STILL HERE!

 I know it's been a while, just wanted to reassure you all that I am still here.  It's been a busy August for me.  The Olympics wrapped up in August, and I watched EVERYTHING!!! By the time the closing ceremonies were over, I was burned out.  Good thing I have another two years until the winter Olympics.

 The weekend of the 18th, I went over to Bremerton to see one of my brothers. 

(view from our hotel room in Bremerton)

 His work was putting on a family day on the 18th.  The last time my brother had a family day on his ship, he was living in Norfolk, Virginia and I wasn't able to attend.  But this time he is only on the other side of the state and I was able to go!  It was fun and enlightening to see where my brother works, whom he works with and to get an idea of what he does.  The next day, as we headed out of town we stopped at the Seattle Center.  The Pacific Science Center has a King Tut exhibit that closes on January 3rd.  This is going to be the last time this exhibit will be shown in North America!  Not something to pass up and I am glad we went.  I have been fascinated with Egypt ALL my life and having studied archaeology in college it was a dream come true to see these artifacts :)

(Golden Mask of Psusennes I)

 (Statue of Menkaure)

(Space Needle)

 I got a new job!  I had an interview for a seasonal job at the beginning of the month.  Not my ideal job, but it was something.  If nothing else, I decided to give it a shot and practice my interview skills.  I made it through the first interview and was scheduled for a second interview.  Then the week before my second interview I got a call back for another job I had applied for.  This other job would be permanent, full time, and much more of what I was looking for.  I scheduled an interview and went for broke.  Of the two jobs, the last one was more promising.  So I went in relaxed and honest and did the best I could during the interview.   I was really putting all of my eggs in the basket of the second job.  Turned out to be a good bet, I was offered the job and I started last Thursday!  It is the first time in 17 years that I am working for new company.  Needless to say, I have a lot of training to do!  But there is a lot of potential there for me to advance.  So far everyone has been very nice and helpful to me, I really appreciate it.

 We also have a home energy audit scheduled for the 30th.  So there are some things that have to be done around the house before then.  The biggest one is cleaning out the spare bedroom.  Over the years it has turned out to be repository for anything and everything.  It has gotten to the point where if someone were to go in that room, I'm afraid they'd recommend me for A&E's show, Hoarders!  It's really not THAT bad, there is a lot of furniture in the room that takes up a chunk of the space.  But over the past couple weeks I've been slowly making a dent in that room.  I have finally gotten to where I should be done, if not tomorrow, then definitely by Tuesday!  HALLELUJAH!!!!  It is such a liberating feeling to know that after this Thursday, I won't have that deadline looming over my head!  Not only that, but I'll also be going into a three day weekend, where I will have Labor Day off and still get paid for it!!!  Not bad, not bad at all :)

 So, if you will just indulge me for a couple more days, I promise that I will post a recipe this week.  Either Thursday or Friday.  I appreciate your patience, have a good week and I'll see you back here at the end of the week!

PEACH BREAD

 I had access to some ripe peaches and it brought to mind a recipe for peach bread that Tiff shared with me.  There are few fruits that remind me of summer as much as a ripe, juicy peach does.  So when Tiff told me about this recipe I was excited to get that recipe and try it for myself. 
 The bread comes out a beautiful, golden color with a faint scent of peach.  There is a subtle flavor of peach and the bread is very moist, a must for bread in my book :)  Tiff told me that the recipe originally calls for mango, but she used peaches.  I don't blame her, I'm not a fan of mangos.  If you prefer breads with a stronger flavor, I suggest you try it with the mangos that it initially called for.  Either way, it is an easy recipe with delicious results!


INGREDIENTS:

3/4 C. butter, softened
8 oz package cream cheese
2 C. granulated sugar
2 eggs, beaten with a fork
1/2 tsp almond extract (I used vanilla)
1 1/2 C. mashed peaches, peeled (if using canned peaches, drain first then puree)
3 C. flour (don't sift)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C. blanched chopped almonds (I didn't use)


DIRECTIONS:

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour bread pans of the following size: 2 larges, 3 mediums or 6 smalls.
 With an electric mixer beat the butter, cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Mix in beaten eggs, extract and mashed peaches. Gradually add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat on low speed until thoroughly mixed. Mix in almonds by hand.
 Spoon batter into pans about 2/3 full.

 Bake 45-60 minutes depending on pan size; till toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

 ~If you are looking for a stronger flavor, you can add some honey to some slices.

~Cover the top with foil if the bread comes out too brown.  Mine never has when I've made this recipe, but just in case.

~Don't be afraid to try this recipe with different fruits.  As I said, the recipe initially called for mangos.  Be creative, you can even try mixing several different fruits in the batter.