, a tablespoon in a bath, will soften your skin. Sometimes I'll just put it on my face. I like to mix old coffee grounds with a bit of olive oil and make a little mask out of that. It's really hydrating and wonderful on, on the skin. it's also. Olive oil is great. You know, I've used it, to be honest. I'VE used it on leather more than once. like on my boots, my black leather boots. I've used olive oil.

Marco:  I will use it for a couple things. So I'll use it. So here's a couple things that I want to mention. 1. Olive wood likes olive oil.

Amanda:  Okay.

Marco:  So if you have utensils that are made of olive wood, or let's say you have a cheese, board or cutting board that's made of olive wood and you know when you're cleaning it and maybe you kind of use a bit of soapy water to clean it, you don't want that wood to dry out.

Amanda:  No, exactly.

Marco:  So what you would do is take a bit of olive oil and rub it on that wood and the olive oil will kind of seep into the net. It will oil the wood and keep it looking good and fresh and not oil, not old or like rough looking, if that makes sense. And it'll preserve those utensils or that cutting board or that breadboard or whatever you want to call it. M so that's one tip. The other thing about olive oil I'll mention, and this was, this works for any kind of oil if you're going to paint the house, the, a wall, window or whatnot. Well, not a window, but you know, if you're gonna paint. And you know how paint will sometimes splatter on your hands as you're painting?

Amanda:  yeah.

Marco:  What I always do is I'll take some olive oil and rub it in my hands.


You know, sometimes kids get diaper rash from wearing the diaper

Amanda:  Oh.

Marco:  Like a moisturizer pre rub before I paint.

Amanda:  Oh really?

Marco:  And then if I get little paint droplets that land on my hand or my arms.

Marco:  They don't stick because they're on an oiled arm or hand. and so when I wash it off, the paint easily comes off my skin.

Amanda:  Interesting.

Marco:  Yeah.

Amanda:  Ah, I know your mother used to use it for diaper rash.

Marco:  Oh really?

Amanda:  Yeah, I believe so. For our niece.

Marco:  Probably on me too.

Amanda:  Probably on you, yeah. because you know, there's different creams and that you can use for diaper rashes. But sometimes kids just from wearing the diaper. Right. It's rough on their little baby skin.

Marco:  Right.

Amanda:  And so you just want a healing balm of some kind. And there's, there's lots of products out there, of course, but if you don't want to use a petroleum based product.

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda:  and maybe you're using a Baxitracin or a desitin or you know, one of those white sort of things. but if it's not that advanced. And you just want something other than, like, Vaseline.

Marco:  Sure.

Amanda:  then olive oil is a great solution.

Marco:  There you go.

Amanda:  Your mom used to use it all the time. Yeah, I remember. And I thought, well, that's really smart. I mean, you can't argue with olive oil on a baby's skin, right?

Marco:  I don't try to argue with olive oil on the best of days.

Amanda:  Well, I don't argue with our niece when she was a baby, and I certainly don't now that she's a teen almost.


So, Amanda, how often would you say you consume olive oil

Marco:  So, Amanda, how often would you say you consume olive oil?

Amanda:  Oh, my goodness, probably every day, wouldn't you say? I remember I went to a holistic, doctor once, and she told me I needed to have, like, a tablespoon of olive oil a day.

Marco:  Oh, wow.

Amanda:  Yeah. Then I was like, I mean, I just naturally consume it pretty regularly.

Marco:  We do. I know we do.

Amanda:  It's our oil of choice.

Marco:  It's our oil of choice. So, Diane B. I hope this episode answered some of your questions with regards to olive oil.

Amanda:  I'd love to know what people's oil of choice is like. I just assume everyone's out there using olive oil for all these things, but maybe not.

Marco:  Of course. Let us know what your oil of choice is, and, you can find us on our Instagram. Our show notes will have all those links we have. We are listen and sleep and this podcast, and we are also, the Insomnia Project.

Amanda:  Yawning.

Marco:  Amanda's yawning. And Diane B. I just want to say thank you. Diane has a lot of photos of rescue dogs from Lebanon on her Instagram. So, yeah, I really enjoyed looking at some of those, those photos. I just wanted to share that maybe

Amanda:  she should tell us a little bit about the rescue dogs of Turks and Caicos. We'll see.

Marco:  We'll see, we'll see. We'll see about that. And until next time, we hope you were able to listen to this episode. Maybe get an idea of how to use your oil or find a good olive oil. Let us know what olive oil you like, and maybe you were even able to fall asleep. Thank you so much. And tune in next time. Until then, bye from me.

Amanda:  Bye. For me, that was a long, outro.

Marco:  Well, I'm trying to get to 26 minutes.

Amanda:  Oh, are we not there yet?

Marco:  No, not quiet. And you, you were yawning, so I figured.

Amanda:  I apologize. It was putting me to sleep.

Marco:  I figured we should get to the end. All right, until next time, folks.

In A Relaxing Garden Stroll, Marco and Amanda invite you into their cozy urban garden for a softly spoken wander among blooms and bulbs. Though the space may be small, the conversation feels expansive as they reflect on tulips, alliums, sedum, hostas, peonies, and a fragrant lilac tree that anchors their green haven. The episode lingers on the quiet satisfaction of tending a modest garden and making the most of every corner.
As the chat meanders, they explore a few creative — and slightly unusual — strategies for keeping squirrels away from treasured bulbs, sharing gentle humour along the way. The focus remains simple and sensory: colour, scent, texture, and the steady rhythm of seasonal change.
Like every episode of this calming podcast, the tone is unhurried and reassuring, offering a relaxing conversation designed to help you fall asleep, ease anxiety, or quiet racing thoughts. It’s perfect for background listening while you wind down at bedtime or rest during a middle-of-the-night wake-up. Let the imagery of blossoms and soft garden paths guide you toward a peaceful, untroubled sleep.

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Welcome to the Insomnia Project. I'm your host, MarcoTimpano

Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm conversation. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.

Amanda:I'm Amanda Barker. Ooh. I just had a shiver.

Marco:  Oh, my goodness.

Amanda:Shiver.


Last week we talked about the basement. Are people enjoying the basement

Marco:  So, Amanda, last week we talked about. Or I should say a week before. We're behind a week. But we talked about the basement. But we're gonna reserve the right to continue the basement conversation.

Amanda:Are people enjoying the basement?

Marco:  Well, I did get a message from one of our listeners who thought I told you to really slow down and calm down when you're talking about the basement.

Amanda:Oh, too much so.

Marco:  Too much so. And they said they had a hashtag freeamandabarker.

Amanda:Oh, no.

Marco:  Because they thought.

Amanda:Finally. Thank.

Marco:  Because they thought I was making you do that. But I wasn't at all. That was just something you did.

Amanda:I was probably making you be more. Because I like a nice methodical tour of something to get me to sleep.

Marco:  In fact, you're often telling me to slow down and calm down on the podcast.

Amanda:I don't know about often.

Marco:  Well,

Amanda:from my,

Marco:  From your side of the booth over there.

Amanda:There I am. Yeah.

Marco:  So our lilacs are blooming.

Amanda:They're blooming.

Marco:  And I wanted to say as well that we. So in the fall, listeners, you might remember that I planted a bunch of tulips and the color on the package was kind of pink.

Marco:  But they turned out to be yellow with peachy pink.

Amanda:They're, they're, they're, like a. Yeah, they're orangey salmon, peachy color, which. With yellow sort of stripes, I think,

Marco:  wouldn't you say the other way around. They're predominantly yellow with these peachy pink, stripes. Blushes on them, if you will. Anyways, we're really, I'm really happy about them. And two people stopped by while I was outside doing stuff in the garden and told me how beautiful my tulips were. So I was really happy about that.


Amanda shares a story about her favorite lilac tree

Amanda:I heard a story tonight that I haven't shared with you.

Marco:  No.

Amanda:About our lilac tree.

Marco:  Really? Okay, tell me.

Amanda:So I love our lilac tree. It's one of my favorite things. I've talked about it on this program years before, and I had a moment to look at it because, yeah, the buds came very quickly, like a day or two ago, and now they're starting to bloom. And I noticed that they're really kind of blooming on one side and not so much on the other. But that was at night, so I have to look at it in the daytime. Okay. But that's how it looked to me tonight. Sure. I was looking at it. I took the garbage out. It's garbage night. So I took everything out. And our neighbor, our lovely neighbor was out there doing the same thing. And she said, oh, I just love your lilacs. And I said, I love them, too. They're one of my favorite things. And then I said, do you know Margaret, who used to live here?

Marco:  That's right. before I bought the house, a

Amanda:woman named Margaret lived here. And she said, I did know Margaret. Yes. And she said she bought that lilac tree when, what is now in process to becoming a condo.

Marco:  Right.

Amanda:Prior to that was a grocery store, which I loved. And prior to that, it was a different grocery store.

Marco:  Right? That's right.

Amanda:I didn't know that. So when it changed over from the independent grocery store to the chain grocery store, which is what I think happened, and they were selling off a bunch of things, and one of the things they were selling were these lilac trees. And so the woman who lived here went and bought one and planted it in the front. And it was a tiny, tiny. She said it was just a tiny little speck of a thing. And so she would tell her kids who were young at that point, not to run across because they. She didn't think it would survive. Her two sons, who were probably boisterous and, of course, young. Well, they're, you know, they're grown up now. And the tree has grown up now, and it's huge. It reaches. It's past the second floor of this house. maybe too big, to be honest, but I love it so much so I haven't cut it back.

Marco:  It is a bit big because one of the branches sort of leans, and

Amanda:that's the one that's suddenly aplenty with lilacs. It's really taking the helm of the lilacing. It's lilacing it up.

Marco:  Now. There are different kinds of lilacs. Like, there's the purpley lilac, and then there's the pale bluey lilac.

Amanda:These are the dark purple. For anyone who's trying to picture lilac

Marco:  is, that your preferred lilac?

Amanda:It is, yeah.

Marco:  Over the bluey ones.

Amanda:I like the bluey ones, too, but they seem a bit more delicate. I like ours.

Marco:  Ours is also very fragrant.

Amanda:And then she mentioned. And there was another one. Margaret planted another one in the back.

Marco:  That's right.

Amanda:And I said, that's true. I remember it. It never really did very well.

Marco:  It was too shady in the back.

Amanda:It didn't get enough light.

Marco:  What did we do with that? We replanted.

Amanda:No, you, put it up on some free site.

Marco:  That's right.

Amanda:Maybe Facebook Marketplace or something. And said free Lilac. Anybody who wants it. And you let a guy come and dig it up.

Marco:  That's right. I was like.

Amanda:Which is fine.

Marco:  I didn't know what to do with that lilac. And it was just withering in the back. And it was. You know, Amanda, now that you sort of give the history of the front lilac, it makes sense. Because that back lilac seemed like a runty little thing.

Amanda:Yeah, they both were. Just somehow that front one, because it

Marco:  gets more light, I guess.

