Sunday featured a mobilization effort prompted by an Amazon return which could be made conveniently at my local Kohl’s. For free. As a bonus, I could also shop for new and shiny things with a coupon and Kohl’s Cash.
The four turquoise, patterned, ill-fitting dining chair
covers were smooshed into my purse. Just inside the store entrance was a small
sign with an arrow that said “Amazon Returns.” Beyond that one sign, it wasn’t
clear where to go next, a brilliant retail trick to force people to move
through as much of the store as possible and be tempted by as many of the goods as possible.
Pajamas were browsed, but the kind I like no longer seem to
exist. The disappointing clearance racks in intimates and shoes were examined. En route to the
back of the store and the housewares department the Amazon returns counter was
found. The return was made quickly, and the nice folks at Kohl’s even presented a $5 Kohl’s Cash coupon, good for in-store shipping. Bonus jackpot.
Flush with the success of the completed mission and the
bonus pretend money, the cookware section was the next target. For what feels
like forever but is probably closer to a couple years, a replacement for a
Mirro 10-inch pan with a lid has been sought. It has straight sides, a cracked
and split wooden handle, a knicked non-stick cooking surface that is likely leaching all
sorts of undesirable stuff into my food, and a glass lid. The size fits one burner
without creeping over to the next one, unlike the 12-inch stovetop hog that rarely leaves the cabinet.
Kohl’s has random individual and incorrect pans plus sets with prices ranging from $99.99 to $379.99. With the 30% coupon and now $15 in Kohl’s cash, some of them almost felt affordable. There was a shiny red set, a dark blue set, a teal set and several in less pretty colors. The boxes are heavy and I lacked a carriage.
Comparisons were attempted of the pots and pans in the cabinet,
but not knowing the capacity or sizes made the shopping harder. The only known size is the 10”
pan with a lid.
Dazzled by the pretty colors, I was warming to the idea of shelling
out the dough for an entire matched set just to get the one coveted pan with a
lid. A new boxed set could also mean even more pans in the already crowded cabinet. If
the new pieces aren’t the same capacity as the current beloved pieces, chaos could
overtake the kitchen.
Enough laps were made around the cookware section that it
felt like a fitness program. Individual display pieces were lifted and examined.
Boxes were read. The Navy blue set was compared to the red and the teal sets and
the deluxe line of nondescript color. The displays were not next to each other,
which was the reason for all the walking.
There were many not quite right options and it had become exhausting.
Eventually, I left, overwhelmed and emptyhanded, but when I
passed the checkout line that now snaked across the front of the store and
about a half mile up the aisle, I felt better. An inventory of sizes was
needed to determine if the dark blue set with the 2.5 quart saucepan was better
than the red set with the 3 quart saucepan. Maybe I would return after supper
and some investigation.
Once home, the cabinet was emptied, the pots and pans
examined, and a list made. Sets were looked at online. No one set allows for an
exact swap of my favorite and most used saucepans and fry pans. The perfectly sized Revere 2 quart saucepan
which I’ve always wished had a lid would be replaced by a 1.5 quart with a lid.
The closest match in any of the sets for the regularly used 4 quart Farberware saucepan with a lid
and perpetually loose handle is a 3 quart saucepan. The beloved, 8-quart Oneida
pot with a lid used for soup would be replaced with a puny 5 or 6 quart pot
with lid.
This is why the mismatched, beat to crap 30 or 40 year old cookware
is still in service in my kitchen. On the bright side, there is now a list of
the sizes in the current Frankenstein set.
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