Eva Pasco's Blog - Posts Tagged "discarding"
Eva’s Byte #221: Tossin’ and Spurnin’
I couldn't sleep a wink just thinking of what I had to do the following morning. Something I should have done years ago when I transitioned to flying solo, procuring sustenance through dine-out, takeout, or microwaving frozen meals.
Spurnin’ and itchin’ to toss, I opened the door to my upright cabinet, a storehouse for the spices of life acquired over a decade ago when I compiled a thick notebook of recipes and took pride in trying new dishes. This venture became my source of joy after retirement from teaching.
When midlife restlessness prompted me to revive my dormant flair for writing, I should have tossed out the old when I embraced my new lifestyle in more unforeseen ways than one.
So, long overdue, I discarded outdated jars of spice in assorted sizes, some of which I’d never gotten around to opening:
Cumin, thyme, rosemary, parsley, ground mustard, ground ginger, curry powder, pumpkin pie spice, paprika, cayenne pepper, ground red pepper, crushed red pepper, chives…
Although, I’ve purged the past, I’ve “literally” preserved a piece of pride in the guise of my own modified quiche recipe which I include in the epilogue of 'An Enlightening Quiche' (Contemporary; 2016):
An heirloom quiche recipe and baking rivalry turn up the heat in a New England mill town rife with secrets and scandals, precipitating mishap and mayhem.
An Excerpt from Chapter 11:
Augusta: Estelle tapped her wine glass with a fork until she silenced the clan from running off at the mouth. “Appointing myself chairperson of this convocation, I hereby declare Augusta’s crustless, spinach Quiche Simone a formidable contender for Beauchemins’ Blue-Ribbon Bake-Off. The minced pepperoni makes it renegade French, for lack of better terminology.
Hip hip hooray for pepperoni, one of my added ingredients to heat things up.
*What have you been remiss in tossin’ and spurnin’?
Eva’s Byte #327 – Parting with a Sea of Stuff
“I genuinely don't think there's anything to gain by keeping…”
(Silvio Dante quote, ‘The Sopranos,’ Season 2 Episode 12)
Aligned with my long-range plan to move, I’ve been diving in headfirst by multitasking to travel light, thinking there’s nothing to gain by keeping so much stuff.
Last year’s pre-pandemic purge pales in comparison to this year’s pre-fall elimination. Adopting an indiscriminate attitude, I’m underway with the aggressiveness of a snow plow. In that vein, I’ve gotten a running start on donating a sea of stuff. Already, several bags of assorted brand-new or like-new goods have been donated to my local thrift store. I’ve three more to haul this week.
I’ve thrown out scads of stuff too. However, parting with sentimental attachments can be such bittersweet sorrow, albeit liberating.
One such quirky item—a paperback copy of one of my published novels I’d held onto because the bound pages were upside down!
Then, there were two large vases filled with dried roses I had preserved for all posterity. I tossed the flowers.
In all my zealousness, I will not throw the baby out with the bathwater, vis-à-vis, the catnip toys that belonged to my dearly departed cats.
In my capacity as a writer, I’m rounding the bend to the finish line of Chapter 82, the last chapter in my Contemporary work in progress prior to the epilogue. Looking at the big picture of editing, I already foresee parting with redundant phrases and replacing them accordingly.
*May each of us have the prescience of mind to distinguish between the essential and extraneous.
My sincere appreciation if you’ve read this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: https://tinyurl.com/yycm7d2w
(Silvio Dante quote, ‘The Sopranos,’ Season 2 Episode 12)
Aligned with my long-range plan to move, I’ve been diving in headfirst by multitasking to travel light, thinking there’s nothing to gain by keeping so much stuff.
Last year’s pre-pandemic purge pales in comparison to this year’s pre-fall elimination. Adopting an indiscriminate attitude, I’m underway with the aggressiveness of a snow plow. In that vein, I’ve gotten a running start on donating a sea of stuff. Already, several bags of assorted brand-new or like-new goods have been donated to my local thrift store. I’ve three more to haul this week.
I’ve thrown out scads of stuff too. However, parting with sentimental attachments can be such bittersweet sorrow, albeit liberating.
One such quirky item—a paperback copy of one of my published novels I’d held onto because the bound pages were upside down!
Then, there were two large vases filled with dried roses I had preserved for all posterity. I tossed the flowers.
In all my zealousness, I will not throw the baby out with the bathwater, vis-à-vis, the catnip toys that belonged to my dearly departed cats.
In my capacity as a writer, I’m rounding the bend to the finish line of Chapter 82, the last chapter in my Contemporary work in progress prior to the epilogue. Looking at the big picture of editing, I already foresee parting with redundant phrases and replacing them accordingly.
*May each of us have the prescience of mind to distinguish between the essential and extraneous.
My sincere appreciation if you’ve read this far.
Eva’s Authors Den Page: https://tinyurl.com/yycm7d2w