Amanda:Or, the soil, the conditions are right. Because there's other lilacs that don't do as well that get as much light on our street. I don't know why ours. There's some secret sauce that makes that lilac. I mean, it's a massive tree now.

Marco:  It is a massive tree to the

Amanda:point where you're like, are they going to chop it down? Because the roots, you know.

Marco:  No one's going to chop down my lilac tree.

Amanda:I better not.

Marco:  I hope not.


Marco and Amanda's garden is what they call a city garden

and I should say that we don't have a large garden in the front. We really don't.

Amanda:Really don't we make it sound. We talk about it like we have. I mean, we believe us when we say it's like maybe the size of this booth and you can only fit two people in this booth. It is teensy tiny.

Marco:  And it's also what I call a city garden. So we plant a lot and you got to fight to thrive. I know it's. No gardener in the world would say plant the way Marco and Amanda do, but we've planted. So I've planted crocuses.

Marco:  Because I love them. Because they're the first flowers that come up.

Amanda:Yeah.

Marco:  Then I've planted tulips, you know.

Amanda:Really did. And the tulips that we have, that come up every year, the white ones, those I planted the first year I was here.

Marco:  Yes.

Amanda:First year we were married.

Marco:  And then I took my mother's peonies and I planted them. We have some irises.

Marco:  I actually just got an iris plant from a friend of ours, Linda, in Montreal. That was her mother's and I knew her parents well, so I was really glad.

Amanda:Where's that iris going?

Marco:  That iris is near the. And folks, we also have a fire

Amanda:hydrant in our garden and this huge lilac tree. I mean, there's not much room.

Marco:  There's not much room.

Amanda:It's a crowded little patch.

Marco:  It's crowded.

Amanda:But people just like the city. You just gotta fight for your place. Hustle flowers. Hustle.

Marco:  And Then our good friend Dale gave us part of her grandmother's sedums. Sedums.

Amanda:Because, well, her grandmother sold the house. So she took the sedum, some of the sedums from the house, and then

Marco:  she had to, because they were doing work on her front patch. She gave us her sedum because they were going to be destroyed by the city. And so now we're caretakers.

Amanda:Ours got kind of destroyed by the city, too, because they dug everything up

Marco:  last year, which displaced all my tulips. And so they grew it.

Amanda:Displaced everything. There's stuff coming up. We also have allium that's about to bloom. Have you not seen that?

Marco:  Yeah.

Amanda:You're looking at me like, oh, well,

Marco:  because I also planted more allium last year.

Amanda:Well, it's a lot. I love allium.

Marco:  Amanda loves allium.

Amanda:And allium is a funny one, because we say allium, but allium really just refers to garlic and onions. Like the word allium refers to, like, the garlic and onion family. But allium, like, flowers are garlicky. I mean, they really are. That look like garlic.

Marco:  Yeah. But it's called something. The flower. The allium flower that you use ornamentally in your garden.

Amanda:Yeah. It's, I think, just referred to usually as allium.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda:So it can mean a few things, but obviously we're talking about the flowers, which are those big purple puff balls.

Marco:  So we have Dale's. I love alliums, Dale's sedum. Dale's grandmother's sedum. My mother's peonies, Linda's mother's iris.

Amanda:My stomach. Sorry.

Marco:  Our tulips that we planted when we first got married.

Amanda:Yeah.

Marco:  We had tulips from Holland that got transplanted so many times that. I don't know.

Amanda:They didn't.

Marco:  I, don't know.

Amanda:They were little ones, too, so. They didn't. They didn't. We'll see if they didn't make it through.

Marco:  Yeah, they didn't make it through. And I just planted a bunch of dahlias because you said you like dal.

Amanda:I love dalias. And, you know, towards the end of the summer, I'm always like, oh, we really should have dahlias. Because what I love is always having something to look forward to in terms of blooming.

Marco:  Sure. Because we're going to have the peonies in June.

Amanda:Yeah.

Marco:  We're in tulip season now.

Amanda:We are.

Marco:  And lilacs are coming.

Amanda:Uh-huh.


What other spring flowers do you have in your garden

That's all the spring flowers. Yeah.

Marco:  Allium's on its way.

Amanda:It is. Yeah. That's going to be more of a June thing. It'll be before the peonies, but after the tulips. what else do we have? There's a flower I'm not thinking of. We used to have mums that would come up.

Marco:  What I love is Amanda will take flowers that she's given. You know, when you're given potted flowers, and when the flowers are done blooming in the home, we plant them in this small patch garden. Yeah, we plant those. We plant those. And, they will. They will. They will sometimes appear. We also have lilies. Ditch lilies, as, Dale likes to call them.

Amanda:The lilies. I call them day lilies. She calls them ditch lilies. But in any event, those big, bright orange that don't last very long. Bright yellow and bright orange lilies.

Marco:  Yeah, they come later in the summer.

Amanda:Those are like a July. That's a solid July flower. As are the, the sedums. And also, What's the other one that we got from the cottage that have the purple. They're like a big plant. And then the purple flowers. Light purple flowers kind of poke up on top. They look like little bells. We have them at the cottage.

Marco:  We have hyacinths. What are they called? Hyacinths.

Amanda:Sorry, what?

Marco:  Hyacinths.

Amanda:No, we do have a hyacinth. Okay. That's one of those bulbs I planted. And it got its, It fighting for its will to live amongst the allium, because the allium are very tall and the hyacinth is very short. That's the one that you cut and put in a. In a vase. Because I was like, I think it needs to be separated here. But no. what are those things called? Purple hydrangeas. No, no. We have hydrangeas, though.

Marco:  No, we don't.

Amanda:We do at the cottage.

Marco:  Oh, but I meant here.

Amanda:Yeah. Wow, you really came for me on that one.

Marco:  Well, because we don't have hydrangeas. Because I saw hydrangeas.

Amanda:Our neighbor has hydrangeas.

Marco:  I was like, should we plant hydrangeas? But I just don't think our patch.

Amanda:Let's do it. Let's plant our patch.

Marco:  Can't support it. It can't support it.

Amanda:You know what? The flowers that are meant to come

Marco:  will come m. We also have lemon balm that's growing. And,

Amanda:What are those?

Marco:  I wonder if the sage we planted.

Amanda:The sage will come back. What are those plants called? It's driving me crazy. It's a really a, common plant.

Marco:  Pansies.

Amanda:No, no, violets. No, it's. Do you know what I'm talking about?

Marco:  The purple?

Amanda:I don't think you do. If you're saying pansies and violets. it's mostly a plant and it's green obviously. And if you can picture at the. Your mom pulls the tops off of them.

Marco:  Oh, yes, of course she pulls. Yeah. Hostas.

Amanda:Hostas. Hostas, yeah. But sorry, what? Hostas.

Marco:  Hostas.


You love hostas. Your mother doesn't like purple flowers

hostas.

Amanda:Hostas. Yeah.

Marco:  I love hostas. They're more of a decorative plant that, that tend to bloom purple long flowers which. Yes, my mother. You're really painting my mother as a bad gardener. But she doesn't like the little.

Amanda:She's an excellent gardener.

Marco:  Yeah, she's a great gardener, actually. No, but she doesn't like those purple flowers.

Amanda:She doesn't like the purple flowers because they're a little bit, they're because hostas themselves, you think more of the leaves, those big green leaves and they bush out and they really cover a lot of ground and then the flowers are. That's one of those plants where it's more about the leaves than the flowers. The flowers kind of poke out and they're like little bell flowers, but they, I don't mind them, but they're not, you know, it's no peony, that's for sure.

Marco:  Right, sure, sure.

Amanda:But sometimes you're just a hosta among the peonies and that's what it.

Marco:  I love hostas. You know our good friend Ann.

Amanda:You love hostas.

Marco:  I do like hostas. I've always liked the look of them.

Amanda:I didn't know that.

Marco:  And you know who has beautiful hostas? I mean N&FI in Stratford, Ontario, good friends of ours.

Amanda:Yeah.

Marco:  There's a hosta that need a lot

Amanda:of sun for hostas.

Marco:  They almost look purple. Oh, sorry. They almost look a blue.

Marco:  Blue.

Amanda:Yeah. Yeah.

Marco:  And those are my favorite hostas. And they've got, they've got a lot of them. I really, I really like, their garden. They have a little pond in the back with, with koi fish. So I always go out with Fi and we look at the, the koi.

Amanda:I have question. Are, ah, koi fish the same as goldfish? Like the common goldfish?

Marco:  Yes and no.

Amanda:What does that mean?

Marco:  They are a, member of the goldfish family, but they're fancy goldfish. So what do you think?

Amanda:What about carp?

Marco:  Well, yes, carp is part of that family too. No, but carp is kind of in that sort of same vein. You can have decorative or ornamental carp.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco:  But koi are their own thing, as best as I know.

Amanda:Ornamental carpenter. In fact, fish can be ornamental.

Marco:  Well, they're. They're ornamental in that, you know, you have them in the pond and they have beautiful colors and whatnot.

Amanda:Okay. But they're still a living being, part of an ecosystem.

Marco:  I will refer you and our listeners to the koi episode which was done in season one, where I actually talk about koi with Phi the Gentleman. I'm talking about right now. This is our koi episode. So if you, want more information about way back catalog, you go back nine years to the koi episode.

Amanda:Nine years a. Way back. Playback. A decade ago.


I've had issues with squirrels in my garden eating my bulbs

Marco:  I want to talk about a couple of things, all right? One, I'm going to give a tip because I know our listeners enjoy a good tip, and that is. I've had issues with squirrels in my garden eating my bulbs.

Amanda:hm.

Marco:  Especially my tulip bulbs. M. Nobody wants their bulbs eaten by a squirrel.

Amanda:No. All of this episode feels like a euphemism, by the way.

Marco:  Well, no, that's. Yes. Take, it with a grain of salt.

Amanda:You need to. Nobody wants their bulbs eaten by a squirrel. You know what I mean?

Marco:  So I've tried everything to keep the squirrels away from my bulbs. I've put bloodworm sauce on them. I've used.

Amanda:M. I'm sorry, what?

Marco:  Like, you can get this like this mixture that's kind of like bloodworm sauce. No, it's not bloodworm. It's like blood. Like, like it's a. It's a thing that smells like blood so that keeps them away.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco:  Then I had like.

Amanda:It's a. Like a.

Marco:  Like, it's not a sauce. It's. It's like a thing. Look it up if you want. You'll. You'll get what I'm saying.

Amanda:Bloodworm sauce?

Marco:  no, it's bloodworm. I feed blood worms to fish. That's what I used to do. But, you can have like a ornamental fish. Yeah. To beta fish. But don't take me off course here. So I've tried the blood, I've tried using.

Amanda:So the tip is don't use bloodworm sauce.

Marco:  I've tried to use chicken scat that you get. You get in.

Amanda:I'm sorry, where did you get that?

Marco:  It comes in a little box in this house.

