{"id":2024,"date":"2014-08-10T19:13:37","date_gmt":"2014-08-10T23:13:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/?p=2024"},"modified":"2014-08-11T07:56:25","modified_gmt":"2014-08-11T11:56:25","slug":"the-art-of-puttering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/2014\/08\/10\/the-art-of-puttering\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art of Puttering"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"626fab373a503eb9a4350318062d4eab\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This seemed to be the week of people getting organized, finally overcoming the overwhelming bedlam they call their homes, or their closets, or their minds, or their life.\u00a0 Organization is a wonderful thing but I prefer puttering. Puttering seems to prevent any overwhelming anything.<\/p>\n

The earliest meaning of puttering was the action of poking or prodding something repeatedly or to do something idly to pass the time.\u00a0 I don\u2019t use puttering to pass the time; I live in a constant state of puttering.\u00a0 To me it\u2019s not about being lazy but to move through my day at a slower pace, change direction on a whim, zero in on a nagging bit of something or just catch up to myself.\u00a0 I could do this for a few minutes during my work week, or for a few hours when I get home from somewhere, or for an entire weekend.<\/p>\n

Some people are deliberate in their puttering setting aside a certain amount of time or relishing specific days to putter like Monday holidays.\u00a0 Some formal putterers wear particular \u201cputtering\u201d outfits or eat specific puttering food, never a full meal but something a step above snacks. \u00a0\u00a0Others have rules for puttering.\u00a0 I even read about someone finding themselves in a period of \u201cputtering prayer\u201d.\u00a0 Not fully engaged but turning their attention to God in the moment and then carrying on with their day.\u00a0 I kinda love that, just sayin.<\/p>\n

For those people in full on chaos puttering will have to come later, although my Sister has a method that is working for her.\u00a0 What bothers you the most, do that.\u00a0 Repeat as necessary. I\u2019m an organized person and a world class putterer, kind of the Martha Stewart of puttering. \u00a0When I\u2019m in putter mode I have no set goals, no specific rules, no deadlines I simply relish the act of puttering.\u00a0 The only thing I might turn to during a languid \u00a0turned energetic act of puttering is a good play list; The Big Chill soundtrack <\/a>comes to mind.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how it might look.\u00a0 Early mornings on Stowe Lane look the same every day, dog walking, dog feeding, nutriblast (or I might not see a vegetable all day) and latte.\u00a0 Every day, no deviation it just works.\u00a0 As I\u2019m drinking my coffee something might catch my eye, like the spice and stuff corner of the kitchen.\u00a0 Maybe they need topping off, maybe they need rearranging, maybe I might want to clean the canisters.\u00a0 You see what I mean.<\/p>\n

\"023\"<\/a><\/p>\n

That done, relax with a book for a while or catch up on TiVo.\u00a0 Perhaps start the wash and then decide to change the sheets.\u00a0 With a little help from Toto that might take a bit more time, so why not make another cup of coffee and take it to the deck.\u00a0 Lina and Toto enjoy the deck too, coffee finished and I can continue on with the sheets.\u00a0 It\u2019s carefree, it gets done, everyone is happy.<\/p>\n

\"005\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So while the laundry is going I\u2019ll go back to the deck and catch up on some work.\u00a0 I could work all day everyday but in these fits and starts I can pace myself and not even notice how much I\u2019m working.\u00a0 After a certain amount of time or the completion of a specific task I feel free to daydream a bit. The imagination needs moodling, inefficient happy idling, dawdling and puttering said Brenda Ueland.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t agree more, as I\u2019m moving through some of the puttering I do feel like I\u2019m dawdling but things are getting done, things I didn\u2019t realize needed doing until just moments before. It\u2019s quite efficient in its inefficiency.<\/p>\n

\"078\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And one\u2019s imagination does get rolling, so much so that I have to jot things down periodically so they\u2019re not lost.\u00a0 Little tidbits of this and that for a post or didn\u2019t I have a picture that might work for something?\u00a0 You see there is truth in imagination being unleashed in a clear mind. All of that done, sometimes I just sit.\u00a0 And think.\u00a0 Or doze.<\/p>\n

\"006\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Or pop up and take a photo walk.\u00a0 Why not?\u00a0 There\u2019s always something interesting happening nearby on my beloved Stowe Lane, or the farmer\u2019s market, or a fair, or someone\u2019s garden. \u00a0You never really have to walk far but somehow I don\u2019t even notice I\u2019m walking when I\u2019ve got my camera with me.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_2815\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In the end there are many upsides to puttering.\u00a0 There is a relaxation that comes over you, then a sense of accomplishment even if it is just rearranging the spices or one shelf in a closet or making a grocery list or throwing out all the expired medicines or discovering a new color, or talking with everyone in the neighborhood.\u00a0 Because there\u2019s no pressure to do any of it.<\/p>\n

Everyone should learn the art of puttering.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t think you\u2019re capable, find someone who can teach you.\u00a0 I read somewhere that every neighborhood has a world class putterer with too much time on their hands that will gladly\u00a0 join you under the guise of teaching.\u00a0 We can never get enough.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This seemed to be the week of people getting organized, finally overcoming the overwhelming bedlam they call their homes, or their closets, or their minds, or their life.\u00a0 Organization is a wonderful thing but I prefer puttering. Puttering seems to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[489,490],"class_list":["post-2024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pause-points","tag-the-art-of-puttering","tag-world-class-putterer"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p27hQ5-wE","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2024"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2024\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2028,"href":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2024\/revisions\/2028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ordinarylegacy.com\/word\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}