Louisiana
One table, six chairs: Why I’m committing to monthly dinner parties
In early January, I read about a couple who vowed to host a dinner party every week throughout 2025. Somehow, they did it — all 52 of them. The dinners ran the gamut, from fancy to simple. They had all sorts of positive takeaways from the experience.
I admired them.
But I also knew that this wasn’t the year for me to host weekly dinner parties. I might love it, but even floating the idea might push my husband over the edge. For him, a dinner party every week sounds less like hospitality and more like a hostage situation.
Still, the idea stuck with me — not the frequency, but the intention. It’s a decision to make gathering people around a table part of the structure of a year, rather than something that happens only when conditions are perfect.
So I made a quieter vow. In 2026, I want to host at least one dinner party a month.
Thus far, I’m coming in strong — two in January, with another already on the calendar for mid-February. These dinner parties are nothing heroic (beyond the chile rellenos my husband made for the first one, which pushed his culinary skills to hero status). They are not ready for an influencer’s flashy and polished Instagram feed. They are simply people gathered round our big table, passing plates hand to hand.
Over time, I’ve learned a few things about myself as a host. One is that, for right now, eight people around a table — my former gold standard — is a bridge too far. Six is the sweet spot for now. Conversation is easier, and it’s enough without being exhausting.
Another is that the real pleasure, for me, is in the mix.
I love bringing together people who haven’t met but whom I suspect would have plenty to talk about if given the chance. It is the opposite of networking. It’s more like matchmaking (and truth be told, I really want to be a professional matchmaker in my next life).
Jan Risher’s dinner guests helped make and decorate a Croatian apple cake
Watching a conversation find its footing — and people connect — is one of my favorite parts of the evening. I work toward politeness giving way to curiosity around my table.
As I’m writing this, tonight we are hosting a Croatian-themed dinner party.
I’ve never been to Croatia. It’s on my list, but for now, it exists mostly as a place of coastlines I want to explore, a complicated history and food I’ve only encountered on the internet.
As it turns out, no one who will be sitting around the table tonight has been to Croatia either — a detail that felt like a feature, not a flaw.
In preparation, I shared two movies our guests could watch if they wanted — one light and not-so-light about the horrific war of the mid-1990s. I only watched the light one. I’m not up for super-heavy, dark stories right now, and I’ve learned to trust that instinct. Gathering doesn’t require emotional endurance tests.
I also shared a poem: “Star on High” by Tin Ujević, who was from Croatia and is considered one of the great lyric poets of the former Yugoslavia. Translated poetry, I’ve discovered, is a gentle way to gain insight into another culture — imperfect, filtered, but sincere.
Jan Risher’s dinner guests helped make and decorate a Croatian apple cake.
I thought one line of Ujević’s poem was particularly beautiful: He loves no less who does not waste his words. There’s plenty to discuss in that line alone.
Never fear, I don’t always assign homework for dinner parties. Sometimes people just show up, and that’s enough. But with our long-running “Year of Countries” monthly dinners with friends, we try to reach beyond the menu. We share a book, a poem, a song, a film, a dance, a television show — something that gives us more than talking points about what we’re eating.
It’s merely a shared reference point. An invitation to pay attention.
What I’ve learned is that hosting doesn’t have to be elaborate to be meaningful. It doesn’t require a theme every time or a perfectly timed menu. It does require intention — the decision to open the door, set the table and make room for conversation to wander where it will.
Tonight we’re not even going to have the whole meal complete when our guests arrive. I’m going to ask them to roll up their sleeves and help me make the gnocchi. I believe that conversation flows best when people are doing something with their hands — not to mention learning something new together. (In full disclosure, I’ve never made gnocchi either. However, I have watched a video. We’ll figure it out, no doubt.)
No, a monthly dinner party won’t change the world. But it might change a year. It creates a rhythm — something to look forward to. It’s a reason to keep saying yes to people when it would be easier to retreat into the glow of a screen and call it rest.
For now, that’s enough of a goal. One table. Six chairs. At least once a month.
I don’t know who will still be sitting at our table by the end of the year.
I do know that I want to keep setting it.
Louisiana ranks among the top 10 most affordable states to retire, according to a new study from Retirement Living, a national journal of retirement research.
Researchers analyzed each state’s housing costs, living expenses and tax friendliness to compile the ranking. Louisiana, they say, is the eighth most affordable state for retirees.
