Day 8 of 90 Quarantined - in Comfort

Five of my children contracted chickenpox this week. We are staying home for the next fourteen days. If there were an epidemic or a pandemic, it would be necessary for citizens to follow a Self Imposed Reverse Quarantine for possibly many weeks or months depending on the severity of the disease, how quickly citizens arrest the disease with proper hygiene, and how quickly a vaccine could be made. Having 3 months supply on hand is very comforting although I am not as prepared as I would like. It is recommended to have 3 masks per person to help prevent the spread of the virus. I don't have any. Soap, hand sanitizer, antiviral tissues are the other items to have on hand besides food and water. Wish list for May - masks.

I am earning a D in sending lunches. The difficulty is this child does not like sandwiches and I haven't managed time wisely enough to assemble lunches before she leaves. Yesterday I sent ham and cheese, peanut butter and honey, 2 oatmeal muffins, carrot sticks and 1/2 orange.

From resources on hand sandwich fillers could be cheese, ham, tuna, chicken salad, roast beef, PB, refried beans, or a "cheese ball" spread. We could assemble sandwiches on white, wheat, tortillas, English muffins, bagels, pita, or crackers - all homemade. ( I will be practicing on all these recipes over the next 11 weeks.)
For sides we have carrot sticks, celery sticks, nuts, dried fruit, dried apple slices, fruit leather (I want to try), canned tangerines, other canned fruit, and yogurts. For desserts we can make cookies, granola bars, muffins, and I did stock up on fruit snacks and some candy bars in case we had to take a road trip. Once in a while I could add those to a lunch. The trick is not so much what to send but meeting the requirements of no refrigeration, no way to heat leftovers, and keeping it from being crushed in an already overfull backpack. Not to be defeated, stay posted to see how we conquer the challenge of sack lunches.

Breakfast: Spanish eggs - dried eggs topped with diced tomatoes, chopped onion, and green pepper with oatmeal muffins The children refused the eggs - not two days in a row! They taste like "dust with water." This child ate leftover Joe's potatoes.

Lunch: Tortillas with chicken and oranges on the side. The children all rolled out their own tortilla and fried them. I liked the subtle reinforcement that when you are hungry you work to provide your own lunch - everything is not a packaged deal ready to keep your tummy full. They enjoyed eating their fresh hot tortillas.

Dinner: Macaroni/hamburger and tomato (See recipes.)