Eva Pasco's Blog, page 2
September 24, 2025
Eva’s Byte #543 – The Procession
During my most recent weekly pilgrimage to the cemetery to visit my parents’ gravesite, my leave-taking was noteworthy. A flock of Canadian geese moseyed at the end of the lane, where I intended to head left. Not wanting to disturb their formation, I waited and did a slow crawl taking the turn, unwittingly bringing up the rear of this procession.
Nary a goose broke rank by flying, nor did any hustle on my account. Gradually, they followed their leader, veering to the left onto the manicured turf laden with gravesites. I felt honored to be among their presence without alarming or disrupting them.
In the capacity of a writer furthering along my Contemporary work in progress, I’ve finished drafting chapter 22 (708 words). I’m in the throes of drafting chapter 23 (238 words thus far).
*May each of us proceed at our own pace.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page:http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
Nary a goose broke rank by flying, nor did any hustle on my account. Gradually, they followed their leader, veering to the left onto the manicured turf laden with gravesites. I felt honored to be among their presence without alarming or disrupting them.
In the capacity of a writer furthering along my Contemporary work in progress, I’ve finished drafting chapter 22 (708 words). I’m in the throes of drafting chapter 23 (238 words thus far).
*May each of us proceed at our own pace.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page:http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
September 17, 2025
Eva’s Byte #542 – Pen-ding
“The pen is mightier than the sword.” (credited to English author, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, from a play he’d written in 1839)
How many pens or swords have any of us seen lately?
As for me:
A consumer who conducts online transactions, and a writer who relies on Microsoft Word to compose my stories, the mighty pen lies dormant.
I happen to have a preponderance of signing pens squirreled away. A couple of unwielded Cross pens repose inside their case. Slews of commonplace ballpoint pens are waiting to skate across paper.
In the capacity of a writer, I do pick up a ballpoint to scribble spur-of-the-moment ideas on lined paper.
At this point in time, I’ve finished drafting chapter 22 (717 words) of my Contemporary work in progress.
*Whatever medium we use to convey the written word, may each of us express ourselves clearly.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
How many pens or swords have any of us seen lately?
As for me:
A consumer who conducts online transactions, and a writer who relies on Microsoft Word to compose my stories, the mighty pen lies dormant.
I happen to have a preponderance of signing pens squirreled away. A couple of unwielded Cross pens repose inside their case. Slews of commonplace ballpoint pens are waiting to skate across paper.
In the capacity of a writer, I do pick up a ballpoint to scribble spur-of-the-moment ideas on lined paper.
At this point in time, I’ve finished drafting chapter 22 (717 words) of my Contemporary work in progress.
*Whatever medium we use to convey the written word, may each of us express ourselves clearly.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
September 10, 2025
Eva’s Byte #541 – Powers of Observation
In my opinion, a writer’s greatest asset is that of utilizing our powers of observation. Engaging the five senses, along with reflecting and interpreting the stimuli, promotes creativity as one moves forward along the blank page.
And, blank it is when I’m fabricating a plot out of thin air and burning rubber as I drive my mind through untrammeled territory in conjuring various scenarios.
My solo morning and afternoon walks are conducive to honing my powers of observation by attending to details: the asphalt squiggles on pavement; the cool effect of the bay breeze on my skin; the scent of freshly mown lawn; the hum of the highway…
At this point in time, I’m in the throes of drafting chapter 22 (550 words thus far) along my Contemporary work in progress.
*May each of us hone our powers of observation to better appreciate the details in the big picture.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
And, blank it is when I’m fabricating a plot out of thin air and burning rubber as I drive my mind through untrammeled territory in conjuring various scenarios.
My solo morning and afternoon walks are conducive to honing my powers of observation by attending to details: the asphalt squiggles on pavement; the cool effect of the bay breeze on my skin; the scent of freshly mown lawn; the hum of the highway…
At this point in time, I’m in the throes of drafting chapter 22 (550 words thus far) along my Contemporary work in progress.
*May each of us hone our powers of observation to better appreciate the details in the big picture.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
September 3, 2025
Eva’s Byte #540 – The Printed Word
Alas, my old workhorse of a printer fueled by costly, compatible ink cartridges, was put out to pasture. The old gray mare no longer produced the printed word legibly.
In keeping with my minimalist approach to technology without sacrificing quality, I acquired just what I need: a black-and-white laser printer with promise to go the distance when inking the printed word. Highly recommended by my computer technician who set it up for me, I’m good to go. Until summoned to do my bidding, the printer is in a deep sleep mode.
In the capacity of a writer, I’ve gone the distance drafting chapter 21 (1565 words) of my Contemporary work in progress. Chapter 22 is off to a running start (147 words thus far).
