Dogs & Dust Mops

Summary

Nothing Much Happens: Bedtime Stories to Help You Sleep
Episode: Dogs & Dust Mops
Host: Kathryn Nicolai
Release Date: March 31, 2025

---

Overview

In the Dogs & Dust Mops episode of Nothing Much Happens: Bedtime Stories to Help You Sleep, host Kathryn Nicolai delivers a soothing and heartwarming tale designed to calm the mind and facilitate restful sleep. The episode centers around a serene afternoon of spring cleaning, featuring the interactions between the narrator, their pets, and the subtle dynamics of a loving household. Through gentle narration and repetitive storytelling, Kathryn guides listeners into a peaceful state of relaxation.

---

Bedtime Story: "Dogs and Dust Mops"

Setting the Scene

Kathryn begins by inviting listeners to prepare for sleep, emphasizing the importance of a comfortable and relaxed environment. She introduces "Dogs and Dust Mops" as a simple story meant to serve as a soft landing spot for the mind.

"Our story tonight is called Dogs and Dust Mops, and it's a story about some spring cleaning on a warm afternoon. It's also about an orange kitty in the window, the sound of the vacuum running upstairs, fresh sheets, scrabbling paws on the deck, and the way your heart swells when you wrap your arms around someone you love."
— Kathryn Nicolai [02:45]

Introducing the Characters

The narrative introduces Marmalade, a regal orange cat enjoying a sunny afternoon by the window. Marmalade's serene presence is contrasted with the energetic antics of Crum, the family's scruffy small dog, and Birdie, the calm and gentle hound.

"Marmalade, my regal orange cat, was wedged into one of the open windows, her round body pressed against the screen and her silky fur sticking through the mesh."
— Kathryn Nicolai [04:15]

Crum is depicted as full of energy, shedding fur abundantly during the warm weather, while Birdie embodies tranquility, often evicted from the bed to sleep peacefully on the porch.

"Bird is probably the gentlest of all of us, humans included. He was calm and thoughtful..."
— Kathryn Nicolai [16:27]

The Spring Cleaning Routine

As spring cleaning unfolds, Kathryn describes the household dynamics with vivid yet calming detail. The sounds of lawnmowers and neighbors create a lively backdrop, while Kathryn handles the dust mop, interacting gently with her pets.

"Dogs and dust mops. We were doing a bit of spring cleaning. We had all the windows open, with fresh air blowing through the house."
— Kathryn Nicolai [20:27]

The interplay between Marmalade's curiosity, Crum's playful energy, and Birdie's peaceful demeanor illustrates a harmonious household where each member contributes to the tranquil atmosphere.

Emotional Undertones

Throughout the story, Kathryn weaves in subtle emotional layers, reflecting on her love for her family—both human and animal—and the tender moments they share. This reflection brings a sense of warmth and contentment, encouraging listeners to appreciate their own loved ones.

"I love my family so much, each of these souls so much. It sometimes brought tears to my eyes."
— Kathryn Nicolai [31:06]

She emphasizes the importance of living in the present and cherishing these moments, reinforcing the story's calming intent.

Repetition for Deep Relaxation

As per the show's format, Kathryn narrates the story twice, slowing down the pace during the second iteration. This repetition aids in reinforcing relaxation and aiding listeners in drifting into sleep.

"I'll tell the story twice and I'll go a little slower the second time through."
— Kathryn Nicolai [02:10]

The repeated narrative allows listeners to become more acquainted with the story's rhythm and details, promoting a deeper sense of calm.

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Introduction to Sleep Facilitation:

  "Just follow along with the sound of my voice and the simple details of the story, and soon, very soon, you'll be deeply asleep."
  — Kathryn Nicolai [02:10]

• Describing Marmalade's Peacefulness:

  "Her green eyes were closed and her head swayed a bit on her neck, not dozing but catching scents on the wind."
  — Kathryn Nicolai [07:33]

• Crum's Playful Nature:

  "He didn't seem to care or notice. Instead, he jumped his front paws up beside Marmalade and began barking at the squirrel."
  — Kathryn Nicolai [10:15]

• Birdie's Gentle Presence:

  "Birdie, did dad make you get up? Come on down here and you can sleep on the porch. It's sunny."
  — Kathryn Nicolai [28:44]

• Cherishing Family Moments:

  "I should enjoy them now. They weren't a memory."
  — Kathryn Nicolai [31:06]

---

Themes and Insights

• Harmony in Everyday Life:
  The story highlights the beauty found in daily routines and the interactions between family members and pets. It underscores the idea that tranquility can be achieved through simple, familiar activities.

• Appreciation of Loved Ones:
  Kathryn's reflections on her family emphasize the importance of valuing the present moment and the relationships that bring joy and comfort.

