One of the best sources for looking at acid to sugar ratios at given times during the season is the UC Riverside Citrus Variety Collection web site. Frankly, I don't get too "into the weeds" over that, I base my preferences on what tastes good to my palette. I prefer citrus on the sweeter side, so I'll give you my opinions on the above as I can: Seedless Kishu - very sweet, just enough acid to be interesting for me. May be too sweet for others who prefer their citrus more "sprightly". Page mandarin - more complex, almost as sweet, exceptional flavor, makes outstanding juice that isn't acidic in the least, but the right amount to keep it interesting and not moving into the "insipid" category. Sweeter and less acidic than Minneola. Gold Nugget - about the same ratio I would say as Seedless Kishu and quite excellent. Maybe a wee bit more acidic, but may vary from season to season depending on heat, water, fertilizer, etc. A hair-splitter. Clemenules - deliciously sweet, like the Seedless Kishu. Patty S.

Although I have heard some wee bit about spraying a Boric Acid solution to keep ants away, and it might be somewhat effective while wet, when dry the ants would probably not pick any up and it would not be effective. I have heard of making a bait of molasses, usually black strap, with a small quantity of Boric Acid mixed in which then does poison the ants. The recipe I recall is 1 tablespoon Boric Acid in 1 cup of molasses and placed outside away from where the ants were gaining entry into the house. In the house Lemon Juice or Peppermint oil can be used to redirect the wee buggers back outside. Keep in mind that Boric Acid can be a poison in humans and pets so due care in use and storage is necessary.

Acid washing Diamond Brite can leave streaks in the finish. An acid bath takes longer, but you will get a more even result. Both methods work. After the acid bath the PB will need to rebalance the chemistry. I prefer the bath because of the uniformity. It's more expensive to do because it takes a lot of acid to lower the ph down to about 2 on the ph scale and then re-balance the water when it's all done.

kharamarie - Your kitchen choices so far sound beautiful. I have been quite enamored with gray these days. I am curious, do you like more of a single tone from counter to cabinet (say white cabinet and danby marble counter) or a little contrast (say gray cabinet with the danby marble counter?) But don't think I am lobbying for marble, you can get the same looks with the quartzite and swapping the counters. Personally, I appreciate both but lean toward contrast - where are you? Full disclosure, I have a white quartzite island but LOVE marble (didn't think it was a good fit for our family) so I guess I am not really biased. You are choosing between two lovely stones. The surprising part of the quartzite is it isn't as 'loud' once on your counter horizontal and it looks amazing with soft white cabinets (my island is BM Dove Wing which is white with a slight gray/almost green to it.) It provides a some contrast to the white without being as dark as a soapstone (which I also love with white.) I did hone mine, which was a fantastic surprise (soft with small areas of quartz that shine slightly in certain angles.) Here are a couple of photos to get the big picture and see if it is the look you are going for (we have gray pietra del cardosa counters in the perimeter.) One of the first things that everyone comments on about the kitchen is the island - everyone (non-GW :) thinks it is marble. Shot of kitchen with super white quartzite A higher angle, just of the counter Another thing to consider for counters are your "views." My perimeter counters are viewed from a distance, it is a more softer subtle look - like a gray soapstone - with tone on tone lines, some white and black veining - I call it calm and relaxing. It is a great 'backdrop' for the kitchen but when you are working on it or looking up close (which most people don't) is has a lot of interesting detail. I view my super white at both a distance and up close when you are sitting at it. You see the 'whole enchilada' were the perimeter is more bits and pieces and on an angle because you never sit at it. If you were to use superwhite on a perimeter you would even soften it more because it was viewed at a distance and in bits and pieces. So the three questions I see are: (1) Do you prefer more single tone to contrast(this hinges on your cabinet color) (2) do you prefer white with gray (marble) or gray with white (SW) and (2) do you prefer the clunking of SW (my husband said it reminded him seeing glaciers from an airplane) or the linear look of the marble. Last question - is there an island in the kitchen? Would you consider quartzite on the island and the marble on the perimeter (or vice versa?) Not sure if that would be too busy for you. It is another play on the traditional soapstone/marble kitchen. I love soapstone and understand there are different varities that have different colors (gray, black, greenish) as well as durability (my friend has soapstone and I love it but there tons of chips in the sink which would bother me, must have been a softer one.) I think you can't loose here - just what speaks to you. I have included a link to my nearly finished kitchen album. I could not get enough of photos of counter and cabinet combos when I was in the process. I would also recommend searching google images for "marble island" "gray cabinets." You may find some real inspiration. Good luck. Here is a link that might be useful: My kitchen with Superwhite island