Keep the Home Fries Burning: Browse The Strips

Monday, August 4, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Guilt is a wonderful thing--It makes us honest, it makes us humble. It makes us apologize. In my opinion, in this world, there just isn't enough of it!

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Lynn's Comments: The name "Brittany" was chosen because my friends, Don and Beth, named their first daughter "Brittany." Their second daughter, they named "Elly!"

Friday, August 8, 2014

Lynn's Comments: My first husband used to come home from work, look around the house and say, "What did you DO all day?" The house was tidy, the laundry done, dinner was prepared and the baby was clean, fed and sleeping. I felt I had put in a full day's work--plus overtime!

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I chose Thunder Bay as the city where Connie and Lawrence were moving because it was too far away for a friendly visit. Even though it's in the same province, it's a long drive to Thunder Bay from Toronto. I knew that, despite promises to do so, these two ladies would not be seeing each other for a very long time.

Monday, August 18, 2014

Lynn's Comments: My mother was a wonderful seamstress. She could make anything, which was a blessing because we couldn't afford to buy much in the way of clothing. One year, she found several good quality raincoats at the Salvation Army store. She washed and ironed them, took them apart, and remade them into coats for my brother and me. They were attractive, stylish and beautifully finished. Nobody could tell they had been made from second hand fabric. Even though it looked good on me, I refused to wear mine--not because it was second hand, but because it wasn't what the other kids were wearing. My mom was near tears but said nothing as I put on my blue cardigan. I never did wear that coat. This is one of the many nasty little things I did that I still regret. Guilt. Sometimes, it can last forever!

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Lynn's Comments: My granddaughter is, at the time of this writing, two and a half years old. She is active and curious and constantly on the go. Her mom, dad and I read to her, play with her, and try to answer all her questions. She is a joy, but still, we look forward to the day she'll be able to go to kindergarten. Not because she is too much to handle; she is just so ready to learn!

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Lynn's Comments: It was never my intention to have Connie and Lawrence move away. It just happened! Once Connie's relationship with Ted soured and Uncle Phil met Georgia, Connie's personal life was on hold. An opportunity for her to take a good job in another town seemed like a positive step, so the story took this turn. What the move did was give me another challenge to deal with and a new family to welcome. This helped to keep the story interesting.

Friday, August 22, 2014

Lynn's Comments: When we moved to the North Bay area, people confused it with Thunder Bay. I was hoping that readers would go to a map and see where Thunder Bay is--and they did! The next time you see a beautiful piece of amethyst, such as crystals in a large geode, it might have come from this area. Aside from its nice hotels and good restaurants (something to look forward to when you travel the trans Canada highway) Thunder Bay is famous for its amethyst.

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I wanted to explore the sense of loss we all share when a good friend moves away. I think this must be harder for children to deal with. In our case, we were the ones who left and Aaron's friends were sad to see him go. It wasn't until we had settled in our new house and the excitement of moving was over, that he began to feel the loss as well.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Katie was starting grade two when we moved to North Bay. (The children in the strip were three years younger than Katie and Aaron). The little school she attended was about a mile and a half down the road, next to a hobby farm. At lunchtime she and the other children could watch the animals through the fence; a donkey, chickens, and some rabbits. On occasion, the farmer would take the kids for rides on his donkey, which I thought was charming. I said to her, "Katie isn't this a great place to have a school?! This is something you'll remember for the rest of your life!" and she replied, "Yeah, I will --'cause it stinks!"

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Lynn's Comments: Aaron's grade two teacher in Lynn Lake told me that little kids felt good about seeing their classmates coats on the hooks outside their rooms because it meant that their friends were there. If a coat was missing, they noticed right away and were worried. Sheena had some wonderful observations about the kids in her charge and I said to her, "If you ever write a book, I'll illustrate it." Sheena Baker wrote, "There's A Worm in my Apple," which I did illustrate. It's out of print now, but it was a sweet and funny read. It was released in 1985 by Stoddart Publishing and the ISBN number is: 0-7737-5029-0. Maybe you can find it online somewhere. I still laugh when I read it!

Friday, August 29, 2014

Lynn's Comments: In Lynn Lake, we would walk the kids to school. When we moved to rural Ontario, even though Kate's school was close by, the bus would pick her up and drop her off at our mailbox everyday. Aaron, too, caught the school bus, and because he went to a different school, he had to transfer to another bus in town. For both of them, it was a whole new experience, in a very different place.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Lynn's Comments: I once admitted to a male friend (not a partner) that I had told a best friend some very intimate personal things--and he said that guys often tell their best friends intimate personal stuff too. I guess it depends on who the people are, what the information is, and why it had to be shared. I refuse to feel guilty about spilling my guts to a trusted friend. Sometimes, when the dam is about to break--you go to someone with a life raft!

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Lynn's Comments: When I was about 10, I watched as a family moved into one of the houses where we lived on 5th Street. My friend Evelyn's father was watching too and when he saw the big assortment of tools the new guy had, he said "I don't know this guy, but I like him already!" Both men were mechanics--who looked after their stuff.

Friday, September 5, 2014

Lynn's Comments: This strip received some nice mail. Folks expected to read a sarcastic punch line. Growing up in North Vancouver, we were always playing with and studying next to kids from China, Japan, and other Asian countries. In fact, it was hard to learn French as a second language when we were more familiar with Mandarin and Japanese. I wanted to draw an Asian family, and the Enjos stepped in.

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Lynn's Comments: The name "Enjo" was for my grade six home economics teacher. Miss Enjo was a sweet and lovely lady and must have been in her twenties at the time. My dad guessed that her last name had been longer and had been shortened when her family immigrated to Canada. The family I made up was based on the Masuda family--who had known my in-laws in Lynn Lake, Manitoba. They had also moved to North Bay, which was a nice coincidence: We had friends here to make us feel at home.

Monday, September 8, 2014

Lynn's Comments: The Enjos provided both Elizabeth and Michael with friends to play with--I wanted the whole family to integrate with the Pattersons. This is always the hope when new folks move into the neighbourhood, and I could make it happen in the strip!