Amanda:You've done these things on our little

Marco:  patch of garden to keep the squirrels away.

Amanda:I don't ever remember a day where you came home from the market and went, hey, babe, I got some chicken scat to pull, throw in the front,

Marco:  it comes like in a milk carton. What is tried.

Amanda:are you hiding chicken scat from me?

Marco:  No. It didn't work and it smelled really good.

Amanda:It's one of the tenants of a marriage.

Marco:  No.

Amanda:Do not hide your chicken skirt.

Marco:  I did all this for our tulips, and still the squirrels got to them.

Amanda:Our, last year tulips. All of this has happened.

Marco:  No, because I. Last year. This is the tip I want to share. you won't let me get past the chicken scat.

Amanda:These are all things I've never seen you do. That's why I'm a little bit taken aback.

Marco:  Yeah. Because I do all this for our garden.

Amanda:Not on the sly.

Marco:  Yeah, not on the sly. To keep a beautiful garden.

Amanda:Yeah. But I've never seen a, grocery bill that had chicken scat and blood meal sauce.

Marco:  Okay, so first of all, Amanda doesn't do very much in the garden. In the front, I do all the work. Clearly. If you don't know that I'm doing

Amanda:all the work now. You're coming for me.

Marco:  M. No, I'm just. You're just. You're not letting me get past my tip.


Pine branches are a great way to protect your garden from squirrels

Okay, so, listeners, I finally figured out what to do to save my tulips. To salvage my tulips. When we cut our Christmas tree down, I had extra branches. So I put those. I laid those branches needle side up.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco:  Onto where I planted the tulips.

Amanda:Right.

Marco:  So I planted the tulips, then I laid those branches needle side up so that they were too pinchy for the squirrels to go.

Amanda:Is there a needle side down? Yeah. Okay.

Marco:  Pinch side up. So if you put them the other way, they're flat. Well, just picture, branches. If you put your hand on pine branches, if it feels a little prickly, that's the right way.

Amanda:My memory of pine branches is if you put it on either side, it's going to feel prickly. Like, I don't remember a flat side and then a prickly side. To my understanding of how branches work,

Marco:  I think it depends on the pine. And I put it the pricklier side

Amanda:up is what I did in any

Marco:  event, and kept the squirrels away.

Amanda:One could also do this after they're done with their Christmas tree. They could chop it now.

Marco:  No, because you've got to plant your tulips before you're done with your plants.

Amanda:Well, that was my question. So we did this in. You did this in when? December, January.

Marco:  I planted the tulips late November.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco:  And then I had.

Amanda:That's when we got the tree because

Marco:  we also got branches to make wreaths and stuff. So I had some branches already. So then that gave me the idea because I just planted the tulips.

Marco:  And I realized I had the these. I had an excess amount of branches and so I laid them on the ground covering where I put the tulips. And it wouldn't give access. You'd have to get through prickly branches to get through.

Amanda:Pine branches are a great way to protect your garden.

Marco:  But remember, you have to remove those branches early in the spring before your flowers come up.

Amanda:Right.

Marco:  And I did.

Amanda:I mean, otherwise you just have a branch garden. Nobody wants that with blood meal sauce. Chicken scat.

Marco:  We also planted beautiful begonias.

Amanda:We did.

Marco:  In our little pot.

Amanda:In a little pot. Well, we bought them. I don't, know if we planted them. We bought them.

Marco:  Well, we bought them and then I replanted, into that little pot.

Amanda:Okay. Begonias are great. They're annual, so you're not gonna. They're not gonna keep coming back. Unlike the tulips and the dahlias and the allium. But they're great. They're like roses and they're hardy. They're kind of like a geranium meets a rose.

Marco:  They remind me of my grandmother. And I fear that it's going to need more water this summer than I anticipate. How much do I have to water them?

Amanda:I think you're fine. I mean, that pot gets a lot of water. Every time it rains, it gets water. I think you're fine. I do. We've done pretty well with that little spot.

Marco:  I really love that front garden, I have to say.

Amanda:Wow.

Marco:  Yeah, I guess I will post a video of our tulips that we described.

Amanda:Off the top. I mean, you're going to just remember there's not much there.

Marco:  No, I have some that I took.

Amanda:No, I just mean people. When you watch it, we're acting like we live in a palatial estate with a rose garden. Believe us when we say it's a sidewalk and a door and then the teensiest, tiniest little patch of land.

Marco:  I had some horrible roses in front of the fire hydrant when I first moved here.

Amanda:Oh, really? I didn't know that.

Marco:  Yes, they were like, whitish, but they were never full roses. And they were, they were. It was very thorny.

Amanda:The thing with roses are so tricky and they don't do great in. I don't know. My mom always had roses and she does about the best you can do with them, but As a kid, we always had them in Massachusetts, and they're always thorny. And you gotta do a lot of work to get one flower. Like, we think of roses, long stem roses that we buy.

Marco:  I also think roses need the right climate to do anything great. Like, they don't.

Amanda:There's a reason they do well in England, I think. Like, we tend to have really bright and hot sun. And, you know, my mom has them in Florida. She does okay with that.


We inherited some pothos plants from an actor moving to Calgary

Which is insane that they would even grow at all in Florida because it's so hot.

Marco:  It's really quite impressive, actually.

Amanda:She's an amazing gardener, though.

Marco:  I want to say this, that, we just, inherited a couple of,

Amanda:pothos plants we did from a fabulous, actor who's moving to Calgary.

Marco:  And so we got all these beautiful. Pothos is pothi. What is plural? Pothos.

Amanda:Pothosis. Pothosius.

Marco:  And the really big one we got started to turn yellow, and I got it.

Amanda:I feel like it doesn't like us.

Marco:  no. I think it just went through stress.

Amanda:I know, but I'm worried that it's gonna lose all the leaves.

Marco:  I'm gonna really baby it.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco:  We're not to water it for a couple of weeks.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco:  Let it acclimatize. Let it. If you have a pothos. Yeah, A few weeks. Yeah. Two or three weeks. We're gonna let it just chill.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco:  If you have pothos advice, let us know.

Amanda:Yeah. Ah. Because we have not had luck with them. And apparently they're the ones you can like. I had a pothos in university. I remember that. You know, we just grow it and then make. It was like a border to the bathroom. Like, it was like our bathroom decoration. We just wound it around.

Marco:  Sure. I want to know this. That prayer plant, which I don't think I'm going to be very good at taking care of, looks really like it's enjoying itself.

Amanda:I know, it's funny. That's supposed to be. The pothos is supposed to be the hardy, sturdy, can't kill it thing. And it's immediately, like, showed up here and it's like, nope, I'm out. so we're losing a lot of leaves off that. And then the prayer plant, which is supposed to be a very persnickety plant, looks very happy here.

Marco:  And not only that. So I re. I re potted the prayer plant and the pothos and I left the prayer plant outside, and we had a torrential storm last night.

Amanda:Like a storm. Like, there are notable storms moving from Texas up. Through Michigan. And then we got our version last night. So this is like a legit storm. It was a storm, like lightning, thunder, the whole nine yards.

Marco:  It was wonderful to fall asleep to.

Amanda:Yeah, it was lovely.

Marco:  But I said to Amanda, oh, no, I left the prayer plant outside.

Amanda:And you were like, well, I better pray.

Marco:  And you're like, it's not going to make it. Not with that. We could hear.

Amanda:Did I say that?

Marco:  You're like, the rain just sounds so hard.

Amanda:I mean, it sounded like if. If it makes it. And then this morning, it looked great.

Marco:  It was like, ah, welcome.

Amanda:That's what I wanted.

Marco:  It was really like.

Amanda:It wanted the drama.

Marco:  It wanted the drama. And now I put it in a spot and, it looks happy. So we'll see what happens there. But that's our little journey.


Amanda Barker: Our home is small, our garden is small

I feel like we're constantly talking about flowers and plants on this podcast. It's almost.

Amanda:We're not exciting people. But that's not why you're here.

Marco:  It's almost become a potting podcast. But.

Amanda:But we're not experts at all on it.

Marco:  We're not. But I do, I. I think this year and last year, I sort of fell in love with plants in our garden.

Marco:  And so that's what's been going on for me.

Amanda:I feel bad. I feel like we should get a house that has a really big, proper garden that you could love.

Marco:  No.

Amanda:Too much work.

Marco:  No, no, not for a garden.

Amanda:Yeah.

Marco:  I'm happy with a little. I'm happy with the little garden that I overcrowded.

Amanda:I like small things.

Marco:  Yeah.

Amanda:And, you know our favorite design show, Hometown, Erin Napier. It's, Erin and Ben Napier. If you don't follow them, they're lovely, or they seem to be lovely. And she said the other day, we don't like big entertaining. Like they were, you know, designing a home for someone who does a lot of entertaining and wanted a big kitchen and all this. And she said, we don't like that. We like, you know, six people. We just want a kitchen table that seats six to eight people. That's it for us. And I think there's such a movement for people reclaiming small spaces and not needing the bigger and the best of everything, but wanting. I saw something today that said, just normalize small. That's our life. Our home is small, our garden is small. but our needs are few.

Marco:  That's true. Well, whatever you need, I hope it comes to you. Ah, including sleep. I hope you were able to listen to this particular episode where we went on about plants and flowers. And I hope you were able to sleep. And we'll see you next time. I'm MarcoTimpano.

Amanda:I'm Amanda Barker. Still wondering if there's remnants of chicken scat in her garden or otherwise.

In Discovering Saskatoon: A Prairie Adventure, Marco and Amanda take you on a softly narrated journey to Saskatoon — a prairie city once affectionately described by Bob Dylan as “the Paris of the Prairies.” With their usual unhurried charm, they reflect on strolling down Broadway, admiring the city’s graceful bridges, and taking in the wide-open skies that make Saskatchewan feel expansive and calm.
The conversation drifts through culinary highlights, including a visit to 13 Pies, and lingers on simple pleasures like walking through wheat fields and picking fresh Saskatoon berries on a local farm. They also recall a refreshing swim and other outdoor moments that capture the peaceful rhythm of prairie life.
As always, this calming podcast unfolds at a gentle pace, offering a relaxing conversation designed to help you fall asleep, ease anxiety, or quiet racing thoughts. It’s perfect for background listening while you wind down at bedtime or during a middle-of-the-night wake-up. Let the wide skies and easy travel memories carry you toward rest.

​Discovering Saskatoon_ A Prairie Adventure
(Original airdate: Sept 11, 2024)


Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen as we have a calm, soothing, hopefully salve like conversation so that you can just rest, relax and who knows, maybe even find your way to sleep.

Amanda:I want everyone to imagine that, that they are staring at fields, what we would call amber waves of grain. Sure, as we used to say in our little song that I have to sing in elementary school, a sea of,

Marco:  swaying shafts of wheat, shafts of

Amanda:wheat, hay bales, grain elevators sort of in the middle of fields and, yeah, just tilling the land. Because that is where we were this Weekend.

