This post is in response to comments made by daisyfae, dinahmow and Strayer on a recent post. I had posted photos of the blow-up penguin who lives in our en-suite, noting that silliness is often something I rely on to get me through difficult times. The helpful commentators mentioned above thought that this penguin should have a more active role to play in our life.
Strayer asked if I talk to the penguin. Well yes I do, but I also talk to myself, the cats and I mutter things at inanimate objects around the house.
Daisyfae thought that it would be a good idea to dress the penguin up and invite him to dinner. He (I am certain that he is male) thinks that the outfit he is wearing is quite dressy enough.
Dinahmow saw daisyfae and raised her by suggesting that the penguin should come to the first meal at which the smaller portion ate a proper portion. She also well nigh insisted that I took photos and blogged about it.
And here we are. The penguin is too big to sit at the table - and the smaller portion prefers eating off his lap at the moment but the penguin loomed in a most satisfactory way.
And the smaller portion ate all his dinner. Including the carrots (which should not be part of his diet at the moment) which he and his sister colluded about adding to his plate.
Strayer asked if I talk to the penguin. Well yes I do, but I also talk to myself, the cats and I mutter things at inanimate objects around the house.
Daisyfae thought that it would be a good idea to dress the penguin up and invite him to dinner. He (I am certain that he is male) thinks that the outfit he is wearing is quite dressy enough.
Dinahmow saw daisyfae and raised her by suggesting that the penguin should come to the first meal at which the smaller portion ate a proper portion. She also well nigh insisted that I took photos and blogged about it.
And here we are. The penguin is too big to sit at the table - and the smaller portion prefers eating off his lap at the moment but the penguin loomed in a most satisfactory way.
And the smaller portion ate all his dinner. Including the carrots (which should not be part of his diet at the moment) which he and his sister colluded about adding to his plate.
Brilliant! (And, given that your SP looks not unlike Charles Darwin, you could get some totally ridiculous captions!)
ReplyDeleteAnd, may I say, sober-faced, that it's good to see SP eating.Carrots n all.
dinahmow: I have told him that he looks like Osama Bin HisSurname, but hadn't seen the Charles Darwin aspect before. The beard is a replacement, grown after the hospital shaved him to fit an oxygen mask around this time last year.
DeleteAnd yes, it is wonderful he is eating but I do wish he would at least pretend to stick to the diet the specialist advised.
I think I'd sit up shut up and eat up too if that penguin was looming over me lol.
ReplyDeletemybabyjohn/Delores: The King Penguin is in need of more air - which means he looms very, very well instead of adopting a more upright stance.
DeleteI love your sense of humor.. and photos of Penguin keeping a watchful eye on SP to make sure he eats all his meal including the carrots.
ReplyDeletebe well and happy :)
Pam: Thank you. I NEED my sense of humour.
DeleteHmmm I would have thought Father William, myself although Chas Darwin also comes to mind. Father W would also have been a bit of a sport to allow himself to be photographed for your blog...
ReplyDeleteChristine: I was very, very surprised that he did agree. I asked (expecting a firm no) and got the nod. So at his very next meal the camera and the penguin came into play.
DeleteGulp...who wouldn't eat the whole portion with General Penguin hovering nearby! SP sure is a good sport!
ReplyDeleteKaren: I obviously should have brought the penguin reinforcements in a lot earlier. And yes, it was both suprising and nice of the smaller portion to agree to appear.
DeleteYou just made my day!
ReplyDeleteAustan: I'm glad.
DeleteYes! Haha, oh I enjoyed these, especially staring at your friendly reader. I would enjoy a series of Inflatable Penguin roaming Australia.
ReplyDeleteJohn Wiswell: First Australia, then the world? I think our penguin is a home body.
DeleteI can see a book coming out of this.
ReplyDeleteStarting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe: A book of sillinesses? I could certainly do with one of those. Often.
DeleteBook stores are awash with worse things.Maybe you could edge out those overly saccharine Anne Geddes babies!Ycch!
