Art

[[[Friday morning, a normal day like any other, I'm blogging away about scrapbooking & art]]]

3 short days into my Art Appreciation class and I am now pretty well convinced that scrapbooking is NOT art. I know, I know, I was sad to hear this too. I so want it to be respected as a form of art, humbly a crafty art, but still an art. Of course other scrapbookers might consider it art, but it'd be great if the general public also considered it art. I used to say things like "It is my art." or "It's like my art." (more casually put) But when trying to fit scrapbooking into the context of "what is art"... it just doesn't fit... strictly speaking.

It almost certainly isn't Fine art. In my case anyway. Ashly Calder might be the closest of the scrapbookers to qualify as a Fine Artist. She does a lot of beautiful watercolors and drawings on her pages. But I think it's fair to say scrapbooking is NOT a Fine art. Wouldn't you?

Applied art includes all of the "crafts" under the sun but these "crafts" have a physical purpose; a function. Scrapbooking does not. Yes, they do tell stories but so do novels, memoirs and other written works. Works, not arts. We should at least continue calling our pages "works".

"Love your work, great pages!" "Cool style, I love your work!" We do it all the time, right? So we got that going for us! If not works of "art" they are still works of... something. Journaling? Collage? Life? Ah-Ha! I'll get back to that.

And as for the possibility of scrapbooking being Folk art or Kitch art (where I was hoping we might fall into because of scrapbooking's documentation, we just aren't there yet. Maybe in time. In class my professor reminded us that certain Folk art, even Fine art, out there today was once very common place and ordinary in its original life. A Greek iron urn for example. Today it might sit in a museum spotlighted for its beauty and history. But way back when, it was an ordinary urn that ordinary Greeks would use for daily life just as we use a bottle of squeezable jelly. So it's not quite old enough? Cool enough? Big enough? Original enough? to be Folk. And Kitch art? I had NO idea the TRUE meaning of Kitch - junky, trashy, shoddy, meant to "shod" ;) in the face of mainstream art at the time of its birth after the WWI. Yet today we think about seasonally dressed Geese sitting on front steps. Miniature mock windows to hang that have their own tiny curtains, shutters and flower baskets. This is Kitch to me today. Interesting how time & context means everything.

That being said, our professor a 54 year old artist and historian himself, said that there is no definite definition for art. It's own purpose opens the doors to ANY definition. If art is intended to beautify, inspire and communicate to an audience and scrap pages do that for you, then BOOM it's "art."

At least to the individual. This general public may have to be long dead before any scrap pages are considered art. Maybe that's why Ali Edwards has invented the term "Life Art". Since we didn't fit into any one box ie artists, collage artists, scrapbookers, writers, photobook keepers(?) historians she thought "HEY - We'll carve out our own little category." Life Art. I like the term! Maybe in a few hundred years it'll be bullet in some Art 101 class outline. It had to be.

[[[A bit later this Friday morning I saved my entry as a draft because it's time for breakfast]]]

Peaceful that I am may be a Life Artist, but I am not creating Art with every swipe of my Zip Dry, just pages. Simple pages for my family & friends.



[[[Then after lunch the kids and I go for a walk and come back to a delivery. YAY! What could it be?! OOh OOh! I bet I know! Yes It is!! My copy of the Memory Makers "Oh Baby" book!! Yay!! Kids cheering! But one kid is still more worried about the bumble bee so we go inside. Now inside, Yay! Tear it open!! It is!!!]]]

And there it is... in print. Contributing Artist Lana Rappette
After all that mumbo jumbo this morning about art and scrapbooking... "Contributing Artist" .... I throw alllllll that mumbo jumob aside and relish in my accomplishment. I am a published artist. Small, true. I did not save a life or get a certificate. But there are other days for that. And I know it is also a bit bragadocious of me to go on like but I don't care.

Today I'm EXCITED!!!! I am a published contributing artist!! :)

T'was Good

We took the circus to my Mom's house Sunday. The whole sh'bang was in full swing. Kids running, toys flying, oven cooking and babies screaming. I think we properly flipped her peaceful house into a loud disaster. I also think I'm now "that" mom. That mom that is seldom invited to visit because of the chaos her kids bring. Even to her own mom's house. :)

Very exciting, my sister made our mom a layout! It won't be long and she'll soon convert. I know it. I know she'll get hooked on scrapping soon, very very soon!! And I'll have a partner in crime!!! BHAaaahahahah! LOL

Speaking of being a mother... today Lucy said 2 of thee funniest things.

