The floor in our kitchen has been dingy grey slate ever since 1970 when the house was built.  The kitchen is rather dark room with two high windows.  It’s small for the amount of cooking, canning, freezing we do in it.  Everything sinks into the floor.  It was not laid well and the slates come loose frequently.  So finally we decided to do something about it.I picked out vinyl flooring in warm shades of imitation stone.  We had considered tile and the guy who came quoted a price we couldn’t afford and said the kitchen would be out of commission for two to three weeks.  No way.So Tuesday the work began. I shut up the cats in the back part of the upstairs but also with the little catdoor open to the sunporch.  It was milk until yesterday.  I spent most of the time in that part of the house, in my office trying mostly in vain to work.  Banging, saws cutting into wood, great thuds.  We move a lot of the furniture but they moved everything, turned off the stove, put the refrigerator in the diningroom, although at least it was plugged in.  My assistant is in Florida where she won a scholarship to a writing conference, so this was the time to get the floor done.Her office was full of boxes and furniture, the bathroom door was off and blocking any use of it, the diningroom was equally unusable.  We got take out each night, drank wine and reminded each other how much we wanted the old floor replaced.Finally today, Saturday, they reconnected the stove and between us, Woody and I and the two guys, all the furniture was finally returned to its proper place. As with any home “improvements,” we found lots of things to take to the compost pile, the dump or the swap shop.  The swap shop is a walk-in shed at the dump where people put still usably things they don’t want. All our daily dishes come from there.  Unless it’s something ridiculous or broken, items disappear very quickly.  It saves a lot of us having to buy new things when used things will do perfectly.The cats were very upset with all the noise and being shut up.  My sweet Sugar Ray spent every day in the high shelf in my bedroom closet.When the workmen left and we let them out each day, they were appalled at what they found downstairs.  Bare old flooring, then plywood. Finally yesterday, new bright warm lineoleum that goes with the oak cupboards and the gold walls.  Finally everything was back in place by 1 p.m. today and they all came down and were very happy.  Puck kept purring.We had a light frost last night, but we expected it and prepared.  Woody covered what we want to project and I processed large numbers of eggplants and peppers this morning before the guys came.  Everything looks lighter and cleaner and warmer.  I’m exhausted but happy.  We’re going to the ballet of Gisele tonight, the Mareinka where my great uncle danced many decades ago.  It’s a film being show in the big theater at W.H.A.T.  Then tomorrow I look forward to getting back to work on my poetry manuscript.  I’m thinking of calling it MADE IN DETROIT.  I was.