Wordless Wednesday: Possum

Possum having a meal of cat food on our patio at night.

The above closeup photo I found on Pixabay. Do NOT pick up a possum, by the way.
I am linking up with Wordless Wednesday
In answer to a question, the cat food is on the patio since we are feeding a stray cat. Usually the cat hurries over and eats every bit of cat food. If we can tame it, we will adopt it (the cat, not the possum). Any tips on taming a stray cat? 

Book beginnings: "Merry Hall" by Beverley Nichols

Above is the cover of one of the 4 books I bought at Goodwill today. These covers are enchanting, don't you think?

Above is a photo I took of the gorgeous set of books by Beverley Nichols I bought at Goodwill today.
The first one I will read is "Merry Hall" which is the first in a trilogy, the second book in the trilogy is "Laughter on the Stairs",  followed by "Sunlight on the Lawn". The other book is "A Village in a Valley."
Nichols writes about the elegant but rundown mansion and gardens he fixes up and the wonderful people who live nearby in the small village. On the dust jacket it says Nichols' writing is "high-spirited, riotously funny, and, at times, deliciously malicious." Just my cup of tea in reading.
For Book Beginnings I quote the first two sentences in Merry Hall: "Some fall in love with women; some fall in love with art; some fall in love with death. I fall in love with gardens, which is much the same as falling in love with all three at once."
Friday 56 at  Fredas Voice asks us to share a bit from page 56. Here goes my choice: "But a glass of champagne, for some mystic reason, is different; it is to wine what Shelley was to poetry; it gives wings to the spirit." This led to Nichols setting a hedge on fire, a rather dangerous feat and a decision fueled by enjoying champagne. My kind of guy, ha ha.
I am linking to Book Beginnings at Rose City Reader

Wordless Wednesday: Sun ornament and jasmine in our garden

The sun ornament is a gift from my friend about five years ago, and the jasmine is a volunteer. I watched over the months as it climbed up the fence and reached the sun.
I am linking with Wordless Wednesday

Volunteer visitor to senior citizens

Sometimes the above photo shows how I feel when I think of seniors stuck in a nursing or retirement home and who have no visitors.
I am posting this to give other bloggers an idea about a volunteer opportunity.
I am a senior citizen myself and have long heard about people living in retirement homes who have no visitors and are lonely. That sounds SAD beyond reflection to me.

For the year 2016 I decided to find a lonely person in one of those homes who I could visit and bring my version of sparkle and joy to. I have a nice collection of fun socks to wear, and bought these for one of the ladies I visit.

You can find a person to visit through your church, or through a volunteer center in your county or city. I signed up with a county program, was fingerprinted, interviewed, and sent to a retirement/memory care home. I think memory care is a upbeat way of saying Alzheimers or Dementia.
The neatest thing happened. The activities director introduced me to two ladies. One had a stroke and can't talk, and the other lady is active in all ways, and deals with Parkinsons disease successfully.
For the lady who had a stroke I bought some fun children's books and read them to her. Her favorite which she points to is about teddy bears and picnics. Since she visited Africa some years ago I bought a book about animals of Africa and she likes this book too.
The other gal and I do some volunteer work in the home's library, putting the books back on the shelves in the right places, and adding new books. We also sit and chat, I help her with her laptop, and we check on the two tomato and cucumber plants they let her grow. Last week she gave me a hug and said thank you for coming, you are a bright spot in my day. I said that she is a bright spot in my day too. Today I surprised her with the socks, and she said she had been wishing for some like this. She put them on and showed them to two people while I was visiting.
Let's spread the joy around.
"We can not all do great things, but we can all do small things with great love." Mother Theresa.