• Routine as a Source of Comfort:
  The spring cleaning activity serves as a metaphor for organizing one's thoughts and creating a serene environment conducive to rest.

• The Balance of Energy and Calm:
  The contrasting personalities of Crum and Birdie illustrate how different energy levels can coexist harmoniously, contributing to a balanced and peaceful household.

---

Conclusion

In this episode of Nothing Much Happens: Bedtime Stories to Help You Sleep, Kathryn Nicolai masterfully crafts a narrative that is both engaging and soothing. Through the gentle depiction of a family's spring cleaning day and the lovable antics of their pets, she guides listeners towards a state of relaxation and readiness for sleep. The use of repetition, coupled with heartfelt reflections, ensures that the story not only entertains but also serves its primary purpose of aiding restful slumber.

Sweet dreams!

Transcript

[Bioptimizers Representative]

I care about your sleep. It is always my first thought and priority in making this show and sometimes you need extra help. Sometimes, even when your sleep hygiene is top tier, sleep doesn't come. Some nights you might struggle to fall asleep or wake after a few hours and toss and turn. I get it when Perimenopause hit me like a wrecking ball. It threw my sleep cycles so far off course that I felt like a different person and Sleep Breakthrough Drink from Bioptimizers has really helped. I fall asleep when I want to and I sleep through the night without that 3am panic wake up that had been haunting me. When I wake in the morning, I feel good, not groggy. I'm rested. My days are better. Bioptimizers has flexible dosing which I really like. My wife needs just a little bit and I take a little more. And for folks looking for an option without melatonin, this is it. Ready to transform your sleep and wake up feeling refreshed, visit bioptimizers.com nothingmuch and use code nothingmuch for 10% off any order. Don't settle for another restless night, my friends. Try Sleep Breakthrough Drink risk free with Bioptimizer's 365 day money back guarantee. And this is all in our Show Notes. If you forget, visit buyoptimizers.com nothingmuch and use code nothingmuch for 10% off any order.

[Kathryn Nicolai]

Welcome to Bedtime Stories for Everyone in which nothing much happens, you feel good, and then you fall asleep. I'm Kathryn Nicolai. I create everything you hear and nothing much happens. Audio engineering is by Bob Wittersheim. We give to a different charity each week and this week we are giving to Be Heard Movement. Be Heard offers a range of essential services to unhoused individuals, including private showers, access to clean and fresh laundry services, haircuts, and more. You can learn more in our Show Notes and of course you can subscribe to our premium version which is ad free and overflowing with bonus episodes for a very affordable 10 cents a day. But did you know that if you can't swing that and could really use some extra nothing much. We have a Pay It Forward fund set up. Your fellow listeners donate and then you can ask to receive a subscription for free. There's no need to explain your situation. Just tell us you'd like the gift of a membership and we'll do the rest. If you'd like to learn more or to donate to the fund, visit the Pay It Forward link in our notes. Now. I'm about to tell you a bedtime story. It's simple and not much happens in it. And that is the idea. The story is a soft place to rest your mind, a simple and pleasant way to occupy it so that it doesn't wander away and keep you up. All you need to do is listen in a relaxed way. Just follow along with the sound of my voice and the simple details of the story, and soon, very soon, you'll be deeply asleep. I'll tell the story twice and I'll go a little slower the second time through. If you wake in the middle of the night, you could listen again or just think your way back through any part of the story that you can remember. We're training your brain to settle and rest, and the more you do this, the better your sleep will get. Our story tonight is called Dogs and Dust Mops, and it's a story about some spring cleaning on a warm afternoon. It's also about an orange kitty in the window, the sound of the vacuum running upstairs, fresh sheets, scrabbling paws on the deck, and the way your heart swells when you wrap your arms around someone you love. So turn off your light, snuggle your body down into your sheets, and get as comfortable as you can. Take a moment to just feel how good it is to be in bed, to be about to sleep. Let's take a deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth. Nice. Let's do that again. Breathe in and out. Good. Dogs and dust Mops we were doing a bit of spring cleaning. We had all the windows open, with fresh air moving through the house and the sound of lawnmowers and talking neighbors echoing from a few doors down. Marmalade, my regal orange cat, was wedged into one of the open windows, her round body pressed against the screen.

[Narrator]

And.

