When I moved out of my parents’ house, my mother gave me a set of Pyrex nesting mixing bowls that she had, and that I used frequently for cooking. I love these bowls. They’re a hideous 1970s avocado green and they’re one of my favorite things ever.

Since then, because I use the bowls, and because I have kids, we have broken some over the years and some have been replaced. Some time in the past six months, the next-to-largest one went missing. Of course, nobody knows anything about what might have happened to it, so I can only assume it grew legs and ran away to join the circus and has been living its best life as a trapeze artist and fire-breather since then. There has been a 2.5-quart-sized-bowl-shaped hole in my kitchen, though. It was the perfect size for feeding sourdough starter for a double batch of pizza dough, so every week, when I have had to use a bowl that is not as perfectly sized for the task I have been sad about its disappearance.

Fast forward to now. Virtual window-shopping has become a favorite pastime of mine during quarantine. On a whim, last week, I was trolling eBay, and I noticed that someone had a matching, 2.5-quart, hideous avocado green Pyrex bowl for sale. Friends, it was only a few dollars! It came today! Once again (at least until my kids touch it again,) my set of hideous 1970s avocado green Pyrex stacking mixing bowls is complete!