I would accept your shady conditions and choose plants accordingly. Though like lighter said, you'd probably be surprised at how much light you actually get. I have an east-facing balcony that gets only morning sun on one side, and I can grow cacti and succulents just fine. So just put things where you think they should go, and leave them there. The plants will adapt. If things don't flower as well as you want them to, try something more shade-loving. There are too many flowers to list, so I'll just say a couple veggies: carrots, lettuce, cherry tomatoes (some bred especially for balconies), cucumbers (ditto tomatoes), potatoes, pole beans (take up less space than bush beans. Scarlet runner gets nice flowers), and pretty much anything else you want to try. I wouldn't try melons or anything else really heavy or that requires full sun all day. Get a good book from the library on plants, and you should be able to decide what you want to try. There are just as many plants that like shade or part shade as those that like sun.

hoovb, Thank you - it was a nice one. Karen, You named it to the T, but might it be spelled 'maughnii'? It is an odd beastie, and is used in lots of crosses with other Haws. Yes, there are some hinks here lately (and I mean computer errors, lest anyone get any ideas), and I say again, what are you going to do, what with us having a free ride here and the ability to sidestep the more obnoxious revenue generators that IV has installed on its forums.

I'm back a bit more than 1 month later with good news and information about what worked. To recap: I thoroughly vacumed the Purrfect Post, kitty was willing to scratch it and I put a treat on the base of it afterward. Since then, 1. Anything she had scratched (except the post) was sprayed with an orange scented room freshner spray from Walmart since cats aren't supposed to like citrus scent and I wanted to cover up the scent she left from her claws (I didn't realize they are scenting with their claws and that keeps them coming back!). I did this two days in a row. 2. Little spray bottles of water were placed next to where we usually sit or stand. Anytime she scratched the furniture, we kept quiet and merely gave her an immediate squirt. 3. Whenever she woke up, I led her to the post, praised her for scratching it and placed a treat or two on the base of the post ("all natural temptations chicken flavor" since that brand is more food than junkfood and didn't upset her stomach). 4. We trimmed just the little tiny tips of her claws when they got very sharp (about two weeks or so). I noticed, if she had longer, sharper claws she seemed to want to use them more. She hardly ever claws furniture now! No more furniture snags & thread pulls. The times she is likely to make an "error" is when she wakes up from sleeping on my lap so I walk her to the post right away to prevent it. The other day I was in the kitchen and she walked up to me and meowed like she wanted something. I said "Show me" and took a step toward her (did this with my last kitty too). When she saw I was going to follow her, she led me to the room where the post is and scratched it! She just wanted to be sure I noticed! These kitties are so smart-- See how well THEY train us! She uses the post on her own more often now, without prompts, praise or treats from me. I think we are over the hump. Thank you all for your help!

annie-lee...you are off base here. Wayne isn't missing appointments...because he isn't making any. I do agree with you that's a very poor way of doing things from a customer's point of view. We have schedules too...and mine at least or much more rigid than Wayne's seem to be. But if he doesn't give a firm appointment, he has never broken one! I am willing to bet that as the time gets closer to your service call, he indeed gives you a call and firms things up a bit. It would be ludicrous for him to just show up after not speaking to you for about 2 weeks. Nobody would be at your home. In this line of work, there is no way on God's green earth you can schedule exactly how long a job will take...on old construction in particular. In my own home for example I had to drop a line down a stud cavity. Imagine my surprise when I found the cavity blocked off about half way down...yet tapping on the wall and using a stud sensor didn't detect it. It tripled the amount of time to do the job. You can't predict that. I think their practice of doing things is just fine...as long as they keep in touch with their scheduled customers and let them know where they are with their time. I'm sure Wayne does that.