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Another Christmas obscurity, Smidgens was created by Bob Cordray in 1961 and ran until 1974. According to Allan Holtz, it ended because the syndicate that carried it, National Newspaper Syndicate, closed its doors the same year. Smidgens didn't get picked up by any other syndicate, so Cordray decided to create a new strip called "Alex in Wonderland" which had different characters but the same basic feel as Smidgens. Both strips feature fairly simple visuals, but the focus seems to be more on the clever jokes and wordplay. Unfortunately, people didn't like his second strip nearly as much as the first one, and it only lasted from 1975 to 1980 (though reprints were offered all the way up to 1986).
Regarding today's strip, I am happy to say that I've never gotten pneumonia, but when the weather starts getting colder I tend to get some kind of sickness. At least, I have noticed in years past that I get sick around this time of year. It could have something to do with the cold, but it could also be that I used to work an open concept office constantly surrounded by a bunch of people who are potentially sick, and who have run out of sick time so they have to go to work whether they're contagious or not. Since I work at home now, I don't have to deal with that problem anymore. Either way, I haven't gotten sick yet this year (fingers crossed), so I hope that when January rolls around and it gets even colder, I won't get sick then either.