Of Rats and Jen

Whew! What a busy day I’ve had already. And I haven’t even gotten to any of my normal activities yet.

First up was a doctor’s appointment. That always disrupts the morning, just because I have to be somewhere other than home, doing something other than my usual routine. The good news, though, is that everything’s looking, well, good – glucose, cholesterol, bp, etc. Sure, the doctor wants me to be exercising more, but I know that’s important, and I’m working to fit it in where I can.

After that, we made a dash over to our local Big Lots! store. Last night on the Unofficial TiVo Blog, I’d spotted a heads up about a great deal – Big Lots! has a limited supply of Series 2, Dual-Tuner TiVos for $69.99. And to make the offer even better, the purchase is eligible for a $150 rebate from TiVo if you buy before October 27.

ETA: There may be some issue about the eligibility of this purchase for the rebate. Please see my post about it at Shopping Jen for more information.

Even if this purchase doesn’t qualify for the rebate, it’s still a good deal – the same unit goes for $99.99 at the TiVo website, and you have to pay the first month of subscription service at the same time to boot. I don’t regret picking this up at Big Lots!

You heard that right – spend $69.99 on the TiVo at Big Lots!, get back $150 from TiVo in a mail-in rebate (PDF). You effectively get the TiVo for free, and then get an extra $80 in your pocket to boot. In our case, because we qualify for a multi-service discount on this unit, that’s like getting almost a year’s worth of TiVo service for free.

The deal at Big Lots! is only available while supplies last. You can go to their main website to see if there’s a store in your area.

If you happen to pick up a TiVo, and care to give me credit for the referral when you activate it, please list me as folkcat@tds.net . Thanks!

So here it is, nearly 3 p.m. already. I’ve done a lot today – seen the doctor, set up a whole new TiVo unit in the house – but I’m only just getting to even thinking about blogging, let alone giving the Rattie Sisters any attention.

Crafting Progress Mostly In The Kitchen

Slow. My Real Life (RL) friend who got me into Second Life was the only one who showed up for the weekly Craft Circle in my home, and we spent the night crafting, sure. But we did it in Second Life. She showed me how to make a nice poster from a graphic she’s given me, a Japanese painting of a mountain to hang on the wall of my house.

I did knit a little bit, but not enough to justify showing. I also did some cooking – Gryphon and I have discovered how easy it is to roast a whole, small chicken in the crockpot. So we watch for a good sale, cook it up, then take the meat and make yummy things like Chicken Taco Casserole. Easy to make, delicious, and keeps well. You can also make it ahead and freeze before baking for later use.

I made chocolate chip cookies over the weekend. Used a recipe from the Internet – I wasn’t too happy with it, but it was okay. The chocolate was leftover milk chocolate melting wafers that I had in the refrigerator – I just chopped them up and threw them in the batter. Ultimately, the milk chocolate was too mellow a flavor to go with the dough I made, but you know what? The cookies were still tasty, just not the best I’ve ever made. Just being homemade counts for a lot.

I’m getting the itch to make homemade applesauce, too. We have many orchards within a few miles of here, there’s no excuse for me not picking up the best, freshest apples and making a batch. That’s easy to do on the stove, too, but I have often used the crockpot just to keep from having to stand there stirring. Just peel and cut up your apples (removing the cores, of course), toss them in the pot with 1/2 cup of liquid – water, cider, orange juice, or what have you – and cook on low. Stir occasionally. You’ll have an idea when the apples have softened and cooked down enough to be done. You can either just mash them up well with the back of the spoon or a potato masher, or if you don’t like your sauce chunky, use a stick blender or food processor. Freeze anything you won’t use right away.

I like to season my applesauce a little with Chinese five-spice. Don’t add it too early in the process – you want the flavor of the spice fairly fresh. Wait until the sauce is nearly done, then stir in a teaspoon at a time until it tastes right to you.

I need to go get some salad now. Yeah, we finally ate after the doctor’s appointment, but I’ve been so on the go that I need the next bit of something.

There will be more crafting later this week, I promise. And there just might be something good for Freebie Friday!