I had a little setback this week. Like many people my age, daily medications are the reality of life. In my case, I take a couple of medications to control high blood pressure – it’s a family trait. I don’t like it, but it’s what I need to do.

When I first started taking the medications, I wasn’t quite ready for how my body responded. One night I got out of bed and stood up a little too quickly. I immediately felt dizzy and should have sat back on the bed. Instead, I took a step and put my hand up to brace against the wall. I didn’t get there. Instead, I began to fall forward. To counter this, I took another step, then another. I picked up a little up speed, then fell flat on my face. That was several years ago.

It hasn’t happened again – well, I’ve had momentary dizziness from standing up too quickly after sitting for a period of time, but no falls. That is, until three weeks ago. The night before we left Mesa, I went down in the living room. I took a small chunk out of my nose when I fell, but it was no big thing.

On Tuesday night, we watched a few episodes of Chopped on TV. I was relaxing in the Euro-recliner while I watched TV. I’ll admit I was also sipping on a bourbon on the rocks. When it was time for bed, I stood up and turned off the TV. I felt dizzy, then the next thing I knew I was face-down on the floor, bleeding profusely from my forehead and nose and I could taste blood in my mouth.

Donna was in the bedroom but came out quickly when she heard the “Thump.” My lower front tooth was broken, I could feel it moving like a piece had split across the width of the tooth leaving a front piece that seemed fairly solid and a back piece (lingual) that was moving about. Donna helped me clean myself up and it was off to bed.

Wednesday morning I was worse for wear and appeared decidedly second-hand. My tooth was clearly an issue. Donna texted our friend, Carolyn Ower, and got a dentist recommendation. We were able to get an appointment to see Dr. Vestal at noon.

I drove to his office looking like I’d been in a bar fight – except my knuckles weren’t bruised. After checking me over, he confirmed what I thought. The tooth had split with a smaller lingual piece just hanging on. Luckily, it was a thin enough piece of enamel that didn’t expose the nerve. It also tapered down toward the gumline, so only a narrow sliver extended below the gum. He simply pulled it out. He thought it would be best for me to leave it as it is for a few weeks, then decide if I want a crown to repair it.

I think I’ll be looking worse before I get better. It was apparent by late afternoon and this morning was no improvement. At least my tooth doesn’t hurt and it could’ve been worse. I’ll get over it.

Yesterday Donna went to the community pool and had a good swim. There are numbered lanes and only one person at a time can take a lane. She wanted to swim laps, so this was perfect. This morning she went for pickleball but I stayed home – I need another day or two of recovery.

While Donna was at pickleball, I took my guitar apart for a deep cleaning and did a few set-up tweaks before restringing the guitar. I’m toying with the idea of building a solid-body electric guitar. I think it would be a fun project once we return to Mesa for the winter. I’m thinking a Fender Stratocaster type of guitar with a bolt-on neck wouldn’t be too difficult and it might be nice to have another guitar.

We ended May with a slightly wet day – we had a few showers on Monday – Memorial Day. The temperature reached the upper 70s and has been steadily warming since then. Today we expect a high of 85 and it should reach 90 by the weekend.

Donna closed out the Memorial Day weekend with a couple of outstanding dinners. Sunday she made a chili verde by cutting pork tenderloin into cubes, browning them, then put them into a slow-cooker pot with tomatillo sauce. She served it over pan-fried potato slices with grilled zucchini on the side. We’ve been dining al fresco at the picnic table.

On Monday she made Korean beef bowls. It wasn’t traditional Memorial Day fare, but it was delicious.

She kicked off June with a new take on grilled chicken – Moroccan spice grilled chicken with grilled asparagus. We loved it.

The chicken breasts came from a whole chicken that Carolyn Ower gifted Donna as a thank you for helping out at the farm. It was one of their hens they had butchered. It was the same size as the whole chickens we’ve been buying at the store (about 5 pounds), but was proportioned differently. The legs and wings were much larger while the breasts were still ample size. And it was less fatty. That’s what you get when hens are allowed to roam versus those that are caged.

*Just so you know, if you use this link to shop on Amazon and decide to purchase anything, you pay the same price as usual and  I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!