When picking her up from the babysitter, after my class (because she's aware what a big deal it is for me to take these college courses) she goes:

"Did you have Snack?"
I thought "Naw Sweets, my school is chump change compared to your Snack-havin' Montessori."

And after serving her sauteed squash and zucchini for dinner she goes:

"Uh Why are there pickles that are burnt!?"
I thought "I give up! I will never ever ever ever get this cooking thing down."

Mother's Day

That's my Grandma Mary. Their Great Grandma Mary. Read the journaling - she just had heart surgery 5 weeks ago. And she's doing awesome. I'm so so... so glad. Soso SO glad. So. Glad.

I will give my mom [her daughter] her Mother's Day card tomorrow but I can't post it now. [whispering] She spies in here. Reading my blog for some weird reason. We are having breakfast together. Hugs, Food and Lovey Cards; good times.

And already from my kids I got 3 cards, one with a musical bonus, a pile of chocolate balls [saying this reminds me of that SNL sketch with Alec Baldwin ;)] a hand painted jar of home made room freshener from Lucy, and a framed, mosaic paper heart from Ruby. Oh. And Mike granted me another night out to crop sometime soon. I party so hard, don't I? I bet can embelish anyone who dares, under the table. I'll have you dancing in paper lamp shades till the morning when you'll be praying to Cricuit Goddess for mercy. :)

It's not even Mother's Day and it's already been such a nice weekend. I have been enjoying my kids & being a mother lately. I always have, mind you, in the big scheme of things but things are recently even better. Likely because of the spring air, Lucy's soccer games and the miracle process of how absense makes the heart grow fonder.

But don't you wonder sometimes? About some moms? Just some. I mean, don't get me wrong, I complain and often get overwhelmed with the freak outs or crying fits and I say things jokingly with my mom about shipping them off to Grandma's house. Sometimes I hear comments from other mom's that make me want to laugh.... or honestly, it makes me want to cry. Like their kids are such a burden and owe them their life. A life of guilt.


An example:

Little Johnny: "Gee Mommy, I'm thirsty! can I have a cup of juice please?"
Bitter Mom: "Sure Johnny, you can have some juice. Right after I squeeze apples for 30 hours like I squeezed you out during my horrid 30 hour labor. Sure, sure. I'll get right on that Johnny."

or


Little Johnny: "Ouch Mommy I fell and bumped my knee!"
Bitter Mom: "Try pushing a watermellon out your bottom. Think about that Johnny, you should be grateful you only bumped your knee."


or


Little Johnny: "Will you read me a story Mommy?"
Bitter Mom: "Sure. How about the biography of Joan Crawford?"

Ok, ok, so maybe these are wild exagerations and I've never actually heard these conversations. Maybe they are the comical sinic in me coming out. Maybe they are even Fruedian slips of how MotherHood sometimes seems to me.

Just the other day I was listening to Dr. Laura and she was telling a husband to ease off her wife for letting the house get messy because all day long she was caring for three kids under the age of 5 and they all three need her constant care, constantly pulling for her attention, sucking her life's energy from her every minute they're awake.

And I was shaking my head in agreement! I was. It can feel that way sometimes. Either when too long of time goes by without getting out or events don't follow my plans for the day or simply when I take them for granted. And that's the worst. Shame on me when that happens. Luckily it's not too often. Lucky for me. I enjoy their tiny little faces and funny little words and wild pitter patters... our chickens we call them. AKA our monkeys.

It feels good to be their mom. Happy Mother's Day to other mommies out there!!

Poopers. It's totally rainy out.

Yea, I said it. Poopers. There I said it again!
Moving on. I'm trying to get together & organized my planned 'RAKs' but I haven't yet. Soon.
I do still have some scraps to share.
I made these litte notebooks by layering cardstock peices,
then painting & mod-podging it death,
then blotting with a mica-added ink in a nail-polish-style application,
it's called SILK and I love it as much if not more than Glimmer Mist.
The colors are very vibrant.




The vintage girl notebook I've adopted out to my sister as a gift.
The blue one I use around the house for random grocery lists. So much for "thoughts" as I obviously intended to use it for.

