[Julie in CA--hello!]

35 minutes ago, Halftime Hope said:

Hi Julie!  It's so good to see you again; I'm glad you're doing well.  I'm glad you've persevered at the difficult things and have created new opportunities, and I wish you well!  

If you do write and publish, I'll buy it -- I remember how good some of your recipes were! 

HH 

 

 

Can you pm with who you were before?

[Julie in CA--hello!]

1 hour ago, Rosie_0801 said:

Yup. Click on the username and there'll be a button to press on their profile page. 🙂

Thanks, Rosie! And I've never forgotten your kindness during some of my worst days. ❤️

[Julie in CA--hello!]

5 hours ago, FuzzyCatz said:

Hi Julie, I love following your restaurant on FB.  🙂  Thanks for checking in with us here!

Is there a pm feature here? I'm not positive who you are/used to be, and that's gonna bug me!

[Julie in CA--hello!]

3 hours ago, katilac said:

I would start over. There's not much content there, and you will have a new focus anyway. Because you do already have the Facebook page and a nice number of followers, I would probably use the same or very similar name (like 4th St. Cafe Musings or something). I'm not sure if most people use the exact same name or not. You can connect the two so that FB followers see a link to your blog or the entry itself, it's pretty easy. This is a pretty good overview written in the last year. 

It helps if you have a certain amount of content written ahead before you start, so you can use it when you would otherwise not have time to post. Ideally, you'd have some prewritten content that can be used any time, and some that might be roughly by season (fall posts, Christmas posts). That way, you can either edit a bit if there's something current you want to reference, or just drop it in as is. 

I very casually look at some food blogs, but I don't follow any - I always just search and click on what looks interesting. Ongoing stories and memories would be the type of thing that would make me more interested in actually following. Obviously, most people do include some personal remarks aimed at the reader, but it's usually very in-the-moment (and very boring, lol). I skim right past "omigosh my life is so busy and crazy, hahaha, but here i am cooking" but I would read actual stories and reminiscing. 

Thank you for the well thought out advice! I'm not totally sure I'm ready, but I'll read the overview and try to think it through. I know I'm supposed to be writing emails every week and sending them out to the members of my restaurant's rewards program, but I honestly have difficulty thinking of what to write because so many business things are sooo tough right now!

[Julie in CA--hello!]

1 hour ago, Still Julie in CA said:

I started a blog many years ago but don't remember anything about it and can't find it anywhere. 🤷‍♀️ I only used it once or twice. I think it was Wordpress but can't find it, lol.

I found it!! Maybe it's time to resume, or possibly time to start over?

https://busydessertgal.wordpress.com/2012/04/14/an-introduction-14/

[Julie in CA--hello!]

4 hours ago, katilac said:

It is not! If my post count ever gets wiped out, I'll probably leave in a huff. ~vouches for Julie having many many posts~ 

So, if Quiver shows up at your restaurant, she gets free cinnamon rolls, right? 

Also: 5 grandchildren!! Awesome. 

Can I say that this sounds like a great blog as well? The memoir stuff would really give it a strong identity, and a reason for people to keep coming back so they can read the next part of the story. Kitchen and cooking tips, and of course some recipes. Then you could go either print or strictly digital for a paid cookbook. The blog can be monetized with ads and/or affiliate links for equipment and such you recommend. You can get a blog going much quicker, and then you have a built-in market for the book. 

I actually think the memoirs alone could make a great book, and you could publish on Kindle. I'll do the first 

I started a blog many years ago but don't remember anything about it and can't find it anywhere. 🤷‍♀️ I only used it once or twice. I think it was Wordpress but can't find it, lol.

[Julie in CA--hello!]

6 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Great to see you, Julie!

Thanks, Jean!

[Julie in CA--hello!]

Cjzimmer1, I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe and have found it useful! The dessert hobby certainly grew into a business, and I would never have anticipated way back then that I'd end up where I am, doing what I am. The restaurant business is TOUGH, especially here in California, where we are still not allowed to reopen for business. If I ever go out of business, I've toyed with the idea of writing down all of the recipes, along with a little bit of a memoir about the time I've spent and some of the interesting experiences along the way. As though the world does not have a million cookbooks already, lol!

[Julie in CA--hello!]

Is it super weird that I miss having my post count show me as belonging here? 😄

 

[Julie in CA--hello!]

Hi there! Fairfarmhand emailed me to say hello, and mentioned that a couple of people wondered where I've been and how I'm doing. I've been gone so long that my old sign-in didn't work! For whatever reason, I can't find the thread where that was mentioned, so I thought I'd update here. I hope the ones who were wondering about me see it. 🙂

My kids have all long since graduated from our homeschool. Out of my 5 kids, two are married so far, and I have 5 grandchildren. I started my own restaurant 6 1/2 years ago and though I don't make much money, I have found a measure of success in not going completely broke--at least not yet. Here is the facebook for the restaurant. It looks like links are not allowed, but maybe you can copy/paste if you want to see it. https://www.facebook.com/4thStCafe/

I was experiencing a really difficult time in my personal life before I left here, and though there are still ongoing complications and difficulties, I'm happy to say that we have been able to hang in there together so our kids had their home and both of their parents until they were adults. We are still together and there is still some potential for future happiness. We will see.

So happy to "see" lots of the same people here!

p.s. I used an adaptation of Quiver's cinnamon roll recipe as the base for the cinnamon rolls I make at the restaurant, and they are absolutely amazing still!