In The Beginning, There Was Chaos: Browse The Strips

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!

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.

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!

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!

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.

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?!"

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!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

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.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Here is an embarrassing moment from my personal file. While stewing away about something, I ran into another driver who had stopped at a stop sign. He was understandably irate and came to my driver's side window to say so. I felt like a kid who was about to be sent to the principal's office. I rolled down my window and listened while he berated me. What I recommend doing at a time like this is to just agree with the other driver. It's hard for them to do you in when you keep saying; "You're absolutely RIGHT!"

Friday, March 23, 2012

Lynn's Comments: This offense took place on Portage Avenue in Winnipeg. I had been driving in a small, northern town for so long--where there were few cars and no traffic lights--that I had actually forgotten how to drive in city traffic.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Lynn's Comments: The kids weren't with me when I rear-ended this guy, but if they had been...I'm sure the secret would not have been safe with them. We are all storytellers in my family, and some stuff is just has to be shared!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Farley had great wide hairy feet and every time he came indoors, I wiped them as best I could--knowing that dirt would come in anyway and I'd just have to deal with it. When my kids came in carrying the same amount of flotsam, however, I bounced around pointing at the inevitable grime and water, telling them in no uncertain terms that they had to be more careful and considerate and bla, bla, bla.... Maybe we're so much more patient with them because dogs can't talk back!

Monday, March 26, 2012

Lynn's Comments: It's interesting to think about how almost "desperate" I was as a single mother. Not to "snag" a man; not to find a replacement for my ex.--I just wanted to be wanted by someone who would treat me and my child, with respect and affection. I was responsible for another life, but I needed someone in MY life, too.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Lynn's Comments: I wanted Ted to be desired by Connie, but thoroughly disliked by the readers and it worked! People regularly told me to have her dump him, but a good story requires a "bad guy", and like all relationships, this one needed to work itself out.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Lynn's Comments: As in any sitcom, my saga had to have characters who were "pawns". These are people who ask the questions the audience wants to ask and pressure the characters to give more information than they could otherwise give. In a strip, you can do this with thought balloons, which work from time to time. The best gags usually require some repartee. This not only gives you the opportunity for TWO smart minds to make a remark, but provides the artist with appropriate facial expressions as well.

Friday, March 30, 2012

Lynn's Comments: I expected my first spouse to change after I married him. I hoped that he would have more confidence and more self-control. In retrospect, I'd now advise people to accept their prospective partners the way they are. "If your partners' quirks irritate you before you marry, I guarantee they will drive you stark raving mad afterwards!"

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Lynn's Comments: I still have this little outfit, carefully preserved in my closet upstairs. Some things you just shouldn't part with!

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Katie did not want to go to the Easter Parade. She didn't want to be in the parade. She didn't want to wear the hat. What finally persuaded her to go was Aaron saying that he'd get all the chocolate, the cake, and the other goodies and she'd get none. Even though I was not pleased with his sentiments, I appreciated his help.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Lynn's Comments: The concept of being born a sinner confused me. As a kid, I was unable to process this--it just didn't make sense. I hoped in time I'd understand. I'm still waiting.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Lynn's Comments: One tradition we really enjoyed every Easter was colouring eggs. My mother was a fine artist who tried every technique she could find to make our eggs different from the norm. She had us work with white wax crayons which kept the dye from colouring the shell. We then warmed and wiped off the wax so that another colour could be added where the wax had been. This was similar to the way the beautifully decorated eggs are done in the Ukrainian style. Ours were rough and "kid-like" but neat, just the same. She mixed vegetable oil with the dye to create swirling patterns. She put rubber bands around the eggs to make straight lines so we could draw around them. For us it was an art lesson as well as a great way to prepare for the coming of the E.B. who would hide them in the night!

Eating the eggs we had so carefully coloured was difficult because we hated to destroy the shells. This resulted in mom's "Easter tree". She would carefully break each shell in half, use a needle to tie a thread to the top and hang the shells from the branches of a small shrub she'd placed in a vase. For us, Easter Sunday was as enjoyable as Christmas--and without the expense!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Lynn's Comments: This was a story my dad told us; "If you get up early on Easter Sunday morning, you will see the sun dance as it rises." Dutifully, Alan and I would get up to see if the story was true, but we never saw the sun dance on Easter morning. I think Dad had bet on two things: one, he never expected my brother and me to actually get out of a warm bed so early and two, in Vancouver, it always seemed to rain on Easter. His explanation for why the sun hadn't danced was that we probably didn't BELIEVE enough! I guess we believed enough in the Easter bunny, though--because every year, he showed up without fail!