A Renaissance wedding in Nevada

Trish Melynkov married her sweetheart Todd Ackerman on Saturday, Sept. 15, in their backyard with a Renaissance theme. About 45 of their close friends and relatives attended in period attire. There were eight very tall flag poles with beautiful red, yellow and purple streaming flags that caught the attention of many in the neighborhood.

Traditional baked beef, baked turkey, baked root vegetables and fresh fruits were served keeping with the theme. Nico Hight, age 4, and his brother Justin, age 8, were dressed as handsome knights. Sounds like it must have just been a wonderful day for the newlyweds.

Todd is a math teacher at Carson High School, where he also coaches the girl's basketball team. He also has a side business renting these tall poles and flags for special occasions or events.

Trish was born in the United States, however all her relatives still live in Ukraine. Did I mention Trish is a famous actress? She spent her working career in Burbank, Calif., where she was Jessica on the TV soap opera, "Santa Barbara" and when that show stopped, she played the role of Nora in the long-running soap "Days of our Lives." Trish retired young five years ago and moved here to Johnson Lane to live close to our beautiful mountains. Trish and her husband are avid mountaineers. This last year Trish spent three weeks climbing to the base camp of Mount Everest and then she climbed up Island Peak in Nepal. The newlyweds plan to climb Chooyu Peak in Tibet on their next big adventure.

Since they live so close to June Lake, in the winter they like to climb the man-made Ice Falls. I look forward to interviewing this couple in future articles. Best wishes to the newlyweds. I hope you'll have many years of happiness together.

In the garden

Are you sick of squash? It's that time of year again when I can only disguise the squash so many ways without giving it away that I made it once again for dinner. So here's how I did it last night. In my frying pan I put a few tablespoons of olive oil, a large chopped onion and several chopped cloves of garlic. I simmered that for about 10 minutes, and then I added two chopped zucchini to the pan. OK, I know, that's how everyone cooks it, right? Well, here's the part about hiding it so my family may not recognize it again. I tossed a can of chicken tortilla soup on top and then added lots of cheese. It was so good. I'll bet I won't be able to get away with it again though. I know it's past the middle of September so it's time for the garden to start slowing down. Happy gardening - hooray for fall.

-- Lisa Welch is a Johnson Lane resident and can be reached at 267-9350.