mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 20hAlso today: The long-awaited new Stephen King novel arrived, OTHER WORLDS THAN THESE, sequel to THE TALISMAN and BLACK HOUSE! 010
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 20hToday's Good Things: Annual dermatologist checkup. All fine. I finished the first draft of the vampire story. I've been getting Lorelei's antibiotic liquid into her regularly. She resists surprisingly little. 110
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Today's Good Things: The sun returned. Above 70 degrees all afternoon. I started my November newsletter. Added a few lines to the vampire story. (Almost done with the first draft.) The checkbook statement balanced perfectly. The lawn guy mowed the grass. 000
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Also today: I delivered my talk on C. S. Lewis between services. People seemed to enjoy it. I reserved my hotel room for the March IAFA conference. Filled in the pre-appointment form for dermatology checkup on Tuesday. Boxed red beans and rice for dinner. 010
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Today's Good Things: Service music by the handbell ringers. This being St. Francis's day, Reverend Patti preached about him and the importance of proper use of God's gifts. 100
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Also today: Astral Plane cocktails. Chili for dinner, the weather being chilly and rainy. Porch-sitting. Not cold yet. 001
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Today's Good Things: I printed out the C. S. Lewis notes for my talk at church tomorrow. I replaced the spring/summer door hanger with the fall one. Ordered a windshield squeegee for the new Honda. 100
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Also today: I printed copies of a checklist of C. S. Lewis's major works, for my talk on Sunday. Watched a new one-shot episode on Extra History. Dinner at Grump's Cafe. They have pumpkin bread French toast currently. 000
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Today's Good Things: Another summer-like day. I picked up liquid antibiotic and NSAID for Lorelei, managed to get one dose of each into her. Registered for the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts in March. Pretty easy, with all my basic information pre-filled on the site. 100
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Also today: Worrying about the property tax payment not being cashed, with some hassle I found our account on the website. Our payment WAS received, yay. I set up my blog for next week, which is a guest post by another author. Published the October newsletter. 000
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Today's Good Things: Warm and sunny again. Almost like summer! The vet called about Lorelei's urine lab test. A little better, but the vet still prescribes another round of medications. The Value-Dry annual checkup of basement waterproofing, all fine. 100
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Also today: I drove the new Honda to pick up Lorelei. Its brakes and accelerator feel much like the old one's. Briefly working on the C. S. Lewis notes. Proofreading the October newsletter to ensure it's ready to be released tomorrow. I bought my plane ticket for ICFA in Orlando in March. 000
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Today's Good Things: Sunny and in the 70s. It's nice to be able to open windows. Lorelei was taken to the vet to have urine drawn for lab tests. We got her into the carrier without extreme trouble. No results yet, of course. 101
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Also today: The salesman was very nice. Registration and transitioning from the old car are now done by the dealer on the spot. But it still took almost all day! I uploaded this week's blog post. New T. Kingfisher novel, a vampire in a D&D setting. Cool! Mocha frappe from McDonald's. 010
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Today's Good Things: Temperature above 70, as it should be. We traded in our Honda Accord for a new one. The old one lasted ten years, as per our usual habit. The essential controls aren't too different. Lots of exotic new features, though, many of which I'll probably never use. Happy anyway. 100
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Today's Good Things: No rain. Rearranging the scattered C. S. Lewis notes into something closer to a logical order. Adding 400 words to the vampire story. Setting up the draft of this week's blog post. 000
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Also today: Rain stopped by late afternoon, finally. I made some solid progress on the C. S. Lewis notes. Wrote a long e-mail letter to my Toronto "pen" pal. Dinner ordered from Joy Luck (Chinese). 110
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Today's Good Things: Service music by Wellspring (the folkish band), including one of my favorites, "We Are One in the Spirit" ("They'll know we are Christians by our love"). Father Peter preached on a verse from Exodus, "Is the Lord among us or not?" 100
