Thursday thoughts . . .

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I think that there is a deep and penetrating lesson that we can learn from the ways of birds. Within a few weeks of their birth their wings grow and stretch and span patches of air. First with reservation . . . and then with the utmost confidence, they lift . . . they flap, they glide and they land . . . the act of flight seemingly their raison d'etre, or purpose in being.

Quite unlike birds . . . we seem to confuse our time on Earth, wandering here and wandering there with no real sense of purpose. We frequently stall our human ability to fly . . . and often forstall our need to love . . . to learn . . . to know the truth of our spirit, until we are absolutely positive that all our efforts are not going to be for naught. We set conditions. We hesitate. We make excuses . . . turning our human journey upside down, never letting our hearts truly unfold.

Birds are stirred to sing and lift merely through the presence of light. They cannot comprehend such concepts as holding back, or only investing if the return seems certain. We . . . are the only creatures on earth that want a warranty before we will begin . . . and, in doing so, I fear we smother the spark that is discovery, and bury our hopes and dreams.

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More often than not, we let our fear of the unknown, with all of it's risks . . . cripple us, and prevent us from learning how to really fly and to soar. How very often do our fearful hearts prevent us from stretching our wings and discovering the full passion of our hidden gifts and talents? How often do we search from without for the guidance that we need, guidance which can really only come from within??

When I look back over my years, I can clearly see where my fear of failure and lack of expectation has held me back, and kept me from going places where I really should have gone . . . from embracing the things I needed to embrace . . . from becoming the self that I really needed to become . . .

Wings can only fly if they first flap. They don't grow any differently to fly south, or east, or west, or north . . . Our lives, no matter how we would train ourselves . . . are more fundamental than any direction of worldly ambition. Like the birds, we were meant to fly and to soar and to sing. We cannot soar unless we discard the encumbrances of fear and hesitation that would keep us in the nest . . .

"If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astonish ourselves."
~Thomas Edison

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We should not live our lives chained by "what-if's" or "might-have-been's" . . . . we should live our lives filled with all the promise that is ours to hold if only we will sing the songs we were meant to sing . . . and fly to the places that we were meant to discover . . . without fear or hesitation.

Just my thoughts this morning.

For the past few years that we have been back here in Chester they have been replacing all the old lead gas pipes with new plastic ones. Today it's our turn. They started digging outside our house yesterday and today we will have no gas all day as they replace the pipe from the road into our house and also give us a new meter. Then we will have to endure a few weeks of them replacing all the ones along the street. A bit of a pain . . . but once it's done, it's done . . . I expect it's a good thing. I do hope that they have the gas turned back on in plenty of time for me to be able to cook what I need to cook for our Relief Society Activity tonight! My fingers are crossed!

We eat a lot of chicken in this house. I don't know why that is. I expect that it's because it is one of the cheaper sources of protein and also because it is so adaptable. Chicken breasts are one of those things that you can dress up or down in a myriad of ways. This is one of my favourites here. Bacon always makes everything taste delicious don't you think??? I like to serve this with rice and a green vegetable.



*Bacon and Mushroom Sauced Chicken Breasts*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Deliciously moist chicken with a rich and lucious sauce. If you don't have any Brandy for the sauce you could use a fortified wine such as Marsala, Port or Sherry. Or do like I do and just use chicken broth.

4 slices streaky bacon, cut into pieces
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/4 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
2 TBS of brandy or chicken broth
1 (8-oz) container of sour cream
chopped fresh chives

Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon onto paper towels to drain. Set aside.

Discard all but 2 TBS of the drippings from the skillet. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and then brown them in the remaining drippings for 2 to 3 minutes per side, turning only once. Move the chicken to one side of the skillet. Add the mushrooms and onions. Cook and stir for 3 to 4 minutes or until tender. Reduce the heat to low. Add the brandy (chicken broth). Cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the chicken juices run clear when the chicken is pierced with a fork. Remove the chicken to a heated platter and cover to keep warm.

Add the sour cream to the same skillet. Cook over low heat until thoroughly heated, stirring constantly. Spoon some of the sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle with the bacon and chives. Serve and pass the remaining sauce at the table.



Over in The English Kitchen today, Stove Top Mac & Cheese.

“Never give up on anyone. And that includes not giving up on yourself.”
― Dieter F. Uchtdorf