I came across a mention of Ten on Tuesday on Facebook. Sounded fun so I thought I’d jump in!

This week’s topic is Ten Things You Like About Where You Live. Here goes!

1. I’m closer to family than I was previously.
2. There are a lot of wonderful Farmer’s Markets and CSA opportunities.
3. If I want to be alone, I can get in the car and be out in the middle of nowhere in about 20 minutes.
4. Another benefit of being within reasonable driving distance to the middle of nowhere is experiencing night. I mean, really experiencing it. No ambient light from neighbors or the city lights. It is just you, the crickets and pitch black.
5. I love the small town vibe with all the conveniences of a major metro.
6. Prairie dogs crack me up.
7. I live somewhere cold enough to wear my hand knits.
8. Midwesterners, in general, are a friendly and welcoming lot.
9. BBQ
10. I love the thunderstorms. (Though I could do without the tornadoes!)

• Reading: Assorted books on ethnic mittens.
• Listening to: The Be Good Tanyas‘ Blue Horse.
• Watching: S1E1 of Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie on Hulu.
• Drinking: Iced tea made with herbs from the garden.
• Eating: Sweet cherries. Lots and lots of cherries. Seriously. Mom won’t stop buying them.
• Knitting: A Koolhaas hat in pink Shubui merino worsted and a Claudia hat in kelp green Madelinetosh Vintage.
• Digging: Working at home with ready access to naps and Felix the Cat.

But not all at once, of course…

Since I’ve been here, I’ve made it a practice most nights to have some sort of a refreshing drink ready in the evening. I’ve been keeping busy during the day and MamaInBlue works a full day at a stressy job, so it is nice to relax with a cool drink. And sometimes water just doesn’t do the trick!

MamaInBlue will occasionally drink sugar-free beverages like Crystal Light and I do not. We both like fruit juices and sometimes indulge in the vino or a mixed drink but neither of us like to drink our calories. So we’re looking for something that doesn’t have any added sugar, doesn’t use artificial sweeteners and is relatively low calorie. Where to turn? Why, aguas frescas, of course.

To be honest, I might be playing a little fast and loose with the term. I know that aguas frescas can mean different drinks in different areas. I tend to think of them as fruit, veggies or herbs mixed with water for a light and refreshing drink. I’ve been winging recipes from day to day:

• Cucumber Water – A few years ago, I bought a glass of it at the Farmer’s Market in Winter Park, FL on a hot day. It really hit the spot! Quite simply, this is plain water with a few slices of cucumber dropped in. I prepared them a few hours in advance and put them in the fridge to allow the flavor of the cukes to develop in the water.
• Blueberry Seltzer – One night, I muddled a handful of blueberries in a glass, poured cold seltzer over and served immediately.
• Fruity Seltzer – Another quickie. We had frozen mixed fruit in the freezer, a mix of pineapple, mango, peaches and strawberries. I put a handful in a glass, poured seltzer over and served immediately.

Last night, I decided to make use of some watermelon that had been in the fridge a few days and was starting to get a bit soft. I cut it up into chunks and tossed it in a blender to puree until smooth. I muddled some of our garden’s mint in the bottom of a glass, filled it about halfway with the watermelon puree, filled it the rest of the way with seltzer and stirred gently with a spoon.  Tasty! I would have liked to add a little squeeze of lime but we had none in the house.

In the future? I have plans for light iced teas made from one of the many varieties of mint growing in the garden. A cherry-mint agua is also on my mind.

I’ve been taking advantage of bits of free time, here and there, to indulge the knitting bug! Just finished this project this morning.

The pattern is the Marsan Watchcap, which is my favorite Go To pattern for dudes. The yarn is Dream in Color Classy in Midnight Derby. (Note: I find the large size to be quite small so, depending on the size of the noggin, I generally cast on 96 or 104 stitches instead of the recommended 88.)

No pictures BUT…

Sweet corn from the farmer’s market + a squeeze of lime + a sprinkle of chili powder = GOOD!