In Louisiana, the median monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $932, the median home sale price is $255,000, monthly grocery spend per capita is $272, the average price per gallon of regular gas is $4, the average Medicare Advantage monthly premium is $13.35 and the average effective property tax rate is 0.55%.
West Virginia is the most affordable state to retire, followed by Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Louisiana, Indiana and Kansas. Researchers describe the South as “the sweet spot for an affordable retirement.”
The most expensive state to retire, meanwhile, is California, followed by Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Utah, New York and Minnesota.
Read Retirement Living’s full report here.
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – With hurricane season approaching, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority is bringing the community together to prepare before a storm forms.
“We can’t stop disasters from happening. We can’t stop hurricanes from happening. But what we can do is equip our communities with the resources that they need to prepare for these storms ahead of time,” said Jayda Morris, CPRA outreach manager.
The agency hosted an event featuring interactive storm simulations and a full model of the Mississippi River.
“If you do it now, like on a sunny day like today, you’re ready to go for the rest of the season,” Jay Grymes said.
El Niño may reduce storms, but Louisiana still at risk
State Climatologist Jay Grymes said an El Niño pattern may reduce the number of storms in the Atlantic but warned against a false sense of security.
“In those 25 years, Louisiana, some part of the state has been impacted by 29 storms. That’s one a year, regardless of El Niño. So that should tell you something,” Grymes said.
He said the bigger concern is storms that can form in the Gulf with little warning.
“If we’re going to get a storm, it very possibly could be one that bubbles up in the Gulf and doesn’t give us five or seven days to track it coming our way. It gives us 40 hours to get ready for a landfall. So it’s imperative that you go ahead and do it now,” Grymes said.
Preparation goes beyond stocking water
Preparing now includes walking through yards, checking trees, and knowing whether everyone in the family can survive two weeks without power.
PhD students with the LSU College of the Coast and Environment gave the community a virtual reality experience that puts users inside a storm.
“If they wear the goggles or play with the Apple Vision Pro, they can understand how high will the flood be, and they can know how dangerous is the hurricane scenario,” said Yixuan Wang.
The VR simulation uses real historical data to show users what compound flooding looks like in New Orleans and surrounding areas. The goal is to make the science real for people who can’t picture what a flood map means.
“It’s just to let you understand the environment. We will add the audios, the different sound of the wind and the storm. And you can see how tense of the rainfall around you,” Wang said.
Organizers said the event is about making sure that when a storm threatens the area, families already know their plan.
Information from the event is available on CPRA’s website. Hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.
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BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Louisiana homeowners can get financial help to upgrade their roofs and ensure they can better stand up to strong storms.
According to the Louisiana Department of Insurance, registration for next Louisiana Fortify Homes Program lottery opens at 8 a.m. on Monday, June 1. The registration period will stay open through 5 p.m. on Friday, June 19.
Under the latest round of the program, 3,000 grants of up to $10,000 will go out. After applying, homeowners will get placed into a lottery and will be randomly selected.
There are many specific benefits of having a roof upgraded through the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program. Officials said the roofs have stronger shingles that can protect against hail up to two inches wide, sealed roof decks to help prevent water damage, and stronger edges to keep wind from getting underneath.
Homeowners with a fortified roof can also get a certificate to receive a discount on insurance premiums.
“At the end of the day, this program is about more than just roofs,” said Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple. “It is about protecting families, it is about strengthening communities, and it is about putting Louisiana in a stronger position—both physically and economically—to face the challenges ahead.”
Only people living in Ascension Parish, Livingston Parish, Assumption Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Acadia Parish, Calcasieu Parish, Cameron Parish, Iberia Parish, Jefferson Parish, Jefferson Davis Parish, Lafayette Parish, Lafourche Parish, Orleans Parish, Plaquemines Parish, St. Bernard Parish, St. Charles Parish, St. James Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Martin Parish, St. Mary Parish, St. Tammany Parish, Terrebonne Parish, and Vermilion Parish are eligible to apply for the latest round of the program.
People living in a newly built home, mobile home, or condominium are not qualified.
For a detailed list of eligibility requirements, click here.
If a person registered for the program previously, he or she must do so again. The person will also need to provide the following information:
- A homestead exemption on the primary residence.
- A policy of insurance that provides wind coverage for the primary residence.
- A flood insurance policy on the primary residence if it is in a special flood hazard area.
For more information about applying, click here.
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Watch the latest WAFB news and weather now.
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