Okay, big day for the unveiling! I left the cheese in the mold an extra day to make sure it wouldn't collapse on itself. Really should have taken it out of the mold yesterday though. No real harm but the sides were a tad bit drier than I would have liked to smooth them. Still, they did smooth, to a point, and should be fine. The openings are superficial. Top and bottom were fine and didn't require smoothing. Doubt it would have made much difference anyway and I really didn't want to disturb the mold growth. When it's time to pierce it it should have shrunk a bit so I'll be able to slip the mold back over and use the drain holes as a pattern for my piercing needle. All in all, I'm very pleased with this so far. Or, as the man said falling from the tall building on the way down, so far so good, so far so good….