Lynn's Comments: Those of us who still want to retain some dignity on the beach have a hard time finding the swimwear to do it in. When I vented my frustration in the paper, I would always get mail from grateful women who shared my point of view.
Author Archives: stripfix
Monday, March 19, 2012
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Lynn's Comments: Eddy King, our local barber, was a neighbour and friend. Our cabins on Berge Lake were side by side. Whenever Rod had a chance to talk to Eddie, it was usually a long conversation. When it came to giving a haircut, Eddie would cut for as long as the conversation lasted. Occasionally, Rod would come home with almost no hair left --I hated it! I kept hoping that next time he had his hair cut, they would have much less to say!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Lynn's Comments: We were still in our thirties when we started to grumble about looking older. Small wrinkles, the inevitable tummy bulge and the discovery of an early grey hair lead us to believe we were over the hill. I look at people in their thirties now and I think "Wow, wouldn't it be nice to be young like that again?!"
Friday, March 16, 2012
Lynn's Comments: This strip a favourite. Folks who came home from a hard day's work to see their dog happily lolling on the living room carpet in the warmth of the sun let me know that this strip was on target. Forgetting that a dog's life is really a kind of captivity...we do tend to envy them. The one time I was glad NOT to be a pampered pet was when I opened a can of dog food and watched ol' Farley gulping mystery meat from a grubby plastic bowl.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Lynn's Comments: Strips like this one were always hard to translate. Apparently "paying through the nose" only makes sense in English!
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Lynn's Comments: If the calculator was left out, it was sure to be tampered with. We soon learned to do our paperwork after the kids were in bed and asleep. It's easier now that we use computers. I did, however hear of a friend who lost a day's work because her cat walked on the keys!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Lynn's Comments: This was when three dollars bought a toy that would last! We tried to introduce the concept of earning and saving and waiting until you could afford the things you want, but understanding money takes time.
Aaron had a weekly allowance and what didn't go to Fergy's candy counter, went to the toy department at "The Bay." The Lynn Lake Hudson's Bay store was a long cinder block building, which carried everything from groceries to long underwear. The toy department was smack dab in the middle of the store. We couldn't navigate the aisles without going past the toys and Aaron knew the entire inventory. He liked Lego, in particular, and wanted every kit available.
We insisted that he buy these kits with his own money. Every week, he'd skip down to see if his box was still on "hold" and put a dollar more down on his prize and calculate how much more he had to pay. It was a great way to make a toy mean something! Aaron learned about what things cost. He learned about taxes and he learned a lot about planning and patience ... and in so doing, I learned a lot about him.
Aaron had a weekly allowance and what didn't go to Fergy's candy counter, went to the toy department at "The Bay." The Lynn Lake Hudson's Bay store was a long cinder block building, which carried everything from groceries to long underwear. The toy department was smack dab in the middle of the store. We couldn't navigate the aisles without going past the toys and Aaron knew the entire inventory. He liked Lego, in particular, and wanted every kit available.
We insisted that he buy these kits with his own money. Every week, he'd skip down to see if his box was still on "hold" and put a dollar more down on his prize and calculate how much more he had to pay. It was a great way to make a toy mean something! Aaron learned about what things cost. He learned about taxes and he learned a lot about planning and patience ... and in so doing, I learned a lot about him.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Lynn's Comments: Kate and Aaron liked to answer the phone. I made sure they were polite and respectful. Aaron could write a message and take down the number. Katie just had to say I was busy and to please call back later. She answered while I was in the bath one day and had this very chat with the person who called. I never did find out who it was!
Friday, March 9, 2012
Lynn's Comments: This strip has a bit of a story behind it. I was travelling quite a bit for work and was often waiting to board a plane somewhere. I was en route to New York and sitting in the lounge were all kinds of folks heading to meetings and events and so on. Our flight had been delayed. Some were late for connecting flights, some were unable to contact people who were meeting them. We were all getting frustrated and anxious. An hour went by with no information. Then another hour passed. Eventually we were all furious. The tension was awful ... but then a miracle occurred.
A man went completely berserk--he stood up, cursing the airline, and the attendants at the gate. He threw down his briefcase and stomped on it, shouting and waving his arms. He threatened to sue. He screamed obscenities. At that point, the rest of us relaxed. We all watched as someone else acted out our frustrations perfectly. As he ranted, we said to ourselves, "Yeah, that's right. That's exactly how I feel."
By the time the authorities came, the lounge was a quiet place full of calm people. It was instant stress relief. It occurred to me that I performed this same service for my family; the more irate I became about something, the less they cared about it!