[Kathryn Nicolai]

Her silky fur sticking through the mesh. Her green eyes were closed and her head swayed a bit on her neck, not dozing but catching scents on the wind. Her whiskers twitched when the breeze blew, and I knew if I lay a hand on her back, she would start to purr almost instantly. She was an indoor cat who every year had a few carefully chaperoned visits into the back garden, a few bike rides buckled into her cat trailer, and a few impromptu walks to the mailbox tucked into my arms. It suited her. I'd found her out in the snow a few years back, just a kitten leaving tiny paw prints and the flakes, and I'd wondered when she'd first stepped into my house if it would be difficult to keep her in, if she'd want out again, if she were some kind of rambling rolling stone, who wouldn't want to settle down? But those fears were quickly allayed. As soon as she'd discovered the delights of a crackling fire and ear rubs on the sofa, she'd been happy to leave the outside. Still, in the spring, when we open everything up, she loves to get close. A squirrel dashed across the yard and her eyes sprang open. Sensing him, her lazy, docile attitude suddenly shifted. She sat up, pressed her nose to the screen, watching as the squirrel teased her by running closer, flapping his fluffy tail, and generally acting unbothered. If this were a cartoon, he would have pulled out an emery board and begun filing his nails. Marmee began chattering and clicking at him, an empty threat for sure, but one she felt compelled to issue. I'd been running the dust mop along the floorboards, watching this drama unfold, and rolled my eyes as I fished a brown dust bunny from far back under the sofa. If it were a little bigger, I might have expected it to start barking and jumping. It was clearly made of crumb fur. Our scruffy small pooch, who had more energy than the rest of us put together, was shedding in the warm weather. It reminded me to make an appointment with the groomer, and as he came around the corner, racing through my dust pile, I told him so. Haircut next week, Mr. Crumbles, I said. He didn't seem to care or notice. Instead, he jumped his front paws up beside Marmalade and began barking at the squirrel. I liked watching their backs shoulder to shoulder as they shared this moment of sibling excitement. For a while it had just been Marmalade and me, and she was a mama's girl. I wasn't sure how she would do with a little brother, but I shouldn't have worried. While she occasionally feigned being too cool for dogs, the truth was that she adored him. Not in the same way that he adored her. He came with wild love, the bull you over type. She came with gentle love, the lick your face at the end of the day type. He was a bit her baby, and she watched over him, reassured him when the thunder crashed, meowed at him when he got late night zoomies, told him to go to sleep upstairs. I heard the click of greyhound toenails on the floors, and I chuckled, imagining what was happening. I was on floor duty downstairs and their dad was on bedroom duty upstairs, and I was pretty sure he'd just gotten to changing the sheets. Bird, our rescued hound, the sleepiest boy you've ever met had just been evicted from the bed. I was still laughing under my breath as I went through the hall to the foot of the stairs and called out to him. Birdie, did dad make you get up? Come on down here and you can sleep on the porch. It's sunny. A pointed gray face emerged at the top step. Sweet. Birdie's deep black eyes blinked at me. He shuffled down the stairs, pressed his body against my leg. Bird is probably the gentlest of all of us, humans included. He was calm and thoughtful, stood back while Crumb tore his toys to bits or Marmee strutted through the kitchen. I leaned down and held him, his soft body wrapped in my arms. I could feel his heart beating.

[Narrator]

And.

[Kathryn Nicolai]

The light touch of his breath on my shoulder. I love my family so much, each of these souls so much. It sometimes brought tears to my eyes. I wiped them away, reminding myself that while there was nothing wrong with the tenderness it had brought up, they were here with me now. They weren't a memory. I should enjoy them now. I think Bird understood how I felt. He stood very still, letting me take some deep breaths. When I stood up, I patted him on the back and led him out to the porch. At the sound of the door opening, the squirrel, who was still teasing Marm and Crumb in the window, finally decided he'd probably pushed his luck as far as it could safely go and ran a few feet up the nearest tree. Bird paid no mind to him, just lumbered down the steps to find a patch of sunlight to stretch out in. Crum came hurtling out of the house behind us, and I could see by the look in his eyes that he really thought he had a chance of catching up with his little harasser. Oh, bless, I mumbled as I carried the dust mop over to the compost pile near the fence and started shaking it out. Dog hair and specks of dust flew out and caught in the sun and drifted away on a breeze. Bird's eyes were already shut, his long legs stretched out in the new grass. Crumb still barked around the base of the tree, his little limbs bouncing him up and down, and Marmalade was once again stretched out on her sill, tufts of orange fur showing through the weave of the screen. I heard the vacuum click on upstairs and smiled as I headed back in to finish my chores. Dogs and dust mops. We were doing a bit of spring cleaning. We had all the windows open, with fresh air blowing through the house.

[Narrator]

And.