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Also today: Astral Plane cocktails. Grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. Porch sitting despite the rain. 000
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Today's Good Things: The file of a guest blog post for the second Thursday in October arrived from the author (yesterday). I finished one book review in the October newsletter and started the last of the three. Worked on the C. S. Lewis talk notes, made some actual progress. 100
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 26/09/2026Also today: I ordered a new batch of checks from the credit union with no trouble. Added a few lines to the C. S. Lewis talk notes. Started checking the latest LOCUS Forthcoming Books list. Dinner at Sin Fronteras. 000
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 26/09/2026We spent less on electricity in the past week than in the previous one. Today's Good Things: The sun returned all day. Temperature rose above 70, as it should be. A lower than usual Giant grocery total. 100
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Today's Good Things: The sun returned intermittently. With the temperature up to mid-60s for a while, I opened a few windows. Still working on the C. S. Lewis notes. Adding a couple of sentences to the October newsletter. Mailing a paper thank-you note. Mainly routine cleaning. 000
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Also today: On the renovated Writers Exchange E-Publishing website, I updated my book sales figures from the info on the page. Worked more on the C. S. Lewis notes. My updated public author page on the WEE site has a prominent link to an interview with me: writers-exchange.com/margaret-car...writers-exchange.comMargaret L. Carter, Author at Writers Exchange E-PublishingMarked for life by reading Dracula at the age of twelve, Margaret L. Carter specializes in the literature of fantasy and the supernatural, particularly vampires. 010
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Today's Good Things: Rain from yesterday and last night ended before noon. Brief appearance of sun in late afternoon. Turned on the heat last night. Don't like doing that so soon, but at least it's good that we HAVE heat.writers-exchange.comMargaret L. Carter, Author at Writers Exchange E-PublishingMarked for life by reading Dracula at the age of twelve, Margaret L. Carter specializes in the literature of fantasy and the supernatural, particularly vampires. 100
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Also today: I uploaded this week's blog post. Started another book review in the October newsletter. Worked on the C. S. Lewis notes. Father Peter sent me a nice-looking announcement image for my Lewis talk weekend after next. Mocha frappe from McDonald's. 000
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Today's Good Things: Lorelei was scheduled to have her urine tested at the vet. Les and I crammed her into the carrier with some difficulty. But they couldn't do it because the needed piece of equipment was broken. Only good part is that the vet is less than five minutes from here. 100
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Also today: Briefly working on the C. S. Lewis notes. Writing a book review in my October newsletter. A royalty check in the mail! (Well, a little one.) Champagne tonight. 000
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Today's Good Things: Anniversary of the original publication of THE HOBBIT. Stephen King's birthday. He's only about 7 months older than I am. Drafting this week's blog post. 100
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Also today: Father Peter gave a presentation on the church budget. Interesting money info. I had coffee hour duty, survived it without messing up. The lawn guy mowed the grass. Les made chicken curry and curried mushrooms for dinner, one of my favorite meals. 000
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 21/09/2026Today's Good Things: Unexpected rain in the morning, but it was succeeded by a bit of sun later and none of the predicted thunderstorms. Reverend Patti preached on the difficult gospel story of the laborers in the vineyard (everybody gets paid the same) and the concept of "fairness." 111
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Also today: Free light breakfast included. I finished reading three books on the trip. Popeye's fried chicken ordered for dinner this evening. Astral Plane cocktails with pink glitter. Planning to watch Outlander Blood of My Blood second season premiere tonight. 001
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Also: Dinner at the associated restaurant, the Gabriel Archer Tavern. Not quite what I expected but still good. Light rain but otherwise nice weather. Our hotel suite -- I accidentally registered for a 3-room suite -- was lovely (aside from having nightstands on only one side of the bed!) 100
