Who Does That for You?

This episode is also a film. Watch it with the sound on: averylanemaxwell.com/podcast

Get comfortable first. Avery is in green sweatpants and an old red tee with a gold eagle that has nearly washed away, the kind of thing that knows your shape without asking you to become a different one.

A hello to you, whoever is out there with a mug and a long day behind you. Two people keeping another old house, a long way from here, and a light in their eyes he recognized. Then, on Monday, scones out of thin air: light brown sugar, corners gone almost to toffee, and a maple cream glaze that sets in thin glassy lines.

Then a reading for Elias. The house before anyone is awake, a page with one word on it, river, the Yellowstone going past Gardiner at its own speed, and a guest by the fire who asked the question Elias has carried all year: who does that for you? About keeping a quiet ledger of who called and who came, and learning instead to hold people to the care in the work. The cup set down, already made the way you take it.

The question: who does that for you? And who are you doing it for, quietly, without putting your name on it? One line is enough. Write to avery@averylanemaxwell.com and say how you would like it held. Nothing becomes part of Galena House without permission.

From the kitchen: maple and brown sugar scones with a maple cream glaze. Two cups of flour, half a teaspoon of salt, two and a quarter teaspoons of baking powder at altitude (a tablespoon nearer the sea), a third of a cup of light brown sugar, packed, half a cup of cold butter, about a cup of heavy cream. 425 degrees, 13 to 15 minutes. The glaze: a cup of powdered sugar, three spoonfuls of maple, half and half until it falls in a ribbon, a pinch of salt.

From the house:
· Sunday 18 October: The Lamp On, the music under these episodes, out everywhere you listen.
· Monday 26 to Friday 30 October: Still Here., five readings for Elias, one each evening, each with its own song. The book, the audiobook and the album on Sunday 1 November. averylanemaxwell.com/still-here

The music under this episode is its own: Who Does That for You?, a new Galena House song written for this episode.

Keep the lamp on: the house is kept by the people who listen to it. The Patron Circle is at averylanemaxwell.com.

⌂ Every episode, and the films: averylanemaxwell.com/podcast · the letters: averylanemaxwell.com/letters · the kitchen: averylanemaxwell.com/kitchen

♫ The Galena House playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/55wkYr82P02Tsr4zgKZubw

Credits: written and read by Avery Lane Maxwell. The score, Who Does That for You?, a house song of its own. Photographs and footage by Avery Lane Maxwell, in Frisco and Idaho Springs, Colorado. With thanks to two innkeepers, a long way from here, and to whoever puts the kettle on for you.

A note from the house: this is a personal podcast. Avery tells these stories as he remembers and understands them, from his own life and perspective. When other people wander into them, he protects what belongs to them.

A small note before we begin. This is a personal podcast. I tell these stories as I remember and understand them, from my own life and perspective. When other people wander into them, I protect what belongs to them. And while much of this story happens inside a real inn, these are my words. Not the official voice of the property, its owners, or anyone else who works here.

All right. Come in. It's already warm.

Before anything else, get comfortable. I mean it. I'll wait. I'm wearing green sweatpants. Soft ones, a little loose through the leg, worn enough now that they have stopped trying to be anything except comfortable. And a red tee. Thick cotton. Old enough to be soft but not thin. Across the front, an American eagle outlined in gold, or what remains of the gold after years of washing.