Our Simple Life on Rose Mountain

[kimnkell]

Uh Oh!!

. We are going totally off grid with no electricity. I know this will be challenging at first but we are so excited to get started. We have been staying in it some throughout the winter but will officially be living there in a couple of months.

I guess in a couple of months we won't be hearing from you then?

Yes, you will still be hearing from me... we will be using batteries for any power that we need and will be building our solar panel stash along the way too. We have to have internet for our business and will be charging our batteries via solar panels with generator back up. I may not be on the computer as much as there will be so many things to do but I will keep you posted...

 

[Rebbetzin]

Oh good, I was wondering how you would be getting the electricity.

 

[dragonlaurel]

Wow! Great cabin and I love that stove. You could get a oven thermometer that goes inside, since they are more reliable that the ones that are normally on wood stoves. Having to learn the stoves "personality " is so worth it- the food just comes out extra special.

 

[kimnkell]

Wow! Great cabin and I love that stove. You could get a oven thermometer that goes inside, since they are more reliable that the ones that are normally on wood stoves. Having to learn the stoves "personality " is so worth it- the food just comes out extra special.

Thank You! I have always wanted a stove like this and it is just as great as I had always imagined it would be. I think I will get a thermometer for the inside of the oven. You're so right , that food is extra special for sure...

 

[kimnkell]

What a beautiful place! I love the heart-shaped potatoes.

Welcome to the forum!

Thank You! I thought those potatoes were awesome. It was really weird to have found them in the bag of potatoes just in time for Valentine's Day.

 

[BarredBuff]

Any garden out yet? We sat out 8 cabbage plants, 8 Brocollis, and planted some lettuce and carrots over the last few days. In cold frames to keep the hens out and so they would freeze over.

Then have some onions out!

 

[kimnkell]

Any garden out yet? We sat out 8 cabbage plants, 8 Brocollis, and planted some lettuce and carrots over the last few days. In cold frames to keep the hens out and so they would freeze over.

Then have some onions out!

Nope not yet... I will probably set my onions out in a few days... I found some sets yesterday and can't wait. Gonna put some lettuce out in the water bed anyday now too. I don't think we are gonna raise a big garden this year, just a small one because we are gonna have a lot of things to do to finish up the cabin and get our son's room built and such. We are also building a cellar to put our canned stuff in since there won't be a lot of room in the cabin for all that I have canned...lol... I am a canning addict too....

 

[BarredBuff]

Me and The Granny are canning fools!!

 

[lorihadams]

My great grandmother cooked on a wood stove her whole life....even after her children got her an electric oven she refused to use it. She made the best biscuits on that stove......I've seen my cousins cry cause they couldn't eat anymore. Seriously....you'll get it once you learn the personality of the oven....you just have to experiment and be willing to feed the disasters to the chickens!

Hubby and I met with a local technician about solar yesterday and I think we are going to keep what we've got for another 5 years or so and when our current electric heating/cooling unit goes out we will seriously look at either solar or an outdoor woodstove for heating our water/air.

We are already considering some small solar panels for lighting the barn. How are the solar incentives in your state? Va is okay but not as good as some other states.

 

[Rebbetzin]

Hubby and I met with a local technician about solar yesterday and I think we are going to keep what we've got for another 5 years or so and when our current electric heating/cooling unit goes out we will seriously look at either solar or an outdoor woodstove for heating our water/air.

We are already considering some small solar panels for lighting the barn. How are the solar incentives in your state? Va is okay but not as good as some other states.

My husband is a design engineer, he says Solar is not yet able to handle the demand most of us have for electricity these days. Plus the storage batteries are made from toxic materials. And the batteries don't have the greatest of liffe span. So if one is going "Green" the batteries are not helping the enviorment really.

He is more in favor of the fuel cell technologies. But all of these alternatives to the buring of oil or coal, have their own drawbacks.

As time goes by, the solar and other technologies will improve no doubt.

Here in Sunny Arizona, we can claim a 25% tax credit, ($1000.00 maximum) for the residential installaton of solar collectors.