#adrian rice

[ravingsockmonkey]

You Are Cordially Invited...

To the wedding of Ronnie Pancakes and Erick Ember!

A wedding that went decidedly more smoothly than Dylan and August's did because the Watcher put down actual chairs this time!

Erick decided on a bold and dramatic kiss once the vows were exchanged! Definitely the kiss of someone who spent too many years hiding his feelings for his best friend.

Bubbles were blown in celebration of the two, and Bob and Winter became fast friends!

The Watcher remembered that the grooms could walk down the isle together and even remembered which direction to use!

Time for cake, and of course it wouldn't be a proper Pancakes wedding without plenty of food! Erick made the cake and Ronnie ensured that the rest of the food would please any foodies in attendance.

Johnny was being pretty quiet and largely kept to himself. Watching his oldest grandson getting married reminded him that the people he loves are all getting older.

Andre was caught adding more punch to the punch!

The Watcher forgot that baby Adrian is a cautious infant, so the poor thing was overwhelmed by being in a new place with a bunch of strangers.

Thankfully, there were still some familiar faces to help comfort him! He's going to be a toddler Very Soon!

Such a dramatic little thing!

Thank you all for attending the wedding! It took a bit to get there because I wanted to put Erick through university first. He got A+s and graduated with honors! All because I didn't want him to be a nepo baby using his Grandpa Darrel's fame + position to get the job I wanted him to have. Whew.

[universitybookstore]

New from the Bodleian Library, Ada Lovelace: The Making of a Computer Scientist, by Christopher Hollings, Ursula Martin, and Adrian Rice.

[drmorbius12]

Shades of Life

When first I looked, my hair was golden light, curly, long, my mother's delight.

I looked again, my hair was chestnut brown, with yellow streaks above the crown.

Then I saw a shock of grey, and couldn't tell if I was living between night or day.

Now I see a mane of shadowed white, curly still, but full of night.

And when I look to my last dawn I expect to see the locks are gone.

Then I'll know that death draws near, and all the things that I hold dear

will come to pass like curls adrift on sigh of wind that slips away with my last breath.

[ravingsockmonkey]

Double Age up!

Dylan and August's son Adrian was a relatively calm baby by newborn standards. Winter had been far more fussy... mostly because she had a very healthy appetite and frequently wanted bottles.

August was still in awe of the little boy. They had never imagined that they'd ever have a child that would be a full alien like themself; and while they never felt truly alone with their little family, having Adrian in their arms made them realize that the newborn filled a part of their life that they didn't know were missing.

The feeling of being the only one, the only undisguised alien they had ever seen, had been buried for years under layers of forced half-hearted acceptance. And now here they were, alone no more.

[WN: If August ever travels to Windenburg, then their whole worldview's going to be rocked by the sheer number of aliens in the Villareal family tree alone.]

Erick was simply happy to have another sibling. He reflected on how he went from figuring he'd never have any actual ones to now having two! He was also glad that Adrian came as quickly as he did so he'd have time with the boy before he graduated. He was still debating on if he wanted to go to university, but there was plenty of time to worry about that... now was the time to finish up high school and hang out with family.

In seemingly the blink of an eye, it was time for Adrian to age up...

Baby Adrian has his renny's black hair, and it looks like he'll have Dylan's nose! He's also a Cautious infant.

And while he apparently hates being held, he still manages to keep a smile when being carried around.

Most of the time.

He also tends to go to sleep pretty quickly after being put down rather than crying a lot!

Like his big sister, Adrian's picking up milestones pretty quickly, and Winter is both happy to see them and curious about her little brother.

The youngest kids aren't the only ones learning, Erick's been steadily learning more about the basics of parenting* as well with his father's supervision. Don't worry, he's not a primary caregiver or anything like that. Sometimes it's simply quicker for him to give a bottle or change a diaper whenever Dylan and August are otherwise occupied.

The day before Winterfest came, and the girl herself was excited. Not only would she be getting toys from Father Winter (if he chose to behave), but it was her birthday! Her big brother was going to make her favorite cake, and maybe... just maybe... once she was older she'd be able to figure out how to make Erick's old stuffie smile.

The next day she got to eat a grand breakfast before the family gathered together to watch her blow the candles out on her cake...

Winter is a grade school aged child now! After being a book loving toddler in a house full of writers and fellow book lovers, she's now a Bookworm herself!

She managed to score a gift from Father Winter and it was not terrible! Nice!!!!

More importantly, Erick turned on the stereo, and she got to dance while he quietly vibed to the music. Grandpa Kevin also decided to show off his moves too.

Eventually, Erick grew tired and went to bed, but Winter was still pretty wired from all the excitement. She chatted with her renny and made some silly faces (much to their amusement) before they went to bed themself.

Some bonus pictures of Winter finally getting to play with Adrian like she'd been wanting to!

Poor Erick got woken up because Adrian got the laugh and grab milestones back to back.

*I enabled the ability for teens to gain the parenting skill in MCCC because I got tired of all the (sometimes fully autonomous) efforts that the teens were putting in to help take care of their siblings not counting for anything.

[loudlylovingreview]

Adrian Rice: Airman

USThe professor pullsthe screen down,and projects a mapof the world onto it.As you all know,we have been at warin several countriesfor many years now.Not to embarrass anyone,but can anyone pointto those countrieson the map?No one can.OK, the professor says, ok.And then – Well, here’s the thing –most of those whowe’re at war with,when asked to pointto US, can.~~AIRMAN in memory of my uncle, John…

Adrian Rice: Airman

[loudlylovingreview]

Adrian Rice: This Letting Go

THE CHANCES OF HARMIt arrives like God.Living killing machine.Silent hearse of the airrolling in on no wheels.Makes perfect weightbetween wide wings.Uttermost branch of the tallest tree.All judge and jury.Lord of No Doubt.I am species-safe.So, too, the buried bonesof these fields of death,whose headstones are tillsawaiting the cha Chingof the last trump.A big daylight owlseems…

Adrian Rice: This Letting Go

[loudlylovingreview]

Adrian Rice: Among the Lavender

Honeybees spend their busy dayhovering among the lavenderwith constant co-workers for company. Each a natural-born spacewalker,they lend the light leaves some swayas they drift from flower to flower. For them, perhaps, the pale purpleof the holy herb is justanother colour, and the beautiful fragrance may be only a wind-blownaroma-sugar aimed soley at us,but from sunup to sundown honeybees love…

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[paullovescomics]

Fiction and Poetry that I read in the second half of 2023

That's it! Those are very different novels, but they don't go in any of the other categories. I've enjoyed reading poetry again after so many years. It's not easy to find the stuff I like, but thankfully the local bookstore downtown has a large selection.