Inspire a Fire
Percussive Boom
Add this to the list of weird things that have happened to me. I was running my dog outside before a work-from-home meeting (that part is not unusual), when my shoes crunched across something unexpected in the driveway. Glass. Thick brown shards of it extending from my puppy’s poo pail across the width of my…
Making Do
I come from a long line of thrifty innovators. The kind that take great pride in sayings like: Use it up,wear it out,make it door do without! So it surprised no one when the need arose for me to put my thrifty innovation to good use. I had recently been coerced by a friend to…
Hidden Thankfulness
Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. I’d like to thank all the people I never thanked. This could be a sweeping generality: family, friends, first responders, the lady cleaning the bathroom at the gas station where I stopped for gas. But, I have something more specific in mind. I’m thinking…
What Are You Wrestling For? (You may need to change it.)
I’ve been wrestling with the deep and the hard these last few years. God knows it. I know it. The bell sounds and we go another round. I think of Jacob wrestling all night long and I think, wow, what a relief that would be if this only lasted one night. But I am persistent.…
Life is Weird. (Leadership Lessons from Ecclesiastes)
Every once in a while, I need a good dose of Ecclesiastes. I like to remind myself that the purported wisest man in the world, the one about whom the Queen of Sheba said, “you have far exceeded the report I heard,” and the one about whom God himself said “I will give you a…
Time Wasted. (Learning Peace When Plans Derail.)
I’ve bet you’ve had a day like this too… and maybe it wasn’t wasted after all.
The Price and Cost of the Ultimate Freedom
Unless you’re an accountant, you’ve probably never thought about the difference between price and cost. I didn’t until today. But while we may use the words interchangeably, there is a notable difference. Cost is what it takes to produce something; price is what someone pays for it. This is straight forward when we’re talking about…
I Need You to be Okay Without Me
This post is about my dog. And about so much more than my dog. It’s also about me, and possibly you, too. You see, when the pandemic hit, I was one of the lucky ones. Through a series of fortunate arrangements, I have been working remotely for the past two years. My dog loves this…
Don’t Mess with Mama Bird (A reflection on the soft fierceness of a mother’s love)
In the tree outside my window there is a little nest. On the electrical line that runs not far away there is a giant black bird. This is not a good combination. From the oversized tail feathers and the car-alarm-competing cry, my bird book tells me the giant black bird is a great tailed grackle.…
Heading for Takeout
There’s a saying in my family: When Janet heads to the kitchen (that’s me), then everyone else heads for takeout. I’m fully convinced I could headline on the “Worst Cooks in America” if I could just survive in the kitchen long enough to submit an audition tape. Some of my culinary mishaps are the stuff…
Search the Blog
Categories
Join the email list to receive the latest post and occasional exclusives
Meet Janet!
Janet Beagle, PhD is the founder of The Mustard Patch. She divides her time between the Midwest and New England, and if she’s not writing, she’s probably out hiking with her 2-and 4-footed friends.