Can't escape the winter without a cold

Just when I thought I'd pulled a fast one on the weather by not falling ill all winter, Winter herself one-upped me by sneaking in a low punch right at the last moment. I should have seen it coming, I suppose, when Monday was suddenly so cold that I could no longer differentiate between my nose and the icycle hanging at its tip. When, all of a sudden, my voice started sounding like Darth Vader. Or at least, like Eddie Izzard's imitation of the dark lord.

So I spent the week for the most part working from home, preferring to sequester myself rather than splutter all over the peops in the office. And this is how the day transpired:

Every time I received an email, I sneezed. Every time the phone rang, I sneezed. Each time the cat moved, I sneezed. And sometimes, I just sneezed. Queen Jaffa, having never witnessed this before, at first was quite alarmed by the growing pile of tissues with which I surrounded myself. But shrewd cat that she is, she quickly weighed the benefits of having me at home (ie continuous petting) with the pitfalls my constant sneezing - and quickly adapted to the new lifestyle.

So by Thursday this week, the kitty and I had established a new pattern of behaviour: she, box of tissues, mug of hot water, Vicks, laptop and I, camped out on the couch all day. How ideal. If it weren't for those inconvenient sneezes.