Quincy’s Request: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

So we have decorated the tree with lots of store bought goodies and it’s time to start baking things to hang on the tree.

The first recipe I wanted to try was the one requested by Quincy. He wanted oatmeal raisin cookies. I haven’t made them in years so I needed to hunt for a good recipe. I looked around but finally settled on the recipe on the Quaker Oatmeal box. I mean, who better to have a good oatmeal raisin cookie recipe than them, right?

They came out great and made my house smell yummy! We bought sealable snack bags this year to keep our goodies fresh while they are hanging on the tree.

I didn’t measure the cookies so, thank goodness the they were small enough to be able to seal the bag, something I will have to keep in mind as I bake other goodies.

Don’t they look great on the tree? They are delicious. I made these on the weekend and today (Monday) there are only a few left. They were grabbed up pretty fast once we hung them on the tree!

Ok full disclosure: less than half of the full batch actually made it on to the tree. I think it’s a great indicator that the recipe is a “keeper”, don’t you?

Next: A brand new recipe that makes 2 styles of cookies, chewy or crispy.

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

During Quincy and I’s early years of marriage we had some very lean years. One year we had to make the choice between presents or Christmas decorating. We opted to spend our money on presents for the kids but decided that we could bake/cook our tree decorations. Saran wrapped cookies, rice crispy balls, fudge, candy, and beef jerky decorated the tree that year. As people came to our house they were invited to “farm” off the tree and every week we were making something to redecorate the tree.

The next year, and each year after, our daughter requested that we decorate the tree with treats again. This became a Follweiler family tradition. Some things that we made became “requirements” that HAD to be on our Christmas tree. In later years, as we could afford it, we also added wrapped candy and beef stix as well. The other tradition is that we have to find some new things to bake/make to add to the tree each year.

This year we have a “tie dye” tree but the tradition continues. Treats are on the tree ready to be taken and we have already had to “redecorate” the tree once. We have made a list of new recipe’s we will be trying this year.

We thought it might be fun to share our journey through the new recipe’s.

Next: Join us for our baking adventures. Will these recipe’s be sleepers or keepers?

Netflix Original Holiday Movies and Shows 2021 Addition

Netflix will start airing their holiday Originals on November 1st and The Pioneer Woman article has the scoop.

Go to

https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/news-entertainment/a37909607/netflix-original-christmas-movies-tv-shows-2021/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_pnw&utm_medium=email&date=101121&utm_campaign=nl25280156

for a full listing

2021-11-11T13:00:50

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until

Netflix Holiday Originals Countdown

Fall is in the air

There are two things, in our family, that indicate that it is now Fall.

The first one is The smell of Bonnie’s Beef Jerky being dehydrated. Here is that recipe:

Hey Alison, here is my beef jerky recipe:
Miss Bonnie’s Beef Jerky
2 lbs Beef
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Teriyaki Sauce
3 Tablespoon Worchester Sauce
3 level Tablespoon Brown Sugar
2 good Tablespoon Minced Garlic
2 Tablespoon Liquid Smoke
1/2 tsp black pepper

I try to get a roast with the least amount of fat because whe the jerky is done you will have to trim the fat off before you can store it. Also, If I get a larger roast I will double the recipe.

Semi- freeze meat for easier slicing. Slice meat about 1/8’’ thick (a little thicker if you like). You can also ask the butcher to do it for you and they should be able to at no cost.

In a container with a lid combine all ingredients except the meat and stir it really well. Place meat in the marinade; make sure that all pieces have been covered by marinade. I like to use a Tupperware-style container so I can shake it up. Place in the refrigerator for at least 5 hours (I do it overnight). Place meat on Dehydrator trays in a single layer. Place trays so that air can get between them. After about 2 hours move top trays to the bottom and turn the jerky over. Jerky is done when it looks dry, but it is still bendable, not brittle.

The second is the house filling with the smell of Bonnie’s Apple Butter cooking low and slow so that it’s nice and thick. If you would like to try it, here is that recipe. Quincy created my logo, isn’t it cute?

Real Talk Wednesday: My Top 3 Anxiety Remedies

No Delusions of Grandeur

It’s no secret that I’ve been dealing with some pretty heavy anxiety lately (well, since before Christmas) and it’s pretty much changed the way I do just about everything. But I have found some remedies that help get me through and I thought I’d share it with you in case it could help you too!

On a side note, don’t you hate it when someone tells you that you just need more sleep? Like, IF I COULD sleep, don’t you think I WOULD? I need something to calm me down so I CAN get more sleep. Ah, but I digress.

If you’re reading this, I’m assuming you’ve read quite a few articles about anxiety that suggest more sleep, less caffeine, and a better diet. But the following remedies are for the ‘here and now’ ‘I’m freaking out and can’t stop’ moments that are so hard to deal with. This is…

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Big Bang Theory – Follweiler Style – Moving Day Episode

Well Saturday arrived and we were ready, with the truck, for help to arrive so we could get all the big items to the new house. We had been moving things over in boxes but the couch, the adjustable bed, the recliner, the. . . . Well. You get the picture.

The night before we had dropped off our furry babies at our daughter’s house. She is a Family Psychologist, . Yes, I have let her know not to use those skills on me. Either she hasn’t or, kind of worrisome for me, she has and she is so good I don’t realize it – ha!

