random thoughts - Day 2,015 (Monday) - pjs, roofing, and food

This morning had some interesting activity in the street. The lady across the street hauled her trash and recycle bins to the curb mid-morning while dressed in her nightgown and slippers. She reappeared in the same outfit a while later to add something to one of the barrels. Around 11:00, there was loud conversation in the street and a tall man in a bathrobe and slippers was walking in the middle of the street. He was retrieving his beautiful brown dog that had gotten loose and was temporarily lounging on nightgown lady's deck. A fully clothed care worker stepped down from the deck to facilitate the return of the wayward dog.

It's been a few days since I walked down to the neighborhood post office where all the mailboxes and various neighborhood messages live. Usually, there are reminders about overfilled trash bins, the speed limit, and the occasional missing pet. It seems I may have missed an important announcement about it being pajama day and I was completely out of the day's dress code, fully dressed in camouflage pants, a brown pullover hoodie, and shoes. 

There was 1:00 appointment with an estimator from a large roofing and siding company. I was late thinking about lunch because first I wasn't super hungry, and then there wasn't time for it before the appointment. I had been told to set aside 90 minutes for measurements, conversation, and estimate preparation, so a late lunch seemed okay. 

Two guys showed up in separate vehicles. Unlike the previous estimate with the guy who talked about himself the entire time, this meeting was educational and I learned a lot about the various layers  of roofing materials and their functions. After all the measuring, sample roof and siding materials were discussed. An image of the house on a laptop screen had different roofing and siding colors and styles applied. That exercise changed my mind about the style of siding I thought I wanted. 

The cost was a head-spinning eye-opener, but that might have been because by the time the sales dude began calculating that, two hours had passed and I was becoming very aware of the missed lunch and approaching a weakened state. The full-on sales pitch took us well into hour three and I was beginning to glaze over. I finally told the estimator I don't even buy a pair of shoes this quickly and there was no way I was committing to a such a major, non-urgent expense on the spot. This needs a spreadsheet and a couple more estimates. And no, your special one-day only discount won't get me to commit to your price, but it seems to be a popular tactic. 

Creamy butternut squash risotto
and sauteed veggies.

When they finally left after 3.5 hours, I sprang to the kitchen to make some food. It was a box of butternut squash risotto and frying pan of vegetables sauteed in olive oil to the rescue. The risotto was a spontaneous "hey, I'll try this" purchase and I will definitely buy it again once I figure out what store I got it from. The veggies included radish, broccoli, green beans, carrot, and zucchini, which are always on my "buy it again" list. I also may need to add pajamas to my shopping list if it turns out walking around the neighborhood in them is a real thing.