Late October Hodgepodge

Happy Wednesday...
and welcome back to Joyce and her Hodgepodge.
She asks the questions and we answer them on our blogs.

So this has been a strange fall but we are finally just starting to get some pretty color.
It may be another week before I get some decent photos so in the mean time,
here are some spider webs.



I love lace doilies and I love it even more when the roadsides are decorated with them.



A favorite hay barn on a favorite country road.

Here are some milkweed pods I pulled from the archives since I haven't seen any this fall.
My go-to place where I normally find them growing has been mowed down several times this year.

I came across these lovelies in an old folder from a couple of years ago,



Trying out a newly acquired lens here...



...and here.

My lantana looks so out of place among all of the dry, fallen leaves...
...but it's still going strong!
~
So let's get on with the questions....

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

Wow, tough question! Life is certainly full of surprises...where do I begin?? I remember being a young girl and lying in bed at night and wondering how long I would have my parents with me since they were so much older than me. I also remember doing the math in my head...by the time I was 20, they'd be in their 60s...by the time I was 40, they may not even be living. What a tremendous blessing that they both lived to be in their 90s...Mom, into her late 90s and able to enjoy their many grand and even great-grand children. Also when I think back, the thought of leaving my home town never even crossed my mind or seemed like a possibility.  I am one of only two of us eight kids who's life took them away from home.

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?

There is no one answer for me when it comes to sweet potatoes...it all depends on what I'm eating with it. If I'm eating a burger, I'd go for the fries...turkey, the casserole for sure (Thanksgiving just is not Thanksgiving without it)...steak, I'd go for baked. For dessert pumpkin pie, no doubt! Come on Joyce, how can you just pick one of these items from the menu??

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 did not know of any books that were set in Ohio...that is until I googled it. The list that came up were no books that I had ever heard of or read...in fact, most were rather dark in nature...not my cup of tea anyway. I did however notice that "Beloved" was on the list. Somehow, I managed to see this movie when it was on TV but did not read the book. It was interesting but rather dark as well. If I was rating it, I'd give it maybe 2 stars.

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

No, I haven't...and I don't.

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?

Why, yes...I have spent LOTS of time there! I fell in love with Tennessee when I was a girl and first traveled through it on our way to SC to visit my brother. I often fantasized about living in those mountains one day. Little did I know then that years later, our youngest son would go to college in Nashville (Trevecca Nazarene University), meet his wife and wind up making his home there. Most you know that we also hope to make a home there as well, hopefully very soon.

The top rated tourist attractions in Tennessee are-

The Great Smoky Mountain National Park (Gatlinburg area) - yes, it's heavenly

 

and one of the great tunnels...

 

 

Elvis's Graceland (Memphis)

Birth of the Music Biz (Memphis and Nashville) - yes, many times

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

Chattanooga and the Tennessee Valley Railroad - yes, honeymoon...does riding the Incline count?

Downtown Knoxville - yes...Jim had a job interview there once

Lookout Mountain - yes...honeymoon

The Titanic Museum (Pigeon Forge)

The Museum of Appalachia (Clinton)

The Lost Sea Adventure (Sweetwater)

How many on this list have you seen? Looks like about 5.

Which one on the list would you most like to see? I'd love to visit The Museum of Appalachia.

 

6.  Insert your own random thought here.

Can y'all believe that Thanksgiving is less than a month away? The years seriously seem to get shorter and shorter as I grow older and older. 

Until next time...