Amazingly the kitchen is now finished. The worktop has been replaced, the blind is up (again), the flooring has been fitted and the furniture is all back in its rightful places (with the addition of felt pads on its feet to protect the treasured new flooring). The overall effect is quite impressive. However, instead of standing back and admiring its new look, I slump against the door frame and think; ‘Never again’. DIY and home improvements are banned words in this house for the foreseeable future. I’m sure at some point I’ll start the ‘wouldn’t it be nice if we…’ game again, but not yet. Admittedly, there’s already a partially formed list of future jobs in my head. The lounge carpet needs replacing, new curtains would be nice and I ought to do something about the double glazing…. Strangely though, none of these seem as urgent or necessary as they were a few months ago, before the kitchen turned into the fiasco that I thought would never end. Now I study the lounge