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So We Finally Saw The Martian

June 13, 2017 by Poor Gail

One of our ways to save money is to get DVDs from the library.  While the selection is not as large as something like Netflix, our library system does a good job of getting fairly current releases.

We loved it.  For those who don’t remember what this movie was about, an astronaut, played by Matt Damon, is left behind when his fellow astronauts have to make an emergency evacuation from Mars.  Because of an equipment failure, they believe he is dead, and grieve the loss of a compatriot.

Mark Watney, Damon’s character, wakes injured and alone on a planet that could kill him hundreds of ways.  He still has all the equipment left behind, which includes a small amount of food.  But the shelter was built to last days, not months or years, and the supplies are scant.  The rest of the movie is a beautiful suspense ride, both on Mars and Earth, as Watney struggles to survive and NASA realizes that they have unwittingly left a man behind.

Since I don’t want to spoil anything for those who haven’t had a chance to see it, I won’t go into detail.  But I will say that if you have someone in your family who loves science, make sure they see this movie.  Time after time, Watney’s science knowledge is what saves his life.  He is a botanist, but he has wide-ranging skills in math, chemistry and physics as well, just the sort of education you would expect an astronaut to have.  Every science nerd will feel a cry of joy in their heart when they see Watney lay out his technical challenges, then say, “I’m gonna have to science the shit out of this.”

The most stirring part of the movie is Watney’s refusal to give up.  It would be easy for someone in that position to just walk outside the shelter and end it all, but he faces each challenge as it comes.  And since his life could be described as ‘one damn thing after another’, there are a lot of challenges.  But while the movie primarily focuses on Matt Damon, the rest of the cast did a great job, too.  From his fellow astronauts’ grief and anger to the frustration and exhaustion of NASA and the tech companies working with them, the reactions were natural and the acting spot on.  I particularly liked Sean Bean’s character, who fiercely fights for the both Watney and the right of the other astronauts to be informed of the plans for rescue.

You don’t have to a science fan to enjoy this movie.  The suspense, the triumphs, and the danger are enough to pull anyone into this story of one man’s fight to come home.  The Martian gets the Poor House seal of approval.

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A short, spoiler-free review of Wonder Woman

June 9, 2017 by Poor Gail

Go see it.

Oh.  Maybe I should add more detail.

First, let me sweep away all the nonsense that has been swirling around this movie.  It is not a political lecture dressed up as a comic book movie.  It really, truly is a comic book movie, and that’s a good thing.  Wonder Woman has always been a wonderful role model for girls, true.  But WW has had many male fans over the decades, and this movie is for them, too.

I think everyone knows the basic plot of movies like this.  Show where the character comes from, who the bad guy is, and then let the butt-kicking begin.  I think they could have tightened up the origin part a bit, and maybe smoothed out a rough spot or two, but over all they did a great job with this.  My theater broke into applause when it was over.

The biggest thing that needs discussing is the switch from WWII to WWI.  A major theme of the movie is that humanity – men in particular from the view of an Amazon – has the potential for both good and evil.  That every person is a mixture of hero and villain.  That works in WWI, because there was no clear cut ‘bad guy’ in that war.  Countries were dragged into it because of the spiderweb of treaties that tied European countries to each other.  There were certainly villains, but nothing that can compare to the Nazis.  In that war, the bad guys were doing pure evil as a matter of national policy, even before the actual fighting started.  You couldn’t have the ambiguity that the movie needed.

Gal Gadot does a great job showing Diana’s learning curve in dealing with the non-Amazon world.  She and Chris Pine brought a lot of humor to their roles.  Especially noteworthy were the scenes where there was fumbling over the meaning of ‘sleeping with’, Diana’s trip to a dress shop, and the reaction of their compatriots to the news that there is a whole island of Amazons.

The action scenes are powerful, and a joy to watch.  Wonder Woman acts with boldness and confidence, and even when she temporarily falters, it is not long before she regains her center.  The other characters all ring true, even though some of them seem to be stereotypes when we first meet them.  The movie does a great job of letting us see inside of them without dragging exposition.

Is it perfect?  No, but no movie ever is.  There were some lines of dialogue that had me thinking that I would have written them differently, but nobody asked me.  Over all, it is a great movie to watch while you snuggle into a movie seat and chow down on popcorn.  Go, and have fun!

