Liz Cultivates | L.M. Fern

I promise I haven’t forgotten! I am a few days behind but it’s still early enough in the month for a check-in.

It’s been really nice to focus at least once per month on the things I’ve accomplished and am working on actively. It’s even helpful to see what I haven’t accomplished – because I know there’s more growth to be had and more goals to achieve.

So, that all being said, let’s see what we accomplished in June and look forward at what’s on the docket for the coming month.

Work hard, play a lot

Every June, the university where I work hosts new students and their families for first-year Orientation sessions. There are 20 sessions total some years (including this one), and for my department, this means a lot of lead-up work (creating, printing, and promoting informational materials about the services we provide; we also provide digital copies of everything, social media posts, etc.), and then, during the month of June, we attend those 20 Orientation sessions and give presentations and answer questions at a resource fair. I was pretty sick leading into the Orientation season this year, so I focused most of my energy on being present for those new students and their families and not on much else.

But I’m happy to say that the season was a success, and we prepared new students to come to college the best way we know how: with a smile and an answer to their must-ask questions. I enjoy my job – not least because I can help folks, but also because of the energy surrounding campus this time of year. It’s infectious!

This month was also a huge success for the Cool Gamer Retirement Home, my streaming community. Each June we celebrate Pride Month with something we call PrideCraft, where we raise money for charities that serve the LGBTQIA+ community. This year, we raised nearly $800 for Point of Pride, an organization that provides health care resources for at-risk trans and nonbinary youth. It was a fun time full of streams (I did one with a ton of folks where we played REPO!).

Garden Update: We’re cooking with gas vegetables

After my not-so-exciting start to the gardening season, June was the month to get my shit together. Well, great news on that front!

The garden is finally looking full and healthy, after several weeks of beyond-hot weather, terrible ten-minute rainstorms, and bugs. I even got my first strawberry harvest this week! My goal for July is to finish the walkway in the middle of the garden – I’m planning to put paving stones between the beds and gravel around the outside of the wooden slats (to keep the weeds down a bit). I’m so proud of this little plot, and I can’t wait to expand the gardening space toward those trees you see in the back of these pictures. (Do you see my new best friends in the background of the most recent photo?)

C2C crochet blanket progress!

I’m officially halfway done with the corner-to-corner blanket that I started in April. I’m really happy with how it’s turning out. This hobby continues to be a great way for me to unwind after (and during!) the workday. I started crocheting during COVID as a way to relieve stress and quiet the spinning thoughts that I deal with sometimes – and it’s been a real boon in the mental health department, that’s for sure. It’s nice to do something that produces a real, tangible object as an artifact of that work or that creative journey. And blankets are my favorite thing to make – I’m wrapped in the half-finished C2C blanket right now as I’m typing this.

WIP Update: Getting closer . . .

Update, the blorbos haven’t kissed yet, but I am hopeful for this chapter. #amwriting

— liz | internet gramma (@lizcultivates.bsky.social) 2025-06-19T00:55:34.198Z

That Bluesky post is probably all you need to know about the progress on my current novel project. I’m inching closer to the end and starting to think about how I’ll line up cover art and editing and other publication activities. It’s real! It’s coming!

Until next month, Readers!