The back wall, with its strange framing. Above the foundation you see where two windows have been framed out and filled in, since they'll be hidden by cabinetry. Outside, George had to do some cedar-shingle patch work and staining. There will be still more shingle-work outside after they take out the old stove vent duct, since the new, huge vent will be installed two joist bays over (the whole peninsula is moving out a few feet).
Where the old pocket door used to be, you now see a studwall. This doorway is becoming a shallow pantry/bookcase, so that the now-wider opening between the bar and the peninsula will become the only entrance to the kitchen.
The old dining room, AKA tool shed, will be the new music room. The white oak hardwood stacked to the left will be replacing the icky beige indoor/outdoor carpeting in this room.
Widening the opening required rerouting two copper water supply pipes and two PVC waste pipes. See here how the waste pipes were rerouted and joined in a Y.
The newly rerouted copper pipes and the new cast iron (quieter) waste pipe. This waste pipe's new location was the limiting factor in how much wider the opening could become--it would have been a royal pain to widen it any more because of the heat duct and the way the waste pipes are routed downstairs in the crawlspace (aka Ratskeller, which is not misspelled: it's the rats' cellar).
Stud walls on either side of the opening between old and new dining rooms are there to provide temporary support while the opening was widened (in progress here) and reframed. Getting to the refrigerator and microwave now feels a bit like wandering through a maze.
The newly framed-out wider opening and the what's left of the temporary support wall.
This stud wall will be the back of the peninsula's base cabinetry. Picture a corner cabinet (lazy susan), 36" stove, and 12" drawer base, with a backsplash and a higher bit of countertop overhanging to the right to serve as a bar/buffet. The new dining room will be where the refrigerator is currently lurking. The dining room's hardwood has been trimmed back and is awaiting its resanding. Under this ugly dark brown stain is rather pretty white oak. Who knew?
The dining room is now decarpeted and even more overrun by tools and crap.