Popcorn Machine redo

Bear with me, I'll get to the popcorn popper mentioned in the title once I set the stage. 

We are on a mission to have the coolest house around.  It helps when you start with a pretty great house. 

We have an indoor fire pole,

small stream perfect for wading, rock hounding, and building dams,

area of tall grass for hiding out in, Dode mows a few trails through it in the summer,

and lots of asphalt for bike riding. 

We've added the coolest treehouse ever (which sits out there in lonely splendor until friends come over). 

Notice how one of the slides actually comes out of the stump, all Dode's idea. 

We also have a zip line, with plans for a big boy one that will go over the stream next summer,

something we call the "spinner" (we stole the idea from Uncle Bill Dearinger)

and a hot tub

In order to increase our coolness, I bought a popcorn machine. 

It's inexpensive and fun to make popcorn when friends are over.  The kids also take it to garage sales at their friend's houses and make a little money.  We put the popcorn popper away when not in use to keep the novelty of it going but therein was the difficulty.  Where to store it?  We tried storing it out in the garage but the temperature fluctuations caused condensation to build up on it.  Condensation + salt = bad news.  I was able to find a safe spot for the top in one of the closets in my room but I was left with the dilemma of where to store the bottom trolley part.  I came up with the brainstorm to turn it into a table.  I think it turned out great.  We cut a piece of plywood for a table top and Dode nailed some boards underneath that fit snuggly into the top of the popcorn trolley.  I added some rope trim from Lowe's to give it a more finished look and painted the entire new table top black.  The top lifts off easily to transform it back into a popcorn making device. 

On a side note, kettle corn is easily made at home if you have a popper that uses oil.  We add 1/8-1/4 cup of white sugar to the oil before pouring in the popcorn.  Sprinkle with salt and enjoy!