about those 2023 photos...

Every year I make a book of photos I've taken throughout the year. It's usually about 100 pages with captions.

I usually start around June or so as it's incredibly labor intensive and time consuming.

I use an app offered through Apple called Mimeo. I liked the ease of the iPhoto app better but that's no longer offered.

I don't use Mimeo's template, and instead customize the book.

I choose the photos I want to include and edit many of them. I select the layout for each page. I check the dates for captioning. I choose a font, color and size (that must be recreated on every page). I bet I spend close to 100 hours on the project. Or at least it feels like that.

I finally finish. Everything is checked and rechecked. I'm tired and happy to be done.

But then I notice that the book I've been creating is 8 1/2 by 11 and all my other books are 11 by 13. Not a problem. There's an option to click and change the size. When I do, I get this warning:

Okay, I can live with changing some of the format. And worst case, I can go back to my original.

So I proceed.

I click Continue

Next I see a book that is totally empty. The 11 by 13 book is presented with all blank pages. All my work has disappeared. I literally feel my body growing warm. But I can revert back. 

I go to hit the Undo button except it's greyed out.

Now I'm a complete mess.

But there must be a simple way to get my work back.

I contact Mimeo and begin a chat with Ashmir. He begins with:

I can barely speak. I am shaking. I go from lower case to upper case. I imagine Ashmir rolling his eyes. His response doesn't change.

Oh, but he does provide an insight buried on Mimeo's support page but not as a warning in the app itself:

No option here to even Undo.

I'm shaking.

Next I call Apple and many hours later (through something called Migration Assistant) I am able to recover most of the stuff I lost. Thank-goodness for my external drive.

I am relieved and manually recreate the book in a larger size, though I'm still kind of a mess just having to have gone through this all.

Still, the year ends nicely. My two same-named friends (Robyn and Robin) come over. 

We watch an awful film, The Royal Hotel. Pick up pizza and eat it with a salad (and wine) that Robyn brings and amazing Sedutto ice-cream that Robin brings.

It's a quiet end to the year, but a good one. We call it a night at 11:30. We can all watch the ball drop from the comfort of our beds.

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and joyous 2024.