Do You Putter? Or Potter?

One day, not long ago, I wasn't doing anything particular, just moving about the house. Bud said, "What are you doing?" To which I replied, "Just puttering around. Or do I mean pottering?" "Which way do you say it?", I asked him.

That, of course, sent me to the computer to look up puttering and pottering. Which term is correct? That may depend upon whether or not you had a British grandmother.

I love this photo of my Grandmother (Bessie) Lynam on the ground, listening to her Grandmother Agnes (Hull) Richardson. Grandma Aggie's mother and father were born in Yorkshire, England.

To putter, or potter, is to occupy oneself in a desultory, but pleasant, manner doing a number of small tasks or not concentrating on anything particular. Also, to move or go in a casual, unhurried way.

Potter is the British term for putter which is more widely used in the United States.

But if you had a Grandmother, whose own Grandmother was English, you could have, like me, grown up hearing both terms interchangably.

Saturday morning with nothing particular to do, guess I'll just potter putter around.