PHONE PHOTOS: PART 1

JUMP TO EXTRA GOOD

You might say I'm something of a photo person, but that would be something of an understatement. It's not that I'm an especially talented photographer, because I am not. Instead, I am a very eager, memory-oriented, slightly-above-average photographer who is quick on the draw and slow to delete, which gives us lots and lots of ground to cover in the months and years ahead.

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We'll start with a few categories to frame our future work here:

PRINT PHOTO CATEGORY:

If you are of a certain age (my age, for instance) you are probably awash in print photos in various stages of storage and organization: old black-and-whites of mystery people (probably relatives, though we can't be sure); random old scenery pics we can toss guilt-free; photos of since-passed beloveds that we protect and cherish; pics of our kids through the years; pics of our pets through the years; formal pics; candid pics … so many many many pics.  I have so much to say about print photographs that we’ll probably need to split the topic across several future posts. Maybe I'll write one in the pro-organization days of January; I'll be sure to send it out in the first half of the month before we all lose heart/focus 📆.

DIGITAL PHOTO CATEGORY:

For me, this era started on April 14, 2005. I know this detail because digital photos miraculously date the pictures for us — no more vague guesses and question marks on the backs of our old 3x5s. Amazing! On the down side, the relative ease of digital photos triggered the tidal wave of thumbnail pics filling our hard drives and mystery memory cards. So — as with most things — pros and cons.

PHONE PHOTO CATEGORY:

Even the more narrow topic of phone photos is too much to handle in one single post because I simply have too too many photos to handle. And though I may be an extreme case, I am guessing I am not the only one. You, too, maybe?? Back when cylindrical 24- or 36-frame film rolls cost actual money and then the processing cost both time and money, we were far more deliberate about our camera use.  Birthdays and major holidays — yes; school performances — yes (but why so many?); vacations — that's what cameras were made for. But photographing a non-event on a Tuesday afternoon? It was hard to justify. Moreover, the clunky Kodaks, the 10-minute Polaroids, and the super-serious 35-millimeters did not fit in our back pockets, ready to be whipped out whenever we spotted something slightly interesting.  But now — now! — we do not need to justify a thing. (Actually the bill always comes due — more iCloud storage, sloggy phone performance — but ease-of-use usually seems priceless in the moment.)

In my own mind, the huge volume of photos on my phone serves a purpose. Over the years, my memory has become little less like a vault and a little more like gauzy cheesecloth; the details can be fuzzy, but at least the light still gets in.  One reason I do not fret about gray matter loss as much as maybe I should is this: I have come to see my photo app as an extremely useful external hard drive for my brain. So very, very handy. When I'm not sure about a date or a detail, I can whip out my phone and have the answer in seconds flat. And because I take pictures of just about anything/everything that crosses my path, I have an expansive photographic record of just about anything and everything out there, such as:

Many of my phone photos include the usual classics: people, places, pets, nature, funny stuff, etc. A second category involves the slippery slope of screenshots. In the moment of clicking my screen to capture whatever grabs my attention, I am convinced I will return to this very important information and act on it or organize it ASAP. This is my most frequent form of optimistic delusion.

I also have a very large third category of photos, probably the largest of all. It's the temporary or permanent memorializing of mundane pieces of life I want to remember. This category includes otherwise-ordinary pics that point to a deeper memory or to someone I love, and I hoard them to excess. It's unwieldy but also frequently fun. One person's visual clutter is another person's continual surprise 😁.

With all this in mind, I thought I'd give a little tour of some of the random pics on my camera roll this week. For reference, it was a very very quiet, solo kind of week: Rick has been business-traveling since last Saturday, E is back home in TX, and I'm not seeing C til Sunday. But even with a calm calendar, my phone camera has been very busy.

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*FRIDAY: Facebook Memories screenshot of Goldie — Halloween 2017. I already have the original pic in multiple folders and locations, but felt the need to save it once more:

COULD DELETE BUT PROBABLY WON'T

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*FRIDAY: Halloween 2025 on the front porch. As you know from last week's post, I was deep in nostalgic empty-nest Halloween mode at this moment. This scene makes me feel all 🥹:

KEEP KEEP KEEP

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*SUNDAY: Crate + Barrel photo frames I think my sister Sandra might like. Took the pic for quick texting info — handy!

CAN DELETE

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*SUNDAY: Screenshot of book recommendations that helpfully interrupted my doomscrolling. Remarkably Bright Creatures was my *favorite* book from last year — highly HIGHLY recommend!  I keep meaning to read The Frozen River; I thought Lessons in Chemistry was very sharp and has one of the best dog characters of all time; I have not read Horse by Geraldine Brooks but have liked several of her other novels. Don't know about the others yet!

EXAMPLE OF A SCREENSHOT I NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT ... BUT WHAT?

