#lizcultivates — Public Fediverse posts

I've been making progress on many of my personal goals, steadily and sustainably. #goals #lizcultivates #amblogging #amwriting #amgardening

http://lizcultivates.com/2026/07/03/check-in-may-and-june-and-july-oh-my/

Check-in: May and June (and July! Oh my!)

The past couple of months have been so busy! It feels like I blinked and that time just escaped through a carefully placed hole in the wall. I’ve been making progress on many of my personal goals, steadily and sustainably.

It feels nice to be where I am – peaceful even. I discovered I can make delicious iced coffee just the way I want, and I’ve been exercising a lot. As ever, I’m trying to carve out a simple life in the middle of my own personal anxiety, the garbage of the world at large, and the capitalist dystopia we have found ourselves inhabiting. And there is no “finishing” this kind of growth. There will always be more changes to make, and more sunshine to absorb. Always growing. Always changing. Cultivating not only myself, but also the places where I can feel the most at peace.

Garden oasis in progress!

The thing I’ve been focusing on (so much so that I haven’t even had the energy to update this blog!) is the garden. This year, we decided to undertake the task of creating an aesthetically pleasing space that would also allow the Architect to mow the grass around the beds without fuss. This has been a big project for me, especially at the very beginning of the growing season. Here’s where we started…

And now the garden today!

I’m really pleased with this. Not only did I get those pathway stones for free (our neighbor offered some extras he had from a past landscaping project!), but I counted how many wheelbarrows of gravel we put around these beds . . . 25. Twenty-five trips to and from a mountain of gravel in the driveway. I am immeasurably proud of myself – but even more than that, I’m excited to spend peaceful moments in this place.

Each year of gardening has taught me more. There’s so much knowledge in my head now, about plants and fertilizer and rainwater. “Knee high by the fourth of July” has become a mantra to me. I’ve again been thinking about how all this is cumulative – of course I couldn’t have done everything all at once when I started this garden five years ago. All I can do is keep adding to the knowledge.

‘Illusions’ update: One chapter to go . . .

It’s! Happening!

As stated, I am well on my way to the end. The climax of this story is fast approaching and the denouement is next on the horizon after that. I am excited to start rewrites — maybe too excited. I have to get my head in the game and finish this chapter first!

PrideCraft and more!

As you can tell from my previous post, June was PrideCraft season for my streaming community, the Cool Gamer Retirement Home. As it’s officially now July, I can confidently say this was our best charity event yet. We raised $1,350 for the Trans Empowerment Project, bringing our all-time total to more than $10k. It’s been a dream watching everyone get involved, and humbling to see our community come out for the fifth year in a row.

We did blackout bingo again this year, with some incredible prizes, including a gorgeous ceramic bells bag made by my best friend.

Summer travel off to a good start

At the beginning of June, I spent some time with my family in our hometown. It was a good week, and fulfilling. A little bittersweet. I didn’t take a ton of pictures — too busy making quality memories!

Later this month, we’re heading across the country for a wedding, and that should be exciting, because it’ll be a new destination for me. I’ll try to do a “Liz Writes” after that one!

In April, I focused on creating - in the art studio and in the garden. #amblogging #lizcultivates #lampwork #gardening

http://lizcultivates.com/2026/05/04/goals-check-in-april-and-may/

Goals Check-in: April and May

April was a month for creating and growing! (Dare I say, it was for cultivating.) Bad jokes aside, I am happy with how I ended the month and am anxiously anticipating what May brings. This month, I focused the most on the additive – filling the proverbial cup, as it were.

Finding solace in lampwork

At the beginning of the month, I joined Art Club at the university art center, which lets me take advantage of the same resources and facilities that the art students use. Which means . . . I’m making beads again!

I have been going once or twice a week for the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately, they close the art center during the summer break, so I have to get as much time in the lab as possible before exam week.

I’ve found that since the lampwork process requires such concentration, patience, and (maybe most importantly) attention, it’s helping me turn off my brain. The effect this has had on my psyche is so immediate and so obvious that it makes me want to kick myself for not doing it sooner. And the beads are beautiful. Hopefully I’ll get the opportunity to do this in the fall, as well.

Burying my hands in dirt

The gardening season has officially begun, and that of course means I have killed at least two full trays of seedlings so far. The weather continues to be my enemy, with chilly temperatures giving way to warmth and then back again, on repeat, for the last couple of weeks. The last week of April, I started another two trays, and I’m hoping this time is going to stick.

This means they won’t get planted until well into the season, but I’m not in a rush. I will pick up a few adolescent plants at the garden center to get into the ground after Mother’s Day, but I’m looking forward to the babies I’m nursing. A few are from my uncle’s garden, and a few are from plants I enjoyed in years past. Not really things I can just go to the store to buy.

