The Hodgepodge via Tennessee and Tasmania

After a one week break the Wednesday Hodgepodge is back and thanks to Joyce at the blog From This Side of the Pond for a very interesting set of questions.

1. What's surprised you most about your life or life in general? 

What still surprises me in life is how judgemental and discriminatory people can be to others just because of skin colour, religion, nationality, sexuality, or gender. None of these things make the person - just because I'm a white Australian christian heterosexual female doesn't make me better or worse that others, how I behave and treat others should be what matters. (sorry, slight soapbox moment there).

2.  Sweet potato fries, sweet potato casserole, a baked sweet potato, a bowl of butternut squash soup, a caramel apple or a slice of pumpkin pie...you have to order one thing on this list right now. Which one do you go for?

Pumpkin pie - my beloved made one for the first time recently and it was scrummy.

3. What's a famous book set in your home state? Have you read it? On a scale of 1-5 (5 is fantastic) how many stars does it rate?

I live in Scotland but my home state is on the other side of the world, Tasmania. A wonderful Tasmanian author is Richard Flanagan who always features Tasmania in his novels. His book The Narrow Road to the North won the Man Booker Prize in 2014. The novel of his I would recommend people read is The Sound of One Hand Clapping, which is jointly set in the 1950's during the development of Tasmania's Hydroelectric Dams and the late 1980's where the grown up daughter is trying to understand the past. It's incredibly well written and I would give it a five and recommend it to everyone.

4. There are 60 days until Christmas...have you started your shopping? How do you stay organized for the holidays?

No, no, no!!! I will start as soon as it's November and I try to keep organised with lists and reviewing my lists from previous years. I do love Christmas and how pretty everything looks and I especially love fairy lights everywhere. This was a garden centre we went in today - they have their Christmas grotto set up already.

5. October 26th is National Tennessee Day. Have you ever lived or spent any time in Tennessee? Is this a state you'd like to visit one day? The top rated tourist attractions in Tennessee are-

The Great Smoky Mountain National Park (Gatlinburg area), Elvis's Graceland (Memphis), Birth of the Music Biz (Memphis and Nashville), Dollywood (Pigeon Forge), Tennessee's Military Heritage (many battlefields), The Hermitage (Andrew Jackson's home), The Parthenon (Nashville), Oak Ridge American Museum of Science and Energy, Chattagnooa and the Tennessee Valley Railroad, Downtown Knoxville, Lookout Mountain, The Titanic Museum (Pigeon Forge), The Museum of Appalachia (Clinton), and The Lost Sea Adventure (Sweetwater)

How many on this list have you seen? Which one on the list would you most like to see?

I've never been to Tennessee but there are loads of things that I would love to visit in the state. Of the list above I think the number one thing would be the Military Heritage sights, and especially Shiloh National Military Park. The second place I'd have to go to is the Grand Ole Opry - I grew up hearing about this home of country music so would have to see it for myself.

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Today I drank sake for the first time. We'd had a lovely meal at a Japanese restaurant and the owner gave us a glass each, on the house. The problem being that Ken doesn't drink alcohol so for fear of looking rude I drank both of them. They were small glasses, one being a plum sake (yummy) and the other tasted like a lemon drink (even more scrummier). For those that don't know, sake is a Japanese drink made from fermented rice. I also loved the little glasses that the sake was served in, they were very tactile and fitted perfectly in my hand.

What would your answers have been to the questions? Before you go, pop over to Joyces blog, From This Side of the Pond to see what my fellow bloggers have come up with their hodgepodge.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and try something new this week.

Pamela & Ken
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P.S: Holding hands with our Princess.