Happy post-Super Tuesday!

Carrie

Carrie visited Sunday night. It was good. It has been too long. Seeing her is like getting into your favorite, comfortable hoodie. It is so nice and easy and a lot of fun. But to be clear, it's not like your puttering-around-the-house hoodie. It is more like the hoodie that you seldom wear and when you do... oh!... you admire it in the mirror for a long time. You notice & appreciate how well it fits. Like "Oh yea! I love how this fits, and so perky & slimming!"

:)
Miss you friend. It made me smile how excited the kids were too. "Ceeerrie!"

Party like a 3 year old!

We surprised Ruby with her Birthday party tonight and she loved it!
All about the cake.
All about "My birthday, me do it!"
All about her new gifts.
Pretty dresses: big winner with that little princess!
Sand toys: great fun already!
Coloring books: such fun she didn't even want to move on to her other gifts!

A short video of Ruby couting backwards here :)

Good times and good food. I did much better on the cake too. One year I tried to make a jello/gummyfish cake for Lucy that turned out awful. A simple strawberry shortcake is the way to go for me.

And this Saturday (AKA National Scrapbooking Day, "NSD"!!) I'll be having my own little party. Sort of, at least it feels like it to me. I'm heading to an all day crop. I'm so excited and hoping for some crafty genius to occur between these paint-stained hands of mine. I will beckon the Paper & Glue Goddess to rain down mojo-magic-glitter and up in a Kansas Twister will all my supplies twirl and flung outward will come amazing layouts that capture my life within 12 inches of Zig-dropping-awe.

I get so dramatic, I hope you know I deliberately ramble on like that for amusement. When my kids are older and read this I want them to know what a goof I have always been. It is the truth after all. Nothing wrong with the truth. Knowing who we are can be summed up in one word: humility.

PS. Comments are now back "on" for my blog. In the not-so-far future I'm going to be posting a handful of RAKs... I'll be interested to see what you think about it too. :)

May Day, May Day

Tomorrow I will wake up to May 2nd and Ruby will be three years old. Three years ago I still had 3 days until her due date. Until the due date passes did I really believe “ok, it could be any minute now, any hour, any day.” I was anxious and didn’t think I needed any more peace and resting because I was trying everything the book to egg her on. And at the doctor’s suggestion, we went ahead and had been giving it thee ol’ college try to naturally induce her labor. It worked.

I remember getting mild contractions at midnight and knowing it was the real deal. They went on all night mildly and I could not sleep. I remember watching the morning news thinking “Should I wake him up now or wait?” I knew it was real labor but I also knew it was still too easy, that I had time to spare. I finally did wake Mike around 6 or 7AM and told him to call in to work – you won’t be going today!

That was so exciting. Telling him “This is it!! She’s coming!!” The drama of waiting and waiting and waiting until finally – labor begins! We’ll be meeting this new tiny person very soon. What would she look like? What will she sound like? That was so much fun! Not like “we should do this next weekend!” fun but still great, joyful fun. One for the memory books at least.

I really don’t remember going to the hospital that morning but we did make it and she did arrive. It was around 6PM. We were both a couple of crabs during the hospital stay. Ruby and I, that is. She was way louder and fiery than Lucy and Jones were. And I was just plain tired. With Lucy being the first, I was more in Mother Bear Mode. I remember making someone always go with the nurse when they took her out of my room. But when Ruby came I was like “Please take her so I can sleep and Mike if you want to be with her, you go do it!”

Ah sweet motherhood, right? Really. It is sweet. Ruby is too... and now she’s 3.
Happy Birthday Rubes! Our "Caker".

Littering the yard

Key / Brag / Note Book all in one

I'm going to channel a little Vicki C for my post today. I have a "how-to" to share and she is the queen of "how-tos" if you ask me. So here I go.


After making a 5X7 minibook from a Daisy's D's 8X8 Paper Stack for this month's Mad Scrapper technique's class I had all these 3X8 left over strips. So I made myself a shabby little keychain/minibook from them.

I first folded all the sheets in half making about a dozen 3x4 pages.
Then I quicly ran each through my sewing machine at the open end.
(I saved on adhesive by doing this! :)

I then stacked all the pages together and held tightly for a few swipes of yellow paint to the edges.