At first, I was really upset that the first seedling trays didn’t make it. It’s always a disappointment, especially after the early excitement of watching the seeds germinate and break through the soil, their little green leaves tentatively reaching upward for the light. But upon reflection (and a bit of crying), I realize that I have to let that go. Sometimes things aren’t going to work out. And that’s okay. Gardening isn’t supposed to be a formulaic thing. Everyone has different circumstances, different soil, lights, temperature, combination of all those things. There are different levels of effort, different plant labels, so many variables. It’s not going to be perfect every time, or at all — but that’s where the beauty of this is. Because I can try again. I can start over and see what works, what doesn’t, what I need to remember for next year, what I don’t.

(Funny enough, this goes for most things in life.)

As a younger person, I was obsessed with doing things the right way the first time. I pretended to be okay with failure, would laugh things off, outwardly indifferent and chill. But on the inside, it felt like a Jenga tower. Something is going to give, and when it does, it’s not going to be pretty or chill. And then that thing did give — I got divorced, left nearly my whole life behind, started over. Rebuilt. And if I had to do it again, I would have the ability. I’m getting better at taking criticism. My therapist has her hands full, but it’s sincerely helping.

Looking ahead…

I have a conference in the northern part of Ohio this month, along with lots of excitement as we ramp up the summer season. I’ve got lots of appointments and plans and my best friend’s birthday celebration. Maybe some podcast recording. Definitely some writing. Mostly just trying to exist in the most comfortable way I can.

They say March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has noted that this particular March came in like a lion and, honestly, went out like a lion, too. #amblogging #amwriting #goals #lizcultivates

http://lizcultivates.com/2026/04/06/goals-check-in-march-and-april/

I promised a longer year-end review, so here we go! Sowing seeds for what's to come. #lizcultivates #goals #intentions #newyear2026

http://lizcultivates.com/2026/01/07/year-in-review-2025-plus-2026-goals/

Monthly Goals Check-in: October, November

Another month, another set of challenges and not-so-clear-cut victories. I talked at length last month about how I was partaking in activities that refilled my cup — and that continued in October. Indeed, I have felt more rested this month. I even got eight hours of sleep on a work night once, and it was seriously like magic.

I’ll say right away that I didn’t work on the novel very much, except for a few hundred words here and there, and my tablet took an unfortunate tumble, so I have had to go back to scribbling notes on real paper (oh no!). I’ll get my replacement soon. Other than that, October was what I needed it to be: full of games, friendship, productivity, and new sights (not in that order).

https://bsky.app/profile/lizcultivates.bsky.social/post/3m3i7yrryyc2x

Feels Like Destiny

In October, I unveiled my new logo for my self-publishing imprint, Cultivates Press (you’ll also see it featured in several places on the website). Longtime readers will know that Cultivates Press has been a going concern on this blog for some time now, but I am committing to take the extra step of actually filing paperwork and making it A Real Thing. I’ve been working in and around the publishing world my entire adult life, beginning in college as an intern at a small press and continuing with my work in tiny online zines — so this feels like a good next step. For now, I’m going to focus on self-publishing my own work, but I can foresee a future where I keep the ball rolling and help others get their words out to those who may read them.

Cora the Explora Does Country Music Town

At the end of October, I visited Nashville for a conference, and what a town! Nashville exuded Vegas vibes, but in smaller doses. Broadway is much like The Strip, except much, much smaller, and with a lot more cowboy boots. (Honestly, my biggest takeaway from that week was that I needed to invest in boots.)

The conference was good, as conferences go, and I left the city with some inspiration for my day job and some deeper connections with colleagues and friends (which, in my opinion, is the main reason to go to these things). Cora enjoyed the new scenery, and I experienced a new place full of sound and energy and music.

Hunting Ghosts in the Cincinnati Night Scene

Special shoutout to my friend Sofia, a travel and food blogger who invited me to go “ghost hunting” with her downtown. She was invited out by a ghost tour company in return for a review on her blog, and I volunteered to go with her. One of my least consequential goals is that I want to one day experience paranormal activity that can’t be immediately explained away. “I want to see a ghost,” I have often said to friends and strangers. So this was an easy yes for me — spend time with friend, and possibly check off a bucket list item? Sign me up.

Sadly, I didn’t see any ghosts. But we did learn a lot about the history of that area of Cincinnati (Over the Rhine, near Music Hall) and had a beautifully clear, crisp night for it. Our tour guide was lovely, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable. You can check out Sofia’s review over at Uncultured Palate!

What’s in store for November?

As I’m writing this post, I’m sitting in a hotel room on the day after my gramma’s 90th birthday party. She turned 90 in early November, and the family gathered yesterday to celebrate. The party itself was a surprise — mostly because we didn’t want her to worry about it leading up to the fact — and I think she appreciated seeing all the family members she wouldn’t normally see (since we live a couple states away).

