Creative Space - Day 1

OK, I know this is way more than any of you signed up for, but I'm on a mission now and I've got to see it through. Besides my knees and other joints hurt way to much to try and think of another subject to write about. (For anyone who just stumbled onto this blog, take a  moment and scan the entries over the last week or so on Creative Space.)
My carpenter felt like the new porch would take a day and a half, but that was with him working alone. I'm not a carpenter, but I'm actually a whiz and understanding job flow and I can swing a hammer in a pinch.
The first picture is a sad "before" photo. The leaves on the roof have been there for some time because it was unsafe to get up there. Winding up on the ground with a half ton of roof on me didn't sound that appealing. I could have broken a hip.
My carpenter showed up this morning before the frost melted. I think his car payment must be due because he was raring to get started.

He's used to working alone, but as I watched him, I was able to anticipate the tools he would need next and things began to flow.  Once he got the first section of flooring joists level, we started slinging nails on the flooring.
The old house was build back when Woodrow Wilson was in the White House and apparently they didn't have, or at least they didn't use, squares and levels. But my carpenter is old school and very few things throw him a curve so we nailed on.
By lunchtime, we had almost half the flooring laid.  I resisted the urge to record the sound of the screaming saw and the pounding of hammers, but the thought crossed my mind. Maybe I will do it tomorrow and use it as part of the sound track of a short documentary.
By 4 p.m. both of us were whupped, but the first phase of the construction was complete.
I've worked in jobs for most of my life that were never ending.

Progress was measured in status  reports with obscure terms like - uptime, customer satisfaction, mean time to repair, and repeat reports.
This evening as I stood smiling at the camera in my baggy work clothes, my muscles were tired, but it felt good to be standing on our new porch. We have rocking chairs and thinking benches that will live there. I'm even going to add a front porch swing and a hammock just for good measures.
It felt really good to see physical results from my work. Before long, I'll be writing, editing pictures, composing music, and studying in our new creative space.
Tomorrow the work will may be slow going because we've got to repair things that should have been repaired years ago. It's easy to let things slide. "I'll do that tomorrow," you say. But tomorrow comes and a new emergency arises.
Dr. Stephen Covey has a remarkable workshop that teaches you how to be more productive in your life by focusing on What Matters Most.
My company sent me to the training, but I thought it was so good, that I paid for Jilda to attend the workshop.
He teaches to do the urgent and important things, but he also teaches to spend time on things that are important, but not that urgent. Things like planning, training, reading, and replacing rotting seals.
I hope I'm not boring you all with my little project. I know this, it feels good to hear hammers, smell saw dust, and see a physical manifestation of a hard days work.