Keep calm and carry on

This past week, while trying to make my usual disasters for your amusement, I have created one perfect chicken, leek and bacon pie, a tray of delicious flapjacks (ok, so a chimpanzee could make flapjacks) , a completely delightful red fruit and pear crumble (ok, so a chimpanzee etc etc) and a molto bene homemade pizza, complete with dainty sprigs of basil.

For the first time in my life I have actually been disappointed that my baked offerings have been edible, and it's caused me to scratch my head and wonder what on earth is going on. The possibilities so far are:

1. I've been abducted by aliens and replaced with a perfect housewife-this seems unlikely because I still have an airing cupboard rammed full of clothes that need ironing and my favoured method of tidying continues to be "bung things out of the way and hope nobody opens the door/looks under the bed". Think it's more likely that we watch far too much Doctor Who in this house.
2. Sod's law- now I actually WANT to be bad at baking, I've lost my mojo
3. Less stress brings better results- this would seem to be the most logical explanation. Now I've accepted my rubbishness with all things bakey and come to terms with the fact that I'm never going to join the W.I, I'm putting less pressure on myself. There are some situations where an element of stress can be good for you but baking isn't one of them- the more you panic, the more wrong things are likely to go. This has always been particularly true of me, and I don't cope well when the pressure's on- driving tests, exams and unprepared presentations at work have turned me into a wobbly, incoherent mess and I'm always better if I've had time to plan and stay calm.

Chances are, there will be plenty more disasters to come..in the meantime, however, I shall be basking in the glory of my perfect pie and polishing my halo.