Marco:  We're taking you there on this particular episode. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.

Amanda:I'm Amanda Barker.

Marco:  And so, Amanda, tell our listeners where we were.

Amanda:We were in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan. Yeah. And, did you see what it says on their license plate? it's really lovely, and it's so apropos.

Marco:  Yeah, I did. And I can't remember, but it's something with the sky. Help me out.

Amanda:So on their license plate, it says land of the living skies. And I thought that was so beautiful. And that is one of those things that might make no sense to someone. And then you go there, and it makes perfect sense. The skies are. It has the most sunlight of anywhere in Canada, which is an amazing thing that I didn't know. And the skies are so full and blue and ever continuous. It is a big sky.

Marco:  Now, we have listeners from Saskatchewan, and we also have listeners from Saskatoon. So I hope you'll enjoy this episode, and please forgive us if we m. Misspeak on your province.


Saskatchewan is known for its large production of wheat and mustard

So Saskatoon, or Saskatchewan, is a prairie province, and it's known because of its large production of wheat, amongst other things. I think it produces the most m. Mustard in.

Amanda:Mustard.

Marco:  Mustard.

Amanda:Lentils. I know a lot of lentils come from Saskatchewan.

Marco:  Pulses. Yeah. And. Yeah, mustard. A lot of mustard that you get from. Where's that place in France that's famous for Dijon? Dijon actually comes, what, from Canada? Yeah. They don't tell you. They don't advertise that when you go there, that's for sure. but it's certainly, an important province, for our country, for anyone who's listening outside. And we have not been to Saskatchewan. And that was the last province for you.

Amanda:I have now been to all of the provinces of Canada, and now it's time for me to get to know the territories that's left and head north.


Did you enjoy Saskatoon? I loved Saskatoon

Marco:  So let me ask you this. Did you enjoy Saskatoon?

Amanda:I loved Saskatoon. I thought it was just a beautiful, charming, vibrant, fun, happy city.

Marco:  Yeah, people were lovely.

Amanda:There's a lot of happiness there. Yeah, it felt like.

Marco:  It certainly felt. It certainly felt like that the people that we encountered.

Amanda:Now, there could be people that are listening. They're like, well, you didn't meet me, or you didn't meet my family or whatever, but, you know, you can only you get the experience you get. And we had a very quick experience, quicker than we even realized it would be. We thought we were going to fly in on a Friday night and then realized when we went to check in the night before we're actually flying in on a Saturday night on a long weekend. So we had the. The tail end of Saturday, all of Sunday, and a good chunk of Monday before we got back on the plane. So not a very long visit, that's for sure. And over a long holiday weekend. So, you know, we didn't have the full experience because a lot of things were closed, but we had an amazing experience nonetheless.

Marco:  Now, I should mention that Saskatoon is known as the Paris of the Prairies.

Amanda:And who coined that phrase?

Marco:  I believe it was Bob Dylan.

Amanda:Bob Dylan.

Marco:  They said, Yeah, that's what they're saying. Yeah. So Bob Dylan once dubbed this pretty little city Paris of the Prairies. No one seems to know exactly why is what it says here on this particular website, but it's really quite a lovely city.

Amanda:Does he know he said that? Like, does he know that he coined that term and everyone's quoting him on it, attributes it to him.

Marco:  I'm sure he does. He seems like the type of person who.

Amanda:I don't know. Sometimes those things happen and they're like, what.

Marco:  What was the. It was also known as the city of bridges. They have beautiful bridges.

Amanda:Bridges everywhere. That gorgeous river. I. What's the name of that river? I don't know.

Marco:  It's an important river. And so I,

Amanda:Better look it up.

Marco:  You best look it up. I will say this. So we ate in some tremendous restaurants, and there were restaurants we couldn't go to because, as Amanda said, we were there on the Labor Day long weekend. And there was two restaurants we wanted to go to that were closed because of the long weekend. But the restaurants we did go in its place were fantastic. One was recommended to us by the person who we rented the car from. You know, when you go to the airport and you rent a car and you deal with that person, well, she couldn't be any more lovely. I think it's safe to say her name. Brittany. Brittany, who was so lovely.

Amanda:From Thrifty. Brittany from Thrifty. By the way, that river is called the South Saskatchewan River.

Marco:  Yeah, of course. so she recommended we go to 13 pies, which was this pizza place that was open till late. So we went. Once we got to our hotel, we went there and we had.

Amanda:We went at midnight and had pizza and.

Marco:  And we had delicious pizza.

Amanda:Oh, my gosh, it was fantastic.

Marco:  And then our waiter recommended a bunch of things for us to do.

Amanda:Her name was Kayla at thirteen Pies. She was amazing.

Marco:  She was wonderful. And then we went to. Oh. And then we went home and we had an amazing.


We stayed at this hotel that was. Um, it was like a convention center hotel

Amanda:So we should, we should talk a little bit about 13 pies. Yeah, let's talk about it because I think it's neat. It's a horror themed pizza, restaurant. So every pizza, every signature pizza of which there are 13 is named after a horror movie.

Marco:  So what did we get? We had the White Walker and it was delicious.

Amanda:Yeah.

Marco:  And then we, the next day we had a full.

Amanda:She gave it. She hooked us up, gave us, on the house, Key lime cheesecake. Key lime pie, which was one of the best key lime pies I've ever had.

Marco:  Truly.

Amanda:It was fantastic.

Marco:  It was incredible.

Amanda:And they do not grow key limes in Saskatoon, I don't think.

Marco:  No, it was out of this world.

Amanda:They do grow amazing berries. And we'll talk about that in a bit.

Marco:  So the next morning we woke up and we had a full day in front of us.

Amanda:We did. Yes. It was my birthday.

Marco:  Yes.

Amanda:Which is why we went. I wanted to go hit my last province before I turned of, age.

Marco:  And where did we go first on the next day when we had the full day to ourselves? We swam.

Amanda:Well, we swam because we had. We stayed at this hotel that was. Should we talk about the hotel?

Marco:  It had an interesting lazy river to

Amanda:it, sort of like a pool that had a bridge. So it was quite an extensive pool. And there was a lot happening at the hotel, you know, and a lot of people.

Marco:  it was like a convention center hotel as well.

Amanda:So, so filled with children and it was lovely. And the breakfast, they had like a brunch. That's right.

Marco:  We were going to go to a fancy schmancy breakfast.

Amanda:Well, we didn't know if it was fancy schmancy, but it, to be fair, we thought we were getting in Friday night, as I said. So we had a lot of reservations lined up. So our brunch reservation was, named to some Saskatoon's best restaurant. Although I think that would be a hard title to capture because there's a lot of great restaurants. But anyway, one of them, which is called Hearth, but they weren't open on the Sundays so we didn't have brunch plans. So we actually just after swimming, looked at the brunch at the hotel and it looked amazing.

Marco:  And it was like, they have crap.

Amanda:They, they have, they had crab, shrimp, crab legs and shrimp.

Marco:  Like, mussels and clams.

Amanda:All the seafood, unlimited seafood. And it was fantastic. And it wasn't very expensive. And we were also like, I mean none of that seafood's Local. Like, none of it's local.

Marco:  Right. You're Saskatchewan sandwiched, like.

Amanda:And I did not go there to eat seafood, that's for sure.

Marco:  However, nowhere near.

Amanda:It was really good.

Marco:  Our oceans.

Amanda:No.

Marco:  Is where Saskatchewan is, but I guess

Amanda:it's maybe the one. One of the few places that does it. So anyway.

Marco:  Well, I'll say this. Some of the best seafood I had was in Calgary, too. So once again, not a province that has any body of water like an ocean, or sea.

Amanda:They have lakes and rivers.

Marco:  They have lakes and rivers, but that's not the case.

Amanda:Quite a few lakes and rivers, sure,

Marco:  as Saskatchewan does as well. But this was crab. Like snow. crab and shrimp and other things.

Amanda:Not. This was ocean, not river.

Marco:  Yeah, it was fantastic.

Amanda:Any. It was great and unexpected, and we just. It was also the easiest way to have lunch because we were right there.


Saskatoon has some nice museums, some nice art galleries

So then we changed and went about our day. We walked, along Broadway. A lot of people said, you should walk along Broadway. It's sort of the funky old part of town with some cool shops, and some of them are open. It was lovely. And of course, they were having this big street fair the next weekend, so something to do. Saskatoon.

Marco:  A lovely walk around Broadway. Then we went on a lark to a museum.

Amanda:Yeah. My sister said, oh, both my sister and her partner were like. Their friend Michelle, works at this museum. She's a head curator at this museum. And someone had actually, Brittany Thrifty rental car. Brittany said, you should go to the river. And there's some nice museums, some nice art galleries. She said, right, right. So in my mind, when you say some nice art galleries, I'm thinking art for purchase.

Marco:  Like those kind of places.

Amanda:Yeah. You know, like, oh, this is a cute little place. And, oh, look at this. Oh, look at this. You could buy this. I wasn't thinking of a gorgeous museum of modern art, like, state of the art, huge, massive facility. It was stunning. And I don't know. Do you say Ramai? Is that how it's called?

Marco:  That's how I say it.

Amanda:Ramai Museum of Modern Art, I believe is the name of it in Saskatoon. And that was a. And it was open on a holiday Sunday. And it was fantastic.

Marco:  It was wonderful.

Amanda:Like, wow, what a gorgeous, gorgeous museum. Really stunning.

Marco:  three floors of this museum. It was beautiful. It had views that were stunning.

Amanda:It had, an exhibit we went to, that was comparing the works of Picasso and William Kentridge, and they were phenomenal.

Marco:  Kentridge's work was, for me, more impressive than the Picasso stuff.

Amanda:Well, it was very interesting because it was all on, lithographs. Right. And printmaking. Yeah. anyway, really, really stunning, gorgeous, gorgeous stuff. Lots of interactive sort of pieces. The curation was gorgeous.

Marco:  And then we went to. It was like a blue. Like it was a blue themed art or there's something to do with blue. All the paintings that we saw, including the group of seven, the Lauren Harris.

Amanda:So that was the pink room, was it?

Marco:  The Pink room? Is that what it was called? Yeah, I thought it was blue.

Amanda:There's a whole room dedicated to pink.

Marco:  Not blue?

Amanda:No.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda:It talked about the pink, the pink of the sun and the skies. But see, isn't that interesting that you remember it being blue, but that Lauren Harris has a lot of blue to it. I don't know if that Lauren Harris was in that room though.

Marco:  Well, the room that I'm thinking of was the blue was, was, I thought was the blue themed room, but there was a pink.

Amanda:A room that was about pink. It was really like a whitish pink, but it was stunning.

Marco:  Was it upstairs or the middle floor?

Amanda:It was by the Lauren Harris. Anyway, it doesn't matter. No one's listening. In case you landed here by accident, this is not your guided tour of the Ramay Museum.

Marco:  it's just the conversation or Blue room. Right, it's just the conversation.

Amanda:But imagine it was. Sure.

