Is this a word? I first heard it years ago from Ursa, who meant it in terms of going around the house, tidying up, putting things away, etc. I just checked dictionary.com and they say that the result is 'ineffectual'. Hm. I don't like that. Maybe I need to find a new word. At any rate, that's what I've been doing this morning.
I have been doing a lot of knitting lately, spent most of yesterday outside in the garden, and have been otherwise busy. And you know how when you are busy that you just throw stuff down while you move on to the next thing and eventually all these little piles will get cleaned up? No? That's just me? Well, today I have decided to tackle some of these piles and have been cleaning up.
It's a useful thing, my version of puttering. I want to send a letter I wrote to Dan, but could not find the stamps. I knew if I puttered long enough, the stamps would turn up (they did). I knew that if I puttered long enough I would find the unopened mail from last week (I did). More piles get made, but they are actionable piles. The pile of laundry. The paper recycling. The to-the-thrift-store pile (yes! I'm still downsizing).
I am a great list maker. I make lists and lists and lists. In my puttering this morning, I have found all kinds of lists! List of things to do feature prominently. Lists of things I would like to buy when I have money. Lists of things I would like to knit when I am done with my current projects. Sometimes the act of writing these lists is enough organization that my mind registers that these things need to be done, and I never see the list again. Sometimes I rigidly adhere to the list, do all the things in the order they are written down. Sometimes I will estimate the time it will take me to get the tasks on the lists done (5 min, one hour, etc.) and organize my time that way. I have to do this sometimes if I want to ensure I can get some knitting in there somewhere, or if I need to run to a business before they close.
Today, however, I have no such list. I am just going about my day, doing things as they pop up. You know how it is when you are doing something and you go to pick something up, and you see something else that needs to be done and so you drop thing one and start on thing two? That's how I work sometime. It's good, I think, for me, since I seem to be most effective when I do the thing I feel most compelled to do. Like writing this blog post. I have mentioned before there are often times when I have several blog posts in my head but somehow they never make it to the computer. I really do have lots to say, and I'm hoping that I will be able to manage my time a bit better so I can regale you, dear reader, of all the stuff that is in my head. I'm reading about/listening to all kinds of stuff that has me thinking, such as food security, the current state of economics, my immigration story and it's publishability [sic]. Someone suggested I do a blog post about the use of pendulums, and I think (if in my puttering I can find them both) I will take a photo and do just that.
It's coming down to the time that I'll be leaving, soon, I expect. I am encouraged by last week's letter from Senator Richard Burr, but we may only get a response that says "things are happening in the usual fashion, wait your turn", which will still have us waiting five months (ending in early June). I checked the USCIS average wait times at the website still says five months, so I am not holding my breath for an early departure. But you can bet I will be ready for such a momentous event, in case it happens! So the repacking I mentioned a few posts ago is happening as a part of that puttering. It feels good. It feels like movement.
More on the events, as they happen.
I have been doing a lot of knitting lately, spent most of yesterday outside in the garden, and have been otherwise busy. And you know how when you are busy that you just throw stuff down while you move on to the next thing and eventually all these little piles will get cleaned up? No? That's just me? Well, today I have decided to tackle some of these piles and have been cleaning up.
It's a useful thing, my version of puttering. I want to send a letter I wrote to Dan, but could not find the stamps. I knew if I puttered long enough, the stamps would turn up (they did). I knew that if I puttered long enough I would find the unopened mail from last week (I did). More piles get made, but they are actionable piles. The pile of laundry. The paper recycling. The to-the-thrift-store pile (yes! I'm still downsizing).
I am a great list maker. I make lists and lists and lists. In my puttering this morning, I have found all kinds of lists! List of things to do feature prominently. Lists of things I would like to buy when I have money. Lists of things I would like to knit when I am done with my current projects. Sometimes the act of writing these lists is enough organization that my mind registers that these things need to be done, and I never see the list again. Sometimes I rigidly adhere to the list, do all the things in the order they are written down. Sometimes I will estimate the time it will take me to get the tasks on the lists done (5 min, one hour, etc.) and organize my time that way. I have to do this sometimes if I want to ensure I can get some knitting in there somewhere, or if I need to run to a business before they close.
Today, however, I have no such list. I am just going about my day, doing things as they pop up. You know how it is when you are doing something and you go to pick something up, and you see something else that needs to be done and so you drop thing one and start on thing two? That's how I work sometime. It's good, I think, for me, since I seem to be most effective when I do the thing I feel most compelled to do. Like writing this blog post. I have mentioned before there are often times when I have several blog posts in my head but somehow they never make it to the computer. I really do have lots to say, and I'm hoping that I will be able to manage my time a bit better so I can regale you, dear reader, of all the stuff that is in my head. I'm reading about/listening to all kinds of stuff that has me thinking, such as food security, the current state of economics, my immigration story and it's publishability [sic]. Someone suggested I do a blog post about the use of pendulums, and I think (if in my puttering I can find them both) I will take a photo and do just that.
It's coming down to the time that I'll be leaving, soon, I expect. I am encouraged by last week's letter from Senator Richard Burr, but we may only get a response that says "things are happening in the usual fashion, wait your turn", which will still have us waiting five months (ending in early June). I checked the USCIS average wait times at the website still says five months, so I am not holding my breath for an early departure. But you can bet I will be ready for such a momentous event, in case it happens! So the repacking I mentioned a few posts ago is happening as a part of that puttering. It feels good. It feels like movement.
More on the events, as they happen.
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