After the presents had been opened, dishes washed and floors swept, it would finally be time for me to indulge myself in an experience that my mother often referred to as "putzing around." You know, doing absolutely nothing by doing everything. Moving magazines, newspapers and advertising flyers from one pile to another, rearranging the pillows on the couch, checking the contents of the refrigerator, petting the dog, dusting some shelves that really don't need dusting, looking over the mail, seeing if the garbage cans need emptying, etc...etc...etc. My mom was the queen of putzing around. Today's woman, however, hardly has time to just putz. We are the multi-taskers, not the putzers; scaling the heights of our professions, whether they be home bound (the Martha Stewarts of the world), or workplace bound (the Hillary Clinton types); today's woman has nary the time to putz. But, this Christmas vacation, I putzed in a very techie way. I putzed on my new IPad and loved every minute.
Why rearrange those couch pillows when I could play a quick game of Mahjong or Scrabble? It's too cold to go to the Art Institute, so instead I put together puzzles of the great masters like Monet, Vermeer, Van Gogh, and Botticelli to name just a few. I can also read sections of various newspapers, that I oh so missed doing because of the escalating subscription fees. The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and The New York Times are all free. Yahoo!! AARP and Life Magazines are also free. I just finished reading my first e-book on the Kindle app (application). It wasn't free, but it was a great way to read in bed with low light since the Ipad is back-lit and I can adjust the size of the font, which is great for a four eyes like me. I was also able to download some free classic books like Jane Austen's entire collection. I love going back to 18th century England. However, I think that only the wealthy ladies of distinction had time to putz. The rest were busy feathering those chickens and milking those cows.
I can even create on the Ipad with an app that's called "PortaPoet" that helps you write and rhyme your poetry. Here's my first:
Hope in a new year.
Now no more fear.
Just look around and cheer
And have another beer!
Putzing around with poetry for sure!
I have arranged my apps in different files and I always start my day, not putzing, but praying. I have a Devotional file with Bible quotes, C.S. Lewis quotes, Daily Mass Readings with a listing and short bio of the saint of the day. Today is the feast of St. Elizabeth Seton. In addition there's a Bible Answer Game that sings out "Alleluia" when your answer is correct and a crash of thunder when you're wrong. It's easy to read or reference various Bible translations that are free with an app called "Touch Bible." Verses are easy to find with a spin on a drum that lists the translation (NIV, ESV, WEB, etc.), book and verse. I also found a free devotional called "TODAY" that starts with a scripture reading and ends with a short prayer.
My "Heritage"app by fotopedia takes me around the world for viewing spectacular sites complete with historical information and those detailed satellite Google maps. Speaking of history, each day I can check what happened on that date centuries ago with my free "On This Day" app. Today, January 4th, The New York Stock Exchange opened its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street in New York City. How's that for putzing around the world and through history?
My recommendation is to take some time this year putzing around with an Ipad. If you don't own one, I'm sure you know someone who does. Try it, the putzing path is worth the price.
No comments:
Post a Comment