A Jolly July Finish!

 I finished this last night and blinged up the snowflakes and Rudolph's nose with HotFix 'jewels'.

I have one more ornament I'd like to stitch but will probably not finish it 'til August - which starts tomorrow!

Tomatoes have started ripening in the garden. Skip started several varieties from seed in a makeshift 'greenhouse' on the south side of our brick home in mid-April. He ran a heated cable 3" beneath the surface of the soil and leaned an old storm window against the house to warm the top of the soil. By the end of May, the seedlings were ready to be planted. They had a real headstart on our normal growing season. He also picked some early maturing species. We will have tons of tomatoes which I will cut up and roast, with onion and basil, then puree and put in freezer bags and freeze for use all winter. Priscilla and Chelsea - the Real Housewives of Cross Stitch - call this 'yard sauce'. I tried it for the first time last year to great success.

On Friday night, Skip grilled steak and sweet potatoes and I contributed a caprese salad with tomatoes and basil from the garden, 

I saw a recipe for balsamic glaze with I fully intend to make. The simmering of the balsamic vinegar thickens the mixture and with the addition of a sweetener makes it a delicious addition to dishes such as inslata caprese.