May each of us preserve the printed word with clarity for posterity.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
In keeping with my minimalist approach to technology without sacrificing quality, I acquired just what I need: a black-and-white laser printer with promise to go the distance when inking the printed word. Highly recommended by my computer technician who set it up for me, I’m good to go. Until summoned to do my bidding, the printer is in a deep sleep mode.
In the capacity of a writer, I’ve gone the distance drafting chapter 21 (1565 words) of my Contemporary work in progress. Chapter 22 is off to a running start (147 words thus far).
May each of us preserve the printed word with clarity for posterity.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
August 27, 2025
Eva’s Byte #539 – Broken Beauty
An avid forager for sea glass along the shoreline of Sabin Point, a neighborhood beach located adjacent to a shipping lane, Hurricane Erin’s coastal influence prevented me from wandering on my stomping ground. The high surge (10-18 ft. waves), gusty wind, and dangerous rip currents were a deterrent.
Among last week’s treasures, I’m partial to the base of a broken bottle, green in color. Erosion had rounded what must have been a sharp and jagged ridged heel, the curved part where the body of the bottle begins to form the base.
The heel enables this broken beauty to balance on the narrow lift of my office window.
The pushup or punt, the dome-shaped recess in the center of the base, is not too opaque or pitted. This allows sun to filter through like a suncatcher.
Catch as catch can, my ambition is to forage for more bottle bases with translucent pushups, and line them up along the window lift.
In the capacity of a writer, I’m pushing along the draft of chapter 21 (1425 words thus far) of my Contemporary work in progress.
*May each of us find beauty in the mundane.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
Among last week’s treasures, I’m partial to the base of a broken bottle, green in color. Erosion had rounded what must have been a sharp and jagged ridged heel, the curved part where the body of the bottle begins to form the base.
The heel enables this broken beauty to balance on the narrow lift of my office window.
The pushup or punt, the dome-shaped recess in the center of the base, is not too opaque or pitted. This allows sun to filter through like a suncatcher.
Catch as catch can, my ambition is to forage for more bottle bases with translucent pushups, and line them up along the window lift.
In the capacity of a writer, I’m pushing along the draft of chapter 21 (1425 words thus far) of my Contemporary work in progress.
*May each of us find beauty in the mundane.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
August 25, 2025
Eva’s Byte #538 – The Spill
Not the first. Probably the third. Not the last, I fear:
My fully loaded 20-oz. lidded coffee tumbler took a tumble off of a makeshift stand (an inverted 1.8-gallon waste basket) near my office desk.
On the Richter scale of spills, I’d rate it a 6 as opposed to a 10. This time the plush scatter rug under my feet absorbed most of the liquid. This time, my replacement fabric storage bin to the right of my desk, was unaffected.
However, coffee had also soaked into a small area of the carpet.
“Out, damned spot!” (Lady MacBeth)
Easier said than done, other than tossing the scatter rug.
The saturated area required frequent rounds of blotting with paper towel. This madness was followed by serial shampooing and more blotting until the residue came up clear. Over the course of two days, the beige carpet was restored to its former glory.
In the capacity of a writer, I’m fully absorbed in drafting chapter 21 (1109 words thus far) of my Contemporary work in progress.
*May patience and perseverance see each of us through perilous times.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
My fully loaded 20-oz. lidded coffee tumbler took a tumble off of a makeshift stand (an inverted 1.8-gallon waste basket) near my office desk.
On the Richter scale of spills, I’d rate it a 6 as opposed to a 10. This time the plush scatter rug under my feet absorbed most of the liquid. This time, my replacement fabric storage bin to the right of my desk, was unaffected.
However, coffee had also soaked into a small area of the carpet.
“Out, damned spot!” (Lady MacBeth)
Easier said than done, other than tossing the scatter rug.
The saturated area required frequent rounds of blotting with paper towel. This madness was followed by serial shampooing and more blotting until the residue came up clear. Over the course of two days, the beige carpet was restored to its former glory.
In the capacity of a writer, I’m fully absorbed in drafting chapter 21 (1109 words thus far) of my Contemporary work in progress.
*May patience and perseverance see each of us through perilous times.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
August 13, 2025
Eva’s Byte #537 - Since Sliced Bread
The greatest thing since sliced bread just might be a toaster.
Purportedly, the first electric toaster was invented in 1893 by Alan MacMasters in Edinburgh, Scotland. Be that as it may, the early-bird edition only toasted one side of the bread at a time.
Kind of what my heavyweight, stainless steel beast started doing after seventeen years of service. Henceforth, I purchased a new two-slice toaster. In comparison, this model is so much lighter in weight, leading me to question its longevity of servitude.
In the capacity of a writer, I’m slicing through life as it transpires along the draft of chapter 21 (840 words thus far) of my Contemporary work in progress.
