What a difficult week this has been, summed up by an emoji frown. It all started with a very persistent sneeze and drippy nose that quickly became a full-blown cold. (Undoubtedly, this was caused by the hustle and bustle of Hanukkah—not to mention plenty of germs at a big party.) Instead of trying to fight it, as I have in the past, I just surrendered to bed for quite a while and tried to rest.

Of course, one can only do some much Netflix and YouTube binge watching before they glaze over. I switched to reading books, doing crossword puzzles and then playing on my phone. Big, big mistake. My head ached, my right arm ached, and my right eye began to twitch. Since I’ve struggled with severe eye strain in the past, I knew what it was and stopped immediately and went back to TV. The boredom that followed was so bad, mere words can’t adequately express it!

By Wednesday night, I started to feel better—less congested, less queasy, less coughing. We were almost out of fresh groceries by that point and I was suffering from a bad case of cabin fever. I planned to do some shopping, errands, and just get out of the house a little.

Imagine my surprise to find my Pathfinder with a little puddle beneath it and the dashboard light on when I started it. Long story short: The brake line needed to be replaced and it will be in the shop for a few days. Just what I didn’t want. Ugh. So Thursday was also a washout.

Sounds fun, right? Wait, it gets better… On Friday, it started snowing, and icing, and I’m still home, still stuck, and we’re living on pantry/frozen food. Well, the rest of the family is anyway; all I wanted is soup, crackers, and hot tea. The snow is expected to continue today into the late evening, which means we’ll just have to make do.

So, yeah, I’m a bit grouchy. There was one high point amongst all the dark clouds—an exceptionally nice Hanukkah gift! How amazing is this dried fruit platter that came with a pineapple cutting board? It’s made by Gourmet Gift Baskets and tastes as good as it looks. (Who knew you could dry a kiwi and it would still be yummy?) At the rate I’m munching, there won’t be any left to share.

How is everyone else doing out there? Hopefully, much better than me!