"Empire Red"

Yesterday, I eagerly waited for the UPS truck to pull into my driveway ... on that truck would be my birthday gift from Tony. :) Mid-afternoon, as I was in the kitchen chopping up cabbage to make coleslaw (which turned out very yummy), I heard the UPS truck drive away. "That's strange... he didn't even knock." I opened the front door thinking that maybe he just left it on the porch, but nothing was there. I watched as the UPS truck drove away. "Okay, maybe it's a new driver and they're lost, or maybe my address is wrong on the box..." Several minutes go by and my phone rings. I answer thinking that maybe it was the UPS driver. Instead it was my next door neighbor... "I have a package over here with your name on it; it's a rather large box..." :) So I went next door and carried this "rather large box" home. It sat by the front door, waiting for Tony to get home from work.

I was so excited to finally open the package...

...and awe at the beautifulness of my newest maiden. She will be portioned much over the years to come and I pray that she will live a strong and healthy life! :)