A Project Other Than Stockholm

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My current (non Stockholm) project is what I'm calling the Cradle Project.

Now, before those of you who know me start freaking out, no I haven't decided to have a baby.  I'm still undecided, but leaning towards no on that one.  Interesting side note, though:  Last night I met Challenger's parents for the first time and they told me that in five generations of their family, there have only been four girls.  And the girl for this generation has already been born.  Challenger's oldest brother got the girl, so apparently the girl quota has been filled and 'it would be a miracle' if Challenger or his other brother had any daughters.  Good to know.  ...Did I mention it was the first time I'd met them?

Anyway, the Cradle Project.  It ties in to that whole, if you want it, ask God/the universe for it and then act as if you already have it thing; the philosophy central to The Secret and represented in several ancient religions, including Christianity.  The Secret is an interesting book, by the way, and definitely worth reading, but takes the ask/receive philosophy a little too far IMO*.  So what is the Cradle Project?  The Cradle Project is the first of a few projects I will be doing that focus on creating furniture for my new apartment.

Matthew 7:7-8
 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

You see, following the outlines of The Secret and Matthew's gospel, I've asked God for a job.  And corollary to that, a new apartment.  So if I am to assume that because I've asked, I will receive, I need to get packing.  Not a problem, really, since most of my stuff is still in boxes.  But I am opening them up, going through them, and repacking everything I still want/need.  Everything else is going to Mission Solano, a charity based in and focused on the community I live in.  I'm not sure about other philosophies and religions, but getting rid of old/unused/tired things is a big part of Feng Shui.  The idea is that if you get rid of the stuff you don't use or the stuff you hang on to because you have some sort of weird guilt complex about it, you create better energy flow in your house and your life and make room for new things that you will use/love.


So, how does this relate to furniture?  Once I've got my life repacked and I know that everything I want to have in my new place is ready to go, I of course need to think about furniture.  Now, asking God for a job because you need some cash, doesn't mean that you should assume it will magically show up in your checking account the next day and go out and buy a new TV.  But to assume that because I have no cash, I can't prepare for the apartment that is undoubtedly coming my way shows a lack of faith.  So instead of spending money (coughcoughthatIdon'thavecoughcough) on furniture for the apartment, I'm doing what HGTV calls "repurposing".

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to convert this:

An old cradle.  I think it was my grandfather's from when he was a baby.

into an ottoman with storage.  Probably snack storage.  What?  I like snacks.

It'll probably take a while because it's got some special issues that need to be dealt with.  Problem one; it's raining again.  I'm sure as hell not doing this inside, so I've to wait until it clears up again.  Problem two; the cradle is old, which means that the paint chipping off of it is lead-based, so I can't just sandblast the bastard.  I have to specially dispose of the paint that I need to chip off by hand.  Problem three;

some of the loopy side pieces broke off at some point and have been reattached with wire.  Which means that in order to fix it, I need to find someone who can weld them back into place for me.  Anyone know any welders in the San Francisco Bay Area?

So that's the Cradle Project.  Thoughts/concerns/comments appreciated, as I'm still not sure an ottoman is where I want to go....even if I do love snack storage.   

*IMO = in my opinion.  Watch out for gamer slang and abbreviations in the Den.  They'll getcha if you aren't watchin'.
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