Yeah, that's so frustrating. I saw the same thing at a projection mapping exhibit last month.

My neighbor in zone 6b pots her French lavender and wheels it into an unheated garage every November. She says the key is keeping it totally dry and dark during dormancy. It has come back for three years now, but she admits it's a lot of fuss for a plant. Your English lavender was definitely the smarter choice for a carefree window box.

Isn't it weird how we can wait forever for a movie to end but get antsy in a slow checkout line? (I mean, life's full of those patience tests, right?)

Tore out my old crumbling seal last year after it started leaking heat bad. Went with a thick ceramic fiber rope gasket from a general furnace repair site, not even pottery specific. Stuff was cheap and I just used high temp silicone to glue it in place. That combo has survived maybe two dozen firings up to cone 6 so far without any shrinkage. What kind of temps are you usually firing to?

Almost learned that the hard way once, lol. Changed my mind.