 

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Disney Springs Food Truck Rally

June 3, 2017 by Poor Gail

Every so often Disney Springs, the Walt Disney World shopping and dining venue (think very fancy outdoor mall), invites food trucks from the Orlando area to come and show local residents what is available.  Yesterday I and my family went to DS to see what we could see.  The rally will also be running today from noon to 11 PM.

 

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A short cookbook review

May 30, 2017 by Poor Gail

I love oddball cookbooks. Reprints of eighteenth century housewife guides, recipes from Martha Washington’s kitchen, Shaker cookbooks, I love them. I also enjoy modern cookbooks with an unusual spin.

At the library I stumbled across The Unofficial Downton Abby Cookbook. I haven’t watched a lot of the show, but I enjoy its theming. For a cooking buff, it is a fun look at a type of cooking that very few of us encounter in our lives. For a history buff, it is interesting to see the sort of things people in manor houses ate.

From the practical standpoint, however, its usefulness is limited. Many of the recipes require ingredients that would be hard to track down. Not many neighborhood groceries stock caviar, duck fat, or squab. Quite a few call for very expensive things like lobster or leg of lamb. Still, I will admit it is fun to drool over the thought.

Not surprisingly, the recipes I found the most likely to be useful were in the section called “Sustenance For The Staff”.  It too has its share of things I can’t ever see myself making – Boiled Beef Tongue, anyone? – but has quite a few that sound doable.

My final opinion?  It has a lot of fun things in it for fans of the show, or lovers of Edwardian history, but not a lot for the average cook looking for recipes for regular use.

Here are some sample recipe names to give you an idea of the range of food included.

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How do you save money when you are broke?

May 24, 2017 by Poor Gail

I haven’t completely abandoned the original theme of this blog, and that is living cheaply. One of the things that always annoyed me about some blogs is that they seem to assume that you are being frugal because you want to, not because you have no money. How can you take advantage of sales and bulk shopping when you just barely have enough to buy the necessities?

Here is what I do that really helps. I pick one thing a week to spend a little extra on. I buy an extra large jar of peanut butter, or a big bottle of dish soap. Doing that means I don’t have to spend money on it for a while, and that leaves more to spend the next week. There were still weeks I can’t do that, of course, but it does help.

Another tip is to find a good butcher. I found a place that makes most of its money selling to restaurants, but also has a retail counter. Luckily we have a chest freezer from our pre-poor days, and have room for bulk buys. We get a very small amount of food stamp money, and we almost always spend it at the butcher shop so that we will get plenty of protein in our diet. My husband and I are both Type 2 diabetics, so we can’t do the rice and beans cheap eating that we would be doing otherwise. But even without a chest freezer, we could save money there. Their meat prices are equal or lower than Walmart, and buying things like hamburger or pork chops at ten pounds or more quantities is dirt cheap. Hunt around in your city and see what you can find.

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Not my baby!

May 21, 2017 by Poor Gail

Okay, it’s not actually that bad. Tomorrow my youngest, age 19, has to show up for jury duty. I know that she will almost surely be released, since I used to work in law enforcement and they don’t want to have jurors with ‘influences’. But it still is a stark reminder that my girls are no longer the little kids in my brain.

I spent the last couple of days checking in with people doing the Disney 47 challenge I mentioned last time. None of them made it, alas. The hours this time of year are on the short side, which makes it hard to cram it all in. Another contender tries on Wednesday, and I’ll watch them.

Speaking of Disney, I have decided to start saving up for annual passes. It’s been several years since we’ve been, and I’ve been pining for them. My girls ask constantly when we are going to go to Disney Springs, which is the outdoor shopping center, because that’s the only place we can go that is free. Well, except for the food. And what food!

So far my favorite cheap food at Disney Springs – well, cheap by Disney standards – is at the poutine booth. Big steak fries slathered in gravy with chunks of cheese melting in it. Some of the snack stalls in DS have food so good you really don’t need to go into a restaurant.

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Have I mentioned I’m a Disney junkie?

May 17, 2017 by Poor Gail

Well, for the parks, anyway. I feel no need to see every single movie, and my house is not plastered with Mickey Mouse.

