My oven runs 25 degrees hot and I never remember to adjust it, so every third bake turns into a science experiment with a dent in the middle.

Wait you were just tossing the bean broth down the drain this whole time?

@ray_webb6 is right on the money with moisture being the culprit. I actually read somewhere that old terra cotta flue tiles from the 1910s were made with a lower fire clay content, which makes them soak up moisture like a sponge and crack in freeze-thaw cycles. That patch job with mismatched mortar probably just made it worse by trapping water in there instead of letting it breathe.

Three scorpions came out of a lamp I found in an alley near 4th Ave, @taylor929, and I swear I still get jumpy turning lights on. Totally not worth the free decor.

That 9.1 with 8.2 splash is a gamble for sure, I've seen blue based toners pull wild colors when you mix them wrong. Nine times out of ten that lavender fading is gonna look muddy in a week or two though. Glad she's happy now but I'd keep an eye on it before calling it a win.