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*SUNDAY + MONDAY: Screenshots of texts from E, indicating — as she pointed out with permission this morning — "the duality of man." One screenshot captured her commemoration of the one-year anniversary of our Taylor Swift concert extravaganza in Indianapolis (which, in turn, prompted me look up pics from the night of the show — the photo on the right is one of my favorites because the wonder + awe in this blurry confetti moment and the entire show and the weeks leading up to the show and the weeks after the show was FULL + REAL + ENDURING). The other screenshot — a GIF she sent of a much-memed scene from Parks and Recreation — reflects a common Sunday night state of mind for over-worked teachers everywhere. Combined, it's a complete package!

SLICE OF LIFE — WILL SAVE

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*MONDAY: Screenshot of the new propane-fueled Solo Stove fire pit that I think is nifty and maybe safer in our no-sparks/wildfire-prone Colorado but is probably too big for our very small back yard and definitely would need to be on sale:

SHOULD DELETE — THIS IS AN UNREALISTIC PURCHASE

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*MONDAY: Recipe for Nordstrom's Tomato Basil Soup. Printed this (and then took a quick pic for ingredients) because the title stirred up good memories.  The 3rd floor Bel Square Nordstrom Cafe in Bellevue, WA was where my great friend Kelly and I would regularly meet to discuss the life and times of the five children between us and also solve the nation + world’s most pressing problems. If I make the soup, I’ll let you know how it turns out!

CAN DELETE — HAVE HARD COPY — BUT IT MAKES ME THINK OF KELLY SO I DON'T KNOW

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TUESDAY: Screenshot of a GoFundMe for SNAP benefits relief offered by Manny's Deli in Chicago. I had never heard of Manny's Deli before randomly encountering this post, but now I am a big fan of this cafeteria/deli institution ("CHICAGO SINCE 1942"). See below in Extra Good for fund $$ update ‼️

UNRESOLVED FEDERAL SITUATION — WILL SAVE FOR NOW

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*TUESDAY: Took some quick pics of old Halloween decor to see if the girls wanted any before I donated.  C said yes to this guy, who has been with us for ~15 years 🤠:

EXAMPLE OF A PHOTO I WILL FLIP-FLOP ON — NOT MEANT TO BE A REAL PIC BUT HE REMINDS ME OF MANY HALLOWEENS PAST

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*TUESDAY: Backyard grasses when the fall sunlight hit just right:

WILL SEND TO "BACKYARD PICS" ALBUM

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*TUESDAY: Rick sent these peaceful canal pics from his time this week in Amsterdam. He's a daily runner and he often sends a 6 a.m. view of wherever he happens to be hoofing it. I am not a runner, but this is the kind of motivation I would need if I were.

I WAS NOT THERE, BUT THAT'S NOT STOPPING ME. WILL PROBABLY DELETE THE NICE ONE ON THE RIGHT BUT KEEP THE MORE-STRIKING ONE ON THE LEFT.

EARLY-MORNING HISTORY, BEAUTY + PEACE!

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*WEDNESDAY: Pic for future reminder of local goodness before it hits the recycling bin. This lunch bag came from our neighborhood's First Annual Chilipalooza held the Saturday before Halloween. The kids in one family set up an animal shelter donation station, complete with colorfully doodled signage and assorted stuffed animals on their table. If you donated to the Longmont Humane Society and/or RezDawg Rescue, you could choose a baked good as a thank you. We went with the lemon bar, and this was the marketing goodwill they created. (And let me just say, YOU ARE AMAZING, too 🐾.)

WILL SAVE FOR FUTURE POST — MOVED TO THE UNAPPEALINGLY-ABBREVIATED "HOGT" (Here's One Good Thing) ALBUM

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*WEDNESDAY:

ALREADY DELETED

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*WEDNESDAY: This was my entry screen to Netflix on Wednesday night — Bank of Dave is a feel-good movie we really liked when it first came out, and this pic is my future reminder to someday share it on this site.  We also liked The Martian, which was featured to the right, but I have no idea about the other two.

WILL ALSO SAVE FOR FUTURE POST — JOINING THE LUNCH BAG IN THE HOGT ALBUM

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THURSDAY:  A quick for-texting-only pic.  My sister Cheri and niece Alyssa were planning to stop by for lunch yesterday, and this was my "I'm ready!" message. The logistics grew complicated on their end — as in it would make zero sense for them to still come — but nevertheless they decided to drive 50 minutes west in Denver-metro traffic for a 65-minute lunch before driving 35 minutes back east to DIA in time for Cheri to make her flight home.  That’s family for you!

WILL ALSO DEBATE ABOUT THIS ONE — WAS NOT MEANT TO BE A SAVER,

BUT IT TELLS A GOOD STORY

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THURSDAY: These are my two keepers from the London segment of Rick's trip — King's Cross railway station with the flowers and Oxford Circus with the lights. The Brits go big on both!

