Sunday, December 19, 2010

The Amazing-ness of Perception

All in all , it's been a good week. An exceptionally good week. You may recall me saying Mr. P had some temporary work a few weeks back. That ended nearly two weeks ago. They called him last week to offer him a full time  job and he starts tomorrow. Yay! It's something completely different to what he's been doing for the last 25 years , so he's about to experience a steep learning curve career wise. It's a challenge,  but one he's looking forward to.   I am looking forward to being able to buy fabric again with impunity.

I've been thinking about perception today. Sufficed to say a quilting process was not going well, but instead of getting annoyed with myself , I just shifted my perception of the quilt from  " Yuk "  to  "Indy and Lola are about to have the coolest dog blanket ever ". I'm over stressing out about being perfect all the time.  So I finished the quilt, washed it in really hot water and chucked it in the dryer  to antique it up and voila. It actually doesn't look too bad now it's shrunken and deliberately puckered!



I didn't pick the cherries last Sunday because Mr. P told me he found two dead starlings under the tree and the cockatoos haven't been round (maybe they're all dead too ) so I started wondering if those cherries are poisoned. My Dad ate 5 cherries and didn't die but this is the dude that ate mouldy lamingtons and survived. I'm giving it a miss. Just in case.    

I morphed into Betty Crocker over the weekend. I made my own bread from scratch yesterday. (Thank you for the recipe Little Miss Sunshine ) This bread is seriously good even if my yeast was somewhat doubtful. New yeast is on the shopping list. This recipe is definitely a keeper.


Last year at Christmas I decided at the last minute to make something with chocolate in it and raced down to the shops to get some baking chocolate only to be confronted by empty shelves and only el cheapo chocolate left. This year I got prepared for those last minute baking urges.


And then I made smartie bark ...



And peppermint crisp shavings to go into hot chocolate and coffee...



And then today I decided to make truffles. White chocolate with apricot and dark chocolate with vanilla. Seriously good. I had these for dinner. Really.

I'm ready for Christmas. I need to  do my final grocery shop at the last minute so my rocket doesn't wilt and my feta doesn't dry out.  The ham is in the fridge and ready to be eaten (if I can resist until next Saturday morning - we always do ham and eggs for Christmas breakfast).  I'm working this week so I'm hoping to relax and enjoy the lead up to the big day since Christmas Day for us will be spent elsewhere. We're having everyone here Christmas Eve but I'm keeping that simple with BBQ snags, baked chicken pieces, crusty bread and salads. If you're in the vicinity feel free to drop in.

I'm not sure when I'll be back here again this week, so just in case I'm not- Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, or have a good week. I hope you all have a wonderful time with family and friends and  relax and enjoy the season. Best wishes to you and your loved ones from the whole Pyjama Clan.  

23 comments:

Lorraine said...

well....Mrs p.....all ready for Christmas...good for you! I am done with the Festival of Loz and am in Christmas mode now...most of the shopping is done...just some baking which I might (or might not) do tonight. Have a fab week...and great Christmas.

melissa said...

I love your quilt Mrs Pyjamas and im sure the dog will too!

Wow your bread looks fantastic, i cheat and use a bread machine for foccacia on a regular basis, but i take my hat off to someone who can make it from scratch!

Wishing the Pyjama family a great christmas, hope Santa drops in! xxx

Marg said...

I'm off to the shop tomorrow to load up on chocolate. I might just be a teensy bit annoyed at all those photos of chocolate, as I don't have any in the house other than a bar of dark 70% cocoa which I need for baking tomorrow, and now you've made me salivate.
Smartie bark will be a hit here, and the truffles look scrumptious.
I think I'll drop in Christmas Eve, I'm always partial to a BBQ sausage, and chicken and you should make extra of that bread because it is moorish. If you serve cherries I won't be trying them.
The quilt looks great in the photos and I'm seriously impressed you soldiered on after all the problems with it. Lola and Indy are two very lucky dogs.
Finally, congratulations to Mr P on his new job.

Simply UnFlabulous said...

Oh my! That post was like Food Porn for The Soul! I felt guilty for looking at all the delicious pics of your yummy food and wanting to eat it! Congrats to your hubby on the new job and WELL DONE on the treats you made!

Leanne said...

Merry Christmas.......I played with some chocolate today. Perhaps the birds are just getting back at you for threatening them with a loaded rifle LOL.

Kris said...

Merry Christmas! I hope you guys have a wonderful break!

Love that Mr P got a job. Congrats and well done. You must have wowed them whilst filling in!

I have yet to do any shopping foodwise and I am one eighth of the way there with the other shopping. I am pretty laid back in general, but this is slow even for me. I am surprised by it actually, but plan to get stuck in this week. Hopefully I will be headache free. Of course, I have the advantage of being able to be slack since I have no work place expecting me to show up for the next 5 days. I have time yet!

Have a fantastic week and a great Christmas!

Mistea said...

I'm certain those dogs of yours are happy that you took off your miss perfectionist pose and got on with it - Yay another gorgeous number to be enjoyed by the family.

