Eva Pasco's Blog - Posts Tagged "new-england"
Eva’s Byte #382 – Dust
This week I’m dwelling on dust. It’s everywhere! Not to the extent of the devastating Dust Bowl depicted in Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, but it’s prevalent enough. As every state in New England is experiencing a “flash drought,” the upheavals of breaking ground for a new apartment complex next door, and the process of repaving Route 114 have intensified the distribution of dust.
Dust settles on windowsills and leaves a sandy patina on vehicles in the parking lot. Diligent landscapers brandishing leaf blowers further stir the pot.
Dust, be gone!
You might say, I’m waiting for the dust to settle through the hope of much needed rain to replenish reservoirs, reduce the occurrences of wildfires, stem crop loss, and nourish threadbare lawns. Lo and behold, bouts of downpours over the course of two days brought some relief—in addition to flash flooding.
In the capacity of a writer, dust has settled in the draft of chapter 17 (1726 words) of my Contemporary work in progress. I’m stirring the pot as I draft chapter 18 (304 words thus far).
*May each of us let the dust settle before making major decisions.
My sincere appreciation for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
Dust settles on windowsills and leaves a sandy patina on vehicles in the parking lot. Diligent landscapers brandishing leaf blowers further stir the pot.
Dust, be gone!
You might say, I’m waiting for the dust to settle through the hope of much needed rain to replenish reservoirs, reduce the occurrences of wildfires, stem crop loss, and nourish threadbare lawns. Lo and behold, bouts of downpours over the course of two days brought some relief—in addition to flash flooding.
In the capacity of a writer, dust has settled in the draft of chapter 17 (1726 words) of my Contemporary work in progress. I’m stirring the pot as I draft chapter 18 (304 words thus far).
*May each of us let the dust settle before making major decisions.
My sincere appreciation for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
Eva’s Byte #477 – Chowdahheads
Far from signifying “a person regarded as stupid” which is the definition of chowderhead, this hardy New Englander/native Rhode Islander is broaching a clammy subject:
Chowdaheads—folks, like myself, who step right up to the window of a clam shack to order a cup or bowl of chowdah, a rich soup containing clams, potatoes, and onions.
And, I ask: what’s a serving of chowdah without a side of clamcakes?
In the Ocean State, there are three kinds of chowdah:
Rhode Island - our traditional clear-based broth, served mostly along the south coast.
Manhattan - tomato-based broth
New England - milk or cream-based broth (my favorite)
In the capacity of a writer, I’m rounding the bend to the finish line for drafting chapter 59 (1400 words thus far) and closing, along my Contemporary work in progress.
*As summer approaches, may each of us step right up to indulge our every whim.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
Chowdaheads—folks, like myself, who step right up to the window of a clam shack to order a cup or bowl of chowdah, a rich soup containing clams, potatoes, and onions.
And, I ask: what’s a serving of chowdah without a side of clamcakes?
In the Ocean State, there are three kinds of chowdah:
Rhode Island - our traditional clear-based broth, served mostly along the south coast.
Manhattan - tomato-based broth
New England - milk or cream-based broth (my favorite)
In the capacity of a writer, I’m rounding the bend to the finish line for drafting chapter 59 (1400 words thus far) and closing, along my Contemporary work in progress.
*As summer approaches, may each of us step right up to indulge our every whim.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
Eva’s Byte #496 – A Weighty Subject
The brick:
In the same camp as those writers who leave no stone unturned in the quest to bring about realism, authenticity, and plausibility to fiction, I delved into the topic of “bricks”.
One nefarious brick out of a pile is the weighty subject in the draft of chapter 5 (finished at 1157 words) along the progression of my Contemporary.
What I gleaned from my research is in keeping with the chapter setting of Acushnet Avenue in New Bedford, Massachusetts, vis a vis the location of the now defunct Wamsutta Mills, constructed in 1847.
