Married! June 15, 2024

Brooks and I did the marriage thing in our own way. First, we had a Health Insurance Swap Ceremony on August 2nd, 2018. Then in July 2022, Brooks proposed. And on June 15, 2024, we had a small ceremony with family followed by a party with our Juneau Crew and important folks in our lives. Still to come is our Kodiak Reception on August 11 with all our Kodiak Faves! Below are many of my favorite photos taken by Sydney Akagi:

Mom and Dad walked me to the arch at Nine Mile Beach

Yay!

Something funny!

Everyone!

"Brooks Fan Club"

Cassidy Clan

Sisters. <3

Sisters remaking our childhood picture

Niblings! My fav!

Lisa McCormick Rings

Dancing in the lupine

Vows

The infamous Amy and Julia! It had been two years!

Antonis and Hamptonis!

Baby T makes an appearance! 

Crozier napkins Kelly gifted us!

Nana and Quinny

Quinny greeted us upon arrival to reception.

It was the first sunny day in a while; no one wanted to be inside!

Dad's speech

Sisters' speech hugs

Yvonne roasting B

Taking the plunge!

Married life

The amazing moments of this day are too numerous to list and too many photos as well as the many moments without a photograph. We were so appreciative of everyone who visited and all the Juneauites who came on the first sunny day to celebrate with us.  It was worth waiting 10 years for. <3

He loves me: Chicken of the woods!

I returned home after a morning foray in search of mushroom: chicken of the woods, though I was unsuccessful. B was headed out with friends to hike another mountain and I passed the baton of mushroom knife and bag and asked my sweetheart to harvest any if he came across them. Seven hours later, I have several pounds of chicken of the woods that I've just cleaned. Found a few resources on freezing raw Realtree.com AND a Hank Shaw recipe on WaPo: https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/chicken-of-the-woods-mushrooms/

Halibut vs. Lingcod

 I'm not ready to commit to Lingcod.  Halibut has been part of my life forever; I'm sure it was an early solid food of mine--will have to ask Mom and Dad.

Used this recipe from ASMI:

First made Halibut along with this amazing jicama and mango salad that B loved.  I also enjoyed it, but it was a bit labor-intensive getting everything into matchsticks.

I hadn't had lingcod since we lived in JNU previously and fished on the coast.  Here's me with my first lingcod in five years: 

L & lingcod

I wanted to compare apples to apples, so we had the leftover halibut from the recipe above and cooked up the lingcod using the same recipe (less cooking time).  Lingcod is flaky, HUGE flakes; moist, moist, moist; and firm, giving you something to chew on.  In comparison, halibut is a bit more dry (which could be why I LOVE my momma's tartar sauce with it), dense, and while still firm, perhaps more on the "chewy" side just because it doesn't flake the same.

I love halibut.  Lingcod is delicious... I need more lingcod meals to fully commit to it over halibut.  B heard a famous hunter/fisher say that Lingcod is in his top 10 of all fish... I don't disagree.

June '22 trip to Montana

 Eight weeks after breaking my fibula, I flew out to Montana for the week.  This was not the trip Melissa and I had planned.  This trip was supposed to be another trip through the Bob Wilderness, but Melissa wouldn't hear of me canceling my visit.  Instead, we kept the ticket and I flew out for a modified Montana visit, full of mini-Montana adventures!  Melissa had a packed schedule for us: Lots of home-cooked elk and bear meats, Ringing Rocks, Virginia City Follies, nails did, morel mushroom hunting, and a James Beard-nominated bakery and shopping trip in Bozeman.  She shared her home, her family, and love for Montana life on her family's ranch.  It is always a fantastic time in Bozeman, this being the 12th year anniversary of my first trip out there.  

My leg: an exploration in color and healing.