Kathryn Nicolai

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1,487 appearances 6 recordings 2 series first heard Jun 2026 last heard 16 Sep

Kathryn Nicolai’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 6 in all, peaking in Sep 2026 with 2.

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Stories from the Village of Nothing Much · Spending Time, In the Early Summer (Encore) · 15 Jun 2026 podcast

Someone had come up with the idea of half birthday parties.

Suddenly our calendars were twice as full of things to look forward to.

Everyone got to pick out their favorite cake or dessert.

And we'd make silly toasts over the dinner table.

So tonight was a half birthday, and our turn to host.

We could have squeezed around the table in the dining room.

But it was a warm night and the backyard a much better place to be.

We set out a long folding table.

That had lately held stacks of old China and a cuckoo clock in need of repair, some dusty vases passed down from a great aunt at our neighborhood garage sale.

The table was a little wonky, its surface scuffed, and when we first set it out there was a certain amount of doubt that it could be made to look presentable.

We set it on the patio stones, and I used a couple of old matchbooks to even out the legs.

Then I shooed away the skeptic saying I would take over from here, and that if there was more harumphing to be done, it could be done in the kitchen where the sauce no doubt needed stirring.

I found a long cream-colored tablecloth that fitted nicely over the table and started to lay out a few votive candles and cut glass holders.

I think I traded them for the clock at the sale.

I cut fresh flowers and broad hosta leaves and made a pretty arrangement for the centre of the table.

Then started to lay out the plates and glasses.

The point of these parties was really just to celebrate for the sake of it.

So whoever took over hosting duties tended to lean into the preparations.

They were an excuse to learn something new.

and use it to treat each other, to make an ordinary night feel special.

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