With a scalloped edge punch and a few circle shapes, I punched a handful of imperfect or duplicate photos. Ones I printed but will not likely scrap. I also punched a number of green striped paper for some on-the-go note taking.




You know when you run into someone and they want to give you their email so they tear off a corner of an envelop and you put it in your back pocket but then when you get home you put it in either the laundry by accident or the junk for it to get lost with a slew of other receipts and kids' colorings? Well these note spots are perfect for those moments. It's on your key chain so you'll never lose it.

And the other reason I'm excited about this tiny book is for bragging rights. I never never never keep photos of my kids on my person. I often go without my purse. Then again, I'll run into someone I know and BOOM they ask "do you have any pictures of your kids?" Whoops. No I sure don't. Bad Mommy. LOL ;)

So Once Upon a Time...

...there was a soccer mom who had always always rejected the soccer mom label. Not the soccer portion of the term. For she once graced the fields of her Lakeshore school, left half-backing her way to Michigan's state finals where she scored the "1" in their "1 to 2" outcome.

And twasn't [I like to make up my own Shakespearean terms as I go!] the mom part of the term. For she was a proud mom who mommied and mothered and mama'd her way to 3 little kids. No, it wasn't either the soccer or the mom words, rather it was the icky aweful dreadful drab deathly boooooooooring connotation that the two words together implied; soccer mom.

For this soccer mom once believed those words as terrible a label as to be called a criminal. Like cheating. Selling out. A hopeless existence in Beigeville.

[[imagine *twinkle twinkle* sounds]]
But one small miracle began to happen to this soccer mom. Simply by circumstance, she began to live literally as a soccer mom. Two separate words. Soccer. Mom. You see, her lovely 5 yr old daughter now played soccer and this soccer mom was the team coach. She was her mom and involved in her soccer.

And she loved it.

Soccer mom took great joy in her daughter's games. And her daughter's excitement. And her daughter's health. And her daughter's team. And her daughter's sweet little red jersey. And her daughter's funny giggles that accompanied her dribbling down field. And her daughter's mid-play thumbs up after kicking it. Together they practiced and played and laughed. As her mom. As her soccer mom. Oprah might say it was a full circle moment for this soccer mom. To accept and appreciate what being a soccer mom meant to her.



And they lived happily ever after.
To be and not to be.
This story is total hot mess.

And tonight is their 4th game!

Go Team Red.

:)

Gorgeous Daw'ling, Just Gorgeous!

What a great day! The weather here was unreal. Just perfect. 70 , sunny, breeeeeeezy, no humidity.
Nothing earth shattering for me to write about really.. Seriously I wrote that without even thinking about the 5.2 earthquake this morning, honest. How funny.

But anyway this picture totally made me laugh this morning. I knew right away it was Lucy's doing. :) Lining up her little toys. She organizes FAR more than she plays.


Today while he napped I scrapped these older Jonesy pics. It was nice too because I was at the kitchen counter still enjoying the sunshine & breeze rather than downstairs. You're thinking, "big deal!" aren't you? Sorry. I am so utterly boring. Sometimes I wonder why I bother blogging at all. Other girls are witty, some are crafty beyond belief, others do videos & how tos, some are amazing photographers. I just treat this as a diary. A public diary. The stuff I'm willing to share. ;) Mainly with my family as well as the scrappy community. But mostly with my own family. Mike, myself and the kids. It is so much fun to look back in the archives and revisit what I felt like spewing out on any given day. And when I realized I enjoy doing that, it kept me going and going. And now I'm rambling. . .




Today, about a year older than these pictures, he did the following:
Climbed two park set slides and went down.
Went to day care for 5 minutes because I couldn't leave him.
Kept trying to bring a bucket full of dirt into the house.
Threw green beans across the room 7 feet
Tried to sweep the garage.
Spit out penne pasta & asparagus with a "pllll!"

Some pics

I'm too
tired to
think

but I
want to
share
these.

I think
their
cuteness
speaks for
themselves.

Happy Hump Day

Jones and the keypad

This morning I left MS Word up on the computer that contained some info on Leopards. Lucy was to write her own 2 sentence report for school.

Then this afternoon I came back to find this

Leopards are related to lions, tigers, and jaguars.poooooooooooooooooooo[[p;/’,
The leopard is so strong and comfortable in trees that it often hauls its kills into the branches[mh,=hooooooooooo[oll’’

Jones was here.