*May each of us savor our slice of life.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
Purportedly, the first electric toaster was invented in 1893 by Alan MacMasters in Edinburgh, Scotland. Be that as it may, the early-bird edition only toasted one side of the bread at a time.
Kind of what my heavyweight, stainless steel beast started doing after seventeen years of service. Henceforth, I purchased a new two-slice toaster. In comparison, this model is so much lighter in weight, leading me to question its longevity of servitude.
In the capacity of a writer, I’m slicing through life as it transpires along the draft of chapter 21 (840 words thus far) of my Contemporary work in progress.
*May each of us savor our slice of life.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
August 6, 2025
Eva’s Byte #536 – Nesting
“There’s no place like home.” (L. Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz)
Besides writing, my creativity expresses itself in nesting, whereby I enjoy arranging my surroundings to foster comfort and ambience.
This week, I replaced the slipcover on a Queen Anne chair with a tasseled throw blanket. That necessitated swapping out one decorative pillow for another.
On a role, I relined the inside of a vintage storage box. Then, it was on to cutting away the portion of a rug to accessorize the bathroom tank lid.
In the capacity of a writer forging ahead with drafting my Contemporary work in progress, chapter 20 has been tweaked to 991 words. Chapter 21 is progressing from 450 words.
*May each of take refuge within the comforts of home.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
Besides writing, my creativity expresses itself in nesting, whereby I enjoy arranging my surroundings to foster comfort and ambience.
This week, I replaced the slipcover on a Queen Anne chair with a tasseled throw blanket. That necessitated swapping out one decorative pillow for another.
On a role, I relined the inside of a vintage storage box. Then, it was on to cutting away the portion of a rug to accessorize the bathroom tank lid.
In the capacity of a writer forging ahead with drafting my Contemporary work in progress, chapter 20 has been tweaked to 991 words. Chapter 21 is progressing from 450 words.
*May each of take refuge within the comforts of home.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
July 30, 2025
Eva’s Byte #535 – Dizzy
Identifying with the “pantser” approach to writing, whereby the plot progresses through unexpected twists and turns, I found myself at a crossroads. Always plotting a few chapters ahead to keep up the momentum, the windmills of my mind had spun a minimum of three scenarios to consider further down the road.
I could relate to Tommy Roe’s bubblegum pop music song, “Dizzy” (1969):
I'm so dizzy, my head is spinning
Like a whirlpool, it never ends.
After weighing the pros and cons of each direction to take, I settled upon the most plausible to incorporate in my Contemporary work in progress.
At this juncture, the draft of chapter 20 is complete (980 words). I’ve begun drafting chapter 20 (249 words thus far).
*May each of us weigh the impact of our pending decisions.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
I could relate to Tommy Roe’s bubblegum pop music song, “Dizzy” (1969):
I'm so dizzy, my head is spinning
Like a whirlpool, it never ends.
After weighing the pros and cons of each direction to take, I settled upon the most plausible to incorporate in my Contemporary work in progress.
At this juncture, the draft of chapter 20 is complete (980 words). I’ve begun drafting chapter 20 (249 words thus far).
*May each of us weigh the impact of our pending decisions.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
July 22, 2025
Eva’s Byte #534 – The Alteration
Trash vs. Treasure
I tread a fine line in determining what should be tossed and what should be kept. Assessing the contents of a storage closet every now and then, I recently questioned the validity of keeping an oblong accent pillow. Due to a few missing tassels, it had been put out to pasture on a shelf.
For me, parting with things can be such sweet sorrow.
Looking at the pillow from a new perspective, I came to the conclusion that its integrity would be preserved if I cut off all of the remaining tassels. In its altered state, the perimeter of gold-threaded loops gave the matching brocaded pillow an elegant new lease on life.
This treasure now resides on a bench in the middle of two other accent pillows.
In the capacity of a writer whose draft is subject to on-going alterations, I’m treading the finish line of chapter 20 (906 words thus far) along my Contemporary work in progress.
*May each of us view things in a new light.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
I tread a fine line in determining what should be tossed and what should be kept. Assessing the contents of a storage closet every now and then, I recently questioned the validity of keeping an oblong accent pillow. Due to a few missing tassels, it had been put out to pasture on a shelf.
For me, parting with things can be such sweet sorrow.
Looking at the pillow from a new perspective, I came to the conclusion that its integrity would be preserved if I cut off all of the remaining tassels. In its altered state, the perimeter of gold-threaded loops gave the matching brocaded pillow an elegant new lease on life.
This treasure now resides on a bench in the middle of two other accent pillows.
In the capacity of a writer whose draft is subject to on-going alterations, I’m treading the finish line of chapter 20 (906 words thus far) along my Contemporary work in progress.
*May each of us view things in a new light.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
