Baked Penguin

I'm on my way home after a week and a half in heaven. It was a lovely place to be. And even though I do need to get back to work (much to the chagrin of my nieces), I am much fortified by the visit.

The second half of my trip involved a visit to my big brother and his family. My first day there, niece age 5 introduced me to her darling crocheted penguin, named Waddles. One of many animals I met between the three children. But Waddles and I bonded especially. We spent time playing with the other stuffed penguin (Butternut), spent an evening at the skating rink watching big sister, etc.

One afternoon, after lots of play, I commissioned a "special agent" to go retrieve a book from my luggage (it wasn't a fun enough task otherwise). And thus set in motion a few hours of special missions. Most of which involved rescuing beloved toys who had been kidnapped and held at ransom.

After many successful missions, Tia Ruth had the brilliant idea to hide Waddles in the oven. Unfortunately his rescue was interrupted by chores and dinner, and then Tia Ruth left with Pa to go to the temple for the evening.

On the way to the temple, I did have the presence of mind to text this to Ma: Ten cuidado if you need to bake anything. There might be a penguin in your oven.

When we got home late, I felt a little worried when I saw freshly baked muffins on the counter. Opened the oven and yep, pulled out a nice warm penguin.  Turns out that Ma hadn't looked at her phone.

Initially I was delighted that Waddles was whole and safe. But as the light grew, it became obvious that his white parts were cooked yellow.

The next day I scrubbed and washed and dried. Really hoping that he'd still look white to his "mama". That hope was dashed when big sister walked in and said, "There's Waddles! [They hadn't ever found him.] But why is he yellow?"

I feel super guilty about this. :(

And that, my friends, is why we do not put penguins in the oven. Whether it's hot or not.