Long time since I've done decoupage but anyone burning anything on edges hold it over the kitchen sink if it flares up you have water on hand!! Can see some newbies getting in trouble here!! Want everyone to be safe!! I recently made cookies & the wax paper was about 8 in. from stove,I had put the cookies away but had some others to frost. I put water in a pan & turned on gas stove, that wax paper shot over & flames were going above the stove hood, I dumped the water I had just put on stove on it to get it out. I had had waxed paper there a thousand times over the yrs. Don't know what caused it to "creep" to heat & was really scarey. We don't know what they are putting in things these days so use the sink!! Jan

Hi Shaun, Why can't the existing mtg company send the money we've paid in for our property taxes to the new mtg company and then *they* can pay them when they are due? I just dont understand this. Can someone explain it to me? I can explain... but unfortunately, the answer's not going to be very satisfying. The reason is beacuse the servicing company (the place you send your loan payments to, who manages the distribution of the cash, and subsequent bookkeeping of where it all goes, and when) is not your mortgage company. It may be a subsidiary of them, or a 3rd party contractor... but its not the actual mortgage company (even if it has a very similar name.) The servicing companies business model is to have as many loans managed per month, by the least number of clerical administrative staff, at the lowest possible hourly rate. In order to accomplish this, their processes are *EXTREMELY* dumbed-down and stretched out. *NOTHING* happens quickly on any out-of-the-ordinary request, and all standard changes (like the turnover of escrowed funds for taxes & insurance when a refinance occurs) is handled in a batched-out manner once a month during a special shift. In short; It COULD be done the way you logically just described... but the rate/fee driven public doesn't want to pay the higher servicing costs for that kind of service. Hope that clarifies (if not exactly creating the warm & fuzzies.) Cheers, Dave Donhoff Leverage Planner

Well, this project took a left turn. I decided to frame the poster instead of adhering it to canvas, but I am still going to try a canvas project at some point. I appreciate everyone's advice, I will print out the info for future reference. When I was experimenting with different adhesives on canvas I tried PPA, Perfect Paper Adhesive which is like thin Mod Podge. I got it at Michael's. I really liked the way it looked when it dried. So I emailed Susan Rothamel, who is the inventor of PPA to see if she had any tips about using it and she was kind enough to reply: "PPA is pretty fluid as it comes from the bottle. So, occasionally, when using heavier materials such as you propose, I pour it into a shallow cup and allow it to sit for about 1/2 hour. It thickens a bit, making it nicer for heavier paper materials. Personally, since the poster is so large, I would POUR the adhesive onto the canvas surface, then use a credit card to smooth it over the entire placement area, working quickly with a sure hand. Before applying the PPA to the canvas, and If the poster allows, I would also recommend misting the front and back of the poster with water. As paper fibers relax, they grab the adhesive better and make adhering, a smoother process. As the water evaporates and adhesive dries, the poster is flattened and firmly adhered. I do this with nearly EVERY paper when working in decoupage and some collage techniques. For instance, I adhere old watercolors to canvas and will heavily wet them from behind, mist the front (just so the paint doesn't run) and then adhere them. This provides a 'limp' paper, but the relaxed fibers are much nicer to adhere. I would think that an old poster should be handled gently when wet, but it will adhere just fine with this technique. If wet,it might even be a two-man operation, since the poster is so large." I hope that helps anyone who might be considering this project. She also has a video on YouTube showing her using PPA.

Thank you for your responses, Liatris and Doona. Liatris: I'll follow your advice re soaking the pots before attempting to remove the ficus. They are currently in 40cm terracotta pots which narrow towards the base (not very practical). I plan to repot in 55cm terracotta lookalike plastic pots. Will try to propagate the prunings, but haven't had any luck when doing this before. Perhaps they take more readily in Qld! Doona: I'd never plant a ficus in the ground! Have seen what havoc they can cause. Will take your advice re Seasol. Another few questions re ficus: My larger and older Benjamin (in a big black tub) has lost the gloss on many of its leaves, and lots of them have yellowed virtually overnight. Do you know what could cause this? What is the remedy? Some leaves have brown blotches - could it be sunburn? What fertiliser should I use, if any? Thanks again for your help!