Argh...

So the kitchen floor is coming together, but sadly will not be done until January. We have some issues to work out with the back doors to the future deck, and it doesn't make sense to do the floor until all of the traipsing around the kitchen is over and done with.  So be on the lookout for that in the new year. 

In the meantime I've been busily dealing with all of the paperwork involved in applying for a variance for our backyard deck.  Thank goodness it's winter and we're not missing out on valuable outdoor time.  By the time I'm done filling out all the forms, making the ten thousand copies, getting everything notarized, sending the certified letters to all of the neighbors within 250 feet, and placing a notification in the town paper, it will surely be springtime.  Our backyard looks like this at the moment (with a little less foliage and a little less driveway).

Hopefully by spring (or cross your fingers, sooner) our contractor will be able to start building something that will look like this.