Year 6, Day 55. “Living the Dream”. Wednesday, 6/24/2026, Clifty Hill 3. It is a day of wildlife appearances. First, there is a striped skunk eating the Morning Dove’s black oil sunflower seeds. These skunks will travel up to a mile for a yummy bird feeder spillage. This skunk was like the size of a large house cat. Of course you know she will be back again. We will no longer be putting seeds on the ground for the Morning Doves. We do not want skunks hanging out here.

Then the mini excavator uncovered a dead mole. Did the machine scare him to death? He is now laid on the nice soft grass. That mole will provide a nice tasty meal to another wild animal in the area.

The garage area is set up and blocks placed for wall building tomorrow. Four rows of block will be done tomorrow if all works out on the right side of the garage. That is 80 blocks and the back wall is 60.

I did a fast walking tour of Somerset. KY today. We walked through some beautuful neighborhoods.

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/3QUeJjH Meta Ray-Ban Smart AI Glasses for Men, Women How cool are these. Perfect for everyday wear. Very stylish and smart looking. I met someone the other day that was wearing them. They are so awesome. I am getting a pair. Are you? Let me know how you like them.

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Year 6, Day 54. “Living the Dream”. Tuesday, 6/23/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Day 17 block laying. Last corner is completed.

Tomorrow Garage Foundation wall will be started. This garage is a little deeper. There will be plenty of room to walk around the truck. It will be painted and finished like the Wellington’s garage.

Nephew’s son is headed to middle school. Children age so fast. Really miss this family. When we get to be adults we slow right down and don’t age at all. Don’t you agree

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/3QUeJjH Meta Ray-Ban Smart AI Glasses for Men, Women How cool are these. Perfect for everyday wear. Very stylish and smart looking. I met someone the other day that was wearing them. They are so awesome. I am getting a pair. Are you? Let me know how you like them.

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Year 6, Day 53. “Living the Dream”. Monday, 6/22/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Off day – Relaxing celebrating Father’s Day, and eating healthy fruit, nuts and seeds.

July 4th is coming up soon. Will it just be another work day? There looks like there is a lot to do in the area.

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/3QUeJjH Meta Ray-Ban Smart AI Glasses for Men, Women How cool are these. Perfect for everyday wear. Very stylish and smart looking. I met someone the other day that was wearing them. They are so awesome. I am getting a pair. Are you? Let me know how you like them.

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Year 6, Day 52. “Living the Dream”. Sunday, 6/21/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Day 16 Block laying. Happy Father’s day everyone! Today is just another work day laying blocks. We had coffee watching this Momma skunk and baby skunk walk to the culvert to get a drink. Wonder where they are living. Please not under the shed. Remember the Williamsburg and the skunk whisperer. If not here’s a link. Living the Dream Day 236 – Deestimes – Make every step of the journey count https://share.google/VsNmcGVuz0bLkjO1U.

Steve wanted to work for Fathers Day. It is supposed to rain tomorrow so he it made sense to work today. He was up laying block at 6:30am. Seeing the foundation up out of the ground from our house has energized the working days. Here is a video of the build progress as of today.

The umbrella we moved from our deck to the work site is great. It can easily be moved around for shade to take breaks under.

Summer soltice is here. The planet’s northernmost tip is tilted toward the sun and it is officially the longest day of the year and the first day of summer. Besides being Fathers day it is also International Yoga Day. By noon time the wall between the garage and the master bedroom area is up to height. 66 block were used to complete it and three bags of type S cement.

The open blocks are filled in under the foundation windows. This provides an easy place to nail lumber to.

The empty pallets are gathering now.

The garbage cleanup is under way also.

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/3QUeJjH Meta Ray-Ban Smart AI Glasses for Men, Women How cool are these. Perfect for everyday wear. Very stylish and smart looking. I met someone the other day that was wearing them. They are so awesome. I am getting a pair. Are you? Let me know how you like them.

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Year 6, Day 51. “Living the Dream”. Saturday, 6/20/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Day 15 Block laying. We have one corner wall of the basement and crawl space that is at the proper height. It still will probably take another 3 weeks or so to complete the foundation.

The great news is we can now actually see the foundation wall coming out of the ground from our back deck. Feeling good tonight.

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4oTTknd Nike Crew Socks (6 pairs) No matter the age from young teeneagers to old men. All men love these comfortable modern socks.  The cushioning provides just the right amount of support without feeling bulky, and the material is soft while still being breathable. These socks are comfortable, and reliable for sports, work, school, or everyday use

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Year 6, Day 50. “Living the Dream”. Friday, 6/19/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Day 14 Block laying. Yesterday when the rain came it was like monsoon time. It was also a complete hummingbird frenzy before the rain came.

