The Lily Cafe Digest #10

Wow, an entire cycle of 6 weeks of posting done completely during the quarantine/isolation/stay at home thing because of COVID-19. It’s been…something. Fun some days, not so fun other days. It all depends on whether or not the Kindergartener wants to do school from home that day and whether the toddler has sufficient activities to get her through a morning where I have to teach her older brother. But I haven’t completely lost my mind. Yet. I mean, California isn’t as bad as it could be thanks to our governor and the mayor of LA county. We shut down quickly and now our county is slowly reopening. The school year, this past and the next, will be interesting, though.

Anyways, something else interesting happened. Last month I received a notification that this blog is 10 years old. Yup, 10 years old. Not that I’ve been blogging for 10 years, just that it has existed for the past 10 years. I actually started it by accident, posted a few fiction snippets, panicked when it got views because I didn’t know what a blog was at the time, and didn’t post a darn thing until 2013. Then I took “time off” between 2015 and the start to 2018. Meaning I just stopped posting because I was busy having and raising tiny children. But, wow, The Lily Cafe has existed for 10 years, and I still have no clue where the name came from!

Earlier this week I posted something about being like a dolphin, in which I mentioned a few changes that will be taking place here after my break. I’m looking to have more fun with my blog, especially with the pandemic going on and on and on and my husband having a weird work from work and work from home schedule and a child who clearly needs to learn in a classroom instead of at home and a toddler who…is a toddler. I’ve reached a point where writing about parenting is no longer fun, and somehow feels like it’s invading on my children’s privacy. I’m also craving more room to post book and baking related posts since I may have over-committed myself to a few too many books and I’m having trouble not baking. So, expect way less parenting posts and way more books and baking posts.

The last thing I want to mention is I hope everyone is doing okay out there. This point in our lives is hard in so many ways. We’re all missing out on so much, we’re all suffering in our own ways. I spend every Saturday internally freaking out when someone doesn’t log in for our family Zoom hangouts. I worry every day about getting a call that one of my many older relatives has it. I hate that so many people are finding ways to not follow the rules, but I also get it. But I also want to scream at them because I really want to be able to take my kids to the park again and not have to worry. It’s hard. For all of us. I’m using blogging as an escape, especially since I follow quite a few writers and readers, and hope I can provide the same. Stay healthy!

Take a Look at My Finding Magic in Motherhood Posts

Part 15: The Long Hospital Stay

Enjoy My Parenting Posts

5 Reasons Our First Year of Regular School Has Sucked|How to Pass the Time When You’re Stuck Inside|Round 2 of the Poop Stage

Check Out the Books I Reviewed, the Book Blog Tours I Participated in, and Guest Posts

Book Reviews: Cynetic Wolf by Matt Ward|Legacy of Ash by Matthew Ward|The Ranger of Marzanna by Jon Skovron|Requiem, Changing Times by R. J. Parker|On a Blue Moon by Willow|Queen of the Unwanted by Jenna Glass|Last Memoria by Rachel Emma Shaw|The Dragon Princess by Paris Hansch

Excerpts: Into the Suffering City: A Novel of Baltimore by Bill LeFurgy|Umbral Ten by Douglas Murphy

Guest Posts: The Mysterious Teenage Hominid – Writing for Teens by Chris Stevenson|Writing to Express Myself by Idelle Kursman

Book Blog Tour: The Summer Villa by Melissa Hill

Catch Up On Queen of the Garden of Girls

Part 25|Part 26| Part 27|Part 28|Part 29

Enjoy My Ratio Baking Adventures

Pasta Dough…Was Sticky|Biscuits It Is|5 Things You Can Bake Without Planning|A Quick Guide to Ratio Baking Bread|Basic Ingredients for Custard, Biscuits, and Muffins/Quick Breads|Boiling the Bread Dough to Make Bagels

Blog Posts I’ve Enjoyed from the Blogging Community

I have to admit that, with COVID-19 shutting things down and keeping people home, I have been reading tons of blog posts, but haven’t been too focused on noting the posts I enjoy, so I apologize for the short list.

the boredom curve from Suburban Doldrums: This is one that should be familiar to most, if not all, parents out there. With schools closed and everyone stuck at home, boredom can and will strike at any given moment. Or every moment of every day. I must say I really like this mom’s approach to it.

Finding it hard to be creative – Unwarranted Advice from Nopoodles: Some great advice for how to deal with a block in creativity from a writer I adore.

Editing Tips: How to Focus Your Story and Keep Readers Turning the Pages from Helena Fairfax: Great advice from a writer and editor on how to find and keep the focus of you story.

How To: Beta Readers from Val Neil: This is geared towards writers looking to work with beta readers, but, as someone who thinks about beta reading, I found it to be insightful on what goes into it.

Body Positivity…or is it just having a body and not being afraid? from Quirky Quip: This lady recently became a first time mom and is now discussing her views of that post-partum body. No matter how your body changes, it’s still beautiful!

a sad song from The Lonely Author: a sad poem most, if not all of us, can relate to about the pandemic.

My Daughter Helps Me More Than She Understands Right Now from Confessions of a Parentless Mother: Kids have had their lives turned upside down, especially with schools closed, but, for some of us moms, they’ve become incredible sources of comfort and joy. I feel this one with every bone in my body.

It’s Okay to Not Be Okay from Thoughts Stained With Ink: If you ever need reassurance that times are more than just tough right now, jump over here. It’s okay to be a walking mess. Or a mess stuck on the couch. Or whatever your life looks like right now. This is a good reminder that no one has it together right now.

Redefining Best from Finding Me in Mom: This is great if you ever need a reminder that you are doing a great job! Honestly, even if you do believe you’re doing a great job, you should read this.

the legend from eli schamane: I love finding writers, and I’m so glad I stumbled on this gem especially since I love fantasy. This one looks so interesting and promising and I’m really loving it. If you enjoy fantasy, make sure to hop over and check it out!

Most Sincerely, kat

You can find a list of all the Digests plus some bloggers I adore over here