Deletedinahmow: I think it is in Noo Zilland that there was a move afoot to ban Ann Geddes as child abuse. Which I laughed at, and agreed with.
DeleteThat penguin is very disapproving, and SP is eating all his dinner! Great pictures, BTW, and I think that red shirt is very attractive on him! Thanks for sharing these, I really enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteDJan: It worked! It really worked. The smaller portion ate all his dinner and I smiled instead of fretting. A win.
DeleteIt's good to hear that the patient is eating better, no matter what the incentive :)
ReplyDeleteNo one would ever have to make me leave carrots off my plate!
jenny_o: I only eat carrots raw. Cooked I believe them to be poisonous. Except in carrot cake.
DeleteThe smaller portion is usually a meat and no veg man (except for potato, onion and tomato - which are honorary meat anyway). Eating the carrot his sister had cooked for her dinner was a small way of rebelling against the no fibre diet his specialist has put in on. Just the same it is lovely that he is eating.
Carrots are the one vegetable that is actually better for you when cooked. I read it somewhere a long time ago, apparently the cooking releases something or breaks down something so the carrot is better digested and the nutrition more readily available.
DeleteFine with me, I prefer them cooked.
Oops! "one vegetable" NOT "the" one.
DeleteI can't tell you how much I love this! There is a great deal to be said for silliness. I noticed in your "about me" that you have MS. I have AS (ankylosing spondylitis) and I am absolutely certain that silliness and humor most definitely help in the healing process for people like you and me.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm so glad it made you smile--and your wonderful post here did the same for me. :)
Super Earthling: Welcome. I am glad to have made you smile. Not only humour, but black humour. And a bit of silliness rarely goes astray.
DeleteSuper Earthling; a doctor giving me a physical as part of a job application once suggested I might have AS and should get tested. My regular doctor laughed at me when I mentioned it. Can you tell me more about it and what tests would disclose whether or not I might have it? My email is on my about page.
DeleteSP certainly looks like he's on the up and up. More silliness with Mr. K. Penguin please :-).
ReplyDeleteWindsmoke: He is finally starting to improve. I think that the next silliness should involve the other blow-up creation that is currently living in one of our book cases. As a hint - definitely not a bird.
Deleteglad we are wisely silly together, cousin!
ReplyDeleteWarm Aloha from Waikiki
Comfort Spiral
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Cloudia: How nice to acquire a cousin. I love it. Thank you.
DeleteThanks for the laugh! Stern, that penguin is. So imposing that even Jazz hasn't tried to deflate him(?).
ReplyDeleteI'm still laughing!
Paper Chipmunk: Even Jazz leaves the penguin alone. It is much, much bigger than he is which is probably part of the reason. Though I am also much bigger than Jazz and he certainly tries to deflate me.
DeleteWhat a great way to end my evening! Your poor Smaller Portion! That massive penguin and your camera no wonder he ate all of his dinner! The penguin alone should have put the fear of God in him. BTW - He is a bit of a cutie (SP not the penguin)
ReplyDeleteDahnStarr: Thank you. My smaller portion was mightily chuffed to read your comment as well (I usually keep him well away from my blog.)
DeleteLOL! I would do anything if that penquin was staring at me!
ReplyDeleteTeresa: It seems that the penguin and I could achieve World Domination. Hmmmm.
DeleteYou three made my night! (after an exhausting day)
ReplyDeleteThis looks like the start of something beautifully funny.
Good on SP for joining in the fun. He looks like a negative print of Hamper's Dad ... Now he really does look like Osama. I love long beards and penguins! and You! x
bugerlugs63: Thank you. Your day did sound harrowing, and we are glad to be able to help in our own silly way.
DeleteThat penguin is huge!!
ReplyDeleteI thought he was just a little bitty thing.
He's cute though.
River: He is cute isn't he. In a gi-normous sort of way. You can keep cooked carrot - I just don't like them. I hope Super Earthling gets in touch with you. If she doesn't, Wikepedia has some good articles.
