Cuddledown Temperature Regulating Synthetic Fill Comforter. They have a mesh square at the intersection of each quilted square. Warmer then my thin cotton quilt. Comes in three weights.

An Outback Red shirt I bought in the 80s. Still in perfect shape with the original buttons. I also have an Armstrong flute I played in school in the 70s. It was a hand-me-down from my uncle. Probably the oldest things I have are battered first editions of some of the early OZ books. The kids in my mother's family apparently loved them, and they all ended up with me.

What about carbon steel? A friend of mine has one, and after she worked on the seasoning for awhile, it's become basically non-stick. Carbon steel is a lighter then cast iron and a little heavier then stainless steel.

Stargazer makes pretty lightweight cast iron pans with a smoother interior then Lodge pans. Still heavier then carbon steel though.

I haven't had a non-stick pan for cooking food in more then a decade, and I fry and scramble eggs on a little stainless steel Cuisinart pan. I give it time to heat up on medium-low to medium heat, flick a little water on it if I'm not sure, and use oil.

For other kinds of cooking, I release food from stainless steel pans by covering them and letting them sit off the heat for five minutes. I have a Cuisinart universal steamer with the lid that fits my little pans. And I have a Zwilling universal lid for my larger pans.

I used to use the smallest Green Pan for making hash oil for a relative I was taking care of - and it seemed pretty disposable. I used to keep a second one around just in case. I think "ceramic" non-stick is more of a sales pitch then anything else.

I think it's a class thing. The class difference in old books seemed to be more about background and education, and less about money. So you would have middle class people who didn't have enough money to be middle class and thought of themselves as poor.

When I read that you were in the Doldrums I immediately thought of The Phantom Tollbooth. I haven't thought about that book for years, but I would love to reread it.