Dear Friends,

Mother and I, as we are in the tradition of doing, go through old Christmas, birthday, and Valentine's cards on Valentine's Day. It's a worthwhile tradition, and it brings as much joy to my heart as I think it does to her heart. I found this 1991 Valentine's card I gave to her. It shows my distaste not for the poster Winston but for tobacco. The next year I made one that is anti-alcohol.

I am so happy at how society has become anti-tobacco since that time. I hope in another thirty years it will be as anti-alcohol as it is anti-tobacco. I'd argue alcohol has ruined more lives in some way or another, either through addiction, poor choices, injury, or disease, than pretty much anything else in the world.

We kept rummaging and came across a Christmas card from a familiar face. Miss Gayle, as I knew her in the early 90s, was a friend of the family. She has since gone on to become quite the figurehead in the city. I hope when the time comes, she gives the Archdiocese ownership of the Saints. That would be appropriate.

May your Valentine's Day be holy. May we all be willing to die for Christ, who resisted evil not with fist and sword but with love, mercy and forgiveness.

I wrote much of that missive but a year ago, and how much different life is today compared to then. We are preparing for quite the cold snap here. It seems like it has been a good handful of years since we last had to consider protecting our pipes. The greatest meteorologist of New Orleans, Bob Breck, used to say that pipes needed to be covered if it was to get to 28 degrees for four hours or longer. It looks like the morning hours of this Tuesday we shall see such a streak.

We have enjoyed this day in our sitting room, which has a fireplace, as all sitting rooms should. The fire has roared since 7 this morning. I wanted to make something special for dinner tonight, as we are staying in, so I went to the pantry and found Great Value sardines in oil. If you have not tried them, it is among the best dollar values in America. I warn you, though, be sure not to spill the oil, as I did, or you may have a kitchen floor that is as slick as a frozen pond's surface.

One would not expect to find delicious caviar at Walmart, be sure enough, Walmart has started selling Caviart, a sustainable seaweed substitute for caviar. It approaches the taste of caviar, but narrowly misses the mark. At $4, I will purchase again. Anyway, I thought that I would serve the sardines with caviart tonight.

Since we had the fire going, and perhaps spurned by a conversation earlier with LSU Coyote about grilling lobster tails in our hearth, I decided I would grill the sardines in our fire. Mother thought it a dangerous proposition. "What if the oil flares up and burns you?"

I was brave. Using the long wood skewers usually reserved for marshmallows when making S'mores, I seared the delicate sardines. While those appetizing sear marks we get on the grill were missing, the grilled sardines with caviart were quite a treat. I commend them to you. Both can be purchased at Walmart for a total of five dollars.

May your St. Valentine's Day be splendid.

Yours,
TulaneLSU

This post was edited on 2/14/21 at 5:09 pm