Eccentric. Adjective: Unconventional, extraordinary, offbeat, quirky. Noun: Character, individualist, free spirit, odd duck, kook. "My beard is flapping in the wind," said the husband. He was standing patiently next to me as I first snapped photos of a corn maze, then videotaped the corn swaying in the wind. He mentioned his beard flapping in the wind several times that afternoon. As some of you know, the husband and I shaved our hair completely off in January, just to see how long it would grow in a year. The husband also shaved off his beard and mustache. He is allowed to trim his mustache, but no can do with the beard. The husband says his beard is the longest he has ever had it. So, of course, I had to shoot a video of the husband's beard flapping in the wind. Enjoy! If you want to read more (or again) about our haircuts, please click here . This will take you to all the posts (I think) about our hairy adventure. Scroll all the way to the bottom to read about how we c

Yep. I found us—you, dear gentle readers and—another blog hop to check out. This is a fun, short one for all of us book-loving readers.  Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading . The idea is to randomly pick two sentences from a book you are currently reading.  Check it out! Of course, read my offering first, then head over to here . "Giants and fairies was how he described classical music. He could just as well have been talking about show business." ~ American on Purpose by Craig Ferguson page 26

The mama constantly works. She sows and maintains her gardens. She breaks to eat lunch and to read the daily news. Today she also napped.  Unusual. We both wondered. The Sunday 160 is hosted by the Monkey Man. A 160 is 160 characters, including spaces. To learn about it and to read other bloggers' Sunday 160, head over to this page .

Dinengdeng was what the mama prepared for dinner almost every day during summer when I was a kid. It's an Ilocano dish made of a variety of vegetables, which was quick and easy for the Mama to put together and cook after a long day of work pollinating vegetables. Because dinengdeng has such a musical sounding name, the dish ought to have been delicious, a comfort to my aging soul. Nope. The dish—the way the mama cooked it—continues to be a memory of Yuck! It wasn't because of the vegetables. I liked them all: eggplant, long beans, squash flowers, saluyot (jute leaves), parda, bittermelon, and whatever other else was growing in the daddy's garden. When the Mama cooked the same vegetables as pinakbet, a vegetable stew with a tomato base, I couldn't get enough of it. But, dinengdeng. Shudder! Still, I ate it. Quickly. This summer, I started cooking my rendition of dinengdeng. That's only because I try to beat the Mama to the kitchen to cook the combination of veggies t

I want to do this: Go bouncy-bounce on a trampoline over here . So, I'm doing this: Jumping/hopping on my two feet 10 times, at least 3 times a day. Every day. Why? I have this crazy fear of jumping, including jumping into a pool and bouncing on a trampoline. Sure, four years ago, I stepped off a plane from 18,000 feet high. But that was different. I was dropping into air while hooked to a professional skydiver. No jumping involved there. The thing is I'm not getting any younger. It's time for me to get rid of this silly fear. My first day of 3 x 10 times of jumping was scary. My feet cleared the floor by a couple of inches, if that. I had to use my arms (Imagine: arms in broad jump pose) to get my momentum going. I got a lot of pounds  of gravity to contend with, mind you. But, I did it. I was actually amazed that I did it. I'm also pretty proud of myself. I think the husband is too. When he's nearby as I'm jumping, he cheers me on.What a guy! Today is my four

"Stripes" is the theme of this week's PhotoHunt, hosted by TNChick. My offering is this photo of a chapel door at Mission San Juan Bautista . To check out other PhotoHunters, click here .

This is how I think my mind looks (the cabinet, that is) when you look at me: Blank. This is how I think my mind looks like a lot of the times: Disorder! This is how I think my mind looks like when it really should be taking care of business: La, la, la, la. I'm hanging out at Wordless Wednesday today. Come check out other bloggers with me by clicking here . P.S. It's early Friday morning. I'm hooking up at Java's Never Growing Old: Follow Friday 40 and Over. Come check out other blogs with me by clicking here .