Peg Kehret Blog

When I’m revising a manuscript, I do a word search for just. Experience has taught me that I tend to over-use it and that many times it is not needed. In fact, the sentence is stronger without it.

This time I eliminated just twenty-two times in a manuscript that is 160 pages long. I did not cut every just. I left some of them, twice I replaced it with only, and a few times I completely rewrote the sentence, but there were still twenty-two unnecessary words and my book is better without them. Example: The heading on today’s blog would be better without the first word.

Years ago, I often began a line of dialogue with the word Well. “Well, it was my turn.”  “Well, let’s go see where she is.” I finally broke myself of that bad habit, so I no longer need to do a word search for Well.

I’m meeting Anne and Kevin for lunch today. Tomorrow Bob and Pam arrive for a two-day visit. I love spending time with my kids.

A few weeks ago, I blogged about the wonders of the World Wide Web. Later I realized that I’d aimed that post at my own age group, some of whom remain resistant to the marvels of e-mail and Internet usage. The kids who read my books would read about what I’d learned on line and think, “Well, duh.”

So to balance the discussion, I’d like to say that I love newspapers. Always have. One of the joys of my life is to read the morning newspaper every day while I sip my first cup of coffee. Now that I’ve officially passed the age of retirement, I also allow myself the luxury of working the daily crossword puzzle. My mother worked the puzzle every day in ink. I can see her sitting in her recliner, with a towel across her lap so she wouldn’t get newspaper ink on her robe. “What’s an eight letter word for hard rain?” she’d ask, but before I could reply, she’d already be writing downpour. I’m not confident enough to use ink but I usually complete the entire puzzle.

I currently subscribe to the Tacoma News Tribune. It isn’t a journalistic wonder but it gives me both the national headlines and the news of my area. It also holds wonderful surprises, such as instructions on how to prune rhododendruns, which appeared on the very day I had intended to Google that topic. Yesterday there was an article, with photo, about a sandstone sculpture that’s being created for my town’s centennial celebration this July. I read only a few of the comics, but I’m devoted to those few, and if I’ve missed last night’s baseball game, I get a quick overview.

For many years I lived in California and took the San Francisco Chronicle. It remains my favorite daily newspaper. My friends, Larry and Myra Karp, brought me so many interesting articles from the Sunday New York Times that I finally asked them to routinely save the whole shebangs for me, which they do.

I know you can read newspapers on line, but it isn’t the same. I like to hold the thin sheets of paper in my hands, and hear the slight swish of the pages turning. I want to fold it in half and then thirds, with the crossword puzzle in front.

Update on Rosie: the potential adopter’s husband nixed having an indoor cat, so Rosie is still with me, awaiting a permanent home.

Today is my son’s birthday. Happy birthday, Bob!

A suture broke internally and Rosie had to have surgery to repair it. The vet said she’d never had that happen before. Poor Rosie! She was dumped from a car, got spayed, was brought to an unfamiliar place, and then had another surgery - all in five days. She is recovering nicely and feeling playful. A potential adopter came to see her last night and plans to return this morning with one of her dogs to see how Rosie reacts to a dog.

Eric (grandson) came on Friday and spent the night. We met for a Mexican dinner and then came home for a game marathon. He trounced me. On Sat. he pruned my lilac and did other “muscle man” chores before he left. I loved every minute of his visit. I feel lucky that my children grew up to be people I like - people I would choose as friends even if we were not related - and now it has happened with all of my grandkids.

Sunday was Shirley Solar’s last day as manager of the Children’s Bookshop in Puyallup. I’ve done many book events with Shirley over the years and will miss her smiling face in the store. She always provided something chocolate when I did signings there, so I baked a batch of frosted brownies and took them in to celebrate her retirement.

I finished chapter fifteen of the new book - one more to go. Of course, this is only the first draft; then the real writing begins. At this stage of the process, I think about the story when I’m doing other things. My books always end up being 140-150 manuscript pages. I don’t try to make them all the same length; it just happens. That’s how long it takes me to tell a story.

Yesterday morning I began reading through what I’ve written so far on my new book (110 pages.) I was on page seven when my friend, Jenny, called to report that she had just seen a man drive up to a vacant house on her street and dump off a cat. Jenny had yelled, “What are you doing?” and the man sped off, leaving the terrified cat behind.

Jenny was able to catch the cat and confine it in a humane trap that she had, but she couldn’t deal with it beyond that. Her husband has been in the VA Hospital in Seattle for two weeks and she drives there and spends all day with him. So she left the caged cat in her back yard and I went to pick it up. The cat wouldn’t come out of the trap. The trap was too deep for me to reach in and grab the cat, so I had to tilt the end up in order to make the cat exit. When she finally did, I grabbed her with my free hand and let go of the trap with my other hand. The end of the trap hit the ground, which triggered the spring, and the trap closed on the end of the cat’s tail! Before I could get my second hand on her, the panicky cat bolted, and I couldn’t hang on. She headed into a thicket of pruned honeysuckle. I couldn’t see her but I could hear her moving around. It took two hours and the help of Jenny’s neighbor before I could grab the cat and put her in my carrier. Whew!

Next stop was my veterinarian who tested her for feline leukemia (negative), said she’s about  one-and-a-half years old, and informed me the cat was crawling with fleas. She’d also had a litter of kittens not too long ago. I named her Rosie because Jenny had left three lovely roses from her garden on top of the trap, so my first glimpse of the cat included the roses. She’s a beautiful long-haired calico mix.

Rosie has now been vaccinated for rabies and distemper, she’s had flea treatment, she’s been wormed, she was spayed this morning, and she is now sleeping off her ordeal in a cozy bed in my foster cat room.

 The hard part, of course, will be finding her a good home, especially at this time of year when all the shelters are bursting with kittens. She will stay here until she’s adopted.

Don’t be surprised if a future book has a villain who drives to a neighborhood where he isn’t known, and shoves a cat out of his car. I get so angry at irresponsible people! But I believe that the best way to counter a cruel act is to put as much kindness as possible into the world. Rosie will have a good life now.

When I asked a new friend for her email address, she told me she has no Internet access. She said she doesn’t need it. Maybe not, but I certainly do. Here is what I’ve learned on line in just the last two days:

The difference between a ghost dog and a dog ghost (book research.)

The daily rental rates at the resort where my granddaughter, Brett, is working this summer.

Ways to remove tartar from a dog’s teeth.

Which forms I need in order to transfer retirement funds to a new account.

How long to microwave fresh asparagus.

Which anti-cruelty laws have been passed in my state and what the criteria are for prosecution (more book research.)

The score of last night’s baseball game. (The Mariners won.)

When my library books are due.

Which nonstop flights go from Seattle to Nashville. (An upcoming book award.)

Cost comparison on a new digital camera.

How and when to prune an overgrown lilac.

The best diet for pre-diabetes. (Not me, a family member.)

I also did a search of book titles to be sure the one I’m considering has not been used recently.