Red Magnolia, Whale Pot, Chevre and Fig Jam, and Sleeping Dog

Here's some of this and some of that. Sleeping dog, red magnolia, chevre cheese and fig jam and cyclamen in my whale pot.

Red magnolia in my garden in February 2020.
New info added Feb. 20, 2020: this is a Black Tulip Magnolia, which is described as purple or burgundy. I think of it as red, but now I can see it is burgundy. The flowers are shaped like nice plump tulips.
I planted this tree about a year and a half ago and love this pop of red which sings to me in a winter month that is sometimes cold and  dark. I didn't actually plant it, I hired a landscaper who is a family friend to do the hard work. I think the tree is 8 feet tall! I am an old lady, as you know. Old but often joyful, ha ha.

A white cyclamen in my new pot in the shape of a whale.
This is on my patio outside my kitchen sliding glass doors where I can see it often throughout the day.

Goat cheese and fig jam
I happened to find this delicious duo at a locally owned natural foods store: goat cheese (chevre) and fig jam. I had not tried this before, it is ultra tasty on crackers. My new food fling.
My Sleeping Bounce
You know the expression, Let sleeping dogs lie? This photo of my dog Bounce reminds me of that saying. It is a very rare photo of him when he remained asleep when I sneaked up to take the photograph. In all other pictures he opens an eye just to peek at me. I think it is so cute, he is deeply asleep.

This is his nest on my new sofa, between the back of the sofa and the nice plump cushion. He is very secure there.
Lunch with friends
What have I been up to recently? I am organizing two groups to go out to lunch and I will tell anyone who will listen, it is like herding cats. Try finding a day and a restaurant everyone likes but I find it well worth my effort as we get to spend time together. One is a group of widows from my church and the other is people I worked with at the university libraries. Fun people and good company.
I am a volunteer visitor
I also am a volunteer visitor to a retirement/memory care home, and have done that once a week for five years. I did the math, that is 250 visits thus far, and it is very rewarding. People there like to see a faithful visitor who likes them and who is not paid to care about them. It makes me happy too.
Quote about Impossible, from Audrey Hepburn
Nothing is impossible. The word itself says "I'm possible." by Audrey Hepburn, the apex of old-Hollywood elegance.  Found in my Wild Words from Wild Women calendar.

My favorite books read in 2019 and Bookmarks

I read a lot of books in 2019 and enjoyed most of them. This is a list of my favorites from that year. I see themes developing in my favorites, many are about senior ladies, being happy, mysteries and dogs!
Still Happy by Elizabeth Berg.
I have read a few of her novels and enjoy them and I took a chance and bought this collection of her short essays, which were originally posted on FaceBook. Wonderful. Humorous. Smart. Berg also includes a memoir about her much loved dog, which makes it special. Yes, the dog dies, in case your heart is too tender to read this at the moment. Below is the cover of another book Berg wrote, which I haven't read yet, but I intend to, and I include it here because the cover is prettier!

Widow's Journey by Gayle Roper. 
 I relate to this author, she writes in a friendly style and has tips on going through the widow's journey and short vignettes about her own story. This is a small short book and easy and helpful to read. My husband died three years ago and this is a good pep talk refresher book. I have many books on grief that are big, helpful and full of sound ideas but rather a handful to read. This one is short and sweet.
Dog Songs: Poems by Mary Oliver.
When I discovered Mary Oliver I thought I must be the last to the party, to discover her. This is a fabulous book of poems about dogs in her life. Easy to read, poignant, humorous, sad, and most of all uplifting to read. I love that when she signed contracts to teach at colleges there was always her own dog clause in the contract, giving her permission to bring her dog to class. She found that the visiting dog loosened up her poet students. 
Miss Hargreaves by Frank Baker.
I reviewed this novel in 2019 on my blog. It has an original plot in which a young man and his friend invent an imaginary elderly eccentric lady to explain their presence where they shouldn't be. The book has some hilarious scenes. Imagine his horror when the lady turns up to stay at his parents' home where he lives, with her parrot, harp and bath in tow. She is delightful but soon develops a mind of her own and causes him serious problems. She gets stronger and stronger. Read the book to find out what happens.
Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse. These are stories published between 1918 and 1922 and I think they are very funny, and like all his books, his writing is bound to bring me laughter and smiles. If you haven't read Wodehouse before you might start with "The Code of the Woosters" or just jump in anywhere with his books. The Blandings books are fun too, and feature The Empress, a huge prize winning pig doted on by the eccentric Lord Emsworth.
A surprise discovery for me was the ebook Miss Budge in Love by Daphne Simpkins. This book was offered to me by bookbub.com (are you all subscribed to this, free and inexpensive ebooks). Miss Budge is a kind senior Christian lady and the stories are all entertaining and rather upbeat.  I think there are other books about Miss Budge.
I like all the Mrs. Pollifax books and read  A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman in 2019. Mrs. Pollifax is a senior widow who finds herself accidentally becoming a secret agent who is able to not be found out because she definitely does not look like a spy. I think the first in the series is The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, a fun one to start with as you find out how she becomes a spy.

Bookmarks
What goes better with books than bookmarks? Here are some newer favorites of mine. The magnetic ones are cute and they do not fall out, so my place is saved.

The yellow one is one I colored from a Womens Bible study group last year. The study mixes creativity and study.