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Good Things yesterday and today: For the weekend of our 60th anniversary, overnight yesterday at the Williamsburg Winery. The cats and house survived. Tasting flight at the winery. We bought a case of wine, as usual, and ALSO signed up for their wine club. We're such pushovers. :) 100
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Also today: Grocery shopping. Since today isn't Friday (therefore not going out later), I picked up a mocha frappe and chocolate doughnut at the coffee shop. Briefly working on the C. S. Lewis notes. Packing. 000
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Today's Good Things: A turtle on the driveway. I moved it to the grass. Les topped off the salt in the water softener bin. 100
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Today's Good Things: Sort-of cleaning, early, because tomorrow groceries must be shopped for. The heat pump technician did the annual check of the HVAC system. Everything fine. Still working on C. S. Lewis notes. Reading fanfic by my Toronto pen pal, including a new FOREVER KNIGHT story. 000
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Also today: I uploaded this week's blog post. Added 500 words to the vampire story. Still working on the C. S. Lewis notes. 000
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Today's Good Things: News clippings from my Toronto pen pal (arrived yesterday). A large crow perched on the birdbath for a long while. Dark chocolate espresso beans from Amazon, a brand that's new to me. Noticeably better than the package I just finished. 110
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 15/09/2026Today's Good Things: Nice weather continues, windows open all day. I succeeded in making an appointment for the annual heat/AC system checkup. Day after tomorrow, wow! Drafted this week's blog post, mostly. Still working on the C. S. Lewis notes. Daffodil bulbs arrived from Amazon. 000
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Also today: Still working on the C. S Lewis notes. Astral Plane cocktail with gold glitter because we didn't have one yesterday. Dinner: Beef stir-fried with green onions (meat thawed from the freezer, thought it was pork until we got a good look). Porch sitting. 000
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Today's Good Things: Rain clouds vanished by noon; sun returned in the afternoon. Music by the handbell ensemble. Father Peter preached on forgiveness, forgiving others and needing to be forgiven. Baptism of a baby girl. She was amazingly quiet and content the whole time. 100
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 13/09/2026Also today: Scary bit at the end: Walking to the parking lot, Les got dizzy and fell. The medics checked him thoroughly and pronounced dehydration. They let him go and gave us a ride to the car. They were very nice. So all turned out fine. Less exit traffic than usual. Dinner at Adam's. 001
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 13/09/2026Today's Good Things: Maryland Renaissance Festival. Good weather for it, no rain, but overcast (no glare from sun), mild, and breezy. We saw three pretty good shows and a few others kind of so-so. Chocolate-covered cheesecake on a stick; soup in bread bowl for lunch. 100
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 12/09/2026Also today: I couldn't sign into our credit union online page this morning. Scary! It turned out they'd been having website issues, nothing to do with us. I added a few notes to the C. S. Lewis file. Watched an Extra History video about the history of perfume. Dinner at Grump's Cafe. 010
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 12/09/2026Today's Good Things: Glimpses of sun in the afternoon. Giant had the cough medicine in stock that they didn't have last week. Also, I forgot to mention they've restocked wheat germ, which was alleged to be gone forever. 100
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Also today: My ghost novella "Her Death Was Doubtful" appeared in an N. N. Light's Book Heaven YA fiction promo event. I received and filled out the form for another event they're having soon, Halloween related, and sent it back. 000
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Today's Good Things: A neighbor came over in a panic to borrow the phone because she was locked out of her house with a small child locked in. When she had trouble communicating with the 911 operator, I talked instead, and we got the situation sorted out. Fire truck came to the rescue. 100
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Also today: I was pleasantly surprised by the low copay amount. The author interview for my October newsletter arrived. So I set up the template for that issue. Added a few miscellaneous sentences to the notes for the C. S. Lewis talk. 000
mlcvamp.bsky.social @mlcvamp.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Today's Good Things: Appointment with the dermatologist. The rash is actinic dermatitis, sort of a delayed reaction to a lifetime of sun exposure. Probably triggered by hot weather. They prescribed a steroid cream, which I got at the pharmacy in the same building. 100
