Wednesday, October 25, 2017

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
xxxxxxxxxxxx

P.S: Holding hands with our Princess.


12 comments:

  1. Hi Pam - I imagine Richard Flanagan's book is really interesting - thanks for reminding us. Two sorts of sake ... interesting! Remembrances ... too many - cheers Hilary

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    1. I've read several of Richard Flanagan's books Hilary and would recommend all of them as he has a wonderful way of writing.
      Thanks for stopping by.

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  2. Ok, I feel really dumb. I never knew Tasmania was in Australia. Geography has never been my strong suit and I'm going to partially blame Hollywood and all the vampire/werewolf movies. Ha! How awesome that you live in Scotland! I've always wanted to visit Scotland but have never made it. My oldest daughter honeymooned there and they both were ready to up and move. They said the people were the nicest they've ever met. How nice of you to drink both glasses of sake. LOL I've never had it. Just looking at the glasses would probably make me tipsy anyway so... LOL Have a wonderful Wednesday!

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    1. You're not dumb, when I first came to the UK loads of people thought I was African as they hadn't heard of Tasmania and instantly thought Tanzania - it's interesting when we realise that the place that has been our entire lives isn't even a blip on other peoples radars.
      Scotland is wonderful and I'm so glad we've moved here.
      Thanks for stopping by.

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  3. Hi Pamela and Ken! I'm not really fond of sake - I've tried but I still prefer my chardonnay. I am going to look into the author that you mentioned. Enjoy your week.

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    1. Hi Katie, thanks for stopping by - before the sake I had some lovely Pinot Grigio which is my favourite white wine.
      Have a lovely week.

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  4. I love the "holding hands with Princess" photo! So cute!
    You mentioned sake: I haven't had that for ages! The one and only time I had it I was on a date with a guy who was pretty fun and he introduced me to it. We drank so much sake that night! It made me quite silly. I liked the warmth of it. I would definitely like to drink it again...

    And I would pick pumpkin pie as my first choice too!

    Have a great weekend,

    Michele at Angels Bark

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    1. Hi Michele, you should definitely try sake again as it was surprisingly easy to drink, though I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

      Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely week.

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  5. Awww Princess has such a cute little hand. :)

    One thing I like about exposure to bloggers in other countries is learning new words. Scrummy is one I've never heard of and I take it that it means it was very good. :)

    I love visiting battlefields. One of my favorites Star Fort in Ninety-Six, South Carolina. I've been to the Grand Ole Opry, but never inside it. Maybe some day.

    I love the fairy lights, too.

    Have a blessed week!

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    1. Scrummy definitely means it was very good - I use that word a lot. If I ever make it to America again there are so many places on my list to visit.

      Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely week.

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  6. The Great Smoky Mountains are a sight to behold. The book about Tasmania sounds interesting. Have a blessed week.

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    1. I would love to see the Great Smoky Mountains - maybe one day.
      Thanks for stopping by and have a great week.

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