Peg Kehret Blog

Edgar went to his permanent home on Thursday. It was not the tender goodbye that I had envisioned. When the woman who adopted him got here, Edgar hid behind the boxes that my Christmas decorations are stored in, and refused to come out. We couldn’t even see him!

I had bragged about how friendly he’d become but he certainly wasn’t sociable that day. I finally had to drag him out from behind the boxes, stuff him in a cat carrier, and send him on his way. I sent his favorite bed along, and some of the food that he prefers. Heather, his new “mom,” is a patient and loving woman who will help Edgar adjust to his new home - but I felt sad to see him leave. He had been my foster cat for more than six months, and I love him.

That evening I scrubbed out his litter pan, washed all the blankets, put away the toys, and vacuumed the cat room. At nine the next morning, some neighbors knocked on my door with a stray kitten! The kitten had followed them for over a mile on their walk, crying the whole time. Naturally, they brought it to me. I couldn’t believe it!  Edgar had not even been gone for 24 hours and here was another cat in need of foster care.

I put the kitten in Edgar’s room and fed him. He gobbled the food - clearly very hungry. I refilled the litter pan and got out the toys. 

The kitten had no collar or ID so I called eight neighbors and put out the word that he was with me. People dump unwanted animals in my area fairly often, but this kitten was so pretty that I thought perhaps he had been a Christmas gift who accidentally got out and had become lost. I made a FOUND KITTEN sign and posted it out on the street, then drove into town to buy kitten food.

Mark arrived late Friday afternoon to work on the piano - and fell in love with the kitten!  Mark named him Charley and that night they slept together in my guest room. Since nobody had called looking for their cat, I took Charley to my vet to be scanned, in case he was micro-chipped. I didn’t want to let Mark take him if there was a chance that someone was looking for him. He had no micrchip, so I had the vet do blood work to be sure Charley was healthy. All results were normal. The vet said Charley is four months old. He got his first vaccine and some worm medication.

When Mark finished the piano yesterday afternoon, he borrowed my cat carrier and took Charley home where Charley will be a much-loved only pet.

Two cat adoptions in two days!  That’s a record for me. Maybe now I can get back to my writing.

Many readers have e-mailed to ask where I will be on Christmas Day.  I will be at home, and my daughter, son-in-law, and two of my grandkids will be here, as well.  I love to have family here during the holidays.  My son, daughter-in-law, and my other two grandkids are coming on Dec. 30 and will stay for New Year’s.

 I have done way more cooking than writing this week. There are a few special recipes that I make only at Christmas time.  My favorite of all is rolled sugar cookies.  All my old cookie cutters are hanging on the wall and I enjoy taking them down, washing them, and using them. This year I made trees and stars. I’ll do bells for New Year’s.

One year I made a big batch of gingerbread men. I used raisins for the eyes, red cinnamon candies for the mouths, and chocolate chips for the buttons. I left them on the table to cool overnight, and when I got up the next morning, I discovered that my cat had eaten all the raisins! Everything else was intact, but I had a whole tabletop full of blind gingerbread men.

Yesterday my friend, Marilyn, and her daughter, Karrie, came for lunch.  Karrie is my pet-sitter when I travel and it was fun to see how excited and happy Lucy was to see her. 

Another friend, Mark Smithberg, will be here on the 28th. Mark is my “honorary son” who shares my love for player pianos and jigsaw puzzles.

Edgar’s big day is set for the 27th - when his new “mom” and someone from Pasado’s will be coming to finalize his adoption and take him to his permanent home.

Thanks to all of you who sent holiday cards and e-mails. I wish each of you happy reading in the year ahead.

Last night I got out my Santa collection and arranged it on the buffet in my dining room. Many of the Santas are souvenirs of my travels, and at the time I had the good sense to write on the bottom of each of them so I can remember where and when I got them. Here is a small sample of what’s written on some of the Santas:

1. “Author reception, Cleveland County Historical House, Norman OK 2/25/94″  This reception followed a week of school visits in Norman. The historical society sold antiques on the upper floor of the house.

2. “Silver Falls State Park, OR, 2001″  Carl and I were on our way home from a week of school visits in Oregon, and spent the weekend in our motorhome in this beautiful park.

3. “Opreyland Hotel, Nashville, Accelerated Reader Conference, Feb. 2000″  I spoke at the conference; that evening Carl and I explored the hotel’s shops.

4. “Duluth MN 1996 MEMO Conference, Maud Hart Lovelace Award.” I had received the award for Cages. This Santa is riding on the kind of barge that I saw in the Duluth harbor.

5. “Eric’s 10th birthday trip, Alaska, July 2002″ When each of our grandchildren turned ten, we took them on a special trip.  Eric’s was a cruise to Alaska. My souvenir is Santa in a canoe, along with some wildlife.

