I've got my page update just about done. I hope to get it posted in the next day or two.

My parade was rained out today. I spoke to the woman at the Fund for Folk Culture, the go between agency for the California Arts Council's Traditional Arts Program, getting an apprentice grant funded this year seems like an up-hill battle. Despite what the written materials imply, they really aren't giving out any apprentice-type grants...not to mention the fact that during our conversation the grantmaker said, "Well bootmaking is really more of a 'craft' or occupation (than it is art)"... ouch.

Oh well, I'm a practical person. I've always got a plan "b".

Sigh...if I keep to my New Year's resolution (by only working on my web page 5 hours a week) ...that means I've only got 3 hours left this week. I've been working on a field trip to the last Brownwood Round-Up. I could maybe finish it in 3 hours, but then it would sit finished and untouched until next week...maybe even the the after that...until I had time to post up a new front page. Argh, I think I've decided to reschedule the field trip until February...sigh (again)...meanwhile, (while I've been mulling this whole thing over) I've managed to think up a bunch of new things I should do...like don'tcha think I should make a shareware version of a screen saver and have every bootmaker who wants to chip in photos. That would be great.................. help! ...somebody turn off my brain!

Well, I think I've got my diary archives fixed. I got a little nostalgic for my website's old color scheme, so I made some changes. Bright orange is the BLOGGER team color...but it seemed a bit hard on the eyes for something this text-based. Anyway, the June archive is still stuck in orange...I think I'm going to have to wait until I get home to do all that ftp-ing and html-ing. All these blogger index files are a little baffling to me.

So the nice folks who provide me with the opportunity to have a "weblog" diary are updating their servers. This has caused all my archives of past boot adventures to go missing. There may be some things I can try on my end to fix 'em...and the blogger folks are doing their best at the other end. I am assured nothing was lost.

Tonight I'm working on some of my Brownwood photos. I'm gonna try out another format for my web page. Ugh...but it makes the photos the main focus....I'm not used to telling stories with photos instead of words. It's hard.

So... I've been clearing some old stuff out...outa my bedroom...outa my basement...outa my brain. I've been giving stuff away. It's some how related to my New Year's resolution about regaining peace in my life. I think it's about letting go of things that pester me...unfinished projects...unpleasant memories. I mailed my wedding ring back to the jeweler who made it. It's been sitting there on my dresser for the 2 or 3 years since my divorce, just waitin' for me to figure out what to do with it. Today I took a couple boxes of miscellaneous folk art and thrift store treasures to an antique store. I think I left the owner a little confused. I guess it's pretty weird to have someone give you crates of cool stuff outa the blue. She told me she'd call me if she made a lot of money on anything. I told her it wasn't the idea...she should think of it as lottery money. Someday I'll need to move outa this house... to someplace better suited to bootmaking, and I want to blast outa here like it was a launching pad.

Friday-- "boot day"... in kinda a round about way. I built a mountain of stuff for Goodwill. I have space for a work table now. I have rolls of leather in a box under my bed. And I'm starting a wish list for Saderma, the shoe-repair-supply-place. I need to get a big sheet of that hard black rubber they make shoe heels from...so I can lay that on my table when I cut the leather.

Dick Anderson's finished my inseaming stand. It's a stand up one...not a sit down one. I have no idea where I'm going to put it. I have a feeling it will end up in my bedroom for now. I can't fit anything else in my office/shop...it's only big enough for my desk and my sewing machine...and I still don't have a work table. I think my bedroom is going to need some re-arranging. It's a difficult logistical problem...I have a boa constrictor I need to re-locate. I'm finding that very few roommates and general household visitors like snakes...so the snake lives in my bedroom. Actually, the critter has been a logistical problem for about 15 years now...it's that old. I used to work in pet store.

