Author Archives: stripfix

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Because this storyline took place in late October, I had to make up something that would cover both the houseware party and Halloween. Imagining that John had picked up a costume for Michael created an opportunity to have some fun.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Lynn's Comments: When we had people over, my kids often sat quietly at the top of the stairs hoping for worthwhile gossip or a chance to sneak into the kitchen and swipe some goodies. I knew they were there. I could easily have shoved them off to bed, but as long as it wasn't a school night, I figured, out of sight, out of mind. This liberty came to an end when Aaron, after a huge ingestion of pop, decided to burp the alphabet. The hallway created the perfect amplifier. He was in bed by the time he got to "P."

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Here is another true-to-Johnston-life happening. Rod decided to carry on his father's tradition of making pancakes on Sunday morning but cancelled his next performance due to lack of interest. In colder climates, even pancakes aren't enough to make one leave a warm, toasty bed!

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Like my mother, I couldn't resist the hungry faces of kids at the door. It's amazing, isn't it, how fresh baking makes folks magically appear.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Lynn's Comments: After reading Tom Sawyer, I was convinced that spooks really did come out at night. My dad was no help; he loved to tell ghost stories. The Brothers Grimm book was a favourite of my grandfather's. Between the two of them, my brother and I were reluctant to go out in the dark until the year that my grandma gave us flashlights for Christmas. We used these to expel ghosts from corners, creeps from closets, and bugs from the bed sheet, until the batteries ran out!

Friday, October 12, 2012

Lynn's Comments: I loved making up names. When I thought up the word Grubberware, it immediately conjured up the idea of a party where toilet brushes, rubber gloves, plungers, and other unattractive bathroom cleaning stuff would be displayed and sold. This meant I could draw toilet-related stuff (which was rather discouraged) and possibly get away with it. I guess there's a part of me that will always want to bug the guy in charge.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Sometimes, the old chestnut command "If you don't like what we're having, make your own dinner!" backfired. I found the best way to make a less-than-yummy repast disappear was to offer no alternative at all. This, of course, might result in a stoic refusal to compromise followed by a midnight raid on the fridge. The one consolation was that they would eat at midnight the now frigid dinner they'd rejected at 6!

Monday, October 8, 2012

Lynn's Comments: I don't remember mushrooms being a bone of contention for us growing up because fresh ones were too expensive and canned ones simply disappeared into the stew. Mushroom soup was a staple gravy base and casserole sauce, so it didn't count either. When actual fresh fungi were finally introduced to our palates, we were all grown up. It's our children who have had the luxury of rejecting one of the most delicious culinary delights known to man!

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Lynn's Comments: When a kid is hungry, no explanation for why one should wait will curb the appetite. A kid wants to eat NOW. Dinner time for us was always at 6 o'clock when Dad came home. Nothing was allowed beforehand because it would spoil our appetite. Many a dinner was already "spoiled" because I had to wait so long to eat it!

Monday, October 1, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Lynn Lake, as I have said so many times, did not have the warmest climate. On the rare occasion that Katie did want to wear a dress, it was often too cold to go outside in one. At one point, Kate was determined to wear a pretty summer dress she'd been given. I let her do it. Fortunately, it fit over a warm sweater and her winter snow pants!

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Lynn's Comments: When I was about 12, I decided to draw the man I would marry. I sat down in my dad's yellow recliner with a pad and pencil and I asked the "spirits" to guide my hand. I drew an average-looking Caucasian man with light-coloured, wavy hair, a nondescript mouth and nose, and large, bright eyes. Once finished, I looked at the face; thinking it was a dumb thing to have drawn, I wadded up the paper and threw it away. Wow. I don't know how many times I wished that I had kept that drawing!!!

Friday, September 28, 2012

Lynn's Comments: This was true, as I guess it is for many couples. We were both so busy that we seldom had time for a good heart to heart talk. For this reason alone, buying an aircraft was the best thing we ever did. It meant long hours of silent, beautiful flight. Sharing the view, talking through headsets, we really had time to communicate. I wish I'd known then that it was more than a vehicle. Not only did the plane keep us in touch with the outside world, it kept us in touch with each other.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Aaron had one excuse after another for not going to bed. It seemed as though he never slept. I would hear him late at night doing stuff in his room and I wondered when he'd get into a "normal" routine. Well, he's almost 40 now and he's still a night owl. It's not unusual for him to be up and working at 3:00 am!

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Aaron came in one day from playing outside and he was filthy. I told him to go upstairs, take off his shirt and pants, and throw them in the laundry. I told him to then fill up the washbasin and give himself a thorough wash. He was gone a long time. When he finally appeared, he was wearing pyjamas but he looked as dirty as ever. I asked him if he had washed himself and he told me to look at his face. Around his mouth was a circle of clean, pink face. He had licked off the dirt for as far as his tongue could reach.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Lynn's Comments: I was happy when this punchline came to mind. I thought it was too good to have been thought up by me alone, that some other cartoonist had surely thought of it too. So far, I haven't been told of a duplication, so perhaps I'm home free. Believe it or not, there are days when two of us will think up the exact same line, and on rare occasions, these are printed on the same day!