1. 2 of the 8 cuttings that I transferred to cups and vermiculite had a very small amount of mold on one spot. I gave it a good wiping with a damp paper towel and continued. Is that ok or should I be throwing them out? Or separating from the others? You did fine, choosing only perlite to root in. Vermiculite is too water-retentive for my taste. I'd have dipped the cuttings for a minute or so in a 10% solution of unscented household bleach or a 10% solution of 3% H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) to eliminate mold concerns. As Al noted, F carica is a very genetically vigorous plant and very easy to root, as woody plants go. 2. How much should I be watering these since they are 100 percent perlite? I know the key is to keep them moist, but with all perlite they seemed to just drained 100% with little to no retention. Plants most effectively absorb moisture from the microscopically thin film of water on the surface of soil particles, and from water vapor trapped in soil pores, so you want your rooting medium to be damp - not wet ..... and you NEVER want your cutting stuck so deep that it is below the upper limit of any perched water your medium supports. Cuttings need gas exchange, too. You might consider screening & rinsing your perlite, and employing a wick at the bottom of your container. Damp, not wet or soggy is what you're striving for, and 80% humidity with some air movement is a worthy goal. 3. Do they need any sunlight at this point? I don't have them near a window. Technically, they don't need light to root, but the cutting WILL be able to carry on some degree of photosynthesis in the green stem tissues, which will contribute food to what is already stored in cambial tissues. Also, it's best to have any foliage that emerges preconditioned to the photo-intensity that will be the norm for the cuttings. I wouldn't have planned my adventure around the idea I was going to maintain these cuttings indoors for the winter. I'd have timed it so they struck at or just after last frost, so they could go outdoors. Root temps of 65-70* with air temps about 10* cooler are ideal for figs, and eliminate the bottom heat as soon as they strike. If I take fall cuttings, I bury them upside down to callus until figs/mulberry starts to leaf out in the landscape, then I dig them up and pot or plant. I get near 100% success every time, and don't have to fuss with them and watch them decline over the winter. There's soo much more that COULD be said ...... Any questions? Al

Daisy, I love your bed & bedding! I have ordered a white iron daybed (see picture) for my 6 six-year old and wondering if I need to order daybed bedding rather than twin-size bedding. I love some of the Pottery Barn Kids bedding, but Ready-made daybed bedding for kids is just not appealing to her. Beautiful bed! I haven't ventured into daybeds yet but have been looking at them for years. My daughter has her heart set on a full sized bed if we move, not sure if she wants it for kids sleeping over. If so, the daybed would be appealing to her I'm sure as it could double as a couch.

Jpmom, you home is gorgeous already! The 12" crown will look perfect with the already tall baseboards. Then add all the other woodwork in, the fireplace mantle, wainscoting, and pillars in the dining room. So pretty! My first reaction was to continue the white painted woodwork. It seems naturally connected to that bar wall from the the LR and DR with the baseboards and wainscoting. Oh and I also love that transom window above the other doorway too! My other thought was that I know from experience how the backsplash tile can completely change colors due to the lighting and what is directly next to it. I would want the two areas in the kitchen with the backsplash to look related. It may look completely different with one being next a window with white cabs and dark counters verses the other being in low natural light with black cabs and white Quartz. I'd definitely wait to decide on what to do with the bar area until the rest of the kitchen is painted white as Romy suggested. I do think it might look great either way, but I'm just one who needs to see it in real life before committing. I am sure either way it is gonna be stunning! ETA.... Could you possibly find a remnant of the Volga blue to fit the bar top if you went with white cabs on the bar? Or possibly just cut the granite and add a dark walnut type wood butcherblock section that reads dark above the wine fridge? Think romy's dark wood top next to the granite? Just a thought....:-)

I don't have experience painting a mirror, but I would think you could use any glass paint. Why don't you pick up a couple of inexpensive mirror tiles (or maybe a glass shop would give you some mirror scraps) to practice on. Michael's seems to sell quite a variety of glass paints to choose from: glass window paint/color