Goats, Sheets, and other nonsense! -long post

[OkieMan]

... in response to Re: Goats, Sheets, and other nonsense! -..., posted by Brazilophile on Apr 24, 2005

Brazilophile,

Thanks for the goat info.  I have found this food thing very interesting.  By the way, how would you rate Brazil on the bedding thing-- sheets, etc?  How about prices and quality of other household things?  How about availability?
Appliances?

                                OkieMan

[pablo]

... in response to Re: Re: Goats, Sheets, and other nonsens..., posted by OkieMan on Apr 24, 2005


On Colombian linens...I was surprised how expensive nice sheets cost there just like good quality towels.  

Anything electronic from coffee grinders (hard to find) to clothes washers will cost you more.  Sounds like you are going to outfit an unfurnished apartment.

[OkieMan]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Goats, Sheets, and other non..., posted by pablo on Apr 25, 2005

Pablo,

No, I don't have anything going like that.  But, my little shopping experience here got me curious about the Colombian situation.  Thanks for your info.

                        OkieMan

[Pete E]

... in response to Goats, Sheets, and other nonsense! -long..., posted by OkieMan on Apr 24, 2005

Pass on the goats.I would become a vegetarian first.
Bedding and towels are surprisingly expensive here.Colombiama manufactues textiles but I will tell you US prices are much better.
I have not been to an El Centro bedding store.Its probably better there but I doubt as good as the us.
Last trip to the US I bought these towels at Pennys.They were only like $5 for a big plus bath towel,then 30% off then a coupon to save 20% more if you spent $50.So it was $3 for a very ggod quality bath towel.I have not seen the quality at any price here.Ordinary ones can cost 40,000 pesos,like $17.
Sheets,I bought a king size set on sale in the US,excellent quality for $20.It would be twice that for half the quality here.
I guess this US stuff is coming out of Asia.Thats why its so cheap.
One of my girlfriends paid in advance for some bedding at an El Centro store.The bedding was coming in on a truck from Ecuador.The truck got hijacked just north of the Ecuador border and the store owners son got kidnapped also.They still have him.And the bedding.She lost her money.
My Colombian partner and I talked to some attorneys last week about importing computers.One thing they told us,ship them to Beaunaventura.Its 2 hours away.You can go get them and have them back in 2 hours.If they come in at an Atlantic port they are several days away and the chance of having them stolen is very high.

Pete

[OkieMan]

... in response to Re: Goats, Sheets, and other nonsense! -..., posted by Pete E on Apr 24, 2005

Pete,

Thanks for your story.  You got a good deal on king sized sheets, if you paid $20 for the set.  They were going for $40-$50 today.  I would have been happy to pay $20 for a good set of queen sized today.  But, apparantely, you also answered about the quality of the products in Colombia.  That was some of the info that I was looking for.  Overall, I think that I can usually find good deals on most things.  But, this kind of ticked me off today.  I mean Wal-Mart is supposed to have good prices, etc.  Maybe next time, I will check out Target.  By the way, what do you think of Exito?  I understand it is a big chainstore, right?  What about selection and prices?

                               OkieMan

[utopiacowboy]

... in response to Goats, Sheets, and other nonsense! -long..., posted by OkieMan on Apr 24, 2005

[This message has been edited by utopiacowboy]

Hell, Okieman, I'm not Latino but we've been eating barbecued cabrito for a long time here. It's a favorite in Northern Mexico so I guess that's why it's popular in South Texas. I used to raise cattle and goats and for a while cattle prices were in the toilet which made the goat market look good by comparison. After the Angora (mohair) goat market crashed, a lot of people went into the meat goat business. Goats like to eat bushes and shrubs so they don't compete with cattle - in fact they're great for clearing out undergrowth that you want to remove. I don't see the Colombians eating a lot of goat meat.

About textiles, you used to be able to get high quality textiles in Colombia cheap but the dollar's fall ruined that. Until the Chinese came along and spoiled their party the Colombian textile business was doing well. My wife worked for one of the world's largest textile companies in Medellin for 17 years running several of the dying and weaving shops.

[OkieMan]

... in response to Re: Goats, Sheets, and other nonsense! -..., posted by utopiacowboy on Apr 24, 2005

Utopiacowboy,

Thanks for your stories.  So, because of the changes, the textile industry is hurting there, huh?  Based on that, maybe your wife would have been out of a job anyhow; if you hadn't married her?  Well,  I appreciate the inside scoop.  By the way, my Dad has always been a lover of animals.  He has raised about any critter you can thing of, at one time or the other.  Until a year or so ago, he had several goats.  But, Dad just loves to piddle with them.  He would take a few to a sale or something.  I had hoped that he could actually make some money with them.  But, eventually, he got rid of them and the pot-bellied pigs.  Now, he just has the fowls-- chickens, ducks, geese, and guineas!  I took my grandson over there yesterday, while I was getting some things from Dad.  My grandson is 2, and he was having a great time chasing the chickens!  I got a good laugh from watching him.  ha

                             OkieMan