Moonrise Bakery 2

(blinds rattling) (rain pattering) On a rainy night like this, we can duck into Moonrise Bakery. They've just rolled out the croissant dough and preheated the ovens. As always, you are welcome to stop in. And now, they're selling coffee. I heard they roast the beans right here at the bakery. Before we say hello, let's settle in for the evening with a short wind down. Tonight's wind down is a visualization. So when you're ready, let's begin. So just take a moment to get comfortable, letting go of the day. Enjoy that feeling of having stopped, of having nothing left to do. We are going to focus the attention of the mind on the different parts of the body, watching as the muscles in the body switch off for the night, leaving the body feeling rested. And leaving the mind more at ease. So starting down at the toes, and just a sense of the muscles switching off. The feet, the arches, all those muscles switching off. Same in the lower half of the legs. So any tension being let go of, as the muscles switch off, shut down. In the upper half of the legs, any tension melting away, being let go of. Into the area of the hips, the pelvis. Again, any muscles shutting down for the night, completely at rest. Everything from the waist downward is heavy, at ease. The muscles in the lower back and the stomach now switching off. Middle of the back, around the diaphragm, the upper back, and the chest. So any muscles not needed shutting down, switching off for the night. The shoulders switching off. The upper half of the arms and the lower half of the arms switching off. The hands, fingers, just switching off. Any muscles around the throat and neck, switching off. The head, face, the jaw, the eyes. Any last area's of tension melting away as the muscles shut down, switch off, and rest for the night. And allowing thoughts to come and go. Allowing the mind and body the space they need to rest. (rain pattering) Every couple months, the Moonrise baristas have a special meeting to decide on the next seasonal drink. For summertime, they made an iced latte with tart raspberry jam. The berries were sourced from Lula's, a small farm in Lavender Fields. Balanced and not too sweet, people came from all around town to try the beverage. It was a tough act to follow. The whole staff weighed in for taste tests and brainstorms. Then Lula came by the shop with a few heirloom squash to try. One was a speckled hound. On the outside, its skin is orange and green calico with deep scalloped ridges. After a good roast, the inside tastes of caramelized nuts, more complex than a regular pumpkin. She also brought red kuri, about the size of a coconut, with pomegranate skin. This smaller squash has notes of chest nuts and a delicate sweetness. Usually these kuri squash...