Unbelievable, the guys running new Spectrum cable lines worked for hours in the pouring rain. In a few hours we had over three inches. Glad we live on a Hill.

Today is a beautiful sunny day.

A little muddy around the foundation due to yesterday’s heavy rain.

We have been eating the best Blueberries from Justin’s farm. The texture is perfect. I guess I am a texture freak. I have bought blueberries before that are grainy and they have ended up in the garbage. These blueberries are perfect.

Block laying is coming along. The one corner is up to the eight foot height we want.

The Darkling Beetle Bugs are not liking their habitat disturbed.

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4oTTknd Nike Crew Socks (6 pairs) No matter the age from young teeneagers to old men. All men love these comfortable modern socks.  The cushioning provides just the right amount of support without feeling bulky, and the material is soft while still being breathable. These socks are comfortable, and reliable for sports, work, school, or everyday use

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Year 6, Day 49. “Living the Dream”. Thursday, 6/18/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Woke up to warnings of bad storms coming today with flooding. Decided it was not going to be a productive block laying day. Steve figured it was a good day to fill in more dirt and stone around the foundation. It is good for the rain to soak into the dirt so it compacts down. He was able to work till 2pm. Then a huge thunder storm came in with torrential rain.

Here’s a video of what the build looks like today.

The dirt bugs were very active today. They didn’t like us disturbing their territory.

The hummingbird population is multiplying. We saw 12 at one time on the feeders right before the storms hit.

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4oTTknd Nike Crew Socks (6 pairs) No matter the age from young teeneagers to old men. All men love these comfortable modern socks.  The cushioning provides just the right amount of support without feeling bulky, and the material is soft while still being breathable. These socks are comfortable, and reliable for sports, work, school, or everyday use

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Year 6, Day 48. “Living the Dream”. Wednesday, 6/17/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Day 13 Block laying and picked up two more windows that need to be installed in the block. These windows are being placed in the five foot high crawl space under the master bedroom suite area. Today’s block work was around the garage area.

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4oTTknd Nike Crew Socks (6 pairs) No matter the age from young teeneagers to old men. All men love these comfortable modern socks.  The cushioning provides just the right amount of support without feeling bulky, and the material is soft while still being breathable. These socks are comfortable, and reliable for sports, work, school, or everyday use

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Year 6, Day 47. “Living the Dream”. Tuesday, 6/16/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Day 12 Block laying.

New fiber optic lines placed on pole. Yay! – We have an internet line close to connect to.

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4oTTknd Nike Crew Socks (6 pairs) No matter the age from young teeneagers to old men. All men love these comfortable modern socks.  The cushioning provides just the right amount of support without feeling bulky, and the material is soft while still being breathable. These socks are comfortable, and reliable for sports, work, school, or everyday use

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Year 6, Day 46. “Living the Dream”. Monday, 6/15/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Coming home after being away is filled with laundry, grocery shopping, plant tendering, and yard work. Our Phlox lining the walkway are bursting with flowers. They must be happy we are home.

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4oTTknd Nike Crew Socks (6 pairs) No matter the age from young teeneagers to old men. All men love these comfortable modern socks.  The cushioning provides just the right amount of support without feeling bulky, and the material is soft while still being breathable. These socks are comfortable, and reliable for sports, work, school, or everyday use

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Year 6, Day 40. “Living the Dream”. Tuesday, 6/09/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Another off rainy day. Loving my new hat. Getting excited for two upcoming cruises in 2027 from Galveston, Texas. Love those Texans. Our many upcoming cruises give us motivation to continue working.

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4x00Dx4 iRobot Roomba 105 Vac Robot Vacuum Replaced my older Roomba’s with these. They are a little quieter, and map the rooms better. I don’t think they clean any better, but I love that I don’t have to close doors. They know where to go once you map them. I would never have a home without one again. Roombas are the best.

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Year 6, Day 39. “Living the Dream”. Monday, 6/08/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Rain was coming in this morning so foundation work was not started. The side of the driveway was leveled off where the water line runs. We have been letting the dirt settle in. Next step is grass seed.

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4x00Dx4 iRobot Roomba 105 Vac Robot Vacuum Replaced my older Roomba’s with these. They are a little quieter, and map the rooms better. I don’t think they clean any better, but I love that I don’t have to close doors. They know where to go once you map them. I would never have a home without one again. Roombas are the best.

