Making Ends Meet: Browse The Strips

Monday, May 20, 2013

Lynn's Comments: The great Johnston yard sale was an epic event. Everyone in Lynn Lake knew that Ruth had squirreled away some fine stuff and looked forward to seeing what would be up for grabs. Tables had to be borrowed from the church next door. It took us two days to price everything and set it out on display. As luck would have it, the event took place on the day of the high school graduation. Students in their best duds crowded around the tables, trying to score a deal ahead of the old guys.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Lynn's Comments: The town's mine was closing and many people were forced to move. Despite the fact that we were all trying to downsize, Ruth had a fantastic turnout--her sale was like Christmas and Halloween and everyone's birthday rolled into one. If you didn't want or need a thing, you had to be there--it wasn't just a sale, it was an event! In typical Ruth fashion, she provided an assortment of homemade goodies--she was a great hostess. In the end, her hard work paid off!

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Lynn's Comments: When the stock began to run low, we ran home and dug through our own stuff--even though we had already sold everything we wanted to get rid of. Ruth and Tom went back into their house and did the same.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Lynn's Comments: When the dust cleared we did discover a few things gone that we wanted to keep--and one item had been stolen. Not bad for a day of chaos!

Friday, May 24, 2013

Lynn's Comments: I forget exactly how much they made, but the image of Tom, the family accountant, tallying up the take will stay forever. He meticulously stacked and sorted every coin, smoothed and organized every bill, and is the only person I have seen (other than the senior vendors in Vancouver's China Town) use an abacus!

Monday, May 27, 2013

Lynn's Comments: This is why schools and daycares are the world's great Petri dishes. Along with the paper plate art projects and newly acquired skills, kids bring home a plethora of microbes. As a young mom, I really resented this bacterial exchange--until it was my turn to decide: is she sick enough to stay home or should I send her?

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Earlier in my career, when I was a single mom, I worked outside the home and Aaron went to daycare. Any time he was sick, it was miserable for both of us. I knew, it was irresponsible to send a kid out there to infect others, but I had to pay a mortgage and buy groceries, and a day off work meant a smaller pay cheque. If I had to stay home with him, I felt guilty for missing work--and mad at myself for feeling guilty. He, on the other hand, appreciated having me home--all to himself and caring for him.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Until I became a teenager and could work at the store, do chores at home, and generally understand adult conversation, my mother and I were like oil and water. My best memories of her when I was very small seem to be when I was sick! She spent hours sitting next to me in my room, reading, taking my temperature, and trying to make me more comfortable. Measles, mumps and chicken pox went the rounds of every neighbourhood, and there was little to do but stay in bed and sweat it out. Mom should have been a doctor. She was smart, unfazed by barf, blood and trauma, and eager to try every home remedy known to man. Her poultices, enemas and steam tents were worse than the plague itself, but they worked. Thanks to Mom, we were up and feeling better before anyone else on the block!

Friday, May 31, 2013

Lynn's Comments: My brother and I fought a lot when we were kids, and Aaron and Kate did as well. When one kid is sick, however, the other's true colours blossom; any time Kate was ill, Aaron would be so concerned, I would almost have to keep him at home, too.

Monday, June 3, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Neither Kate nor Aaron was ever so ill that they had to go to the hospital. We did live down the road, however, from a family whose young daughter had Cystic Fibrosis, and the threat of losing her was constant and cruel. Little Christine liked dolls, and I had a sizeable doll collection. I gave her one of my favorite handmade dolls, which started a sweet friendship. Visiting Christine and her family gave me new insight: it requires amazing strength of character to live with a chronic illness.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Lynn's Comments: I have waited in hospital lounges many times hoping that my presence alone would help to heal or to make someone's illness go away. Perhaps, the vigil is as much for me as it is for the person I worry for. Just by being there, I feel that I'm actually doing something.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Lynn's Comments: I think kids recover from illnesses well because they have such positive attitudes. When I was eighteen, I had my appendix out. Considering myself an adult, I was disappointed to be put in the children's ward. Surrounding me were kids recovering from all kinds of serious things, and all I could hear was laughter, music, and the sounds of the day. When I visited the adult ward, there were complaints, depression, subdued conversation, and an "old" smell. I was then glad to be where I was.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Lynn's Comments: This is such an old gag image, but I had to use it here. I actually showed Aaron how to squeeze our garden hose to stop the water flowing--so he could "surprise" someone. Naturally, I was his first surprisee!

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Lynn's Comments: When I was a kid, a travelling salesman came to the door selling piano accordions. I'm not kidding. With every purchase, they threw in a year's worth of lessons. My mother, wanting me to play something (that wouldn't swallow half the living room and take ten years to pay off), actually considered buying one. Here was a piano-like instrument that was almost portable! I liked polkas and accordion music in general, but the cool factor was lacking. I declined. A real piano would have been great, but this was not the same! In desperation, she promised me that playing the accordion would increase my bust size. As a "budding" teen, this argument had merit, but the piano accordion still wasn't my thing.

Years later, when I was living in southern Ontario, I met some musicians from Newfoundland. Caught up in my love for east coast music, I bought myself a button accordion. This I learned to play not too badly and after awhile, it showed. I was indeed building up bulges where none had been--on my arms. I actually had pipes! I knew then that the old arm-pumping exercise to the cry of, "We must, we must, we must improve our bust!" was hogwash. The only sure way to enhance the unenhanceable, is through surgery! I still play my accordion, but only for sympathetic friends, and I don't really care about the bust line. I do have a word of advice, however, "Ladies, it's a fine instrument, but...never play an accordion in the nude!"

Monday, June 10, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Even on the most miserable winter days, my kids seemed immune to the cold. Mittens, boots, warm socks and headgear were fought against in their hurry to get out doors. They only came in when they were blue and shivering and had to be thawed out in a hot bath. Knowing he was freezing, I once called out to Aaron saying, "What are you waiting for, why don't you come inside?" and he replied, "My fingers still work!"

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Charles Schulz told me that this punch line was one of his favourites. "What a great line!" he said. "How do we think up these things?!!"

Friday, June 14, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Because I worked from home, there were moms in town who felt they could drop in for coffee any time. One of these ladies was very offended when I asked her to come when I wasn't working and to please call first. Both of her kids were in school; I was paying a sitter to watch Kate. Every hour at the drafting board meant time I could spend with my family later. It was a hard concept for some--who thought that doodling on paper couldn't possibly be work!

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Robert's Fine Jewellery was one of the flagship stores in Lynn Lake. It reminded me so much of my dad's store in North Vancouver, that I had to include it in the strip. Having grown up surrounded by giftware, jewellery, and trinkets, I was never too interested in owning any of it, but after I left home and had my ears pierced, things changed. I started to really appreciate jewellery, and once in awhile even though I felt guilty for doing so, I'd buy myself something small, something nice.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Lynn's Comments: I had a good-sized wash tub in the backyard. It would take two of us to get him to the tub and then into it. Once he was in, he gave up the fight and put up with the scrubbing.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Lynn's Comments: After he was bathed and dried, it took another hour or more to comb out his fur and get him to look good again. The final touch was an elastic band in his hair to hold it away from his eyes. The ability to see, however, gave him a clear shot at the ravine behind our house or the nearest pile of stink he could roll in. I don't think he ever stayed clean for more than a day, but it was worth the effort just to have him smell good for a change!