DeleteWonderful! I can relate to all this. Silliness has the power to steer us through a great deal, I find. More power to you, my friend.
ReplyDeleteDave King: Thank you. Laughter in all its forms and silliness alleviate so many things.
DeleteMost excellent use of gigantic plastic air-filled accessories! i had NO idea King Penguin was that large. Too much plastic to allow him to be filled with helium and flown over the homestead.
ReplyDeleteGlad that the SP is apparently not only eating, but enjoying his meals! That's a trenendous transition! Here's to continued progress - and humor - in the coming days!
daisyfae: Thanks. I suppose I have just got used to him - I don't think of his size these days - he is just the penguin in the ensuite.
DeleteFingers and toes crossed that the bridge to eating properly has been crossed. And humour is a constant.
Haha - that is one Huge penguin!!! Maybe I should get one to watch over my kids, to make them eat all their dinner...:)
ReplyDeleteOne Too Many: It worked in this house, so is worth a try.
DeleteOooh oooh oooh - we used to have one of those too - they're from the Aussie Geographic shop, I think.
ReplyDeleteOurs was back in the days of house sharing as mature-aged uni students, so he often got shifted around. Sometimes he was a forbidding-looking shadow by the front door or around the back to scare the neighbour's dogs. Most often he joined us to watch the telly.
Kath: That is indeed where he and his family come from. They are really good companions in a share house despite not paying rent. They like all of your music, are happy to watch TV with you and don't drink the last of the milk before you get your morning cuppa.
DeleteI had to delete my last reply to you because my fingers went all dsylexic on me. And I didn't notice.
An ounce of silly is worth a pound of fun, and so much more. Love the penguin. Any time he wants to take a holiday with me, he's always welcome :)
ReplyDeleteDenise: Greedy me wants the ounce of silly AND the pound of fun. Glad you liked him.
DeleteI'd eat my food, too, if there were dominating and creepy penguin peering down at me! Excellent.
ReplyDeleteSusan Kane: Creepy? Are we talking the same penguin. Ours is reserved and dignified and expects a certain standard of behaviour (which he doesn't always receive). He did however ensure that the smaller portion ate his dinner which was a very big plus. Yay the penguin.
DeleteI hope all is go well with you and SP. Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeletePam: Thank you - we are getting there I think, though somedays I am not certain where there is.
DeleteI am thinking that silliness has been necessary of late. I am also a fan of it. And your blog, but you knew that already.
ReplyDeleteDo we ever really know where there is?
So endeth the profundity for the night. My brain has left the building. Oh. A certain painting's at the framer.
JeannetteL.S: Thank you. Yes, silliness has been a neccessity. And will be for a while.
DeleteI haven't the remotist idea where there is, but it doesn't matter.
And I cannot tell you how excited I am about the framing of a certain painting.
Those pictures were great! people are just too serious these days, silliness in this world is just what we need.
ReplyDeleteanyway, love your blog! /follows/
f-a-i-r-y-l-i-g-h-t-s.blogspot.com
^ ^ -seedy wink-
Catherine, ex oh mwah!: Thank you. Silliness has certainly helped me this last little while.
DeleteHi EC,
ReplyDeleteThere's an award waiting for you on my blog!
Karen: Thank you. I will come over a little later.
DeleteMr. Cranky-Pants is eating again. Yay! Although I'm a bit unsure about the dining partner he has. Kinda reminds me of an ex-boyfriend. Think Danny Devito as the penguin in Bat Man. Wish I was kidding. :(
ReplyDeleteLou: Yup, his high and fussiness has rediscovered food. Well some food. A good start has been made.
DeleteAnd what's this being rude about my penguin. First you told me that my smaller cat has a face like a pig, and now you are being rude about the smaller portion's dining mentor... The nerve of some people.
Aha, penguin perusing plate perfectly placed. A "blow-up" penguin, eh. And skilfully avoiding any reference to a 'blow-up sheep etc...I'm outta' here :)
ReplyDeleteKlahanie: Hmmm. Your alliteration is most execellent and I will tilt my head skywards and disregard the rest.
