Someone I know is depressed (her first episode, out of the hospital a month or so ago) and will be visiting me for a month soon. She is not working and neither am I, and we are both single and loners. We will be visiting with local family part of the time, but we will mostly be alone together.

How can I best help her (or at least refrain from making things worse)? I know we will talk a lot, as we do every day over the phone now. We will go for walks. But are there other things that would make life a little more pleasant for her?
(Unfortunately, as a cause and/or effect of the depression, she has gastritis so the pleasure of eating is hard to manage).

I'm thinking of having light, cheerful movies in the background (at least they will cheer me up), and give her the opportunity to watch too. Maybe beautiful nature documentaries, or other documentaries that divert you from the rut your mind is in. (She definitely needs a break from very serious things that she was dealing with when she got depressed)

If you could also advise me as to what kind of things we could talk about, and what to avoid. I'm not talking about what to say in a quick visit (e.g. don't say "snap out of it"), but what can be discussed at greater length. E.g. should we avoid the whole topic of depression and suicide, unless she directly brings it up? (She has not been suicidal; someone said we should talk about suicide because it is the "elephant in the room", but shouldn't we rather avoid it?)

Any suggestions are welcome!

(Note, I have had depression (I have bipolar disorder), but my meds have been working for 10 years, thank God!)