Marco:  Listen. Pink and blue are both relaxing colors that can help you fall asleep, that's for sure. And yeah, it was just a wonderful museum.


Toronto has banned any type of standup scooter. In fact, even for personal use

Then we rented those little, those scooters. Those scooters that you can find in cities all across the world if you're

Amanda:still awake and listening. That's the question of the hour. Does your city have those rental scooters that you rent with an app and people drive along sidewalks and you know the ones, you know the ones, different companies that do them.

Marco:  Well, we rented one and we went along.

Amanda:We rented two.

Marco:  That's right.

Amanda:We've done it before, but not recently.

Marco:  That's true. And we went around along the river.

Marco:  And it was really quite beautiful.

Amanda:I said let's get scooters. And. And because this river is long and vast and sort of spans the city, wouldn't it be fun to just sort of scoot along the river? And we did.

Marco:  And it was wonderful.

Amanda:It was incredible. and that's one of the things I like using those scooters for. But see, our city doesn't have them. Toronto has banned any type of standup scooter. In fact, even for personal use.

Marco:  I Think it would be difficult to maintain those scooters in the city. Like, I think when they're in a large city, it can be a challenge because if they end up in the road or you really got to keep on.

Amanda:I mean, there's lots of reasons to ban them, and I totally understand that. And to be fair, this. Well, no, we rode them in quite large cities and we've ridden them in sort of medium sized city. They're great for a medium sized city, I will say, especially a city that sees tourists like us. now, you know, you have to be safe and et cetera. But, for something like that, to ride a scooter along a river, you know, a river walk kind of thing, that can be quite lovely.

Marco:  I got charged twice for it, so check your credit card so that, you know. Yeah, I got charged twice for the. I noticed that the charge was the same amount twice.

Amanda:Oh, so you can refute that?

Marco:  I did, I did. So there you go.

Amanda:It kind of made us do that.

Marco:  I know, Yeah. I meant to tell you that.

Amanda:Sorry. I usually check it every day, but for some reason I just haven't.


Accounting can really put you to sleep, says Rene Dion

Marco:  we also do accounting on the show.

Amanda:In case you're wondering, this is also the accounting hour.

Marco:  Listen, accounting really put you to sleep. Accounting can really put you to sleep. And I'll tell you, like, sometimes when you're in front of numbers and just using the calculator. We have a calculator that has a roll of paper that we use. And there's something hypnotic about typing in many numbers and just watching that roll, sort of.

Amanda:And every time you type it in, it's like that chugga, chugga, chugga.

Marco:  Yeah, that clickety clack, clickety clack as it comes from the roll. And then you rip the roll and you have that.

Amanda:I like. For me, I like to fall asleep thinking about organizing. It's not necessarily numbers. It can be numbers. But I like to think about, like, organizational things that I can do.

Marco:  Did you ever have a Rolodex?

Amanda:No.

Marco:  So my boss had a Rolodex.

Amanda:I mean, everyone's boss had a Rolodex.

Marco:  And then I got a Rolodex from that same workplace.

Amanda:Like, they gave you a Rolodex. Like, welcome, son, you've been here a year. Here's your Rolodex.

Marco:  Let's just say a Rolodex fell off a truck into my bag.

Amanda:Wait, what?

Marco:  Somehow I ended up with a Rolodex off a truck. Well, let's just say stole a roller. No I don't think I stole it.

Amanda:Somebody's uncle stole a roller.

Marco:  No, what I think happened was because I was working.

Amanda:I mean, they weren't expensive.

Marco:  No, I think they were expensive back then.

Amanda:A Rolodex.

Marco:  A Rolodex. Back in the day. Look up how much a rolodex was in 1940. we did that last episode. So let me just tell my Rolodex situation.

Amanda:Ah.

Marco:  So my boss had a Rolodex with a lot of important numbers on it. And he. And this was a television station. And so somehow I had a Rolodex. I think I had. I think it was. I had a Rolodex on my desk at work.

Amanda:You're. You're right. They're not cheap. I don't like $75 on Amazon right now.

Marco:  Right. Imagine 1940.

Amanda:You didn't work in 1940.

Marco:  I didn't work in 1940. But last week we were looking at the price of turkeys in 1940. So, I had this Rolodex, and one time, oftentimes I would have to go through his Rolodex. He'd be like, go on my Rolodex and find. So I'd go through the number.

Amanda:You have to flip through and find the number. Isn't that amazing?

Marco:  Yeah. Well, I found Rene Angelil's number in his Rolodex. No, I'm not. So I saved it onto my phone and I put it in my Rolodex just in case.

Amanda:On your phone? What year was this?

Marco:  No, no, I guess I didn't. I put it in my Rolodex.

Amanda:I was gonna say you didn't have a phone. That's the thing. We needed Rolodexes because we didn't have cell phones.

Marco:  I had it in my address book. I put it in. You know how you'd have an address book with phone numbers? So I put Renee Angelils.

Amanda:He wrote it down, folks. Old schools.

Marco:  So I had it both in my Rolodex and in my phone. And for the longest time, I didn't want to throw away the Rolodex because I had Rene Angelil's private cell phone number.

Amanda:And did you call him? No.

Marco:  I wanted to, but I never had occasion to. And I felt like I shouldn't have the number because I took it from my boss's Rolodex.

Amanda:I mean, now it wouldn't matter.

Marco:  Now it wouldn't matter. But in case you're wondering who Rene

Amanda:angel is, do you regret. Is that one of life's? Regrets that you didn't call Rene Angelil. And. Yeah, there's a lot of people going, who the hell is Rene Angelil?

Marco:  Rene Angelil was Celine, Dion's first husband and.

Amanda:First husband.

Marco:  Yeah, well, her husband.


Are you hooking her up? No. I don't think she's. Who knows? She might have another husband

Amanda:Are you hooking her up? No.

Marco:  Okay. Her only husband.

Amanda:I don't think she's. Yes.

Marco:  People will listen to this in the future. Who knows? She might have another husband. Right.

Amanda:And we hope she does. We hope you're listening in the future going, isn't that sweet?

Marco:  If you haven't seen the documentary on her. I think it's on Netflix.

Amanda:It's fantastic.

Marco:  Well, in Canada, it's on Prime.

Amanda:Yeah. Who knows what it's on?

Marco:  Check your Netflix. So I will say this. I'm proud that I had his number. I'm proud that I didn't call him, because I don't know what I would have said to him.

Amanda:I mean, I don't think he would have picked up, but. Okay.

Marco:  If I called for my boss's phone, maybe.

Amanda:Okay, sure.

Marco:  I was just happy to have his phone number in my role.

Amanda:That's fine. The end.

Marco:  The end.


Back to Saskatchewan. So we went to a lovely dinner that evening at a restaurant

Back to Saskatchewan. So then. So then that we took a detour. We took a little Celine Dion detour, like you do. P.S. if you're listening to this and you're not from Canada, I just want to make sure you are aware that Celine Dion is not for. From Saskatchewan. She's from Quebec. So we went to a lovely dinner that evening at a beautiful restaurant. And I can't remember its name.

Amanda:Odd La Odla. It is a restaurant that owns a farm. And everything there. Most things there are from its farm.

Marco:  Farm to table.

Amanda:It's true. Farm to table. And it was phenomenal. pharma. So good.

Marco:  We did the tasting menu, and they accommodated the.


Both of us have allergies that give us hives

Amanda:Our list of weird displeasures. not displeasures, but we have allergies. We have. I would group them into three things. We have allergies that are legitimate, that will give us hives. Both of us do. Now, both of our allergies are really weird.

Marco:  We've talked about them on the show.

Amanda:Then we also have, I would say, intolerances, which you and I have the same intolerance. And I think it's because we don't eat them that we have an intolerance.

Marco:  It's really quite fortunate that we have an intolerance to bell peppers that we both don't eat them.

Amanda:Yeah. And I think if we ate them, if we liked them, we wouldn't have an intolerance. To them. That's what I think.

Marco:  Let me ask you this. You don't eat what I'm allergic to, which is passion fruit. do you miss not eating passion fruit?

Amanda:No, but I do miss not eating goat cheese.

Marco:  Okay.

Amanda:Which is a preference.

Marco:  It's a preference, yeah.

Amanda:So that would be the other group. Goat cheese for him. Goat cheese. Anything lamb or sheep related for me. Truffle.

Marco:  Yes, that's right.

Amanda:Anything truffle related I don't want anything to do with.

Marco:  Which now I feel like I don't like truffle Oreo. I'm building an intolerance to it because I never get to have it.

Amanda:This is what happens, folks. marriage.

Marco:  Have you ever gone truffle hunting?

Amanda:No. See, I think I like actual truffles, and I think I would like truffle hunting. It's the oil. Because usually it's not. They're putting truffles on things. Usually it's. They're dousing things with oil. And that's what I don't want.

Marco:  Fair enough.


Saskatoon has a food item that neither of us are allergic to

Anyways, let's get back to Saskatchewan.

Amanda:We're never going to.

Marco:  We have to get to Saskatoon in particular. While they don't have truffles, they do have a food item that is fantastic that neither of us are allergic to. And that's the Saskatoon berry.

Amanda:Delicious. so delicious.

Marco:  I was like, I really want a Saskatoon berry. And I really want to see a wheat field in Saskatchewan.

Amanda:And so we spent Saturday, walking along Broadway, which was lovely, and eating at Oddlaw. And what else did we do? We did something else.

Marco:  Oh, I took you to that, ice cream place. That was a bit of a bust.

Amanda:It was a. But they had really cool flavors. But yeah, it was like creamed corn, ice cream, things like that. And you're like, that's gonna be so good. And then it just tasted like, meh.

Marco:  It wasn't the best place. So we won't mention where it is, but we. Then the next day I was like, I really want some Saskatoon berries. And I really want to see a wheat field. So we drove outside of Saskatoon. Just outside. To a place called the Berry Farm. Barn.

Amanda:Yeah, the Saskatoon Berry Barn, I believe it's called. Or the Berry Barn.

Marco:  Oh. So is it still in Saskatoon? I feel like we. We drove a bit.

Amanda:It's like 15 minutes outside of Saskatoon.

Marco:  24, actually.

Amanda:Oh, wow.

Marco:  Cuz I was like, that was far. Because everywhere we would go was about 12 minutes away at the furthest.

Amanda:and it was lovely. I'm glad we went and we had

Marco:  all the Saskatoon berry you could want and more.

Amanda:Let's list what we had. I had wings, chicken wings in Saskatoon berry barbecue sauce.

Marco:  I had pierogies, which were fantastic.

Amanda:And we should mention there's a strong, Ukrainian population out there.

Marco:  That's right. And so I knew they would know how to make pierogies. Well. And then I had the meatballs in a dill white gravy and they were fantastic.

Amanda:M. And I think a strong Polish population there too, but I think very strong Ukrainian population. I had Saskatoon berry filled pierogies, deep fried, dusted with like cinnamon sugar, and some whipped cream. They were fantastic.