DeleteBEST POST EVA
ReplyDeleteI love the stern look of your penguin and the deceptively meek look of the SP.
You are brilliant. As ever.
Glad there's room for nonsense amongst all you've been going through.
xx
Ampersand Duck: Always room for silliness (fortunately). Thank you. Lots.
DeleteThat is one HUGE fake penguin. I had no idea of its size, thought maybe 14 inches tall. Magnificent and watching over smaller portion almost like a critical spouse, parent, police officer, or in law might. I have been wanting to create a fake family of my own, to alleviate loneliness. I was going to make human like stuffed dressed forms, to sit around the table with, and to give a nosy neighbor a new gossip topic, but now I'm a thinking: life size animals, like that penguin--far better. I want them on wheels so I can dance with them. I love the overbearing penguin at dinner photos!
ReplyDeleteStrayer: Oh, go for the life size animals on wheels. And blog about it. It would give so many of us idears and happiness and silliness would result.
DeleteA huge penguin - bigger than life - how wonderful!
ReplyDeleteladyfi: Thank you.
DeleteHe looks thrilled. Hahahaha (the smaller portion rather than the penguin). Is this some kind of loopy revenge? Do we need to cart you off in a straight jacket yet? Hehehe x
ReplyDeleteAll Consuming: Sometimes being carted off in the straitjacket has a lot of charm. No responsibilities....
DeleteThis is such a neat idea! It is fun to see the penquin watching the table
ReplyDeleteThe Penguin liked it too, but I am not as sure that the Smaller Portion enjoyed it quite as much.
DeleteGoodness that is a large penguin, I didn't realise how large in the shower shots before. Glad to see that SP is eating, even the forbidden carrots, although hopefully he will keep doing it without the penguin master guard watching!!
ReplyDeleteHugs for Perth xxx
Kakka: He is still eating (yay) and does so without penguin looming. He is still sneaking extras into the diet, but seems to be coping well.
DeleteSo pleased to hear SP is still eating, and if the few extras are not playing havoc with his system then hopefully that's okay. Fingers crossed the operation is totally reversed in a couple of months and he can go back to a carefree diet. xxx
DeleteKakka: Many thanks. I hope all is well in your world.
DeleteHe looks like a nice enough guest. Remind me to invite him to dinner sometime.
ReplyDeleteRiot Kitty: He is a nice guest (I assume you mean the penguin). Doesn't eat much and never criticises the cooking.
DeleteI , too, am appalled at the nakedness of this bird. It may look like a pseudo tux, but allowing nude birds to loom over your dinner is intimidating and only used on TV advertised diet plans. I'm hoping that you have Birds R Us in Oz and are able to find appropriate togs for the fowl. Until then, I'm posting pictures on my fridge to help me with my diet.
ReplyDeletebarbfroman: Desperation leads to desperate (and somewhat weird) measures. I really, really needed the smaller portion to start eating again. I would have bought a Kylie Minogue album if that was what it took - I think the penguin is a much more better option.
DeleteI actually had one of those fellows years ago! Mine must have been very old when he came to live with us, though, as he died shortly thereafter. :)
ReplyDeleteSarcasticTestGuy: This King Penguin has lived with us since shortly after I returned from Antarctica - a gift to stop me missing it so much.
DeleteHe's welcome to visit me anytime. =) What tales he'd tell if he traveled about.
ReplyDeleteHave Myelin?: I get the feeling he would be a good traveller...
DeleteHi,
ReplyDeletefound you via Ampersand Duck and I have spent an enjoyable stroll through your blog. A wise and fruitful decision to delurk for sure. This penguin has quite some presence too btw ... particularly the way it looms over the dinner.
I'm off to check out Kim and the Sunday Selection doo-hickey.
Cheers,
Geoff
Geoff: Welcome. Ampersand Duckie is lovely isn't she? On this occasion the penguin was supposed to loom so I am glad that your were aware of his presence. Sunday Selections is also fun, hope to see you there.
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