My gramma is a remarkable woman. She lost her husband (my grandpa) long before I was born, never remarried, and has kept the family together by sheer force of will over the last several decades. Now, all the grandchildren have grown up and have families of their own — with three great-grandchildren, even! She’s sharp as a tack, only mildly hard of hearing, and doesn’t really have that many medical maladies to speak of. At 90! A true matriarch, an inspiration for me.

Throughout the day, she kept saying, “I’m just glad I’ve made it this far.” We’re glad, too.

Other November activities will include learning how to do drywall, sleeping, and reading. Oh, and working on Christmas gifts.

Outtro

Sometimes, as I write these posts, I think to myself: “It’s not that deep. It’s just a play-by-play of whatever crap you’re doing in your life.”

But . . . you know? Sometimes it is that deep. Sometimes you want to hit the bottom of the well and keep digging to the heat-rock core of the Earth. Whatever it is, it can be anything you want it to be. I can wax poetic about literally anything, because this is my space. I sometimes wait to start writing until I feel big things — and that just can’t be the case all the time, you know? A person would explode. So, maybe it is that deep, and maybe it isn’t . . . But it’s certainly in my purview if I want to catapult myself into the abyss.

I’ll probably do a review in January of how this monthly check-in series went — and perhaps there will be more deep philosophical musings there as well. Or perhaps not. I guess we’ll have to see!

#blogging #books #cultivatesPress #fiction #life #LizCultivates #love #monthlyCheckIn #reading #writing

This is the first step in putting together my business. I'm following my dreams (one step at a time). #logo #cultivatespress #lizcultivates #publishing

http://lizcultivates.com/2025/10/16/lil-update-cultivates-press/

Lots of updates this month. Big #crochet news, big #gardening news, small not-news about my lack of reading... Check it out. #goals #monthly #lizcultivates

http://lizcultivates.com/2025/04/04/monthly-goals-check-in-march-and-april/

As ever, my ambition has gotten the best of me. This year is going to be special... and a lot of work. #gardening #lizcultivates #garden2025

http://lizcultivates.com/2025/02/28/liz-cultivates-garden-2025-planning/

Liz Cultivates: Garden 2025 Planning

Here’s what the 2025 garden spot is going to look like:

Yes, I know that just looks like gibberish. The basic gist is this: I have three beds to fill, two in the back and one in the front of the yard. I will be planting tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, and cucumbers, just like last year, albeit fewer individual plants this time around. I had more peppers than I knew what to do with.

Here’s what I’m hoping to plant this year:

• Tomatoes (Roma, Beefsteak, Cherry)
• Peppers (Jalapeño, Serrano, Banana, Pepperoncini, Bell, Habanero)
• Cucumbers
• Squash (Hubbard, Zucchini, Butternut, Spaghetti)
• Beans and snow peas
• Carrots
• Watermelons
• Pumpkins

As ever, I know this is ambitious, and I reserve the right to change my plan at any point.

One of my bigger architectural goals for the garden this year is to place paver stones between my larger beds. The lawn mower doesn’t fit in there, and I’d rather not use mulch, so I need to come up with a stone-and-pebble-based solution. Consequently, this will also make the whole garden look a little nicer and more inviting, along with at least one arching trellis I’m hoping to place over the beds.

I’d also like to consider fruit. Strawberries, Raspberries. I’m going to attempt to take better care of the apple trees, as well.

We’re in the part of the year where I want to do everything and grow every plant and eat every vegetable. We’ll see how long that lasts! Ohio feels like it wants to be warm lately, and spring is struggling to emerge — to the point that the other day, we had rain, hail, and sun all in the same afternoon. This time of year always gives me a small surge of hope and excitement, especially since my birthday also falls right around now. I’m looking forward to seeing what this new year brings.

#food #garden #garden2025 #gardening #homesteading #LizCultivates #LizCultivates #spring #vegetables

Went out of town for a few days and the cucumbers decided to give me a homecoming present: first blooms of the season! #cucumbers #lizcultivates #garden2024

It's that time of year again, Readers! Join me in my garden for the start of the growing season. #lizcultivates #gardening #gardening2024

http://lizcultivates.com/2024/05/03/lizcultivates-garden-2024/

The nice weather is eroding the winter sads. I’m on my way to buy a label maker for all my seeds for this year, and I’m sketching out what the garden will look like…. #saturday #sads #gardening #garden2024 #lizcultivates

This website has been a lot of things over the years. It looks a little different now, but it's coalesced into something I'm proud of. Here's the new wrapper. #lizcultivates #cultivatespress #amwriting #amblogging

http://lizcultivates.com/2023/12/17/new-website-who-dis/

A couple weekends ago, I spent a day with my mom learning how to water bath can some pizza sauce. It was an amazing learning experience and I can't wait to do it again. #garden #canning #amblogging #lizmakes #lizcultivates

http://lizmakesstuff.com/2023/09/16/liz-makes-pizza-sauce/