[Kathryn Nicolai]

The sound of lawnmowers and talking neighbors echoing From a few doors down, Marmalade, my regal orange cat, was wedged into one of the open windows, her round body pressed against the screen and her silky fur sticking through the mesh. Her green eyes were closed and her head swayed a bit on her neck, not dozing but catching scents on the wind. Her whiskers twitched when the breeze blew her way, and I knew if I lay a hand on her back she would start to purr almost instantly. She was an indoor cat who every year had a few carefully chaperoned visits into the back garden, a few bike rides buckled into her cat trailer, and a few impromptu walks to the mailbox tucked into my arms. It suited her. I'd found her out in the snow a few years back, just a kitten leaving tiny paw prints in the flakes, and I'd wondered when she first stepped into my house if it would be difficult to keep her in, if she'd want out again, if she were some kind of rambling Rolling stone who wouldn't want to settle down. But those fears were quickly allayed. As soon as she discovered the delights of a crackling fire and ear rubs on the sofa, she was happy to leave the outside. Still, in the spring, when we open everything up, she loves to get close. A squirrel dashed across the yard and her eyes sprang open. Sensing him, her lazy, docile attitude suddenly switched. She sat up and pressed her nose to the screen, watching as the squirrel teased her by running closer, flapping his fluffy tail, and generally acting unbothered. If this were a cartoon, he would have pulled out an emery board and begun filing his nails. Marmee began chattering and clicking at him, an empty threat for sure, but one she felt compelled to issue. I'd been running the dust mop along the floorboards, watching this drama unfold, and rolled my eyes as I fished a brown dust bunny from far back under the sofa. If it were a little bigger, I might have expected it to start barking and jumping. It was clearly made of crumb fur. Our scruffy small pooch, who had more energy than the rest of us put together, was shedding in the warm weather. It reminded me to make an appointment with the groomer, and as he came around the corner racing through my dust pile, I told him so. Haircut next week, Mr. Crumbles, I said. He didn't seem to care or notice. Instead, he jumped his front paws up beside Marmalade and began barking at the squirrel. I liked watching their backs shoulder to shoulder as they shared this moment of sibling excitement. For a while, it had just been Marmalade and me and she was was a mama's girl. I wasn't sure how she would do with a little brother, but I shouldn't have worried. While she occasionally feigned being too cool for dogs, the truth was that she adored him. Not in the same way that he adored her. He came with wild love, the bull you overtype. She came with gentle love, the lick your face at the end of the day type. He was a bit her baby and she watched over him, reassured him when thunder crashed, meowed at him when he got late night zoomies telling him to go to sleep. Upstairs, I heard the click of greyhound toenails on the floor. I chuckled, imagining what was happening. I was on floor duty downstairs.

[Narrator]

And.

[Kathryn Nicolai]

Their dad was on bedroom duty upstairs, and I was pretty sure that he'd just gotten to changing the sheets, meaning Bird, our rescued hound and the sleepiest boy you've ever met had just been evicted from the bed. I was still laughing under my breath as I went through the hall to the foot of the stairs and called to him. Birdie, did dad make you get up? Come on down here and you can sleep on the porch. It's sunny. A pointed blue gray face emerged at the top step. Sweet Birdie's deep black eyes blinked at me. He shuffled down the stairs and pressed his body against my leg. Bird is probably the gentlest of all of us, humans included. He was calm and thoughtful, stood back while Crumb tore his toys to bits. Our Marmee strutted through the kitchen. I leaned down and held him, his soft body wrapped in my arms. I could feel his heart beating.

[Narrator]

And.

[Kathryn Nicolai]

The light touch of his breath on my shoulder. I love my family so much, each of these souls so much. It sometimes brought tears to my eyes and I wiped them away, reminding myself that while there was nothing wrong with the tenderness it brought up, they were here with me now. They weren't a memory. I should enjoy them now. I think Bird understood how I felt. He stood very still, letting me take some deep breaths. When I stood up tall, I patted him on the back and led him to the porch. As I opened the door, the squirrel who was still teasing Marm and Crumb in the window, finally decided he'd pushed his luck as far as it could safely go and ran a few feet up the nearest tree. Bird paid no mind to him, just lumbered down the steps to find a patch of sunlight to stretch out in. Crumb came hurtling out of the house behind us, and I could see by the look in his eyes that he really thought he had a chance of catching up with his little harasser. Oh, bless, I mumbled as I carried the dust mop over to the compost pile and started shaking it out. Dog hair and specks of dust flew out and caught in the sun.

[Narrator]

And.

[Kathryn Nicolai]

Drifted away on a breeze. Birds eyes were already shut, his long legs stretched out in the new grass. Crumb still barked around the base of the tree, his little limbs bouncing him up and down, and Marmalade was once again stretched out on her sill, tufts of her orange fur showing through the weave of the screen. I heard the vacuum click on upstairs, and I smiled as I headed back in to finish my chores. Sweet dreams.