I've spent a busy morning, had to buy groceries and run errands. I also had to renew my driver's license, oooh, the dread. Isn't it amazing how those photo I.D.s look just like a bad mug shot taken when you're being processed into jail? (LOL)

At any rate, from what I can see of the black-and-white snapshot, it's better than my last driver's license picture -- but not much of an improvement. I actually had my address listed for the old house, since it would cost me $18.00 to have it changed in a few months. I had to pay the $24.95 today, so why waste another twenty bucks later? Now if we don't move...well, that's another story!

The gas company got the line dug, but still no meter installed as of yesterday. DH is furious, and planned to call them again this morning. After all the expense and trouble we went to in order to have natural gas, I sure hope it's worth it -- but I simply couldn't endure the propane gas (smelly and causes my sinuses to have fits). Maybe the meter was installed today, but even so, the heat/air crew will still have to return and hook up the furnace and THEN test it all before we'll have heat. Since DH won't have much time this weekend to work anyway, perhaps that is not a big deal. However, IF we do anything tomorrow there, I suppose we'll take our kerosene heater, which does a great job on heating but also troubles my sinuses.

I've been working on the short story rewrite, but still not ready to post it yet.

I finished reading a great novel the other night: "Mystic River" by Dennis Lehane. There's a movie out based on the novel, starring Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon and Tim Robinson, I think. The novel is excellent, I could hardly put it down -- one of the best I've read in ages. So I'm looking forward to seeing the movie eventually.

Here's an excerpt that I found very candid, in regards to having children. This is a thought the cop (Kevin Bacon) has, about not having kids:

He'd never wanted kids. Outside of priority boarding on an airline, he couldn't see the upside to them. They took over your life and filled you with terror and weariness and people acted like having one was a blessed event and talked about them in the reverent tones they once reserved for gods. When it came down to it, though, you had to remember that all those assholes cutting you off in traffic and walking the streets and shouting in bars and turning their music up too loud and mugging you and raping you and selling you lemon cars -- all those assholes were just children who'd aged. No miracle. Nothing sacred in that.

True to form though, this cop has a baby before the end of the novel. Bleh. On the other hand, I read that the author lives in Boston with his wife and two bulldogs; perhaps that passage is more about HIS thoughts, huh? Makes you wonder. It is one of the better truths I've ever seen in print, seriously similar to how most childfree people (myself included) feel about not having kids.

However, here is my favorite quote in the book:

Happiness comes in moments, and then it's gone until the next time. Could be years. But sadness settles in.

A very good noir author, and I'll be looking for his other novels.

That's a wrap for today!