A man went completely berserk--he stood up, cursing the airline, and the attendants at the gate. He threw down his briefcase and stomped on it, shouting and waving his arms. He threatened to sue. He screamed obscenities. At that point, the rest of us relaxed. We all watched as someone else acted out our frustrations perfectly. As he ranted, we said to ourselves, "Yeah, that's right. That's exactly how I feel."
By the time the authorities came, the lounge was a quiet place full of calm people. It was instant stress relief. It occurred to me that I performed this same service for my family; the more irate I became about something, the less they cared about it!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Lynn's Comments: I like to think that I make good soup and, when I do make it, I tend to make a lot! I like to have enough to freeze and to share and some to eat right away. It was a blow to the ego when they preferred the canned or packaged stuff. Mine was chock full of "goodns"--a meal in itself. Somehow, with the passage of time, they have learned to appreciate homemade soups and often make it themselves. Katie makes enough to freeze, enough to eat and enough to give to me!
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Lynn's Comments: It's so easy to criticize someone else for doing something stupid. In fact it feels great to point out shortcomings in others! Feeling smug and full of myself, I really did burn a whole pot of soup one day while gossiping to a friend. I was criticizing another mother for the way she managed her household!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Lynn's Comments: Sadly, this happened to a lot of folks until clear bags came onto the market. After this series of strips ran, we had many letters from folks who had done the exact same thing. At least, the Lynn Lake dump was well maintained and if you went in empty handed, you could just as easily come out with a trunk load of good stuff, in return!
Monday, March 5, 2012
Lynn's Comments: My friends Jim and Nancy Lawn had just moved to Lynn Lake with their two daughters, Jennifer and Deanna. As Nancy was unpacking the children's clothes, she noticed that two black plastic bags full of her daughters' best clothing was gone. Thinking the bags were garbage, Jim had inadvertently taken them to the dump. A long and fruitless search made it clear that someone had already found and taken the clothing home. Our dump wasn't called "the exchange" for nothing!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Lynn's Comments: Feeling soft and out of shape, a few of us decided to create an exercise group. We found a capable leader who, for a modest sum, agreed to make us sweat a couple of afternoons a week. She turned out to be a drill sergeant. After a few serious workouts, we were all stiff and sore. I remember lying on the couch in pain, feeling muscles I didn't know existed. I thought that running after, picking up, and carrying kids would have put us all ahead of the game.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Lynn's Comments: I had hoped that by the time my children were grown, this type of news would be a thing of the past.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Lynn's Comments: This is an insight into one of my neighbour's relationships, and yes, I asked if I could use it!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Lynn's Comments: I'm not someone who reads in bed. In fact, I find it really uncomfortable and can't quite see why people do it. Still, when you have a fantasy character to work with, you can have him or her do a lot of stuff you wouldn't normally do. I guess this is why avatars are becoming so popular with folks on the internet. Neat idea...but I won't get involved until an avatar can do my laundry!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Lynn's Comments: Another unmistakable "Aaronism".
Monday, February 27, 2012
Lynn's Comments: Alan did have a fish tank and Aaron wanted one as well. I allowed him to have a goldfish for a while...kind of a "Starter" pet. The fish lasted about a week before it died from over stimulation. I think it must have been glad to go.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Lynn's Comments: When plastic glasses were introduced to our household in the 50's Alan and I used them for everything from sandbox scoops to stacking toys. It was fun to see how much water we could hold with the suction from our mouths before the glass would fall off. Hopefully we would catch it before it hit the floor and alerted the authorities. Having two kids in the strip allowed me to recall so many of my own childhood antics.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Lynn's Comments: Alan's ordeal with the vegetarians did not end with the fridge and the juicer. He remembers giving them a list and some money for groceries.... and all they brought home was carrots! It wasn't long before he was making plans to move again.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Lynn's Comments: Making "Georgia" play flute delivered me from having to say how and where she and Phil met.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Lynn's Comments: My brother, Alan, moved from my home in Dundas to Hamilton and eventually to Stratford, Ontario--where he was principal trumpet for the Stratford Festival Theatre. In the strip, "Phil" only moved once and I never specified to where.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Lynn's Comments: To end a dispute between Kate and Aaron, I did divide the kitchen table so that each child had their own side. I then divided the couch and Aaron himself divided the living room. This bit of biblical rectitude resulted in a deep interest in equality. Both kids then wanted to divide the house, the hallways, and the stairwell into "what's yours" and "what's mine".
The task was not a small one, but they were determined. It gave them something to do together and the price of a roll of masking tape was a small price to pay for silence. I decided to use this in a Sunday strip. The thought that they might even have tried to divide the dog had me smiling for days!
The task was not a small one, but they were determined. It gave them something to do together and the price of a roll of masking tape was a small price to pay for silence. I decided to use this in a Sunday strip. The thought that they might even have tried to divide the dog had me smiling for days!