No arts group will give you money to make your first pair of boots, but I'm going to ask the Fund for Folk Culture for some help in making my third. The grant is due at the beginning of March. I applied for the same grant last year...and didn't get it.My proposal was all about my web page and "documenting folk art", and covering some of my expenses. I managed to accomplish most of what I hoped for this last year even without the grant...almost solely because Lilli donated so much of her time and graphic expertise. I had hoped to pay her. This year I'm going to write an apprentice-type grant. One that'll pay for Michael's time and my gasoline...probably not much else. Today I think I should re-read what I wrote last year, and maybe come up with a new outline.

I think Michael Anthony and I came to a vague agreement that I would work in his shop...maybe a day a week?

I got a fortune cookie in my e-mail.Now, I want a cup of tea...could be my cold...or the rain, I guess. I've put all my boot tools in a sack to take up to Michael's tomorrow. I'm going to try and work on that table leg with a bit of sandpaper tonight...And I'm carrying along a copy of a "Request for Proposal" from the California Arts Council via the Fund for Folk Culture for Michael and I to talk about. (more later)

Eric Loftsgard wrote something very nice about me and my web page. It's under the heading, "studio relationships" on his homepage.

...cough..cough... everybody at work is sick. We're droppin' like flies. (sniffle) It's raining. I want to feel better before Friday...boot day. I'm going up to see Michael Anthony. Rain or shine. Snifffle or cough. I think I'll bring along that stray table leg from the estate sale a while back...I want to turn it into a lasting post. I think Michael can give me some advice.

I'm in a CompUSA "internet cafe"...no coffee in sight....they keep you standing up so you don't over stay your 10 minutes. (I'm doing some research for my day job.) This isn't so much a diary entry as a novelty. I just like updating my weblog from exotic places. I'm using an iMac...kinda feels like typing on a toothbrush...lots-o-plastic. Not that that's a bad thing.

I made a couple of New Year's resolutions. As I've said before, I take New Year's resolutions very seriously. They went into effect January 1st...but they're feeling quite real now.

1. Regain a sense of peace in my life. (...missing since 1989)
2. Have a strong body.
3. Keep a journal.

Well, I've been a little frustrated at my slow progress at bootmaking. It was a lot easier in Coleman Texas. Here I have all my usual distractions...and now and then some unusual ones. I read a magazine article a little while ago, that said "successful resolutions should seem like a gift to yourself", not a prescription or prison sentence. I've felt overwhelmed the last six months; that doesn't leave much room for trying new things or for bursts of creativity. My 2001 resolutions seem like good ones. They'll take some work though...like I'm limiting myself to working on my web page no more than 5 hours a week. (This is drastic. I did what the article told me to do...pick a number then cut it half...ouch.) And I'm back to lifting weights twice a week...and I made blogger.com my internet start-up page.

So far, so good...I think it's all working. Last night I worked on a new page feature. It took me longer than I thought...so now I'm done until Monday. Today I walked to the flea market. Checked-in with the tool guy. He says he hardly ever gets shoe repair tools, but he'll keep his eyes open. The only other thing I was looking for was a small secondhand cooking pot to keep in my camper. No luck. I'm not paying $6...get real. Anyway, on my walk back, I stopped at the garage sale across the street. I met a woman named "Snow". She's got a bag of scrap leather lost somewhere in her garage, but MORE IMPORTANTLY...I find she's going to school to be a machinist. She suggested we team up...she gets interesting class projects to work on...and I get hard-to-find-yet-affordable-custom-made boot tools. Today's reward for turning off my html editor.

I'm in a good mood. I've caught my second wind, and I'm working on my next page update. I walked two doors down to the little market and bought myself a pint of ice cream...it's called Phish Food, it's wacky...marshmellow, carmel, little chocolate fish??? The the weirdest flavors show up in these mom & pop stores....whatever...it's tasty. I've got Lyle Lovett's Step Into This House blaring on the stereo. (A while back I noticed that Lee & Carrlyn Miller are mentioned in the linear notes. One of the photos accompanying the album was taken at the bootshop.) I've got some web graphics to make, and maybe some cgi script to tinker with.