Well I think chocolate was the only food group in my diet today, I have my usual Christmas cold and this damp weather is not helping things. All I could manage was a little sewing - lucky for me this week is mostly off.

Christmas greetings to you and the clan - Enjoy all of it.

Larri said...

Happy Sunday night, friend! Looks as if you're all ready for the Christmas celebration. I like your altered perception. I might have to adopt your attitude toward sewing perfection in 2011.

Congrats to Mr. P and his new job! I hope it goes swimmingly well, and everyone adjusts easily. :o)

Merry, Merry Christmas to you and your family. The chocolate and BBQ make me want to hop the next plane to come celebrate with you!

PS...Love the new blog header!

Unknown said...

I think the best Christmas gift is that Mr P is once again working. Great for him in these hard times.
I never think of the quilts as finished till they are washed and dried so they age ...
Merry Christmas.
Ps...the Christmas barke is the secret that Mary keeps so we all go to her house for Christmas...

Sara said...

About the only chocolatey thing I can make is chocolate and almond clusters. but I'm okay with that, cause they're really nice.

Brenda said...

So glad that Mr. P has found work - that is a wonderful Christmas gift for all of you! Happy Fabric Shopping and Christmas!

Kirsten said...

Your bread looks delicious, I also used to make bread - I'm to lazy now - your quilt is lovely (isn't it to cute for the dogs??)and I loce your sweet treats...have a merry christmas and a wonderful week.And congratulations to Mr. P on his new job. That is probably the most wonderful x-mas gift anybody could get

AnnieO said...

Congrats on Mr. P's new employment. A steep learning curve is very brain enhancing...and terrifying!

The shoo fly quilt is terrific--can't believe you made it for dogs! They are lucky indeed.

I've done absolutely no Christmas baking--but Mom has asked for two cheesecakes for the holiday meal so at least I'll be doing that. Now that I see your candy, I want to make my Grandma's toffee!

Hoping it won't rain on Christmas Day and require an umbrella over the BBQ.

Marie said...

congrats to Mr P -- learning new things is good!

dang woman you are handy -- bread, truffles ... I'm impressed!!!!!

happy holidays!

Kirsten's Cooking said...

love the new look, Shay!

I knew they would love Mr P at the temp job!!!! And, it's so nice that it's something different - maybe he'll even like it better than what he did before (that's your new perception tool I'm using, what do you think?) :)

You were, as usual, a very busy lady this weekend - is it hard to be cooking and baking when it's probably so hot where you are?

Have a very Merry Christmas - enjoy the day and your family!!

Michelle said...

Yay on Mr. P's new job! :-)

Betty Crocker indeed. It all looks delightfully yummy.

The quilt is just lovely. Very cuddly.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Paulette said...

Those truffles look wickedly good! Congrats to Mr. P on the full time job! Nice job on the quilt and all the holiday preparations. I'd been wondering about those cherries. I hope, for all the effort you've gone to, you get some edible cherries out of it.

Have a wonderful Christmas!

thea said...

Wow! You have been busy! Everything looks yummy and you're ready. I'm envious, but then you're a day ahead of me so I can be a day behind .. but I know I still won't be ready tomorrow. :(

Congrats on Mr. P getting the job! that's great!

Have a very Merry Christmas! Relax and enjoy!

Char said...

Wow, that bread looks great. I keep saying I'm going to try to make bread. I just never do. Congrats to Mr.P on the job.
I'm almost finished,only two more gifts to sew.

I hope you and the rest of your family have a Merry Christmas!

Kate said...

Sounds like you are ready to go for Christmas! The bread, chocolate (all the sweet stuff) looks great. So does the quilt.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Char said...

Ooops, forgot to say, I love the new look!

Jindi's Cottage said...

Good grief...I don't drop by for a week and you go and renovate the blog! Thought I'd fallen into a parallel universe and someone else had pinched your blog addy! Seriously though...very nice...
OMG perfection is SO Over-rated! Souless and boring...yuck! If the dogs aren't pleased feel free to mail the quilt to me, I'll love it for you...having an actual sandwiched, quilted and bound finished quilt in my house though may be such a shock to the sewing room that it just may collapse...
Mmm, those cherries do sound a bit dodgy...how useful to have a invincible taste tester on the panel but even so...given his track record....yeah, I'd be leaving them alone for the cockies too...
Have a spectacular Christmas...apparently it is going to happen regardless of me being up to speed so I'm about to go with your attitude towards your quilt and apply that to Christmas...

Baa-Me Kniits said...

Good attitude, who needs the stress of perfection??? I'm sure the pooches will love it ;-)

Happy Christmas to you and yours and enjoy the festive break....wow that is a lot of chocolate and tell me what is smartie bark, although I probably don't need to know!!

We are about to be flooded in so hopefully Billy will arrive home soon with the horses hay and then if the creek goes over we will have a nice quiet family christmas if not the gang arrive at our house tomorrow and I will collapse on boxing day :-)

Hugs and have a fab time xx