Thanks, fruitnut. Actually I had seen that thread about "Sooty Blotch," but I must admit that I am much too ignorant of terminology in apple diseases and conditions. I got the impression from one post in that "Sooty Blotch" could be wiped or polished off of the apple skin, like some kind of powdery mildew-like stuff. The black splotches on my Gold Delicious apples are within the skin itself, and cannot be removed by washing, etc. Is there a place with accurate descriptions of the terms I have been reading about in that thread? Thanks again.

Prairie sage and other native sages (not your cooking sage) are used for purification ceremonies, used sometimes daily to once in a blue moon, by some native american groups. Sweet grass and cedar are also commonly burned for smudging. Cedar is more for healing and sweet grass, I believe is more for celebration. A combination of the plants are also used. Many groups like the Anishinabe (Ojibway or chippewa) people used herbs instead of sweat lodges. Sweat lodges were adopted by them and other groups after the white man forced assimilation of different tribes.

Thank you Shelbyronnestad. Do you have a gas stove/range (not sure if GooGone has flammable vapors). Did you use mineral oil on your counters or leave yours bare? After looking at the MilkPaint website instructional videos, I may try it again. I waxed my soapstone when my counters were fairly new--about 6 years ago. No problems until I overcleaned them during the pandemic and removed the wax in large patches. I tried to remove the remaining wax (and some nicks) by sanding it off then rewaxing. Per their videos, I didn't completely remove the old product, I used too much new product and left it on too long leaving me with the sticky, splotchy mess that I now need to remove. I really liked the Milkpaint wax the first time!!

I forgot to add, we have white shutters on the inside...which are usually down. They are almost almost closed in the bay window because that’s my home office and it’s extremely bright in there.