What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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C hestnuts falling on an open field, Jack Frost nipping at our hose, cookies baking up a ladder, and solar panels covered in snow. Everybody knows a heater and electric lights help to make the season bright, but those with portable propane heaters will find it hard to sleep tonight. They know the solstice is on its way, loaded with loud generators on dark days. Christmas off the grid can be as cozy as any holiday celebration on the grid, but a little experience, planning and humor are needed if you don't want to live like a yeti. This is my husband Ryan's and my third Christmas living in our off-grid cabin, which we chose as a way to reduce our impact on the environment. Our previous two holiday seasons were filled with minor crises like frozen water inlets and a balcony full of refrigerated foods, but this year we're more experienced and benefited from advance planning. No more frozen water inlets. Ryan built a special box to insulate the connecting point between the already insulated, heat-taped rainwater line from the cistern leading into the house. We ditched the Envi electric heaters that couldn't run at night and stopped using DECEMBER 27, 2020-JANUARY 2, 2021 WHAT'S UP! 37 COLUMNIST MAKING RIPPLES Amanda Bancroft RipplesBlog.org A Different Kind Of Christmas Holidays in a tiny house inspire creativity See Amanda Page 41 The All American Sun Oven bakes a great lasagna, especially when using black cookware that absorbs sunlight instead of reflecting it. Amanda and Ryan Bancroft's off-grid cabin uses propane heat (at right, below window) and a gasoline-powered generator (at left) when the solar panels fail to produce enough electricity to meet the need. (Courtesy Photos/Amanda Bancroft) Ryan Bancroft sweeps snow from solar panels so that they can continue generating electricity. Window clings are good space-saving decorations that can be reused for decades and come in many varieties of designs. Columnist Amanda Bancroft is still working on finding space for a Christmas tree.