Making Ends Meet: Browse The Strips

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Lynn's Comments: My husband had all kinds of models. He loved to make them just for the fun of figuring them out. He even built a model aircraft when we were on our honeymoon, so modelling was definitely in his blood. He could focus for hours, shaving off an infinitesimal piece of plastic here, fitting an impossibly tiny piece there. He had endless patience when it came to building complicated model ships, vehicles, and aircraft. Interestingly, he had much less patience with kids!

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Aaron had a wonderful time in Vancouver. He was spoiled and pampered, and if he ever felt that he was getting less attention than his little sister, he was well compensated by the way my folks doted on him. Ahhh, this is what grandparents are for!

Friday, July 26, 2013

Lynn's Comments: When I saw this in the paper, I almost wept. I had done the strip as a "bit of truth," but had no idea how serious the situation was and I berated myself for my poor mothering skills.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Lynn's Comments: The fish Aaron caught with my dad were not great eating, and Aaron was very disappointed when Mom dug them into the garden. For the next fishing trip, Mom and Dad were prepared. When the men came home with fish for the table, Aaron believed he was chowing down on his catch. Sometimes a white lie comes in the form of frozen fillets.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Lynn's Comments: My folks went out of their way to make sure that Aaron had something fun to do every day. And.... typical kid.... he figured this was the way life should be--ALL the time!

Friday, August 2, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Even though she was the centre of attention when he was gone and even though they fought often, Katie really missed her older brother. She'd lie awake and talk about him. One night, she even asked if she could sleep in his bed.

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Lynn's Comments: My father loved to dance. He would pick me up and dance with me until I fell asleep in his arms. He could sing so well and knew the words to so many songs that he never seemed to run out of waltzes or shanties or tunes from the bar. I remember the swoop of his body as he waltzed to the "Blue Danube" with theatrical panache. He could two-step and tango and polka and jive, and I melted into his shoulder with the rhythm and the warmth of his style.

Last November, my daughter, Katie, and her husband, Lane, presented me with my first grandchild. Laura is now almost two years old, and she loves to dance with me. I hold her the way my father held me. I sing the same songs, and I move with the same style. I thank him again and again for this memory and a gift that I'm now passing on.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Lynn's Comments: The habit of bringing home gifts when I travel has been handed down to my children. Now whenever they travel, I can't wait to say, "What did you bring me?"

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Rod spent every minute he could in his treasured workshop. He could make or repair almost anything. Even though he was usually very careful, there were times when he did go to the clinic with a bandage or two! This always gave his patients a laugh and inspired me to do this strip.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Nothing is worse than not knowing where your child is. Even though this was a story that quickly resolved itself, readers were anxious and a bit angry with me for doing it. In a sit-com, there is an outcome within minutes. In a comic strip, you have to wait a day or more to find out what happens.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Aaron did bring a gift for each one of us--fortunately, there were no crabs. This idea came from one of my own attempts to keep wildlife. Trips to the beach on the west coast often included digging in the tide pools, where we'd find all kinds of neat sea creatures. One day I brought home a pail full of crabs, which I left in the trunk of the car. I didn't remember them until my mom said there was a horrible smell coming from the trunk. That smell stayed for weeks ... and so did Mom's anger!

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Now that I am dogless, I find dog breath hard to take. When I had Farley, his breath came with warm licks, and his enquiring sniffs were more than welcome. Even so, there were times when I couldn't stomach the smell. Once, when Farley ate my chives, I was overwhelmed by his breath, but there was one time that was much worse; I was standing at my kitchen window watching him happily lying on the warm driveway, chewing something he'd found with obvious relish. He chewed with that look of ecstasy, the look children have when they're eating ice cream, that blissful satisfaction that comes with flavour and fun and mouth-watering fulfillment. He'd toss his head back, reposition his prize, and chew again. He was happy. Eventually, my curiosity got to me and I went out to see what succulent something he was chewing on. I couldn't believe my eyes. The object he was blissfully savouring was a flat, well-rotted, dried-out toad. To Farley, it was dog jerky. To me, it was horrible. I would have shown the true source of Farley's halitosis, but really, it was too gross for publication! [Eventually this gag did make an appearance, with Edgar doing the dirty deed.]