Though you may think I have not been busy -- the last three months have definitely kept me occupied. The highlight was a quick (just one week this year) trip to Idaho to visit my family. Lots of golf, good local fresh food, lake time, and Mom and Dad's lovin'. I need two weeks or more next year just so that I can double or triple the fun. I will work the schedule better in the future.

Speaking of schedule, that was my main hindrance this spring. I bid on more than 300K worth of business -- one big project with 5 underlying projects. Needless to say, I did not win them all, and to that I say thank goodness. While a large company might sign contract after contract to get them in the door, if I did that, I would have a number of unhappy customers. I don't have the ready corral full of people ready to work. I have to schedule, plan, think, strategize and then execute, doing my best to overlap projects when appropriate (installing a staircase while the plasterer is plastering) and completing them in a linear fashion.

At any rate, it took a while to sort out all the projects this spring which led up to the Idaho trip from which I came home to a well organized schedule and numerous fun projects including a steam shower, 4 decks, new windows, a built in window seat, a stair project and of course all the underlying support for all these projects e.g., accounting, labor, material acquisition, permitting, and accounts receivable (ugh). It is amazing how a little shake up and change of environment will get all the gears oiled and moving smoothly!

The only thing I can't understand, explain, comprehend, fathom, or get my arms around is that it is nearing the end of August. Once again, ugh.