Memphis Democrat
December 3, 2008

Tony here with the news from Dancing Rabbit. First, the weather -- Snow! We got our first snow of the season these past few days. Only and inch or two but enough to get the kids out sledding, building snow people, and having snowball fights. And for our solar powered village it means solar panel cleaning season has arrived. After most snowfalls the panels need to be brushed off if you want to start making power. Its not uncommon though to wake up and find out that some kind soul has already cleaned yours off -- its good to have friendly neighbors.

Last week's big event was of course Thanksgiving. We had over 40 people stuffed into our common house for the meal, an intimate size compared to some of our community potlucks this year, but still a tight fit when outdoor seating is not an option. There was an abundance of food of course, much of it locally grown including apple and peach pies, homemade bread, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and turkey from Sandhill.

It has also become DR Thanksgiving tradition to serve the annual Toflump - a tofu based dish with stuffing that was originally called tofurkey but it looked a lot more like a lump than a turkey and thus tofu-lump produced Toflump (often abbreviated further to just 'flump'). It may not sound like much, but even the omnivores were going after the orange-juice braised Toflump. Yumm.

Not only was the Thanksgiving meal amazing but a fun time was had by the many who joined forces to cook the meal. It was a veritable party in the Common House kitchen as folks prepared their dishes. And of course the festivities continued on Friday as we gathered for the big leftover party at lunch!

Also on Thanksgiving we had some surprise guests of Jacque and her son Narayan. Jacque had been living in Hawaii since she left DR but recently moved back to Lawrence, KS. She was in the area visiting relatives and stopped by for a few hours. It was great to see her and the smiling little guy too.

Earlier in the week a group gathered at Tom and Tereza's for what has become a weekly song circle. Folks come with songs to teach and sing, mostly 'a capella' often including rounds and chants. Its a great time to connect with people musically and is only getting better as we learn more of each other's songs.

There was also a gathering of people looking to build houses in the new neighborhood next year. Folks got together to explore possibilities for collaboration and cooperation around everything from shared woodpiles, shower and laundry facilities, preserving solar access, shared power systems, and more. There is quite a crew ready to build so we should see a lot more exciting stuff out that way next year.

All in all its been sort of a quiet week with many folks off visiting family for the holidays. With so many people gone there is a lot of pet sitting and house sitting to be found. Thomas has been over at Chad and Kim's place at Red Earth Farms keeping the dogs entertained (and fed). Alyssa and Zane have been making twice daily pilgrimages to tend to Amy's cats - one of the highlights of one-year-old Zane's day, it seems. Matt has been house sitting for Liat, and seems to be appreciating the warmth of the indoor space.

We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Stay warm.

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