And apparently he poo poooed the Leopard. :)

(Kind of) a Good Day

My Grandma is doing well.
I am feeling positive.
The kids are well.
Jones did great at his first day of day care.
Lucy and I got some one on one time.
Mike's birthday is tomorrow.
And the "kind of" part will soon blow over.
I never claimed to be a perfect saint, that's all I'm sayin' Jack.

I even felt inspired to scrap today which has been a LONG time coming. My Mojo has been hiding out, ran away from me, in a homeless shelter feeding on ham soup and shivering under the sheets. I'm serious. I haven't felt scrappy-creative since my weekend away with Ann. So today, it was very nice to sit and do a page. Lucy made a project for her dad's birthday. :) It's a house that ... well I'll have to post a pic later on so you can see it.

Today is about gratitude for me. I like Kay Roger's blog header that says "how did I get here?" That's how I feel when I think back about 6, 7, 8 years ago in my life. How did I get from there to here? A Higher Power, a LOT of love and help from people who'd been in my shoes and a positive attitude. These day's I seem to struggle with EACH of those things. I end up overthinking my Higher Power and get resentful at some of those around me. I stay too distant from those helpful people who ought to remain high on the priority list. And I get on a pity pot thinking of all the things I've given up rather than enjoying where I'm at now. It's all so stupid, I know. I know it! But I can't say I never come around because I always do. It's about progress not perfection. That's all I can promise.

:(

I miss Cory so bad. And Dad. I never expected 1393 Brentwood to be taken away so fast.

Friday Fotog

Tonight Lucy is visiting with her cousins. My Grandma is home resting up, preparing. Mike is getting me some cold & flu relief from Walgreens. The babies are sleeping. Ealier today I was clicking around for no reason at all. Actually there was a reason. I was excited that our new "schtuff" was delivered. A new couch & chair, a tri-folding wooden divider and a new matress! Can I say how good it feels to lay on a new, fresh bed?! It feels good! And the couch was a bonus, on clearance and super cheap. Anyway.. I guess the afternoon Sudafed was working well enough for me to fotog here & there.

My dad's Marlboro-man style tin. It smells like his house did - manly must and cigarettes. I wish I kept more of his things when he died. I feel like I have almost nothing of his. This tin was given to me only by a fluke.

2 pairs of binoculars purchased for a D.A.R.E. fund raiser. But the girls only care how cool they are. Lucy takes special pride in them. They hang around her neck almost every day.

New couch courtesy of Furniture Row's Outlet. I hope I don't get sick of red any time soon. It sure brightens things up better than the icky black leather man-couch did.

Vintage vinyl covered chair from a flea market downtown Coloma, MI. It has a sister across the room sitting pretty in front of the folding screen. I. Love. Chairs. In a previous life I used to dumpster dive for old chairs and repaint them. Most of my furniture was foung this way. I'd assign "personalities" to the chairs and decorate them accordingly. I gave white poodle-style rings at the ankles of one of my faves: the Sexy Chair. I sometimes miss having those endless hours of time to create... pre kids.

Rouge DeGarance wall rubons from scrapmuse.com. These are so cool. A little goes a long way. You get a lot of rubs for $30. I passed half of mine to Annie.

Worried day coming

My Gramma Mary [not pictured] goes in the morning to have an angioplasty done. They are taking a look "inside" because Friday they found a large tumor on her heart. Her heart! I can't even imagine how they can do surgery on it.. I'm so worried.. if you can say a prayer please do so. She likes to be called Mother Mary ;)

She and I sometimes disagree (from time to time) because she will ALWAYS tell it like SHE sees it. That is why I love her. And is also why she drives me crazy. But the idea that anything serious might happen to her is unthinkable. She's superhuman. She's already overcome cancer in the past and a bunch of recent heath issues, life issues.. She is also dearly close to me and whenever I need something, she's there. On some occations when I probably didn't deserve it, she supported me and took me as I was. She may be flawed like the rest of us but I've tried my best to not let that cloud our relationship. Because when it's crunch time, she's still my Gramma. The one who calls, the one I can count on, the one who'll give me her opinon, love me even if I (in her eyes) sin or don't "live right".

I've taken for granted that her recent descriptions of her heath issues were just typical Old-Lady-Complaints. I'm praying it is nothing too serious that can't be dealt with. We'll find out and do what needs to be done. She's heathly enough to handle it.

