Shopping is NOT something I enjoy doing. In fact it is top of the list for things I absolutely hate. Christmas shopping is something I had to do since Jeff is working and I am the one who always does it. In the states I sold my photography at art fairs and traded with other artists (or bought really cool things) to give as gifts. This year it is hard since there is Sears, Walmart and Kmart and nothing uniquely "Puerto Rican" to give as gifts.
So I got the shopping done and everything mailed off after Thanksgiving but in my shopping journey found a couple goodies for us. A crock pot! Crock pots are great because you can chuck a whole chicken and chopped up veggies into the pot and it does it itself while you do other things. This is a name brand 4 quart crock pot for 19.99 - a deal!
Jeff built a solar dehydrator when we couldn't find one after looking for months at every store imaginable. When guineos are ready, all 250 are ready at the same time and the solar dehydrator can't dry that many. Also, this is Puerto Rico - when you see something you THINK you might need don't hesitate or it won't be there. There were eight of these at 39.99 (on sale reg. 59.99). So I got it. Run don't walk, I've never seen one here before! (Which seems strange given the excess of fruit everyone has).
This is a brand new Toyota Corolla - NOT a deal...there are no deals on cars here and very little negotiating. After driving the truck back and forth on Jeff's crappy commute he wanted a car with shocks and a smooth ride and good gas mileage. Here it is. A nice sparkly blue and the truck is reserved for sports stuff and my driving since I don't care.
So the most important things are: ABS brakes and automatic and is has shocks (at least for now). With a new car there is a 3 year warranty which is another big point. At this point it even seems like Puerto Rico might be a location where "extended warranties" may in certain cases make sense (I'm still thinking about it). So I don't want to get into the "shopper's nightmare" discussion about finding the car. I've ranted enough but have my rewards! Now if I could only find cherry tomato seeds and jicama seeds. Anyone know of a mail order company that will send seeds here in an envelope...good seeds? It is bizarre to me that in the land where everything grows there is a limited and apparently "seasonal" availability of seeds. Humph.
9 comments:
Katrina: Where did you get the food dehydrator? Hopefully I can snag one before they are gone... :-) Miri
Got it at Sears - if you go into the pots and pans area via the baby crap it is in a stack in the aisle on your left. Good luck! katrina
Thanks Katrina. I got one. They actually have a few piles of the boxes so plenty of dehydrators still to be had. I'm not going near the mall again though until after the holidays... :-) Miri
Hello. I have sent some family members Vejigantes. They are uniquely puerto rican masks that are used in Parades but they make great wall art as well. I dont know if you can find this near you or how much it costs some are very pricey. Also Santos are wooden handmade carvings usually of saints of nativity scenes if you have anyone religous & artsy. Homemade lace is made in PR also, but u might only find that in San Juan :)
Love the car. I try to get a Corolla whenever we rent a car. They're peppy, comfortable enough, and get good mileage. Stick with the truck on rough roads though. I had trouble going up the unpaved, un-anything "driveway" in Maunabo in a Corolla. I hate that cars are so expensive to buy and maintain in PR. Fran
The masks are a great idea - we are going to have to go to the coffee festival and other festivals and collect things when we see them!
Miri - glad you snagged the dehydrator!
Fran - the car is great for Jeff's commute and it goes up our paved but steep driveway easily in the rain!
Congrats on the car! I recently bought an older Jetta to supplemente my 4Runner to use as a commuter/beater in SJ. I realized you can't buy a car in San Juan if you care too much about it losing value.. lol
johnnysseeds.com
They ship all kinds of seeds here and really good quality...
seedsofchange.com is my favorite. I just ordered cherry tomatoes from them last week and they have an amazing selection of hard to get veggies.
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