I made plans to go to Hobby Lobby to pick up a shadow box for another project and printed out the 40%-off coupon they almost always have on their website. When I got to the store, they were having a sale on picture frames and shadow boxes (another common occurrence) which nullified my coupon. I was in the store, coupon in hand, and even though I didn't have immediate need of it, it seemed even more foolish to not purchase the larger box. I didn't want to have to make another trip at some later date, right? And I had the coupon, just begging to be used.
The next day, I was at the hardware store for an entirely different home maintenance project when I stumbled across some 4" x 2' x 1/4" maple slats that would work great for the dividers in the new box. And they were being clearanced-out for $1 each. With maybe a little bit less internal conflict over how small pebbles were beginning to turn into avalanches and slippery slopes were being danced upon, I bought five.
In just two days, purely by happenstance, I had purchased all the pieces I needed for upgrading my Dominion box. These pieces were sitting in my house, un-touched and still wrapped, not causing anybody any harm. And I was doing OK with this; I had a lot on my plate with upcoming trips and trying to get some school work done. I was actually feeling pretty good with just letting them sit there for a while.
A few days later I had got some time to kill while Katie was making dinner so I go out to the garage and cut the dividers from the maple slats I purchased. A day later I find myself sanding the dividers and the box in preparation for staining, another day I end up beveling one corner of the dividers so that the lid will close once they are installed. And so it goes: a little gluing here, a little staining there...
... and suddenly I'm putting felt into the bottom of the case....
... and transferring the game into the new box.
Its nice to see it with plenty of room for the other expansions and I'm happy with the final results. Incidentally, the staining was done primarily because my Catan set is housed in the exact same box and I wanted an easy way to tell them apart. The felt was recommended to help keep the cards from sliding around. And they look nice, too.
Craftsmanship on this was probably a solid "B" and I am perfectly OK with this. The stain pooled some in the corners, there is glue acting as a significant structural members to keep the dividers in place and the felt was not cut very precisely. These imperfections were completely acceptable to me; I have taken the policy that the first time I build something it is effectively a prototype. Get it done and learn from the process rather than making sure the end result is flawless.
But seriously, this was all a conspiracy of coincidence. The box practically assembled itself. Its not my fault.
So when do I get Prosperity, anyway?
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