AGAIN, I WASN'T THERE ... BUT I'M KEEPING BOTH BECAUSE

THE WORLD CAN BE A BEAUTIFUL PLACE

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And so, of the 19 or so new pics above from my very normal week (which — for transparency — were not all of the photos from my week), 4 are easy deletes, 4 are debatables, and rest are keepers for now. Even with this limited sample-size, the scope of my photo-accumulation issue should now be quite clear. However, in the realm of mildly-problematic problems, I'm convinced this is a good one to have 📸.

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ACCOUNTABILITY CORNER: A GOOD problem is usually still a problem, so this is me publicly announcing that I am going to try for a healthier, more-sustainable camera roll volume. To that end, I am posting my current photo total and current screenshot total and will provide regular updates in the weeks and months ahead. Let's see just how motivating public shame can be:

SCREENSHOTS on 11/07/2025: 9,321 (🙈)

TOTAL PHONE PHOTOS on 11/07/2025: 74,422 (🙈🙈)

AND ANOTHER POLL! Fresh from Google: based on 2024 data, the average iOS user has 2,400 photos on their phone and the average Android user has 1,900 phone pics. What about you?

HOW MANY PHOTOS ARE ON YOUR PHONE?

• 0%I am right there with you, Libby (over 50,000). Anyone?
• 0%I am enthusiastic but not extreme (over 10,000)
• 0%I am more disciplined than you, Libby (fewer than 10,000)
• 0%I don't understand you at all, Libby (fewer than 2,000)

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EXTRA GOOD

ALSO LINKED THROUGH THE EXTRA GOOD PAGE HERE

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2025

Not gonna lie: even without young kids or pets, the time change felt pretty rough this week.  It just seemed so ... abrupt ... and HARSH. Even as I type here on Friday night, if you covered up my clocks and asked me to guess the time, I’d not hesitate in saying “9:30 p.m.”  It is, however, 6:10 p.m.  So I feel for the out-of-sorts toddlers and the hungry dogs — I’m right there with them.

In recognition of our new hour(s) of darkness, this week’s Extra Good links are bringing some extra light ✨.

1._GOOD IDEAS + INNOVATION: Three weeks ago, the catastrophic Category 5 Hurricane Melissa tore through the Caribbean; the death, injury, and damage toll continues to rise, primarily in Jamaica but also in Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. With so many in the region now living in very difficult subsistence conditions, I was reminded of a brilliant low-cost invention that has helped many communities — especially in developing countries — better survive the days, weeks, and months following a natural disaster.

The wonder-invention I'm remembering is a cube-shaped solar-powered lantern, bringing safe light into dark nights by eliminating the need for short-supplied kerosene and candles that can quickly spread fire. In 2010, two Columbia University architecture students — Anna Stork and Andrea Sreshta — designed an inflatable, rechargeable, solar-powered light source in response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The lanterns could be flat-packed for fast, low-cost distribution, quickly becoming an important resource in disaster areas worldwide.

Stork and Sreshta brought their invention to Shark Tank in 2015; every Shark made an offer, and Mark Cuban's won out. In years since, their company, LuminAID, has continued to provide solar-powered light and energy for disaster relief, and — bonus — their expanding product line (including phone chargers 🙌) is now available to the general public for camping, power outages, emergency prep, and more. Great reviews, btw! Through their non-profit Give Light Get Light campaign, more than 50,000 solar lights have been sent to families in need throughout the world.

This is problem-solving at its best and brightest ✨.

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2._GOOD HELP: So maybe we can't all be inventors of light, but we can all be good neighbors spreading some light. With the suspension of SNAP benefits and most federal workers now going weeks without pay, the strain of dwindling savings, empty cupboards, and continued uncertainty for individuals and families is enormous. In response, both formal and informal community groups are working to fill gaps with food drives, fundraising, and more. I think of the word "groundswell" when I see comment after comment and plan after plan about smart, intentional ways lend support.

Rick serves on the board for our local Meals on Wheels program, giving us a big window into the world of food insecurity. My understanding is that dollar-for-dollar, donations go furthest with direct financial contributions to well-vetted local non-profits, who generally have far greater buying power than we do as individual shoppers. That said, involving kids by having them choose grocery items from your local food bank's Most-Needed list or enlisting their help for a nearby food or toy drive is a great way to build up community-minded muscles 🛒.

In my Tuesday screenshot above, the SNAP Benefits Relief Fund created by Manny's Deli in Chicago had raised $44,322 toward their lofty goal of $60,000. Out of curiosity, I just checked back in and got a giant rush of goosebumps: the $60K goal from five days ago had been surpassed and was adjusted to $80K. Current USD raised = $76,380 and rising!

Check it out here: Manny's Deli SNAP Benefits Relief Fund (NO LONGER ACTIVE BUT WELL-DONE!). In the immortal words of the Chicago Cubs' Harry Caray, "HOLY COW!"

SEE YOU AGAIN NEXT WEEK FOR ANOTHER BATCH OF GOOD

😀