Quarantine Update #5 - getting ready for Easter

Hello everyone 

Not much news here except a few food happenings 

I followed these instructions and made 

Fruit Turnovers. No glaze on ours though,  I don’t think it’s needed 

Since it will just be 2 of us for Easter lunch,  I made a tiny batch of “double eggs”. I usually make 2 dozen eggs for family gatherings 

The plain eggs will be for lunches next week 

Friday night we had homemade pizza.  I baked it on a pan I got from Amazon awhile back and it was really crispy.  

And the bottom crust baked in a polka dot pattern 😀

     

I finished more masks 😷. And cut out 10 more.  When I finish them,  I plan to sew something different than masks though.  

And took my parents, who are safe and secure in their retirement home, a small care package- leftovers, newspapers, masks, and trash bags that are not available right now on our Walmart grocery pickup.  

Kim at Out My Window  asked for the recipe for the sirloin tips I cooked this week.  Sorry Kim, it’s not an actual recipe,  I just winged it but they were very good. 

I browned some sliced mushrooms from the freezer and some diced onions, then removed them from the pan.

In that same pan,  I browned the sirloin cubes just until done in 2 batches, and removed them from the pan. 

Again in that same pan, I made a packet of brown gravy mix (2 cups worth) 

When the gravy was bubbly,  I added back the meat, onions and mushrooms and simmered it  a bit.  

We ate it on top of mashed potatoes and it would be good with rice or egg noodles too.  

What are you all thinking about this quarantine-shelter at home situation?  

When do y’all think it will be over? 

Quarantine update #4 - malaise days

Hello everyone 

I didn’t accomplish much today.  I’ve had several days during this shelter in place where I just haven’t felt like doing a thing.  From what I’ve seen on social media,  it’s a very common feeling right now.  Are y’all going about as normal everyday  or are you having days like me sometimes? 

My husband worked in the yard a lot today. 

He also drove out to a plant sale at the small country school 2 of our grandchildren attend.  The school has an agriculture department and a greenhouse.  They grow and sell plants as a learning tool and as a fundraiser.  

We had to buy our plants sight unseen because of social distancing.  We filled out a form and texted it back to the school.  Then my husband drove to the school, texted them he was there and they put our plants in the back of his truck - very simple.  

Below are some of the plants I picked out

They are called Donkey Ear,  Mother of Million and Mother of Thousand.  I didn’t know what they were,  I ordered them because I liked their names. 

This photo does not do this hanging basket justice,  it is just beautiful and lush in real life.  

I sewed on masks today,  and just have these left from yesterday’s 20 to finish.  

For supper,  I made sirloin tips with mashed potatoes and green beans.  

My plate 

Husband’s plate - he worked much harder than I did today - and he likes black pepper more than I do too.  

Dessert was a lemon cake from a mix with homemade lemon glaze.  

The glaze is just 1 1/3 C sifted powdered sugar mixed with just enough lemon juice to make a spreadable glaze.  I used about 2 T juice.  

It makes a tart glaze on top of sweet cake and is just delicious 

And that’s about all that happened here today 

Hope you all are fine 

❤️Rhonda 

Quarantine update #3 and some replies

Hello everyone,  it feels good to be blogging again.  I know I need some routine in my day and this is a routine activity that I’ll enjoy doing.  

Today was more mask sewing.  I cut out 20 from a different pattern and did some chain sewing of them today.  I hope to finish them tomorrow and deliver them to City Hall.  

Today’s work above 

Yesterday’s finished masks, after laundering - I think there are 24

In the kitchen,  I made a salad 

And sliced lettuce and tomatoes to add to the sandwich ingredients box that we usually have in the fridge.  

Supper was a change from the 2 week menu.  We had leftover turkey lasagne from yesterday soo we had that with California vegetables and another 1/2 recipe of focaccia bread.  

I’m missing my grandchildren.  Today,  we had a yard visit with 3 of them and a FaceTime visit with 2 of them.  That helped a lot ❤️



 Replies - about the protection level of masks,  I cannot vouch.  But I do know our local hospital has been requesting them for several weeks and they want them 4 layers thick.  Our city also wants them and asked they be at least 2 layers thick.  

I did find this online but I don’t know if it is absolute truth 

About Jo Ann York,  I’ve never seen any more information or books from her after she did the cookbook and was featured in several magazines in the late 70s and early 80s.  I’ve done several internet searches looking for her and never found anything for sure but I did find an obituary for a woman by the same name, same age group and same geographical area who died of cancer.  I just don’t know.  

Lejmom- I feel the same way about blog friends- you are  like faraway family and  good friends.  

❤️ Rhonda 

Stay safe at home 🏡

Quarantine update #2

Hello everyone 

I’ve been sewing masks today.  There are many free patterns online and I’m not sure which pattern is best.  

I’ve sewn about 20 masks in the past week and have given some to our children and my husband has been wearing one when he does errands.  

He likes the style with the elastic loops around the ears and that bottom orange mask is his favorite and it has been laundered.  I’m glad it washed so well as  the masks need to be laundered after every wearing.  

Our local hospital asked for home sewn masks about 2 weeks ago and today, our city manager asked for masks for essential employees.  So I cut out about 20 more masks and am in the middle of sewing them. 

They all have the chevron print flannel on the inside to be soft on the face and I tried to pick darker, not feminine prints as I know many of the essential city workers will not want floral prints.  

My husband worked in his garden and picked some spinach and one strawberry. 

The spinach will be for supper and I ate that lone strawberry, it was very good! 

Supper will be turkey lasagna, a half recipe of focaccia bread and spinach.  

I boiled eggs and they will be nice on top of salad and for egg sandwiches.  

I saved the water that the eggs boiled in.  When cool,  it is good water for plants.  Some of the calcium and minerals leach out of the shells and act food for the plants.  

After I took this photo,  I decided I should put away those paper napkins.  My husband and I use cloth napkins and we have paper napkins when visitors are here,  but nobody will be visiting for a good while.   

That’s the highlights of today - 

 

Hope you all are well and coping OK with this isolation. 

 ❤️ Rhonda 

Quarantine hello

Hello everyone

We are fine here in Oklahoma and probably doing just about the same things as most of you.  

Staying home,  using gloves and hand sanitizer on the rare trips we make out,  have distant  visit with our family (which is good but just makes me miss them even more) gardening some,  sewing some, cooking and eating and watching tv- and I confess to playing way too much Candy Crush Soda- 

I haven’t planned meals as much I should so this week, I made a 2 week plan and hopefully we will mostly stick to it.  

Today,  I just made a batch of cole slaw to have with supper tonight and probably lunch tomorrow.  My husband really likes coleslaw and will eat big helpings.  

I followed this recipe except I chopped everything by hand, used yellow mustard instead of lemon juice and increased the sugar.  

The recipe is from this book- an oldie but still very good - copies of it are hard to find though 

My 2 week meal plan - 

Breakfasts  will be frozen sausage and biscuits, oatmeal, cereal, eggs and toast or pop tarts 

Lunch will be sandwiches or leftovers

Suppers will be as listed 

I will add more vegetables or salads and desserts to each day as we want too - 

This week is grandson JJ’s birthday.  His other grandparents had bought him a very special gift, he was going to be a batboy when the university in our town opened their brand new mens baseball stadium.  But that’s all been postponed.  So,  my daughter asked all their friends and family to send him a short birthday video and she got 47 replies! One was even from JJ’s favorite team on the Lego battle tv show.  

If you can,  enlarge the photo  to see his birthday shirt.  It’s a 7 wearing a facemask 😷 

Stay as safe as you can ❤️ Rhonda