Marco:  And I had a Saskatoon berry pie.

Amanda:Yeah, you did.

Marco:  Which was excellent.

Amanda:And there are, as you said, very toothsome. The Saskatoon berry because they look kind

Marco:  of like a rounder blueberry. If you haven't encountered.

Amanda:They always look like a holly berry or a chokecherry.

Marco:  but if you haven't encountered either of those, it looks like a round blueberry.

Amanda:You know, like a red berry. so you think it's going to be like a blueberry because it's in pies and things, but it has a little bit more to it than like a blueberry. Kind of, dissolves as soon as you bite it. It kind of even a really plump one.

Marco:  Right.

Amanda:You know, this will this.

Marco:  You need teeth to bite into it.

Amanda:Yeah, a little bit more.

Marco:  Yeah. So. And it's neither sour nor sweet, it's kind of in between. But tasty. Leans more towards sweetness for sure. But it was delectable to me.

Amanda:It was most like in a way, the chokecherry. But you can't properly eat a chokecherry because the pits are poison. You have to boil chokecherries, which a lot of people don't, but I love doing that. You boil the choke cherries. It's a type of bush.

Marco:  I'll be honest with you, before I met you, I didn't know what a chokecherry was.

Amanda:Okay, well now you know. Now our listeners know, if you didn't already. You boil the chokecherries and you get all the pits out of the chokecherries. You strain all the pits, damned to pits. And then you get kind of like a syrup out of it. And then you can just use the syrup or you can make a jelly out of it. And that's what I used to do. I used to take all the choke cherries from our land in New Brunswick. Not all because there's tons of them, but quite a bit bushels of them. And then I'd make choke cherry jelly. But it does have, I don't know how to put it. Almost like a berry meets a red pepper.

Marco:  Oh.

Amanda:Kind of taste.


Everybody wants to give me crab apple stuff. Even my grandmother used to make crabapple jam

Sure you didn't love chokecherries?

Marco:  No, I didn't.

Amanda:And the jelly that I made,

Marco:  and I'm not a fan of crabapple.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco:  Stuff.

Amanda:That's fair.

Marco:  Everybody wants to give me crab apple stuff. Even my grandmother used to make crabapple jam. Like, I don't like this crab apple stuff.

Amanda:You know why? Because people. Crab apple is something that's there, and there's plenty. They're plentiful. So people are trying to do something fun with it. All right.

Marco:  Do it on your own time, with your own dime.

Amanda:That's what I did with chokecherries. Anyway. so I think a Saskatoon berry taste is actually similar to a chokecherry personally.


This episode is a Saskatchewan episode, so thank you, Saskatoon

Marco:  And then to close this episode, we'll just tell you what we did after the Berry Barn before we went to the Back to the airport.

Amanda:I'm trying to remember.

Marco:  We went to go see Amber's house.

Amanda:That's gonna make the podcast.

Marco:  Yes, of course.

Amanda:My friend grew up in Saskatoon, and so she gave me the address of her house, and I went and took a picture, and she happened to be in my hometown, but she didn't get the address of my house. the problem is the address of my old house in New Brunswick. They kept changing the address because it used to not have an address. It would just be our name and RR1. That was our address for years. And then finally someone was like, I

Marco:  feel like you're trying to strong arm this episode to New Brunswick when it's a Saskatchewan episode. Careful with your laughs. Into the mic.

Amanda:Sorry. Anyway, so I had to look up the address of my old house because they've changed it. The government has changed it.

Marco:  Anyway, have you sent this picture to Amber of you in front of her house?

Amanda:I have.

Marco:  And what was her response?

Amanda:She's like, there's my forever home. And I said, what you can't hear is that we were blasting the Northern Pikes, which is a Saskatoon band, in the background. And she was like, northern Pikes. That's amazing.

Marco:  And, yeah, I should mention that when we drove to the Berry Barn, I saw wheat fields. Beautiful, golden wheat in a field that went on forever.

Amanda:And it was beautiful under the living skies.

Marco:  It was. And you know, Amanda, from our hotel room, you could just see, like, when you look left or right, you could just see horizon forever.

Amanda:That's what they say that you can just see. It's easy. People would used to always joke that when your dog runs away, you see it leaving you for days. For days. Because you could just see how far everything goes.

Marco:  Yeah, it was beautiful. I loved. I loved Saskatoon. I loved Saskatchewan. I loved what I saw.

Amanda:It was beautiful.

Marco:  I had a great time. Time. So thank you.

Amanda:Thank you, Saskatoon.

Marco:  And for our listeners from there, we say a special hello. And for everyone else, we say we hope you were able to listen and sleep.

In Windshield Washer Fluid, Burnt Biscuits, and Bette Midler, Amanda and Marco ease into a cozy, softly spoken conversation built from the most ordinary details. They begin with the surprisingly absorbing topic of windshield washer fluid — its colours, its purpose, and a new dispenser Marco recently discovered — proving that even the simplest subjects can become soothing in the right company. From there, the chat drifts into a baking mishap involving burnt biscuits, gentle kitchen tips, and Amanda’s firm (and amusing) stance on custards and “wet bread” desserts.
The episode wraps with warm nostalgia for Bette Midler, reflecting on her enduring presence in pop culture and the comfort of familiar performers who span generations. As always, this calming podcast is intentionally unhurried, offering a relaxing conversation designed to help you fall asleep, ease anxiety, or quiet racing thoughts. It’s perfect for background listening at bedtime or during a middle-of-the-night wake-up — just steady voices, mild humour, and everyday musings to guide you gently toward rest.

​Windshield Washer Fluid, Burnt Biscuits, and Bette Midler
(Original airdate: October 23, 2024)

Marco: Welcome to the Insomnia Project. Sit back, relax and listen, of course, as you find your way to sleep or relaxation. Thank you for coming on this journey with us. I'm your host, Marco Timpano.

Amanda:I'm Amanda Barker.

Marco: And Amanda, it's been two weeks since we've been on.

Amanda:I know, I know. And it's was not our intention. We did record. So maybe explain yourself, Marco, to me.

Marco: Okay. Well, we did record an entire episode for last week. And then, just as we got to the bottom of it, my computer froze and we lost the entire episode. So we're back.

Amanda:I wish I could recreate it. I don't remember what we talked about, but I did remember thinking, I'm really enjoying this. This is a great, possibly the best episode. The last episode.

Marco: The last episode. We have seven minutes of it. We were talking about windshield wiper fluid.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco: My pie making escapades.

Amanda:How do I not remember any of this? Windshield wiper fluid? Oh, yeah. Okay.


Bill: Bette Midler never seems to age

Marco: And we talked about something you had said in the previous episode that rocked the world of our listeners. Like Bill, when you said that the song from Beaches was called Misery.

Amanda:Oh, Misery, oh, Misery. Which, by the way, is not the most notable song from Beaches. I think Wind Beneath My Wings is probably the Song that people, or maybe even under the Boardwalk are the songs that people associate with Beaches.

Marco: Sure. But what is the actual O Misery? It's not called O Misery, it's called

Amanda:O Industry because it's its, comment, I think, on industrialization. And who better to play in your avant garde off Broadway musical but Bette Midler? Like, can you imagine

Marco: Bette Midler? You know, it's interesting. She never seems to age. So when you look at her today and you look at her when she did that movie, what was it called about a tattoo and before that about a tattoo, wasn't it called Tattoo the Rose Tattoo the Rose.

Amanda:Rose.

Marco: The Rose. The Rose.

Amanda:There you go.

Marco: Yeah.

Amanda:When she did, was it about a tattoo?

Marco: No, I think here I'm not even, I'm not even going to say anything because.

Amanda:Why would you say that?

Marco: I think it, I think the symbol is a rose on her, on her shoulder. I never saw it. I don't know.

Amanda:I don't.

Marco: A, tattooed rose.

Amanda:I don't get in trouble again to do with tattoos. And once again, as Bill said to me last time, no gays are sleeping tonight.

Marco: I think we just need to avoid saying. Explain why Bill said that so that.

Amanda:Well, I think because. Because it is his belief implied in that statement that Beaches and Bette Midler content is important to our friends in the LGBTQIA community, of which he is part.

Marco: Sure.

Amanda:And so, it's troubling to hear all this misinformation be spewed out like the rose is about a tattoo.

Marco: No, she has a tattoo of a rose on her shoulder.

Amanda:I don't. Maybe on an album cover? I don't think so.

Marco: Maybe.

Amanda:Anyway, I just don't think it's a movie about a tattoo.

Marco: Okay. My whole point is she doesn't look like she's aged. If you look at clips of her back then, she looks the same as she did today, etc. Etc.

Amanda:She's the Tom Cruise of, the gay icon world.

Marco: Has Tom Cruise not aged in your opinion?

Amanda:No. Tom Cruise, no.

Marco: You think he stayed, Remained the same?

Amanda:I mean, he's worked pretty hard to stay the same, but I think so, yeah.

Marco: Like the, like the new age Dick Clark. Remember how everybody said Dick Clark looked like a teenager all his life? Which I don't think.

Amanda:I don't think he ever looked like a teenager, but I will say he didn't age. He was one of those. I also think that about Pat Sajak. I feel like Pat Sajak doesn't age. Who. Who else doesn't age? We age.

Marco: We've certainly, certainly I've aged since we started recording this podcast.


Bill Antonui has a wonderful new podcast called Riviera Rats

all right, so before we get off this topic, I just want to say once again, Bill Antonui has a wonderful new podcast called Riviera Rats. Riviera Rats. And it's about films that were at Cannes. At the Cannes Film Festival. Cannes Film Festival. And it's fantastic. I'll put a. I'll put a link on our show notes for anyone who's into movies. In particular a insightful and well, well researched and knowledged. talk on. On film, unlike what we do.

Amanda:And maybe that seven minutes of lost footage or audio footage. I guess it's not footage if it's audio. Audio that lost seven minutes of audio Edge. We can put up on the Patreon.

Marco: Sure, sure.

Amanda:And that can be a little Easter

Marco: egg because we haven't recorded a Patreon episode in a while either.

Amanda:So. Or. Or have we and lost it?

Marco: No, we haven't.


Marco: I had to do a British accent this morning for an audition

Amanda:well then it's time.

Marco: Okay, so it's time. So I will say this as well. we were talking about windshield wiper fluid because we recently went back and forth to London, Ontario.

Marco: For work. And at one of the en routes, which is a truck stop, I guess you could call them a highway stop. A.

Amanda:Are we recreating?

Marco: No, I guess, but I just mentioned it. So I want to explain. What. What? Why. Okay, so, we went to put in gas and I noticed that there was this windshield wiper thing next to the gas where you could pump it in to your windshield wiper area of the car.

Amanda:Folks. It blew his mind.

Marco: It not much surprises me anymore because I'm of a certain age where I've seen and done a lot and so

Amanda:now you and Bette Midler.

