Chateau Lloyd

Every year about this time, I take on a home improvement project.  Sometimes it is modest, sometimes a bit more ambitious, but we're always trying to me our house more cozy.

This year is a little different because years of frugality and careful budgeting are finally paying off.  We're looking at tackling some long-standing issues, which is a good thing.

Naturally, we have to get estimates and that requires measurements.  It seems like every week we've got someone popping in with a logo on their knit shirt ready to take the tape measure the windows, walls, floors or whatever it is they do.

What's unique is how eager these people are to just talk.  In past years, people would come in, make polite small talk, and go. 

Not this year.  Twice I've basically had to shoo them out the door because they were so eager to just sit and chat.  One of them did just that - having completed the measurements, he took a seat in my living room and spent the next two hours asking me about the decor, books I had on the shelves and so on.  He was particularly interested in the author copies of my books (I keep a few on hand for gifts) and after dropping hints I finally told him it was time for me to make dinner.

Today was another such episode.  My daughter suggested that with Covid still looming large in the public imagination, a lot of people are starved for a good talk. 

Let's face it: we're social animals, and that personal contact is something we instinctively crave.

All of which is to say that while I'm happy to chat while they're putting together the estimates, I'm not doing it during the installation.