(continued from Part 1 and Part 2)
~
Thankfully, I slowed down on my miniatures craze for a few years (even though I had plenty of other shopping mishaps along the way – I’ll tell you about those some other day).
And I would say that I learned from my mistakes and began to look at the dimensions of a product before I purchased it, but…
I obviously haven’t. I just got lucky for a few years.
For a couple of months ago, when Christmas and birthday preparations were just beginning, Mr. Gore called me from his office with the following announcement: “I’m looking over your Amazon wishlist before I send it on to others and just want to make sure it is up-to-date. You want everything on here?”
I thought there was a tone of scrutiny in his voice.
“Yes.” I answered confidently. I form and mold my wishlists like a sculptor with his clay.
“Like…” he hedged, “there are some skillets on here…”
“Yeah…” I hedged back.
“You really want those? They’re pretty small…” he continued.
“Yes.” I replied, firmly (I think I was using my brat voice by now). “They’re mini skillets, so I can make individual cobblers or brownies for people. They’re all over Pinterest.”
“Alright…” he answered, still sounding unsure.
But I was so confident in my wishlist, the conversation was immediately forgotten.
Until Christmas Day.
Mr. Gore had completely wowed and pampered me over my birthweek – I hope to share the details with you someday soon – and had already warned me that my Christmas gift would be lackluster in comparison. I had therefore kept my expectations pretty low, but I still knew that I would be getting something off of my list. Mr. Gore ALWAYS buys off the list (and I love him for it).
The time came to exchange our gifts, and he warned me one last time, “Now this isn’t anything special. But you told me you really, really wanted it…”
To say I was intrigued would be an understatement.
I picked up the gift.
It was heavy.
I lifted it up and down, marveling at the weight of such a small box.
And then I opened it.
There they were!
My Lodge miniature skillets.
And when I say miniature…
I mean, miniature.
Turns out, there is more than one size of Lodge miniature skillet.
The ones that I held in my hand – the same ones I had accidentally put on my wishlist because I obviously can’t measure – were, get ready for this…
3.5 inches.
And I had asked for (and received) 6 of them.
“These are so…little!” I exclaimed.
“You said you wanted them really bad!” my husband reminded me.
“I know, I did…and I do!…but I really thought they would be bigger than this!”
“I thought it was kind of crazy small, too. That’s why I called you. But you seemed so sure…” he continued.
“Yeah, I must be an idiot.” I concluded. “It said 3.5 inches in the actual name of the skillet, didn’t it?”
“Yeah…” he answered, apologetically.
Well. The best news?
He had ordered them so long ago (the DAY he called me), it was too late to return them!
But that didn’t matter so much, for as it turns out, the best Christmas presents are funny stories and unexpected giggles. I giggled a lot that day.
Later that evening, I looked up my Lilliputian skillets at Amazon to see what others thought about them and what possible uses there might be for a skillet that actually fits in the palm of one’s hand.
Everyone raved about what a cute spoon rest they made…
Perfect. I have 6 cast iron spoon rests. That will great for those cold winter days when I make 6 vats of stew or goulash.
And the other common opinion was that they were absolutely perfect for making one egg.
I can’t tell you the last time I made one egg – even Baby Betsie eats two!
But I did find a use for one the day after Christmas that no one at Amazon had thought to mention: if you need to heat up exactly two leftover sausage balls in the oven, look no further than the Lodge 3.5-inch miniature cast iron skillet.
p.s. I got so tickled when I tried to daintily remove it from my oven with my giant oven mitt.
However, I think I like my Mom’s idea the best…
next year’s stocking stuffers.
I’m sure all of my sisters-in-law will adore their new Lodge spoon rest.
My, it feels good to have a head-start on next year’s Christmas shopping!