Marco: Me and Bette Midler. I'd love to be in a

Amanda:film with Bette Midler and Tom Cruise.

Marco: more Bette Midler.

Amanda:Could I play Bette Midler does Tom Cruise's stunts. Tom Cruise has to sing.

Marco: That'd be awesome, right? Oh, now you've cut me out of the film.

Amanda:No, you're in there could bet mid

Marco: they're conceived a. Ah, butler.

Amanda:I'm the fun quirky secretary that says weird things. Yeah, I guess that's what I play.

Marco: I had to do a British accent this morning.

Amanda:So did I. Folks, we auditioned for the same role. That's what our lives are like. We get up at 6am to do an audition where we're Competing against each other.

Marco: Our British listeners are probably saying, I would love to hear your British accent. Let me assure you, I sound like different parts of England in the same sentence.

Amanda:Let me assure you I sound as good as all the people that did American accents on Downton Abbey.

Marco: Okay, fair enough. There you go. Fair enough.

Amanda:That guy from Baltimore, his accent was awful.

Marco: Another thing Amanda's family likes to do is point out bad New England accents when people do them.

Amanda:There's a lot of them. So many bad New England accents. So little time in this world.

Marco: It's very.

Amanda:So, windshield washer fluid.

Marco: Yeah. So we went recently, and I pumped the windshield washer fluid directly from a pump into my windshield wiper area. I didn't have to get those big plastic jugs. I didn't have to figure out how to dispose of those big plastic jugs, because you're not supposed to. To put them in the recycling.

Amanda:You're not?

Marco: No. You're not. Oh, you're not.

Amanda:I didn't know that.

Marco: Yeah. You're not supposed.

Amanda:They're, like, contaminated or whatever. Yeah.

Marco: I don't know. Like, there's antifreeze in it. Who knows? You're not supposed to.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco: And places where you buy them don't want you to put them in their garbage because then they have to deal with it. So it was a pleasure to do that at that truck stop.

Amanda:So, maybe we'll be seeing more of those. One can only dream.

Marco: I'm just giving everyone the heads up. When you see it, you can say Marco told me about it first here on the podcast.


Amanda has a bias when it comes to windshield wiper fluid

And I have to say, I have a bias when it comes to windshield wiper fluid.

Amanda:Really?

Marco: I do. I prefer a blue windshield over the pink. Over the pink over the fluorescent yellow.

Amanda:Do you think blue is more water, like, or m. More clean or both?

Marco: More clean? Because blue reminds me of Windex, which is blue, which is a glass cleaner.

Amanda:Yeah.

Marco: And it is the color of the windshield wiper fluid that I remember as a child, my parents or my dad putting into the car.

Amanda:Which begs the question, could you do windshield white wiper fluid in any hue?

Marco: I've seen.

Marco: Purple. I have seen.

Amanda:Really?

Marco: Yeah.

Amanda:could it be a lime green? How about black? Why. Why stop at anything?

Marco: True. As long as the black doesn't, smear or smudge your windows.

Amanda:You'd be a soft beige,

Marco: I guess. I guess. I don't think that's an attractive color. Putting it into your car.

Amanda:Match the sand, though.

Marco: The sand?

Amanda:The sand that's on your car.

Marco: Oh, I see. Okay.

Amanda:Like, I guess sand.

Marco: Dirt. Dirt you can certainly have clear too.

Amanda:Yeah. But then do you know if it's actually working or. I guess you have to have it a color so people can go, look, it's coming out like I have it. I. I feel validated. Oh, this is a fascinating topic now for me.

Marco: Yeah. Do you. Have you ever.

Amanda:Silvery color would be interesting.

Marco: Yeah, I guess. Yeah.

Amanda:A gold. That'd be like beige.

Marco: Yeah. Have you ever been in a bright red for Halloween? Sure, sure. Have you ever been in a car where the car in front of you uses their windshield wipers and the fluid hit car?

Amanda:I have indeed. Yeah. It's raining fluid. Hallelujah.

Marco: I guess. I guess I never like that. you're breathing really close.

Amanda:I know, because I'm laughing at myself because I'm thinking of other jokes that I'm not saying. Don't you hate it when people say that? When they're like, I could make a joke, but I'm not gonna. And you're like, just make it. It's really. You couldn't make a joke because it wouldn't be funny if you said the thing you're thinking.

Marco: Right, right. Okay, well, those. Those breaths you heard from Amanda was her suppressing laughter, and it's impossible for me to remove that. Okay.

Amanda:Amanda, I'm sorry. I'm a little punchy.

Marco: People's sleep apnea machines are gonna say, what's going on? Why is there these sounds coming from.

Amanda:Well, we have a bed that detects snoring, don't we?

Marco: No. There's versions of the bed that can do that, but ours doesn't.

Amanda:But imagine me snoring into this app, then raised somebody's bed up.

Marco: I don't know if I'd like. Oh, yeah, right. Yeah, yeah, that could happen.

Amanda:Listen, like I said, I have that friend, Alexa Pozobon. and when people say her name, things happen. Houses go crazy.

Marco: Yeah. yeah, it happened on our podcast, so we try not to say that name.

Amanda:Oops.

Marco: yes, exactly.

Amanda:See, I'm Punchy. Bad joke.

Marco: Punchy, I think you are punchy today.


I want to talk about my baking now. So I'm taking a baking course

I want to talk about my baking now.

Amanda:I mean, we've all been waiting for this.

Marco: So I'm taking a baking course. I don't know if I've already mentioned this, and my first two lessons were me baking an apple pie. And I found some tips. And this is one of the things that we said in the podcast episode that we lost. I'm going to share a couple of tips. One Tip is if you're making an apple pie, use two different types of apple. One tart, one sweet. And. And it'll balance the flavor inside your pie.

Marco: And I really like that tip.

Amanda:Hm.

Marco: The other tip I can't really remember. Make sure your pie when you're making it is very cold. So what I did was I put my hands.

Amanda:The dough.

Marco: The dough. And so when you're kneading the dough, if you have hot hands like mine.

Amanda:Right.

Marco: I submerged them in cold water, dried my hands and then made the dough. Amanda's falling asleep in the background. That's her yawning. So that's my pie week. And today I had to make biscuits or quick bread. So I had to make my biscuits.

Amanda:So what is considered quick bread?

Marco: Biscuits.

Amanda:What else?

Marco: Muffins.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco: I believe a carrot or. Or pumpkin cake or pumpkin bread, I should say.

Amanda:I see. So nothing that you have to let sit.

Marco: Exactly.

Amanda:It should.

Marco: It should. You should be able to make it. Pop it in the oven and it will rise.

Amanda:What about Irish soda bread?

Marco: I think that's a quick bread.

Amanda:Everyone loves to make that on St. Patrick's Day.

Marco: Your mom makes it.

Amanda:Irish soda bread? Yep.

Marco: It's just a bread that you don't have to let rise.

Amanda:Yeah, I guess it's the baking soda. It must have baking soda because I don't think it has like Pepsi in it. I think it's like baking soda bread is what it's. And that's what rises it. Maybe.

Marco: Did you say Pepsi?

Amanda:Yeah, like a, soda.

Marco: Oh, like a soda. Okay.

Amanda:Seven UP kind of thing.

Marco: We are out of baking soda. I used it all to make my, my biscuits.

Amanda:Did you check the fridge? There's some in the fridge.

Marco: There is?

Amanda:Yeah. I always have baking soda on the fridge.

Marco: No, sorry. Baking powder. We're out of baking powder.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco: Magic is baking powder. Right. The magic.

Amanda:It is. Did you check both the things? Cuz sometimes we have two of them on, the go for a long time. We had like two or three.

Marco: No, I didn't check any. I only.

Amanda:Did you check the bin? The Tupperware bin?

Marco: Yes. It's not in the Tupperware bin.

Amanda:Well then we might be out.

Marco: We have a baking bin that sits under the sink.

Amanda:We have a small kitchen.

Marco: We have a small kitchen.

Amanda:And I feel happy that you're baking now because I'm usually the one that spends, I would say the majority of the time in the kitchen. So now you can understand my pain. Yeah.

Marco: it's hard to bake in A small kitchen.

Amanda:You don't have a lot of counter space. You really don't. And you Mr. Me. I love you, but you. Our counters get very cluttered with things.

Marco: What's that supposed to mean?


The cranberry is a difficult fruit to use and utilize

What things?

Amanda:You're just like, things end up on our counters and more and more. Some of them are mine, but it just becomes a thing of, like, this is where these bottles are just gonna stay.

Marco: I did wash all our bottles, our, like, water bottles recently.

Amanda:And they. There's a room for them in the cabinet. Not a lot of room, to be honest. But there is. But you like to leave them standing there.

Marco: They're ready to go. That's why.

Amanda:I know. But there's just not any space.

Marco: Fair enough. But anyways, I made biscuits.

Amanda:We're only two people. We don't need 10 water bottles.

Marco: I used cran. Dried cranberries.

Amanda:Oh, is that what's in there?

Marco: Raisins? Yeah. Because I know you don't like raisins.

Amanda:I don't. I thought there were raisins. That's one of the reasons I didn't have one.

Marco: No cranberries.

Amanda:Very exciting.

Marco: Or Craisins, as we call them. And I have to be careful with our, Craisin purchases because I got a lot of trouble.

Amanda:Oh, my God.

Marco: If you want to listen to some early episodes, you'll hear the crazy stories.

Amanda:Because at the start of our relationship, when I moved into this house, I was like, okay, moving in. You know, my baking powder, my baking soda, my water bottle. And there was no room on one shelf because the entire shelf was Craisins. One big bag, another big bag, two smaller half used bag. All of them open. But it's like, I think Marco goes to Costco. He's like, oh, Craisins on sale. Guess I'll buy two gigantic bags of Craisins.

Marco: I'll tell you one thing, Scurvy's coming back, and I'm not gonna get it, because I eat Craisins.

Amanda:It's a lot of Craisins.

Marco: So I used Craisins in my biscuits.

Amanda:We're acting like the whole world has access to this product called Craisin. There might be people that are like, what is a, Craisin?

Marco: So a Craisin, for those of you who haven't experienced it or don't have a plenitude of it in your cupboard, the way we do is a dried cranberry. And if you haven't had a cranberry, because cranberries aren't native to your area, a cranberry is a berry that's bright red, sometimes white, and sometimes mottled white and red. And it's very sour or very, What's the word? acidically sour. Like, how would you describe the taste of a cranberry?

Amanda:Yes. Very acidy. Not very. Like a tiny crab apple.

Marco: Yeah.

Amanda:Yeah.

Marco: It has that kind of flavor to it. So it's a difficult. It's a difficult fruit to deal with. It's often used as a souse or sauce with, your turkey for Thanksgiving. Yeah, souse. sometimes I say souse and I forget that that's not how you say it.

Amanda:Or Krause or cross.

Marco: So the, cranberry is a difficult, difficult fruit to use and utilize. Unless it's dried as.

