I feel for you! I've been fighting the battle against white fly and aphids which arrived along with the heat wave. It attacked my moonflowers, nasturtiums and basil. Eventually all the nasturtium plants but one have been thrown out. The basil I'd planted looks much like yours and I have more ready to go in but am delaying until this is under control. I don't know what anyone else would suggest but if it helps I'll share but I've done: I used small amount of mild soap and water in spray container and sprayed undersides of leaves too. Next I put out a dish of cider vinegar with a bit of dish soap and mixed it, covered with saran wrap and poke a few holes in top - that way flies get in but can't get out. I put the dish in the middle of the container pot where I'd noticed the flies in the soil. So far got a couple and haven't seen others - doesn't mean they're gone - just haven't seen the critters. This year I couldn't get to a garden centre where they had ladybugs but YES!! By far in my experience, the best natural pest control. If I'd had that remedy I wouldn't have done quite as much tossing out. The one plant I'm really worried about is the rose (I have only one). I planted garlic in with it and in the moonflowers & of course it will take some time to grow but I'm hoping the scent will put off the bugs. A friend gave me some of her chives - also another good companion plant. Hope you can get the upper hand.

Jerry- I have been to the Bruce website. Can't find the specific line of engineered w/ beveled edges. Do you know the name of their line? Thanks. I used to have a Kahrs engineered floor Linnea I believe. It was so slippery and felt/looked like a sheet of glass. That's one of the reasons I wanted some kind of bevel anyway. I thought the old style traditional wood strips were not square edged. So I'm a little confused. Thanks everyone for all the responses. I found out that the floor in question is white oak selct. Not sure what the select means or where I can buy something like this.

This is Biwa (aka Biwako-of-abi) again. Your thinking about these things show that you are a good cat owner. I personally would never trust my cats on a balcony, or high-up deck, again, unless it was on the first floor, and then there would be the problem of their escaping into the yard and perhaps getting run over. Don't be fooled by the fact that your cats have been all right so far on the 3rd floor deck. I am sure they like it, but even the cats in the same family can playfully do something that could lead to one or more of them falling. There is a first time for everything, and depending on what they land on, they could get killed. Suggestions about what you can do: (1) You could always keep the door to your deck shut so the cats can't get out there. They do not have to be able to go out on a deck to be happy. You probably know there are many types of toys for cats to entertain them inside the house. (2) If you own the house and can do what you like to it, you could put strong chicken wire or some other barrier anywhere on the deck where a cat might try to get out, or even build a large cage-like area on part of the deck if it is big enough. (In such a case, even the top of that area should be covered with strong wire fencing.) Alternatively, you could just have some sort of strong screen door where you go out on the deck--I mean, one that a cat's claws would not tear if it climbed up as if the door were a tree. I do think a cat would be miserable if it had to be kept in a small cage in the house much of the time, but that could be a temporary solution for times, for example, when you have guests who might unthinkingly leave the door to the deck open. (3) Climbing is also not necessary for a cat's happiness, although you are right that a 4-month-old kitten, especially, is going to want to climb and jump. For that, you can buy, or get someone to make, a pole for the cats that has 3 or 4 little platforms along it, so they can climb up and rest. (Cats, as you probably know, just looove to be up high and gaze down on everyone else.) We never wanted to spend money on something like that, but you can get the same effect using pieces of furniture that are different heights. You could even provide the kitten with fun and exercise by running around trailing a piece of string for him to chase. Just don't leave the string around where he could swallow it and necessitate an expensive visit to the animal ER. (4) I wouldn't rely on the following trick to keep your cats from jumping up on the railing of a deck, nor would it work to keep them off the deck, now that they know it is a fun place, but I did succeed by using noise to give my cats an aversion to climbing up window screens. You know that cats hate unexpected loud noises. We had moved from a place where our cats had had an outdoor cage-like area (about 6x6x6 feet) right outside a window so they could go in and out at will, to an older house where we couldn't do that, and I was afraid they might try to climb up the screen on an open window. The very day we moved in, I took the time to sit and be on the alert to catch any hint that the cats were interested in those open windows, and if a cat so much as stood on its hind legs to peer out through the screen, I briefly pressed the alarm signal on one of those devices a woman might carry to scare away an attacker. I didn't have to do it many times. My four cats very quickly caught on that something awful happened when they touched a window or its frame, and very soon I no longer ever had to worry about open windows and screening. You could probably get the same effect by clashing metal pots against their lids. However, the noise has to be something that the cats will not realize has a human source. Yelling at them and clapping your hands will only teach them to be naughty when you are out of sight. I hope you will find a good solution for your problem. Anyway, I commend you for your concern for your cats' happiness and their welfare. It's always nice to meet a fellow cat lover. Just for fun, here is a site I love to look at for the pictures of all the things one cat owner did with his house. How I wished we could imitate him, but I am sure my husband would never have agreed, lol. (So I am NOT saying you should fix up your house like his, either! But enjoy looking.)

I think your choice is beautiful. I have the creamy white cabinets on the perimeter with Hanstone Magellan counter. On the website it looks really dark, but it is a lovely grey pattern which doesn't show anything (dust, food) and is not too shiny. My island is a red stained wood (similar to mahogany in colour). I chose Zodiaq Bianca Carerra. I love each of them equally. I have had them for almost 2 years now and have thrown just about everything at them (messy and kids aren't any neater) and they look like brand new. I think anything you choose you will LOVE. Good luck and enjoy your new kitchen. It will be fabulous!