On Black Friday at the Orwell Free Library, Andy and Joe set up their mics at the weekly coffee hour and try to guess whether anyone will actually show up. Andy has already posted a photo of his smoked turkey carcass simmering into stock, and the guys kick things off with a debrief of Thanksgiving at his house: pork roast instead of turkey, why he loves "meat you actually have to chew," and the quiet joy of a holiday with no gift pressure—just family, food, and football in the next room.

They're soon joined by guest Sandra Owens, a local jeweler, storyteller, and self-described "snow swimmer." Sandra shares her first Thanksgiving since losing her husband four months ago and how it felt to shift from hosting to being hosted. From there, the conversation wades into deeper water: how cold swimming has become her most reliable medicine for grief, anxiety, and the general heaviness of life.

Sandra explains what she calls her "internal toolbox," the micro-strategies she uses to make cold water safe and healing, and a recent dawn swim where she looked up from the 45-degree lake to discover the Northern Lights rippling overhead. Along the way, they talk snacking gardens, mushroom CSAs, nervous breakdowns in the 1980s, and why discomfort can sometimes be a stone wall with unexpected magic on the other side.

The episode wraps with an invitation: if you're local and curious, come to Friday Coffee Hour every week from 9–10:30 a.m.-ish and the 10:30 a.m. story time at the Orwell Free Library for little ones—no polar plunge required.