Print edition: 
Kansas Grown Winter Market
There’s an indoor winter version of the summertime Kansas Grown Farmers Market going on from 8 a.m. to noon today inside the Extension Center at 21st and Ridge. Vendors will be selling produce, canned goods, baked goods and crafts. “Pick up some provisions for your holiday meals or grab some stocking stuffers …,” the market says. “You will not only support local farms and businesses but get truly unique … items to share over the holidays.”
How does your New Year’s Eve sparkle?
Do you have a particular toasting glass or noisemaker or other item or items you use every year in your New Year’s Eve celebration? E-mail acalovich@wichitaeagle.com.
100-watt phase-out
The phase-out of incandescent light bulbs begins Jan. 1 with the 100-watt bulb. Succeeding years will say goodbye to the incandescent 75 watt (Jan. 1, 2013) and the 60 watt (Jan. 1, 2014), in keeping with the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Starting in 2012, “general service incandescent lamps” will have to be at least 30 percent more energy efficient than today’s incandescent versions, Sylvania says.
Christmas tree shopping
If you still plan to buy a cut tree for Christmas, look for one that has a healthy green appearance and few brown needles. Needles should be flexible and should not fall off when you run your hand over the branch. Raise the tree a few inches and let it fall on the cut end; very few (if any) green needles should fall off. (It is normal for brown needles to be shed in this way.) Remove about one inch of the trunk before putting the tree into its stand. This cut should be straight across, not angled. Do not shave off the tree’s bark to get it to fit into the tree stand; find a larger tree stand instead. Most of the water is taken up through the bark, so shaving it off will seriously limit water movement.
Akron Beacon Journal
