Sometimes the further things go along, the slower they seem to progress. I know I've probably said that before, but the last few steps of my building project sure are taking longer than I had hoped they would.

It's just the opposite of taking a trip somewhere by car. It always takes 10 hours to make the five-hour drive to the beach, but only two hours to make the same drive back home.

Sometimes I look at other people and they really seem to have everything together. I did that recently with one person, only to spend a little time with that person and realize that appearances aren't everything.

That led me to realize that I probably have it together better than I thought. If I spent more time working and less time worrying and being critical or belittling myself and what I've accomplished, I'd probably already be done.

I think I'll endeavor to look at things in the future and say, "It is what it is." That way, I can forget about what's already happened and work on what hasn't taken place. That has to be better than "It isn't what it should be."

I've definitely made it one of my goals to ignore those things which I cannot change and to pay attention instead to those things I can. The only problem is that my realization continues to grow on the size and scope of things that I personally have the ability to change. I'm starting to realize that the only reason things are small, if they are, is because I have thought small.

But I'll save my ten-cent philosophy for a bubble gum wrapper and instead talk about things with which I'm more familiar.

I spent the better part of two days last week working on my building and still only managed to get what appears to be a little bit of work done.

While it is true that 90 percent of all work is done in construction in preparation for the part of the work that actually is seen, it seems like everything is taking longer than it should. Likely it isn't the amount of time things are taken, but two other factors that are at play here. First is the amount of time I have been able to dedicate to the work and second is the amount of patience that I have to work with. Both are in sadly short supply.

As I watch the days grow shorter and shorter, I know my 'outside time' is going to be harder and harder to find. With daylight waning now sometime around 6 p.m. and fading completely soon after 7 p.m., there really aren't enough hours in the day(light).

This alone should be enough to light a fire under even the most sedate building builder—and it has.

The early sunset really limits my ability to get out of the scaffolding or ladder after work to try and hang a few pieces of metal. I have resigned myself to the fact that it will take several more days of work to get the rest of the exterior done and it may take as many as 10 of the partial days that I typically have been able to commit.

For instance, this past round I installed most of the braces in between the wall studs, to which I will be attaching the metal on the outside of the building.

Just placing those in between the studs took a friend and I the better part of an entire day. Just in case I am speaking Greek to some folks, studs are the framing inside a wall. In my case, the studs are all that are there on part of my building, making them visible inside and out. Of course, that's what I'm working toward changing.

The day prior to that, I finalized my last metal order, getting in most of what I think I am going to need to install the biggest part of the walls. My next step is to try and get the eaves put in place and to get everything ready. It isn't always easy to figure out what might happen on a job like the one I am doing now. Most of the time, I come into something with one notion and find out later that it probably won't work after all.

However, once I come up with something that will work, I usually just do it. Another friend came over to help me that has more experience in this kind of work. He is the kind of fellow that first thinks of all the possibilities and then picks the one he thinks is best. For a guy like me, it is nearly impossible to come up with all the possibilities, let alone figure out the best one. Then again, maybe the best option is the one I know how to do best. So, in that way, my weakness is my strength.

I sure do save a lot of thinking, even if I do sometimes have to go back to re-do my mistakes.

I managed to get one of my errors fixed on Saturday with my well- versed friend's encouragement.

He is one of those folks that does most of the work like second nature. I fumble along with as I go. But a fellow like him has no problem in keeping things hopping right along while talking about something else and also planning the next step.

I'm usually pleased just to get through the work day without anyone needing to call an ambulance. Since I've still not had a major injury on this job, that alone is something for which I can be most thankful.