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Year 6, Day 38. “Living the Dream”. Sunday, 6/07/2026, Clifty Hill 3. A no work on the house build day. Since Steve was not working on the house. The birds sat on the electrical wires outside the office window and watched me on the computer. I think they are saying. ” where is big bird today. We like watching him build your nest. ” There are some nosy birds in Kentucky.

Steve assumed we needed new front brake pads on our 2022 Equinox. The car has over 65,000 miles. He bought new pads and pulled the front tires. Wow those original brake pads have no wear on them at all. They look just as good as the new pads he bought. No reason to change them. They are SOME good brake pads.

The day involved cleaning up around the Wellington, fixing the mower deck, mowing, weed whacking, some napping, and dreaming of the beach and some of my favorite people.

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4x00Dx4 iRobot Roomba 105 Vac Robot Vacuum Replaced my older Roomba’s with these. They are a little quieter, and map the rooms better. I don’t think they clean any better, but I love that I don’t have to close doors. They know where to go once you map them. I would never have a home without one again. Roombas are the best.

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Year 6, Day 37 “Living the Dream”. Saturday, 6/06/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Day 1 French drains and backfilling. No sump pumps in this house.

Day one French Drains and Backfilling video:

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4dnQgf0 Cetaphil Skin Activator Hydrating & Firming Body Lotion Fighting that old age skin. Use this everyday.

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Year 6, Day 36 “Living the Dream”. Friday, 6/05/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Day 11 Foundation Block Laying.

In the mornings the gound at the build site always has lots of worm poop. This poop is worm castings (or vermicast). In the evening the worms borrow up and poop and then borrow back down. Steve says in the mornings there are also little red worms on top of the soil. These little red worms are Red Wigglers. I read that when you see a lot of these castings, your soil is very healthy. This picture was taken in the afternoon. As the sun gets higher in the sky they dry out and disappear into the soil.

Number 57 stone arrived. Prices just keep going up. It cost3 $678.95 for 24.56 tons today. Our May 12, 2026 delivery of the same stones. It cosr $600.00 for 24.04 tons. This stone does seem much cleaner than the last load.

In other news it is the boys last day of school. 5th and 7th grade complete. Jenna and Jamie now have 6th and 8th graders.

Foundation Block Laying Day eleven video:

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4dnQgf0 Cetaphil Skin Activator Hydrating & Firming Body Lotion Fighting that old age skin. Use this everyday.

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Year 6, Day 35 “Living the Dream”. Thursday, 6/04/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Day 10 Foundation Block Laying. In the morning the area between the master bedroom suite and the main house foundation was plastered and tarred.

Garage corners were started in the afternoon under sunny warm skies.

Let’s talk about Mortar. Mortar is a mixture of cement (limestone, clay shells, and silica sand) and sand. Without cement you cannot make Mortar. Cement is kind of like flour. It is used to hold the rest of the materials together. Cement is a lot stronger than Mortar, but Mortar is alot more flexible. The Mortar’s flexibility allows for slight movements in buildings without cracking. Mortar is used where flexibility and adhesion are critical. There are many types of Mortar. We are using Type S.

Another truck load of clean 57 stone was ordered and will be delivered tomorrow. It will be used along with the perforated pipe for the French drains around the house.

Foundation Block Laying Day ten video:

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4dnQgf0 Cetaphil Skin Activator Hydrating & Firming Body Lotion Fighting that old age skin. Use this everyday.

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Year 6, Day 34 “Living the Dream”. Wednesday, 6/03/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Day 9 Foundation Block Laying.

Tranformer and light installed on pole.

Garage stairwell block is completed up to 8 courses and plastered.

Foundation Block Laying Day nine video:

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4dnQgf0 Cetaphil Skin Activator Hydrating & Firming Body Lotion Fighting that old age skin. Use this everyday.

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Year 6, Day 33 “Living the Dream”. Tuesday, 6/02/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Day 8 Foundation Block Laying. It’s just another another Block laying day.

Those L blocks are looking good.

We hung another humingbird feeder and we have ten hummingbirds eating at a time. They are flying pigs. They empty the bird feeders everyday. We are using a cup of sugar daily. I found a 25 pound bag of sugar. That should feed them until the end of July. But if those females are having babies. We may have double the number of hummingbirds by then.

We are proud of Jacob. He is one smart young man.

Foundation Block Laying Day eight video:

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4dnQgf0 Cetaphil Skin Activator Hydrating & Firming Body Lotion Fighting that old age skin. Use this everyday.

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Year 6, Day 32 “Living the Dream”. Monday, 6/01/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Day 7 Foundation Block Laying. Early rise and out to purchase some L Block. These will be used halfway up the foundation wall that borders the master bedroom suite. That is where the basement and crawl space will meet.