First came the Vice President of Engineering and two of our grandsons – the Genius and the future Engineer. Then came the two Chemists and a Technical Writer (who has a Masters in Intelligence Analysis). The Rocket Scientist was followed by the Software Engineer. They helped Quincy load the truck. We got the call from the QA Engineer and the Drummer (and Jack of All Trades) that they would meet us at the house.

Now, I know this sound like the preamble of a joke but it’s not, I promise. I wish I had gotten a photo of the whole gang but we were trying to get all that out of the old house in a timely manner.

As I watch all these people arriving I could help but wonder which Big Bang Theory character I am. Am I Penny? Bernadette? Amy? Or, best yet, a combo of all three?

After all that was dropped off at the new house, Quincy and I got to cleaning. We still love that little blue house and wanted her to look her best when the landlord did the walk thru.

He walked through and let us know we were getting our full deposit back. He is mailing it on Monday!! Yay!

Now to get all the boxes unpacked and the furniture put into the correct places – Ahhhhhhhh!

I need my daughter. Maybe I will ask her use some of that Family Psychology on me – just as long as I can pretend not to know she is doing it!! 😀

Feb Follweiler “Not-A-Flip” Update

I know you’ve been dying for our latest update right?

Ok, we have the livingroom painted and the fireplace where it is going to stay:

 

 

We added door stops so the door knobs don’t destroy the wall

 

After consulting with Jamie, we decided to move the laundry room upstairs. It seems that the odds of my making it down the stairs with a laundry basket and landing on my feet were slim so, for safety and convenience, it is now in the Sunroom:

 

We finished the guest bathroom:

Quincy came up with a brilliant idea for the Sunroom doors: I am so excited for how this looks:

 

We scrubbed, cleaned, and polished the kitchen cabinets. We changed out the cabinet pulls. They look fabulous, in my opinion. What do you think?

 

 

Then Quincy decided to try a wild idea. He put primer, and then painted, the master bathroom floor. Check it out:

 

 

My stove and microwave arrived and were installed:

 

I will be giving you all an update soon on the Downstairs, the Master Bedroom, the Sunroom, and more on the kitchen. I love the suspense. LOL

The Latest From “As the Follweiler Turns: Not-a-Flip Edition

I know you have been anxious to see how we are doing on the “Follweiler, not a, Flip” so here goes. We are now on to painting doors, door jams, and floor boards. We had to take the doors off the front living room closet and the hall closet. These are the doors. Can you guess where they go? LOL. We are trying to be more organized – does it show?

The next step will be “touch up” on all the livingroom/hall and floorboards and door jams in the kitchen. We are trying to get all that done before the floor people come in to lay the floor in the hall, livingroom, kitchen, and the top of the stairs.

We then started on the basement. Quincy and our grandson, the Genius, had already taped so we put in the bottom paint and Quincy painted the ceiling. The ceiling needs cutting in and one more coat. The paint design at the bottom needs a little touch up.

Looks good doesn’t it? That yellow color is not staying! I can’t wait for you to see what this is going to look like!!

We have the fireplace/mantle/tv stand coming in a couple of weeks and the stove and microwave should be delivered/ installed in early February. We have picked out the new light fixtures and are still trying to find an electrician for the canned lights in the basement (another group of people who don’t seem to need work).

Thank you for joining us for another episode of “As the Follweiler Turns”. More to come . . . We’re off to paint.

The Third Day of our New-to-us House Renovations

So we had to go to Lowes to pick up another gallon each of the chocolate color, the “Totally Tan” and the “Navajo White” paint. We just want to be sure to have enough and it proved to be a good move after we had to open the new “Totally Tan”. The walls needed two coats and we haven’t done the baseboards (kitchen), doors (living room and hall), and door jams (kitchen) yet.

We painted a “test portion” of the door jam in the living room to see how that was going to work and started on the first coat of the Navajo White in the kitchen. Turns out the green paint doesn’t want to be covered up so we had to do a thicker coat so that will take all night to dry.

The weird thing is how pinkish the Navajo White looks when it’s near the green but how warm white it looks on the wall after the green is covered!!

We decided it was time to go home and let our puppies out before the temp drops to 10 degrees. By the time we got home it was already 13 degrees and dropping. It looks like we are heading for single digits this evening/early morning

I head back to the office tomorrow but Quincy has to go to the house to meet the floor guys so they can measure for new carpeting/flooring so we will both be out in that freezing weather. We have to do the baseboard/door jams next and tape/cut in the basement’s biggest room. Let’s see how much we can get done tomorrow – LOL

Our New-To-Us Renovation – Day 2

So, we decided to go to Starbucks before we went to the house since it was 28 degrees outside. It appeared that wasn’t an original idea as evidenced by the traffic jam in the parking lot

We got to the house and put a coat on the focal wall that we had put a primer coat on last night, taped, and then spackled the kitchen while we were waiting for that to dry so we could “cut in” the focal walls.

Speaking of the focal walls, we changed our plans slightly and we really like the outcome.

Then we started on the rest of the living room walls and th hall. We also finished taping the kitchen. We know that the floorboard and the door jams will be Navaho White but we are thinking of making the doors the color of the living room walls. That decision is for tomorrow:

More to come tomorrow . . . .