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LED technology and DIY

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Off-Gridders have been around for a long time, but it’s just been recently that technology has been available to make living off-grid as cushy as any grid connected home, not only available but affordable as well. One thing everyone needs is light, we have several different options to light the darkness, candles, oil lamps, Coleman lanterns, flashlights, incandescent bulbs, CFL bulbs and most recently, LED lights.

I think all of us have used many of these options at some point in our lives, I can remember camping as a kid and having Coleman lanterns and flashlights, but most of these are either expensive, use up too much power, or they are risky to use (specifically the ones that use fire).…

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Community

Pizza pizza

This past week was a hard one, my work partner and I worked extra long days so that we could have a few extra days off over the weekend, that meant 12 and 14 hour days, I’m not complaining though, it’s work, I enjoy doing it and I get paid well enough to be happy with it. I don’t have to go back to work until Tuesday, so that gives me a few extra days to catch up on some needed rest and chores.…

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Community

Off-Grid update

Winter is coming, it’s well into fall and the season is definitely changing. The air is cooler, especially in the mornings, crisp, I can smell the smoke from a nearby woodstove, with the cooler weather comes dryer weather, I noticed I am getting static shocks when I get out of a vehicle, which is something I am doing a lot more often lately. Right now, I am about to get up and get into my sleeping clothes, something warmer than I have been wearing all summer long.…

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Community

The ultimate bachelor pad on wheels

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Brett Sutherland built the ultimate bachelor pad on wheels to suit his need for a home, balancing cost with useability without sacrificing style, this is one of the best looking tiny homes on wheels I have seen. Brett didn’t care for the tiny homes he had seen before, he felt like they were too cramped for his liking, wanting lots of head room for air flow, especially in his bedroom loft area, the design he created looks great and is very functional, there is lots of air movement as well as light.…

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Community

Picking the wrong plant

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Since having such a wet rainy season, as compared to the previous several rainy seasons, I have seen many more species of wild plants growing, specifically wildflowers. Normally I’m not interested in growing flowers, I don’t want just a pretty face, I generally require any plants I plant and tend to do something useful for me, it needs to be edible and/or medicinal……

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Community

Bobbage bridge update

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Strange name for a title, Bobbage, well if you have followed me for any length of time, you will know that Bobbage is what we call the thing that PB (Primitive Bob) does, he takes things that most would toss in the trash and makes the most wonderful (and wondrous) things with it. Today we will talk about the bridge he is building for us.

This isn’t just any bridge, not a small garden bridge, but one that will not only take foot traffic, but will hold up to trucks driving across it, one at a time of course. :)…

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Community

What do you miss about living off-grid?

1x1placeholderA BBC pop-up asks folks living in Colorado what they miss about leaving the grid behind. Its a nice compilation of radio voices, with scenic Colorado mountain views and a jaunty sound track – find the link on the next page.…

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Community

Make a wish, believe in it

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As the end of summer slides past us, the days are getting shorter and cooler. Our rainy season has all but ended,  the last few days has been almost dreamy, with low hanging clouds and ground fog rolling through, cool and damp, the smell of wood smoke in the air from the first warming fires of the season tickle my nose, we settle into the end of our 7th year living off-grid, this December will start our 8th year, time has flown by so quickly, sometimes I have a hard time remembering my life before moving off-grid, and that is just fine with me.…

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Fermented foods

Earlier today, after church, I was getting ready to lay down to take a nap, the radio was playing softly in the background, I typically don’t care for what is played on the only local radio station we can get, it’s a bit too liberal for my tastes, but they were playing a show that I enjoy, it was America’s Test Kitchen, a show I used to watch on TV and am still getting used to listening to it on the radio.

Today’s show was all about fermented foods, something that I am getting more and more interested in, fermenting takes ordinary foods and turns them into super foods as well as helping them store for longer periods of time-preserving food. Fermentation has been something that has done for generations, from creating wine, spirits and beer, to pickles, sauerkraut, yogurt, kimchi, and many other foods & drink.…

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Community

Now I’m a working gal – blog post

We have been living 100% off-grid since December ’07, before leaving our old life, we both worked jobs, he had his restaurant equipment repair business, I was employed by Best Buy as a merchandiser and worked at Curves (a gym for women) on a very part time basis. Now I’m sitting here in my off-grid sky castle, getting ready to go to bed, sipping on sweet hot caramel flavored coffee. I look forward to going to work early in the morning, something I haven’t done in 7 years.…

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Community

Building up

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This young family lives in Portland Oregon on a half lot, their home is very small by most standards, preferring to build UP instead of spreading around. They took a 407 square foot-print, made it 3 levels, they combine some living areas and omitted others.…

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Edisto river canoe and tree house experience
Community

Tree house vacation

Edisto river canoe and tree house experienceBook a tree house on the Edisto River.

These tree houses have no electricity or running water, but are considered one of the South Carolina Lowcountry’s most unique getaways. Canoe down a dozen miles to the secluded site, then canoe farther down to check out the river the next day.

Each treehouse is tucked in the woods out of view of any other, nestled in the trees on the river’s edge and privately accessed by canoe.…

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