We also picked up foundation tar and the perforated drainage pipe for around the foundation. Plastering, tarring, and installing proper French drains around a home means a dry basement.

That corner pallet of cement block is now gone. All blocks have been used. We put the pink canopy up on that spot. It is so nice to have some shade. It is so hot in this sun. Pretty soon this will be a nice cool basement. I can see myself walking up those stairs into the garage.

Boys just want to have fun!

Something I discovered today. Walmart frozen vegetables list wheat and Kroger frozen vegetables do not. Never thought that someone with Celiac even had to look at a package of plain frozen vegetables to see if they are gluten free or not.

Foundation Block Laying Day seven video:

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4dnQgf0 Cetaphil Skin Activator Hydrating & Firming Body Lotion Fighting that old age skin. Use this everyday.

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Year 6, Day 31 “Living the Dream”. Sunday, 5/31/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Day 6 Foundation Block Laying. 7 of the 11 corners are completed up to where scaffolding is needed.

What is going on here??

Did you know that taking a cruise can give your brain a legitimate boost? Unplugging from everyday stressors, slow travel” and engaging in new cultural experiences improves cognitive functions like memory, reasoning, and problem-solving. This is attributed to a concept called the “blue mind” . The sound of waves lowers cortisol, and allows your nervous system to reset. Now I lnow why I feel so good during and after a cruise.

Foundation Block Laying Day six video:

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4dnQgf0 Cetaphil Skin Activator Hydrating & Firming Body Lotion Fighting that old age skin. Use this everyday.

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Year 6, Day 30 “Living the Dream”. Saturday, 5/30/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Day 5 Foundation Block Laying.

The new cleaning crew.

The retired cleaning crew.

Foundation Block Laying Day five video:

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4dnQgf0 Cetaphil Skin Activator Hydrating & Firming Body Lotion Fighting that old age skin. Use this everyday.

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Year 6, Day 29 “Living the Dream”. Friday, 5/29/2026, Clifty Hill 3. We forgot we had to be in Lexington this morning. So it was a rush to get out of the house by 7am. It was way to hot to start block laying at 1pm when we got home. So we did chores around the Wellington. Mowing the field was a big one.

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4dnQgf0 Cetaphil Skin Activator Hydrating & Firming Body Lotion Fighting that old age skin. Use this everyday.

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Year 6, Day 28 “Living the Dream”. Thursday, 5/28/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Day 4 Foundation block laying. Beautiful sunny day today. The last few days we had over 7 inches of rain. I can literally see the flowers and grass growing. They are so happy that mother nature provided that long refreshing drink and now the warm sun. Oh boy are they happy. We are also. We can now get work completed on the home.

Six of the eleven corners are built.

The electric company site engineer stopped by today. We asked for a light to be put on the new electrcal pole at the end of our driveway. In order to do that a transformer has to be added. For the new home they will be installing another pole because the home is 85 feet from the existing pole. The maximum feet the electrical wires can run to a house is 75 feet.

Foundation Block Laying Day four video:

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4dnQgf0 Cetaphil Skin Activator Hydrating & Firming Body Lotion Fighting that old age skin. Use this everyday.

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Year 6, Day 27 “Living the Dream”. Wednesday, 5/27/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Day 3 Foundation block laying.

Had to knock off a little early due to storms passing through at 2:30pm. The two corners that butt up to the garage and bedroom area lined up perfect. The sixth course should run right into the step ups.

The job appears to be going well. We just need for the rain to stop. Even the worms want the rain to stop. Enough is enough. We have not seen any worms since we started this job. The ground had been so dry that they just buried themselves really deep. This recent constant rain has soaked the gound and the worms have come up to the surface. Now we are seeing a lot of dead worms laying in puddles of water.

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4dnQgf0 Cetaphil Skin Activator Hydrating & Firming Body Lotion Fighting that old age skin. Use this everyday.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. #CommissionsEarned

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Year 6, Day 26 “Living the Dream”. Tuesday, 5/26/2026, Clifty Hill 3. Another Rain day. No work today. The last few days have been pretty rainy.

It is Julianna’s birthday. Time sure flys. This sweetie pie is 15 today. Happy Birthday Julianna.

We retired our old Roomba’s and purchased newer models today. They seem to be a little quieter and smarter. The young take over for the old.

Daily reflection:

Here’s a link to today’s Amazon recommendation: https://amzn.to/4dnQgf0 Cetaphil Skin Activator Hydrating & Firming Body Lotion Fighting that old age skin. Use this everyday.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. #CommissionsEarned

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