What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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the portable propane heater which kept us awake and watchful at night. These were replaced with a Rinnai wall-vented propane heater. We're spoiled with year-round 24/7 climate control now. This year, my wish was for snow. And Santa delivered it early! We had great fun tromping around in boots and building a snow bunny (a tradition). Snow covered the solar panels, so Ryan dusted them off using a broom. It was magical to live in essentially an 8x-by-24-foot box surrounded by windows, gazing out at falling flakes. We got about 5 inches accumulation here. Finally, it felt time to decorate for Christmas. Window clings are excellent options for small spaces, because they don't take up horizontal space. Snowflakes decorate our front door window, stars cover the casement window, and we also put up a snowy village scene with one house that looks like a friend's historic home in St. Louis! My long-awaited dream for a Christmas tree will have to wait some more, but we have a plan. Clear out the unused appliances and boxes from the storage loft and get a 4-foot tree next year as a reward. Maybe the family ornaments can finally come out of storage! What holiday is complete without goodies and special meals? Our tradition is a Christmas Eve lasagna, which we bake in our All American Sun Oven outdoors if it's sunny (no matter how cold, this thing works). It's made with vegan ricotta (composed of soaked shelled almonds blended with Italian spices) and the usual lasagna ingredients in an unusual circular black oven pot that's designed to work well with solar cookers. When electricity is abundant enough — and the days surrounding the winter solstice make that a real challenge — we bake cookies in a small toaster oven. Because it's up on top of kitchen cupboards, we use a step stool to move the cookie trays in and out of the oven. We may have struggled through our past two winters, but this year, we're cozy and comfortable, and we can laugh at our past misadventures. Now if you'll excuse me, I have about an hour left of sun to shower with hot water from the water heater. It's electric boogie woogie woogie! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone! Amanda Bancroft is a writer, artist, and naturalist living in an off-grid tiny house on Kessler Mountain. She and her husband Ryan blog about their adventures and offer tips to those wanting to make a difference at www. RipplesBlog.org. Go to: facebook.com/BestBranson Like The Best of Branson on Facebook for a chance to win some Really Great Prizes! This week's prize: New contest each week! facebook.com/BestBranson LIKE our Facebook page before 11:59 pm this Tuesday, Dec. 29, to be entered to win A free pAss TO DECEMBER 27, 2020-JANUARY 2, 2021 WHAT'S UP! 41 PRESIDENT Brent A. Powers EDITOR Becca Martin-Brown 479-872-5054 bmartin@nwadg.com Twitter: NWAbecca ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jocelyn Murphy 479-872-5176 jmurphy@nwadg.com Twitter: NWAJocelyn DESIGNER Deb Harvell 479-872-5029 REPORTER Lara Hightower 479-365-2913 lhightower@nwadg.com WHAT'S What's Up! is a publication of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. ON THE COVER Friends sit together atop the Dickson Street Pub as cars pass below. Fayetteville's outdoor entertain- ment district has been a huge hit this year. (NWA DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE/ANDY SHUPE) Amanda Continued From Page 37