She called her tumor her "Second, New Heart" See! That is why I love her so much! :) Please send a healthy vibe our way!


<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<-- these are Belated Happy Easter Pictures! My mom & Tom, his dd & her bf, my sister and her possibly soontobe stepson.

Home with Sickies

Wednesday it was Jones. Then Thursday Ruby got it. And this morning they were ALL a mess. Ruby was still really sick, Jones was not as bad but still sick and Lucy is barking. But she takes cough medicine like a trooper! Better than I ever do... still.

Today since Lucy was home from school and the babies took such a big drugged induced nap, we "crafted". Last night I gave in to Martha's snazzy marketing voodoo and bought a Kid's Craft idea book from the grocery mag isle. I let Lucy pick out the project: scrappy-crafty-paper-framed pictures. (AKA scrapbooking with regular "craft" products instead of the usual overpriced "scrapbook" products.) She is one awesome little scrapper, and so into it. Very thoughtful with her designs. Ruby woke up after awhile and I let sit on my lap so we could made one together.

Today reminded me of when Lucy was 2, Ruby was still InBelly & we had peace & patience & did crafty things ALLLL the time together. Cheesy seasonal banners, painted bird houses, posters for her room... The luxury of executing quiet, orderly mom-plans is SOO out the window these days. It has been since Ruby began to crawl. I remember I scrapped a ton the summer she was just born. I could lay her down to sleep or under the scary gym thingy and she was happy..ish.

It was a great day [and an oddly wintery one]. In a way I like it when my kids are sick and cuddly. They need me and quiet down so sweetly when I stroke their hair and caress their forehead. It's precious baby-ness all over again. Both Lucy & Ruby are such big little girls but when they need me the tenderness of when they were tiny returns. I see their whispy infant bald heads and peas for toes feet... sweeties.

Jessie is a flower child!

One of the four temperate seasons between winter and summer.

Spring.

Finally. Well almost. Close enough.

Mike's Uncle Keith passed away today. My thoughts are with the family today. I didn't know him well at all. So in a way I am looking forward to his service to learn more about him. Last week I experienced a similar thing when my dear dear neighbor's son died. I didn't know him closely but I was touched by the service and words shared by his family & friends. You can feel the kind of person he was through the deep loss everyone expressed.

Today feels like a new.. day... attitude. I have been emotional to say the least this '08. But I've noticed when I put certain blocks back into the toy bin all goes well. These are those blocks:

Sunshine.

A best friend who will listen and I mean REALLY listen. Oh, and not siting examples of how other people seem to have it all together so you must be the only freak on Earth helps too.

Not taking birth control. If that is TMI for you then consider that I don't give a hoot and maybe this post isn't for you.



Getting away for a weekend, again this related back to the Power of the Gal-Pal.



Realizing working full time is not the answer to my improving my parenting skills.



Scrapping/crafting/producing for no one but me is feeling good right now.

I want to mark this day

I really thought I was done blogging but I guess these weird things happen in life.

Today I met Brian of http://www.overflowchurch.org/.
In a place I rarely go (the mall), to a store I'd never go into (a coffee-bar-looking location with my 3 kids) for a reason I'd never experienced before (rushing Ruby to find a potty). But even more amazing is that I met him today. The first day in months where I actually believed "I can do this day. I can handle this day. Cool Balance... Cool Balance." Cool & Balance are 2 new words I'm repeating to myself. You can call me crazy but these happenings lying into place when they did seem so purposeful to me. Whatever. They ARE PURPOSEFUL to me. I thought it would be great to blog about it. And likely WAY more important than what I usually blog about.

We talked about things I've been feeling for a long time
- searching for something - looking for the right road for me to engage - to give back - to find help for myself.

I'm excited to experience this. To see what I think. The truth is I'm a mess of emotions, a barely functioning mom who's been driving herself crazy in some search for peace. That's all I'm really after. A peaceful heart & mind. A peaceful life. A peaceful world. I don't know the Bible but I've always been infatuated with religion, all religions. I’ve never belonged to any religion but I’ve always always sought spiritual growth. I’ve never worshipped a God or Jesus but I have faith there is a Higher Power. I believe our will directs all our choices but I don’t believe anyone can do anything alone.

In support of Overflow and our community I'm posting this page again.