Things That Make Me Happy: Numero Uno

This wind-up pony sits on my desk and provides me with much amusement during the course of an average workday.

Especially when I wind it up a lot and it clickedy-clacks across my desk, prompting my co-workers to ask (with a hint of annoyance), "What *is* that noise?" And then I laugh. Yes, my dear readers, I am really that easily amused.

Ralph

This is Ralph.

Ralph is your typical Basset Hound in many ways...

Adorable, content to just laze around,

and, um, short, with really long ears.

But Ralph also happens to be very shy.

Every so often he comes around though, and when he does, his eyes just make my heart melt. Or maybe it's the ears. Or his wet, black nose.

At any rate, when he looks at me like this, I want to dognap him and take him home with me. But then I realize that his parents probably wouldn't like that too much and he would miss them anyway. So I don't dognap him, but I think you could understand why I would want to...right? Right? I mean, really, who can resist a look like this?

R&R

"Light be the earth upon you, lightly rest."
-Euripiedes

Gazpacho

The last of the tomatoes are ripening on the vine, but I still need to use up the ones that I have already picked. So last night I made gazpacho for dinner, using Real Simple's Golden Gazpacho with Feta recipe as a starting point:

Ingredients
3 pounds yellow tomatoes (about 6), cut into large pieces
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into large pieces
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
kosher salt and pepper
4 ounces feta, crumbled (1 cup)
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound thinly sliced prosciutto and/or salami (optional)
8 bread sticks (optional)

Directions
1.Working in batches, puree the tomatoes and bell pepper in a food processor and transfer to a large bowl.

2.Stir in the vinegar and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Divide among serving bowls and top with the feta, basil, pine nuts, oil, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

3.Serve with the prosciutto, salami, and bread sticks, if desired.

However, I didn't have enough yellow tomatoes, so I used about 3 small yellow tomatoes and about 3 large red tomatoes. Also, I only had a small amount of a red bell pepper, so I probably ended up with a proportion of 5 lbs. tomatoes:1 bell pepper instead of the 3:1 ratio called for above. I also added some dried red pepper flakes to give it a little kick.

I didn't toast the pine nuts, but given how good they are when they are toasted, I'd definitely recommend doing that. Oh, and it's good with prosciutto, if you're so inclined to have some.

Like Dandelion Dust

It's been busy around here, but I wanted to take a moment to mention a great movie, Like Dandelion Dust, that I saw last night at the San Diego Film Festival.

Here is a description from the 2009 Seattle International Film Festival website:

"What if you could disappear from a difficult situation as quickly as if you've blown the seeds from a dandelion puff? That's one couple's predicament in this moving adaptation of Karen Kingsbury's 2008 novel, 'Like Dandelion Dust.' Floridians Jack and Molly Campbell live peacefully with their adopted son, Joey, but their world is upended when Joey's biological father is released from prison. Rip Porter decides to get his life with estranged, long-suffering wife Wendy back on track. First, Rip seeks a visit with Joey, and then he seeks much more. The ensuing battle between disadvantaged birth parents and wealthier adoptive parents is an examination of the socioeconomic factors that shape families. Kingsbury's best-selling novel makes for equally volatile cinema. Like Dandelion Dust has been an emotional experience for audiences at this year's Vail, Sedona, and Sonoma Film Festivals. It simply and effectively taps into parents' most primal feelings of love and fear for their young."

There was a Q&A session following the screening with director/editor Jon Gunn, actors Max Cotton (Joey), Barry Pepper (Rip) and Kate Levering (Molly), as well as screenwriter Stephen J. Rivele. This session gave me a new appreciation for all that goes into creating a film, as this one was 2 1/2 years in the making, 8 months of that spent editing. The film faced other setbacks, as Kate Levering replaced another actress only 30 hours before filming was slated to begin. But fortunately her previous work with Cole Hauser (Jack), as well as her ability to adapt her own emotions about being amongst an unfamiliar group to those of her character, carried her role consistently throughout the film. Kudos to screenwriter Stephen Rivele for developing Rip into a character deserving of some sympathy and Barry Pepper for bringing this character to life.

It has not yet been released for mass distribution, but you might be able to catch it at select film festivals throughout the country. Check out the dates on the Like Dandelion Dust blog. You might want to bring some tissues; it's pretty powerful stuff.