6. “Speaker, post-polio group, Seattle Jan. 1998″  Someone from the group took us to a Swedish pancake breakfast prior to my talk. The church that put on the breakfast was also having a bazaar; I bought a Santa.

7. “School visits, Iowa, 1996″  This was another fun motorhome trip. Our motorhome was programmed to stop at antiques shops, but I rarely bought old Santas because the majority of them are scowling. Really! Most antique Santas look crabby; I prefer happy Santas.

The Santa I’ve had the longest is a small one made of yarn with a cotton beard. My mother made these as package decorations one year when I was a little girl.

 A large bobble-head Santa who comes apart at the waist has lived with me for a long time, too. My grandmother sent him to my children, filled with Mrs. See’s candy, as a Christmas gift in 1963.  I have filled him with candy and displayed him every December since then.  I also have a copy of The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore, illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa, which is inscribed by my grandmother to my son and dated December 25, 1961. Bob would have been two years old. At the time I did not realize how much I would treasure these gifts so many years later.

There is a snapshot of me, age ten, wearing a Santa costume which I donned on Christmas Eve and wore to distribute the gifts from under the tree to my family. I only fit in it for two years but I still remember how much fun it was to “be Santa” - to come ho-ho-hoing down the stairs where my parents, brother, and grandpa showed great excitement at my arrival.

 Each year when I display my Santas, I am flooded with happy memories. 

Today’s entry is simply an accounting of this week’s activities, for those of you who wonder what in the world I do with my time.

The Cat Adoptathon was a wonderful event that resulted in an adoption application for Edgar. The process is not yet finished, but I’m hopeful that he may have found someone who will love him for life. He was not pleased about the 90 minute drive each way, and he was scared in the pet shop. I had taken along his round bed, thinking he’d be more secure if he could curl up in it. I put it in the large cage with him but instead of getting in it, he crawled under it and spent the afternoon with his bed balanced on his back. He looked like a turtle! The pet store where this event was held is next to All For Kids Books & Music in Seattle. I was able to leave Edgar with my fellow volunteers long enough to go in and sign stock.

I also signed stock for The Children’s Book Shop in Kent because I met my friend, Marilyn, in Kent for lunch. Whenever I’m near an independent book store, I try to stop in to say hello and to sign any of my books that they have in stock. The closest independent to my home is Lindon Books in Enumclaw WA. They’re linked to my Web site and this week I made two trips to personalize inscriptions on out-of-state orders.

The holiday luncheon to benefit Children’s Hospital in Seattle was this week. I attend every year. Children’s is where my grandson, Mark, had his brain tumor removed and I have been a staunch supporter ever since.

My granddaughter, Brett, is a high school gymnast and I love attending her meets. This time I dropped off Lucy at the home of my pet-sitter, who lives near the high school where the meet was held. Brett got First in All-around which was exciting, and Lucy seemed to enjoy both the car ride and her visit with Karrie.

AMICA stands for Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors Association, a group that Carl was active in. I have maintained my membership and attended their holiday gathering. The host is the founder of the Pipe Organ Foundation so I saw and heard a magnificent organ which is almost completely restored. When finished, it will be donated to a parish in New Orleans. I’m the group’s Reporter which means I take photos and write up each meeting for the Bulletin, a magazine that gets sent to AMICA members in many countries.

My box labeled “Fan Mail to be Answered” was completely empty for over an hour! I spent half a day replying to every letter that had arrived this week, then drove to the post office to mail them. When I retrieved my day’s mail, there were more reader letters to put in my box.

My pets get a lot of my time. I put up a card table in Edgar’s room so that I can work a jigsaw puzzle while I hold him. He also needs active play each day which involves me dragging around a toy mouse on a string. Lucy loves to go for walks and I enjoy taking her. Molly demands a cat massage every morning when I make my bed. No matter where she is, when she hears me start to pull up the quilt she rushes into the bedroom and takes her position on the bed.

The final cover art for STOLEN CHILDREN arrived. It’s a wonderful, spooky cover which was a relief because the first attempt was awful and resulted in numerous e-mails between my editor, me, the art dept. and others. They all kept at it until it was right. This will be published by Dutton Children’s Books next fall.

Medical research was my other activity this week as I searched for a doctor knowledgable in treating post-polio syndrome. My condition has worsened and I need a thorough evaluation. I suspect I also need a new brace for my left leg. The physiatrist I’ve seen in the past is not an expert in PPS. Thanks to help from a new friend in Dallas, whom I met when she wrote to me after she read Small Steps, I have found the right doctor. The earliest appointment I could get is in Feb. and I will have to travel out of state to see him, but I’m eager to go.

In the midst of all these activities, I am writing a new book. It’s slow going, as my first drafts always are, but I’ll keep at it.