Amanda:How do you solve a problem like a cranberry?

Marco: You make it into a craisin. You dry it like a raisin, and then it has a sweeter quality to it.

Amanda:Okay. But you are aware that drying a cranberry does not give it that sweeter taste. And what you have upstairs, those things have been soaked in sugar and grape juice. That's why they taste like. They taste really. Oh, I just blew your mind. Look at the back of the package. Yeah. A cranberry dried is still a very sour, bitter experience. The reason the people who farm, I guess the bogs of cranberries have to figure out what to do with them. And so Craisins happen. But it's mostly grape juice there, soaked in. No. Yeah, it's a lot of sugar.

Marco: Oh, well, okay.

Amanda:Sorry.

Marco: Are you sure?

Amanda:I really feel like I've upset you. Well, I can see like his shoulders just dropped. I feel. I feel like when I told you our grocery store was closing, that's what I feel like I've just ruined Craisins for you.

Marco: Well, whatever. I'll just. I'll get over it.


I burnt the bottom of my biscuit in the oven

But, There's Craisins in my biscuits. But I burnt the bottom of my biscuit.

Amanda:How did that happen?

Marco: Well, I put an egg wash on the top, which is supposed to brown the top.

Amanda:Yeah.

Marco: And I put them in for 15 minutes. At 4:25, they should be fine. But the problem was at 15 minutes, it was still very light on the top. So I said, I'll wait another two minutes. I shouldn't have waited two minutes. I should have checked after one minute. At two minutes, the top was golden brown. So I was like, oh, this is wonderful. They look great. But lo and behold, when I looked

Amanda:at the bottom, I still don't think the bottom should have Burned that much? Seems weird to me that they burnt. I don't know.

Marco: Maybe I had too much flour on the bottom of them. I'm not sure.

Amanda:You. You put them on parchment, right?

Marco: I did.

Amanda:15 minutes. Should not scorch them.

Marco: Like, it was 17 when all was said and done.

Amanda:Even still, I expect that from, like, the. The. The oven at the cottage will do that. But our oven is usually pretty good. It doesn't do that, so I'm kind of surprised. What. What rack did you have them on?

Marco: Center rack.

Amanda:okay.

Marco: I also think mine. My quantities are off. Every time I make a dough, it's too wet.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco: I want the dough to be Shaggy, but my dough is never Shaggy. It's always clingy and wet, so I'm always adding extra flour to it. Okay, so that's my dilemma.

Amanda:Shaggy.

Marco: Yeah, they say Shaggy dough. It should be Shaggy.

Amanda:Oh, I've never heard that.

Marco: My dough's never Shaggy. But I have to. I have to catch up because I'm behind. Not him. M only am I behind on our podcast Episodes Friends. I'm behind on, my baking.

Amanda:So are you gonna get marked on these burnt bottom biscuits?

Marco: I guess it's not so much the burnt that's gonna get me. It's if I don't hand in the assignments.


Okay, so now I have to work on custards. And I don't like custard

Okay, so now I have to work on custards.

Amanda:Oh, my goodness.

Marco: So.

Amanda:And I don't like custard.

Marco: Well, you have a choice of the following custards.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco: Representing Italy. Panna cotta.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco: Representing France. Creme caramel.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco: Representing Great Britain. What's, it called?

Amanda:I don't know. Sticky toffee pudding. Hang on.

Marco: It's called bread. What's the bread one? when you put bread. Wet bread in a pastry, and you cook it. What's it called?

Amanda:Wet bread in a pastry. Estrada. No.

Marco: What?

Amanda:Bread and a pastry. French toast. No. Pan perdu. No.

Marco: Babe, come on. It's the bread.

Amanda:Wet bread.

Marco: Bread. Soaked bread.

Amanda:Soaked wheat biscuit like my mom used to eat. I. I don't know. Soaked bread is French toast.

Marco: Bread, bread, bread, bread. Wet bread. like, wet. Not wet bread, but like, Oh, my God, Amanda, you're killing me.

Amanda:Why am I killing you? How is this.

Marco: Because you're making it more complicated than it needs to be.

Amanda:Wet bread. Custard. Pudding.

Marco: No, bread.

Amanda:Eggy custard.

Marco: It's a curd. It's. It's a. Oh, okay. Give me a second. I'm looking.

Amanda:This is really troubling to hear. I Don't know if this is a good episode.

Marco: Well, you're making. You're making a mountain out of a bread hill. So,

Amanda:what.

Marco: What is the dessert that has bread in it? That, bread. Oh, Amanda,

Amanda:Why do you keep saying my name like that?

Marco: Because you're not.

Amanda:It's really creepy and weird. Yeah, you're like, oh, how could you do this to me?

Marco: And I'm like, bread pudding. Bread pudding is what I'm trying to say.


Of those three, I have to make at least one of my brain

Amanda:Okay, all right.

Marco: What's bread pudding? It's.

Amanda:It's gross is what it is.

Marco: Okay, so you don't want bread pudding?

Amanda:No, I hate it.

Marco: Okay. Of those three, I have to make

Amanda:at least one of my brain. That's why I couldn't remember. Wet bread is what I'm going to call it from now on. And wet bread. You're killing me, Amanda.

Marco: Bread pudding. I love bread pudding.

Amanda:Okay, so it always has raisins involved. It's so nasty.

Marco: I love. I love raisins.

Amanda:I mean, I guess of all of

Marco: them, I could put craisins in it if you prefer.

Amanda:I mean, creme caramel sounds the nicest, but.

Marco: What, you don't like creme caramel?

Amanda:I don't like any of these things. I hate custard. Remember when I. We started this whole part of the conversation? I went, I don't like custard. Shocker. I don't like Gus.

Marco: Okay, so then I guess I'll just pick.

Amanda:But don't pick the bread pudding. No one's gonna eat that.

Marco: I like bread pudding.

Amanda:I do.

Marco: Like.

Amanda:Enjoy. Have fun. Don't you have to make the bread first, or can you just rip up some wonder bread and call it a night?

Marco: I don't know. I have to look at the recipe.

Amanda:Good old wet.

Marco: I'm going to make. I'm going to, Cuz I get to make creme anglaise with the. With the wet bread there. At the bread pudding.

Amanda:Yeah, yeah.

Marco: You don't like panacotta?

Amanda:I don't know. When have I had it?

Marco: You've had it once or twice.

Amanda:Have I? Then. Then that's probably my favorite panna cotta. Go for it. You always feel flan. I don't like.

Marco: Well, it's kind of flanny.

Amanda:What's flan?

Marco: Flan is the. If. If we were representing countries, flan would be Spain's, contribution to this.

Amanda:Funny is, I did a. I did a Spanish play once, and we kept saying creme caramel. That's why I was thinking I would like that one, but I guess it's French, so who knows?

Marco: You. You don't like creme carmel?

Amanda:I think you don't like. I don't like custardy things.

Marco: What about creme brulee?

Amanda:I mean, in a pinch, but it's not my favorite. I like cracking the thing, but I'll crack it and then hand it to the person to my left.

Marco: Okay, fair enough.

Amanda:None of these can hold a candle to a nice, thick, dark chocolate cake or a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie.

Marco: I do have, black forest cake coming up in the future. So we'll be making that. I'll be making that.

Amanda:But make it good. Like, not dry. Like, make it good.

Marco: Listen, I can only do what I can do.

Amanda:I like things that aren't fully cooked, like doughy, which is. Makes you think I would like custard, but I don't.

Marco: Okay, fair enough. Fair enough.

Amanda:Wet bread? Not for me.

Marco: Okay, okay. But what about bread in a salad? Like croutons. Croutons. Or bonzanella salad that uses stale bread?

Amanda:I am fine with bread. Bread as a general concept. I eat bread.

Marco: But that's a wet bread in a salad.

Amanda:Not normally.


Amanda loves things soaked in olive oil and tomato

If it's a crouton, it's crunchy.

Marco: Okay, but what about in a panzanella salad?

Amanda:I don't know. Does that mean it's all soggy?

Marco: It's soggy from the tomato.

Amanda:Yeah. When was the last time I had a panzanella salad? I've never had one. I don't think I see them on chop sometimes.

Marco: Okay, well.

Marco: Okay, that's enough.

Amanda:So stop with that little line of questioning, Mr. Interrogator of you seem to love it when it's soaked in tomato. Yes, I enjoy things soaked in olive oil and tomato rule. But no one's made me a dessert custard soaked in olive oil and tomato.

Marco: I've had olive oil ice cream gelato before.

Amanda:Yeah, me too. It was delicious.

Marco: What if I made that. What if I made you a tomato custard that had a drizzle of olive oil and salt on top?

Amanda:Great. Put some bacon on it and we're good. Or mortadella or whatever. Okay, pancetta.

Marco: I'll see if I can make a savory custard.

Amanda:Yeah, that'd be great.

Marco: What about. What's that stuff called where it's like, in gelatin that they used to do in the 70s all the time?

Amanda:jello?

Marco: No, no, no. But it was, like, savory. Ah, stuff.

Amanda:Oh, like an ambrosia salt no,

Marco: yeah, terrine, like a terrain terrain.

Amanda:My mom made a lobster terrine once. Of a lobster. Like it was like a lobster dip in a terrine thing.

Marco: How was it?

Amanda:It wasn't bad. I'd Say yes to that.

Marco: Okay, I'm not taking a terrain class, so that's not gonna happen.

Amanda:You take a whole class where all you make is terrines?

Marco: That'd be amazing. You take a class, you just.

Amanda:Oh, here's Marco with his terrine of this week. All of our friends have to eat terrine.

Marco: well, I've got, you know, a good 12 burnt biscuits upstairs. We've got to figure it. The top is fine. Top of the biscuit to you. what was I going to say? I can't remember now, but,

Amanda:that we're probably at a time.

Marco: Well, we're just about out of time. But anyways, I hope you enjoyed this episode. We kind of rehashed what we talked about.

Amanda:Not really.

Marco: A little bit. The windshield, it's gone.

Amanda:No, there was other things. Really great things. Lost episodes.

Marco: What are you going to do? What are you going to do? Well, Amanda, thank you for coming and recording this episode.

Amanda:You're welcome, I guess.

Marco: And thank you.


Sorry about the hasty exit. It was technical difficulties

For our listeners who've been patient, we have received some notice asking, how are we doing? Is everything all right?

Amanda:Yeah. Sorry about the hasty exit. It really was unintentional. It was technical difficulties and we couldn't bounce back.

Marco: And there you go. But now we have. So, I hope you enjoy this episode. Next week we're going to have a guest that I've interviewed. so you'll have to tune in next week to hear that, that, that podcast.

Amanda:Marco.

Marco: I'm gonna keep it a surprise till next week. Her name is close to yours.

Amanda:As in the exact same first name.

Marco: Yes.

Amanda:And what about the last name?

Marco: Last name? No.

Amanda:Okay.

Marco: Until next week, we hope you're able to listen and sleep.