I have had the best luck with using plastic to line the mold. Use anything with at least a slightly larger top then bottom. I put the bag inside, then plop the tufa mix in and build up the sides. Press it in tightly. But as you work it, pull up on the plastic just slightly so no "folds" develop in the sides. If they do, the plastic still pulls off when unmolding ( and sometimes creates a real rock-like appearance.) Lost 2 large "turkey roaster" pan tufas because the spray release didn't release! It hurt! They were the coolest shape. I am selling some at our annual plant sale fund raiser for our garden club. Hope they sell.

Start with a site contour map. The rise and fall and run of the property determines a lot about what shape home fits on it. You fit the house to the property, not the other way around. A fixed in the mind shape just plopped onto a site leads to cost overruns to make the house fit the site, and doesn’t take advantage of any special conditions. Think about the approach from the street. The parking and home access for the family, and for guests. Which way the traffic approaches. What you envision the home saying. That could be “welcome”, or it could be “Go away, we like privacy”. Think about the sight lines and views. Good and bad views, If the best views are in the worst direction for energy efficiency and comfort, (west) what is going to be your strategy to minimize the negative effect of western exposure, while still framing the view? If you have cold winters, and the house faces that way, what type of windbreak or berm can be created? What’s the solar path through the seasons? Where are the utilities going to run for entrance into the home? Where is the logicsl place for a outbuilding? What materials for paving are allowed? What are the native materials on site? Rock? What size and color? Lumber? Timber framed? Mud for Adobe or brick? How can you incorporate locally sourced and native materials so the the home fits its surroundings? Think of what the immigrants 200 years ago had with which to build their shelters. Start with the site. Not the house. Understand the site over the seasons before you ever think about a structure on the site. A house is not a layout. It’s a living breathing 3D response to the site. If you want eastern morning light for your bedroom, the push and pull of the volume as a whole demands that some other room not get that eastern exposure. The roof and foundation shapes and volumes only stretch so far before becoming hideously misshapen by a floorplan. Think of a house as a big globe of silly putty. You stretch this here, and it takes away there. You push and pull the whole glob, with every change that you make. Sure. you can buy and add more silly putty to get the shape that you want. It’s only money. But creating a pleasing silly putty sculpture out of only so much silly putty is a really really hard thing to do. The floor plan isn’t done in isolation of the effect that it has on the whole volume.

For a first attempt, that's not bad at all! Hint: for babka, the filling and bread should be the same thickness, but for rugelach the pastry should be thicker than the filling, except the bumps. I'm not a huge fan of nuts in pastry, but the iconic rugelach flavor does need them, and I think they kind of work as barbs holding it all together. That doesn't mean that they're not fine without nuts. Just keep your expectation level within reason. Did you thin the jam? If it doesn't spread easily it, it can go on too thick and then melt in the oven and spread all over. A little spread is good and normal, and helps seal the end. The instruction to press the bits into the dough is important. :) I think the roll a rectangle and slice is easier and you don't lose filling at the edges of the wedge, though maybe they're not as pretty. You can roll the cut edges in more goodies. If not ground nuts, it can be shaved chocolate, coconut, crystal sugar, or whatever you like. Dried cherries are good, but I wouldn't double up with cherry jam. I'd go for complementary flavors, but different. Cherry bits with berry jam, for instance, or sultanas with cherry jam. They're best when there are pops of surprise. I'm sure Ina's recipe is good (it's Ina), but you might also try a more traditional sour cream pastry. I totally get the carb avoidance, and maybe you don't want to do this again on that basis, but making rugelach is fun, if you can keep them not tempting to you!

Your tomato plants look great. I’ve been growing tomatoes in containers for more than 20 years. For several years in the beginning I did like you and grew two plants in each pot because I only had a few pots and I was worried one of the plants would not produce or would outright die. I didnt get a lit of tomatoes that way and i had a lot of disease due to overcrowding. I gradually listened to advice from more experienced gardeners and now grow my tomatoes in 20 and 25 gallon grow bags, one to a pot. The plants are much healthier and much more productive. YMMV. The one thing that concerns me is the kind of fertilizer you are using (seems much too high in K) and how often you fertilize. I wouldn’t fertilize any more often than once every two weeks. And I would advise you to find something like the fertilizers on this list and follow the package directions. https://www.bobvila.com/articles/best-fertilizer-for-tomatoes/