The last couple of days I have written all about the progress of our granny flat.  That will continue today but yesterday I saw something as never before.  That is “for a dream to become reality I must prepare.”
The builder had set up our joint up but there was still heaps we wanted to have in there to make the place independently habitable.  To that end we had kept some of the cabinets from our old kitchen when they would have been destroyed had we not specified a need for them.  We also asked the builder for a bench that we saw as perfect for our needs and would have gone had we not asked for it.
There was still stuff to be done like putting up cabinets and purchasing other needs.  We ended up doing some things ourselves.  This led me to contacting the electrician and he said he could do stuff at the end of next week.  That was ok as we still had tiles to cut.  We actually got the tiles cut that day.  We also purchased all we needed to put the tiles up.
Yesterday the electrician phoned to say he could do the job today if we wanted.  The thing was we were ready.  Ok Merril put the tiles up but we had all we needed to do it.  The electrician can come today to do his stuff (we also had a message from Bunnings telling us the cupboard we had ordered was on its way, and we picked up a mat we had ordered a week ago as it had arrived.)
What gets me is that we can go ahead, as we have prepared.  It is easy to have a dream and miss it through being unprepared.  Someone may have a dream of being a famous musician.  It is only words without practice and performance.  A band I really like has words in one of their songs that says. “they do karate while we are setting up and checking the sound.”  To be successful it is necessary to do the groundwork.  That is the way a person is spotted by an agent and a whole new world can open up.
The point for me is that no matter how humble my dream may be, I need to prepare to make it happen.  I need to see what I want and act like it is a present reality - working backwards to determine what I need to make it happen.
It is only a granny flat.  But once it is in place and ready for use, who knows what could happen?

Yesterday was a “get it done” day.
I had made up an extensive list of things I wanted to achieve in the day.  Nothing was on the list that would take hours, but everything needed to be done.  Some things definitely required two of us because of my limited range for driving.  Fortunately, those things that needed doing and involved getting there, both Merril and I wanted to achieve.
There was a mat we had ordered.  We were told the day before that it had arrived.  So we combined it with lunch together and then went and picked it up.  Merril has been setting up a splashback for the granny flat.  I combined it with ordering the electrician to find out about holes needed in the tiles for the electrician.  We found out the tiler did such things (which is us) so after finding out who cut tiles the way we wanted, we drove to Redcliffe after lunch and had it done.
The guy who did it was really friendly and shared his new wife had been just taken to hospital.  The three of us had a good chat.  Totally unrelated, but he had the same first name as his wife.
One thing he said was he hears so often these days about people doing stuff themselves as they cannot get who they need in a reasonable time frame.  We can relate to that.
At home I had some computer things I wanted to get done.  They included getting stuff on the web, paying a bill, and advising who is on a roster (I send it out monthly and a reminder each week).  I also wrote to a few people with either just greetings or arranging a get together.
The chief thing on the list was preparing a talk I give later in the week.  I already had an idea of what I wanted to say so I spent time getting it ready.  I said to Merril if I had to I could give it as a result of what was done, but it was sort of like a first draft.
Also on the list was tidying a shed I am responsible for.  It was really hot.  Merril went off banking and her return was my catalyst to finish up and go to lunch.  It was time well spent.
Crossing items off as I went made me want to get the list finished.  I had watering on the list and reckon the plants would have been happy.  I also had planting a new plant in a pot on the list.
I did those and everything was done.  Our world stuff, but stuff that needed doing.
Who knows what this day will bring.  There are things to do, and the iron is hot.  Otherwise it is just my designated day off.

We wondered if we were getting the right people for the job.  We had cupboards to be installed so we hired our name for ourselves “dodgy brothers.”  Turns out they did what appears to be a good job,
It is not like we did not offer it around, telling others we would pay for the work to be done. But no-one jumped at the chance, and we were left with a decision that meant if we wanted it done, we needed to do it ourselves.
I have found it is often the case that if someone else is to be involved it happens almost effortlessly, whereas if not, then nothing happens despite our best efforts. (I can point to many things around here where only one person or company offered to do the job, and one was all we needed.)
Anyway, we ended up getting what we needed and doing it ourselves (what was needed included a microwave holder which we got earlier).
We had determined that Tuesday was the day.  Talk about best laid plans.   I received a phone call that meant I could not do it when we had decided to do it.  We had set aside 9-12am.  But it did not happen then.  Instead in the afternoon we decided we would just do it.
Merril actually loves this sort of stuff and had found where she believed the studs were and marked where drilling needed to take place.  I had looked up drilling into walls (with electricity in mind) and knew I could approach it with confidence.
We had bought cupboard holders from Bunnings.  The cupboards (from our old kitchen) proved to be lighter than expected.
We got the job done and it has proved to be the sort of thing we go back and have a look at marvelling at how well it all turned out.
We did go up to Bunnings after the event and bought a “you beaut” stud finder as well as an electronic distance measurer.
Now for installing a splash back under the cupboards.  I have stuff I want to do outside but the goal of being able to walk away from the completed room by the end of January is very much still achievable.