So while allergies have slowly been twisting my head into tight little knots, my family has been busy getting creative with their illnesses. Thankfully, Gracie has thus far escaped unscathed, but it turns out that the little man has a sinus infection and strep. And the missus?

Pleurisy. Seriously.

I’m sorry, but pleurisy sounds so “Little House On The Prairie.” It’s something you would have expected to afflict cattlehands or early settlers. I can almost remember it being something that I would have seen playing “Oregon Trail.” [I'm pretty sure it looked something like this.]

Make no bones about it, though: pleurisy sucks. It’s can be painful and the missus is powering her way to a slow recovery. I wonder if I can trade a few wagon wheels or boxes of ammo for some tonics or stronger medicine…