The Joy of Tomatos

I'm having a love hate relationship with tomatoes right now.  At the beginning of May the girls  & I planted 8 teeny tiny (free) tomato plants into 4 pots.  We put them on the deck so they could see them growing out the window every day.  They loved watching them grow and grow and grow - past the little cages until they were about to topple themselves over.  So I bought so much large pots and fought with the huge plants until I had all 8 in their own pots with new fertilizer and lots of water.  I was amazed that I didn't kill a single plant.  Then the little green tomatoes started to show up all over the plants - the girls were thrilled.  After only one pre-picked (by Cate) causality, we finally saw our first little red tomato - the girls were ecstatic.  So was I, until I turned it over to see the weird dark place on the bottom.  Our tomato had "blossom end rot" - which I knew all about because a friend who had gotten the same plants as me had already had the issue and discovered the cause - too little calcium in the, common in potted tomatoes.  I crossed my fingers it was only that one but sure enough a second one started going red this weekend and it shows the same signs.  I'm treating the plants but who know if I'm already too late.  After all the work and money I've spent on these "free" plants, I'm going to cry if we don't get to eat any of them.
So that is the hate part, the love part is the best thing since sliced bread - the BLT.  Not just any BLT, a BLT made with garden tomatoes (someone elses :-( of course) and served on a paper plate while wearing swim suits.   This has to be one of the best things about summer - don't you think?

the fixings

the masterpiece BLT

Lucy made herself one only to take it apart to actual eat it!

Cate was much more concerned about eating bacon then a sandwich.

daddy gets the joy