The two pans of lasagna are in the fridge waiting to be baked off on Saturday afternoon. From the time I started the gravy until I turned out the light on a clean kitchen was 13 hours!! Obviously, not all of that time was spent on the lasagna, but it felt like it! I didn't fully cook the noods. As y'all suggested, I put them in a skillet of very warm water while I got the other ingredients ready. They were leathery by the time I started assembling the lasagna. Somehow, I had mis-calculated the amount of ricotta I needed. Because it was pouring rain and I didn't want to make a run to the groc, I subbed in some cottage cheese. And somehow on one pan, I put in an extra layer of gravy. I hope the girls are really really hungry. It may taste good if they are. The tin pans are pretty flimsy. I may have to sacrifice 2 old cookie sheets to get them to the house without the pans collapsing. But that is why I keep old cookie sheets around. I'll let you know if the pans spring leaks between now and Sat evening. I meant to line them with no-stick Reynolds, but I forgot.

I seldom use alum. foil at all, almost always some that saw use previously ... there's a part roll here from when step-aunt departed via heart attack, something over 5 years ago ... ... and I brought a part roll with me when I moved here upwards of 3 years ago. There was some on sale at a local market the other day for $1.00 for a 25 ft. roll, and there was 97 cents listed on the shelf beside this generic stuff ... and the box was pretty small: I imagine one could almost spit through it, were one so inclined, but I bought a roll for the neighbour lady. Reynolds, etc. was somewhere in the $2. - 3.00 area for the regular stuff. ole joyful P.S. Did you ask whether the store owner was wearing a mask? But ... as Dad used to say, "Fair exchange is no robbery". However ... with the corporate concentration that's been going on in our countries for years ... ... have you heard the rumour that there really is competition (the stuff that's supposed to keep markets "fair") ... ... in the gasoline business??? (Someone should check *that* one with Snopes!). o j

I have been a metalsmith since 1988. It's not a "job", I don't work for someone else. I have an MFA in Jewelry and Metals, earned in 2006. As part of my training we studied forging, welding, casting and fabrication from sheet metal: in copper, brass, bronze, nickel, and silver. Including blacksmithing in iron. NO PIECE was considered complete until a proper PATINA was created. It is an important part of the finishing process, whether through application of chemicals from a bottle, liver of sulphur, fuming with ammonia, etc. Though it it IS an important part of the work, it is still an APPLIED patina. Here is the definitive book on the subject, which I and every other metals student studied : https://www.amazon.com/Colouring-Bronzing-Patination-Metals/dp/0823007626 Oxidation is nothing more than a chemical reaction between the molecules in the metal and compounds in the air (as in your outdoor bronze example) or compounds applied, such as the sulphur released by a liver of sulphur solution. A microscopic layer forms which is technically an alloy of the metal and the chemical, such as silver sulphide. You APPLY a patina chemical. OXIDATION is the result. Calling it "artificial" ...well: it's ALL artificial. I don't know of a single sculptor or jeweler today who lets their pieces color naturally in the air. It is because you cannot control the result that way. Go to an art fair like the Des Moines Art Festival (not a craft fair with "yard art") and talk to some modern day bronze sculptors. Ask them if they let their pieces color naturally. From ancient times through the Renaissance to the present day: sculptors have colored their metals. I have seen old recipes calling for burying the piece in sawdust with urine added; akin to the ammonia fuming of today. A raw bronze is not a pretty thing. There is no contrast, no richness of the surface. No Renaissance sculptor would have thought of exhibiting one. Unless coated with lacquer, all patinas are "living" surfaces. They will continue to react and the color change with time: sometimes looking better with age, sometimes not; with the original metal gradually being eroded/penetrated by the alloy. Hence many outdoor bronzes in Italy (where acid rain and air pollition in general is a problem), have been removed indoors to controlled conditions, and copies placed outdoors. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horses_of_Saint_Mark

The cat I have now likes to chew on foil but each is different. My first thought though, is since you don't have problems with it on the table why worry about it until you see if it's an issue? Much also depends on how the cat is trained, its curiosity and such. I use a squirt gun when he goes near where he shouldn't and a harsh NO! or two with it, he gets the idea. After a couple squirts the "NO!" is all that's needed. Another option is put a container of vinegar next to it A flat container with plastic on top with holes poked so the smell will permeate a bit is usually all that's needed. Haven't found a cat yet who likes the smell of vinegar and it will remove odors in the room at the same time.