Today I found a new site. It’s called Parkeology, and it has interesting articles. Its big claim to fame, however, is that it hosts the WDW47 Challenge. The challenge? Ride all 47 rides at the four parks at Walt Disney World in one day.

Note that it says ‘rides’, not ‘attractions’, so things like Hall of Presidents or anything else in a theatre don’t count. You have to be moving for it to be a ride. I shudder to think what it will be like after Pandora, Star Wars and Toy Story areas open. That’s going to make it insanely hard!

Yes, it can be done. It has been done. However, it won’t be done by me. I use a cane when I have to do much walking, so I don’t see me power walking through any parks, much less four in one day. But I’ll follow the challenges on Twitter, and if I’m in a park the day one is running, I’ll cheer for them. Sure, you only get bragging rights for it, but I admire their love of Disney parks.

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Mother’s Day at the Poor House

May 15, 2017 by Poor Gail

*groan* Lordie, I’m tired.

It always amazes me how often holidays ‘for Mom’ turn into a day Mom gets to work to create the fun the family thinks she should have.

I imagined yesterday as a golden day when my kids helped me create the herb garden that lurks in my dreams. One of them even bought some plants for me. Instead, I cooked. I cooked what they thought would be a treat for the whole family. And, I can’t deny everyone enjoyed it, and they did help. But it left no time for garden puttering and no energy for me to deal with anything else.

The major effect of my health problems is that I have very limited energy. It isn’t unusual for what was planned as a short nap to turn into waking up the next day. I don’t think my girls have made the mental connection that asking me to do one thing means I probably won’t be able to do anything else. I.e., cooking means I can’t garden.

Oh well. Maybe in a day or two I’ll have the energy.

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Oops again.

May 13, 2017 by Poor Gail

Since the last time I posted, I have had a number of health ups and downs. I have decided that to lift my spirits and get my mind off my neverending battle with the feds over disability, I need to start writing again.

This time, though, it’s going to be a bit different. Let’s face it, there are lots of ‘how to save money’ mom blogs out there. And there is only so much to say on the subject before you get repetitious. Rather than fight over the big dogs’ scraps, I’ve decided the content is going to be me.

Who am I? I’m an in my 50s mom with a wide-ranging list of interests. I like to garden, and cook with fresh herbs and vegetables. I’m also a science-fiction and fantasy fan, computer game enthusiast, and fanfic writer. I live close to Walt Disney World, and love to run around there every chance I get. I may even throw out the occasional comment on the news of the day.

So tune in for reviews of the shows I’ve seen, things I’ve created in the kitchen, and maybe some reviews on aspects of Disney World that other blogs don’t cover. Florida can be an odd place to live, and if you can stand the heat, this kitchen is a great place to be.

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Coupons vs. Store Brands – Why Not Both?

April 1, 2012 by Poor Gail

Okay, hands up out there. How many of you are horrified at the idea of buying store brands? Quite a few, I bet. I know an awful lot of people who equate store brands with the depths of poverty.

But where exactly do you think store brands come from? I’ll tell you where. They come from the exact same processing plants that make those name brands you’re so fond of. Many of them are made with the same formulations and ingredients.

I’ll be honest. Not all store brands are as good as name brands. I can think of one grocery chain, for instance, that has the nastiest peanut butter I’ve ever eaten. And another whose canned soups have a very funny aftertaste. But many are very good, and certainly worthy of trying.

That’s the key. Give them a try, and see if you like them. If you look in my pantry, you will find macaroni and cheese, pasta and rice mixes, canned vegetables, and so forth that my family feels are tasty. And cheap!

“But Gail,” I can hear some of you cry, “what about coupons? You can’t use coupons on store brands.” And I can also hear the chorus from the other side. “See, we told you coupons were useless. Just buy store brands instead.” What is my answer? Use both.

The store brand is almost always the cheapest option, but not always. I’ve seen plenty of situations where the store brand is twenty cents cheaper than the name brand, and I’ve got a fifty cent coupon for the name brand. Or maybe a coupon by itself won’t it the better choice, but a coupon plus a sale will. The key is flexibility.

Flexibility. That’s a word you’ll hear a lot on this blog. So many books and websites will talk about developing a system, but every system breaks down under the right conditions. What you need to do is position yourself to take advantage of every opportunity that you can.

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