Suddenly Silver: Browse The Strips

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Lynn's Comments: As much as I wanted my children to learn about cooking, cleaning, organizing and how to talk on the phone, It was easier if they simply played at my feet and just let me do these things myself. Some of our most treasured moments, however, were when they did help, and these mundane household accomplishments were as rewarding as a good grade in school. It takes time and patience to let children do ordinary things- but when we do, we're giving them lessons for life!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Every house on Eldon Road in Lynn Lake was close to the road, and folks could easily see into the windows. We had sheers over ours both for privacy and for the luxury of watching while not being seen.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Lynn's Comments: As this strip was going to press, my brother Alan had started to go out with a lovely lady named Joan. I had been so close to guessing details about his relationships in the strip that when he saw this, he asked me not to have Phil and Georgia get married until after he married Joan!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Joan (aka "Georgia") came into my brother's life when my kids were in elementary school. Because we were living in such a remote area, they didn't see a lot of Uncle Al, and didn't have the opportunity to observe his relationships. I did! Knowing he would read all the strips which alluded to him, I openly needled him, hoping he would spill the beans and let me in on his plans for the future. He didn't...until he was prepared to see it in the paper!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I got into trouble for this story line, too; people who read the comics to their children didn't want to have to explain the origin of the Santa species. But, I figured if the kid was old enough to read and understand the comics page, he likely had the Santa thing figured out anyway. Not so, apparently!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I remember lying on the couch the day before Christmas, watching the clock. My dad walked in to the living room and bragged that he knew how to make the time go faster. I said I didn't believe him and the game was on. He took me to the basement and had me help him empty the "clinkers" from the wood and coal furnace. He let me relight the fire and watch the rolled newspapers and kindling ignite. We refilled the small metal humidifier and made space in the coal bin for another load. After a bath and a snack, the clock had moved an hour. He was right. My dad had made the time go faster!

Monday, December 19, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Getting the kids ready for tree cutting trip took almost as much time as the event itself. Bundling them into layer after layer of winter duds followed by a drive out into the bush was a challenge. Follow this with a tiring search for the right tree and you have a cold and hungry family ready to take down the first semi suitable shrub in the area.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Lynn's Comments: The annual trek into the bush to get our Christmas tree was a Lynn Lake ritual. The trouble was that the good trees were only visible in the summer. You'd have to tag the tree and hope someone else didn't cut it down before you did! December temperatures would often dip below -39C so you had to know where you were going and take your tree fast - before you froze to the spot where you were standing. A frozen trunk wasn't always the easiest thing to chop or saw through, either!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Lynn's Comments: A good tree, harvested by hand, was something to celebrate. In this strip, Farley is giving the yuletide conifer a canine style christening - another event which never happened, but should have!

Friday, December 23, 2011

Lynn's Comments: My brother and I were allowed to open one gift and our stocking if we got up before our parents did. Naturally, we were up before 6am, whispering in the dark as we sniffed out the right gift to open. Our dad, not wanting to miss any of the fun, was soon sitting under the tree next to us, waiting for Mom to make the coffee. Nothing could be opened until she had a coffee in her hand. Even now, the smell of fresh brewed coffee on Christmas morning signals that it's time for the greed-fest to begin.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Lynn's Comments: When our kids were little, I wished that my parents didn't live so far away. Christmas time, especially, would have been better if the other set of "grands" had been there to share it with. The telephone was the next best thing and the bill became our annual gifts to each other.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Lynn's Comments: After all of the preparations and expense; after the cards and the phone calls and the waiting for the clan to gather, the actual day of celebration seemed to be over in a flash. After getting the kids to sleep and the kitchen cleaned up I remember falling into bed dead tired, buzzing from too much food, company and excitement. Still, the sleep that came after everything was over was a deep and satisfying one- knowing I had a whole year to prepare for the next Christmas!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Being part of a team meant a lot to Aaron. He loved the camaraderie, the excitement and getting together with all the participants after a game. The kids felt a real kinship. Being in "uniform" gave them status and worth. It was important, therefore, to teach them that no matter how padded and colourful, the uniform does not make the man!

We had to make sure the kids maintained their good manners, even though they imagined themselves hitting the big leagues, then hitting the bars, and hitting each other! The contrast between the confident team player and the immature little boy was enormous--it was hard not to "parent" a youngster who was trying so hard to be a man.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Whenever I've needed a serious change in my life, I've changed my hair. For some reason, hair that has been fine for ages suddenly becomes ugly and HAS to be restyled. I don't know why they call it "the crowning glory"--to me, it's less of a crown and more of a barometer!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Lynn's Comments: This dialogue never took place. Neither did I hit the sack with my face dredged in wrinkle cream. I just took a line of thought, stretched it into whatever space it would fit, and came up with this. No wonder my in-laws would say "Why are you so mean to Elly and John"?

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!

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?!"

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!