It had come to my attention that during the 1800s, the standard size for bricks in the United States was 9 inches long by 4.5 inches wide by 3.5 inches high. This size was widely adopted after 1840.
All well and good, but, this writer needed to know the weight of a brick that size. Lo and behold, I discovered there’s such a thing as a brick weight calculator.
Weighing in:
Brick Weight = Length x Weight x Thickness x 0.0694
I divulge the actual weight in chapter 5 to add realism, authenticity, and plausibility to the scene.
*May each of us weigh our words in laying the foundation of our stories.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
In the same camp as those writers who leave no stone unturned in the quest to bring about realism, authenticity, and plausibility to fiction, I delved into the topic of “bricks”.
One nefarious brick out of a pile is the weighty subject in the draft of chapter 5 (finished at 1157 words) along the progression of my Contemporary.
What I gleaned from my research is in keeping with the chapter setting of Acushnet Avenue in New Bedford, Massachusetts, vis a vis the location of the now defunct Wamsutta Mills, constructed in 1847.
It had come to my attention that during the 1800s, the standard size for bricks in the United States was 9 inches long by 4.5 inches wide by 3.5 inches high. This size was widely adopted after 1840.
All well and good, but, this writer needed to know the weight of a brick that size. Lo and behold, I discovered there’s such a thing as a brick weight calculator.
Weighing in:
Brick Weight = Length x Weight x Thickness x 0.0694
I divulge the actual weight in chapter 5 to add realism, authenticity, and plausibility to the scene.
*May each of us weigh our words in laying the foundation of our stories.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
Eva’s Byte #530 – The Switcheroo
It’s like a heatwave, tearing me apart. Yeah yeah!
(To the gist of Martha and the Vandellas’ “Heat Wave” 1963)
Summers in New England can be fraught with an uncomfortable combo of heat and humidity. About to use my recently installed AC units for the first time this year, I pressed the remote’s On/Off button for my office unit. The temperature registered 24 degrees. Pressing the Up arrow several times, the buck stopped at 30!
Thinking the remote needed new batteries, I replenished them. I still could not get the degree to budge any higher. At this point, I’m thinking, when maintenance checked the filter and tested the unit, the remote got switched to Celsius mode.
Sure enough, a google search indicated 24 degrees C = 75.2 degrees F.
Certain I’d prefer navigating in Fahrenheit, and given my apprehension dealing with anything mechanical or technical, I sought out tutorials on remote control temperature conversion. A little too involved for my liking.
A Eureka moment occurred when I slipped on my stronger reading glasses. What do you know: a C/F button on the remote. The switcheroo was just a finger press away!
In the capacity of a writer drafting my Contemporary work in progress, I’m heating up the action in chapter 18 and pressing on from 968 words thus far.
*May each of us put the pedal to the metal using our independent thinking skills.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
(To the gist of Martha and the Vandellas’ “Heat Wave” 1963)
Summers in New England can be fraught with an uncomfortable combo of heat and humidity. About to use my recently installed AC units for the first time this year, I pressed the remote’s On/Off button for my office unit. The temperature registered 24 degrees. Pressing the Up arrow several times, the buck stopped at 30!
Thinking the remote needed new batteries, I replenished them. I still could not get the degree to budge any higher. At this point, I’m thinking, when maintenance checked the filter and tested the unit, the remote got switched to Celsius mode.
Sure enough, a google search indicated 24 degrees C = 75.2 degrees F.
Certain I’d prefer navigating in Fahrenheit, and given my apprehension dealing with anything mechanical or technical, I sought out tutorials on remote control temperature conversion. A little too involved for my liking.
A Eureka moment occurred when I slipped on my stronger reading glasses. What do you know: a C/F button on the remote. The switcheroo was just a finger press away!
In the capacity of a writer drafting my Contemporary work in progress, I’m heating up the action in chapter 18 and pressing on from 968 words thus far.
*May each of us put the pedal to the metal using our independent thinking skills.
My sincere appreciation to you for reading this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: http://www.authorsden.com/evapasco
