Elizabeth: Browse The Strips

Friday, June 17, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Our childhood home on Fifth and Lonsdale in North Vancouver was where all the neighborhood kids seemed to congregate. When our sprinkler was on, it meant food, fun and a bathroom if you remembered to use it! My folks were tolerant and welcoming and everyone took their generosity for granted. They rarely complained, however - they wanted to be able to look out the window and know where we were!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Father's Day has always been one of the more challenging Sunday comics to produce. We never really made too much of it when I was a kid and later, when my two were small, it was a day when the best "present" was to let Dad spend the day in his workshop! Still, it's a day that puts the spotlight on dads and children, no matter what the marital dynamics are - which is a good thing. We need more Father's Days and Mother's Days, if you ask me. Heaven knows- there's nothing more rewarding than being recognized and appreciated for doing a difficult job well!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Whenever someone or something goes missing, we are programmed to think the worst. Maybe it's the news or the stuff we see on television that makes us panic, but we find ourselves preparing for the most awful of outcomes - just in case! When Farley disappeared I wondered if he had been stolen - but someone loading his dirty, hairy, odiferous butt into their vehicle was pretty hard to imagine!

Monday, July 11, 2011

Lynn's Comments: This was my dad, trying to assemble one of those wicked mind traps we used to buy from Woolworths - with the hope it would turn into a tent. The metal poles bent, the fabric wouldn't stretch and when you finally did get a shelter to come out of it, you were too mad to enjoy it!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Lynn's Comments: We didn't have a bonfire in the backyard, but we did have deck chairs, flashlights and food. Dad played the guitar. He knew every camp and military ditty by heart and at this tender age, my brother and I thought he was absolutely wonderful. He was!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Cartoonists are discouraged from using comic strips as a platform for preaching reform - but every now and then, something really gets under your skin and you simply have to write about it. For me, littering is a red flag. If I ruled the world all convicted litterists would receive a stiff fine, a broom and a dustpan. They would be sentenced to cleaning the community streets, parks and beaches for as long as it took to reform them - and even then, they would be on parole. When Katie cut her foot on a broken beer bottle at the beach one weekend, I penned this Sunday page - and the response was immediate. I received a lot of mail from folks who feel the same way I do - and it occurred to me: with so many people angry, frustrated and disgusted by littering, why do we still have so darned much of it??!!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Having Uncle Phil stay in the house while the Pattersons left for Vancouver meant that I didn't have to find a kennel for Farley (even cartoon dogs have to be taken care of) and I could place Phil and Connie in a much more compromising space. My readers smelled a rat. They were onto me; there was methane in the madness.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I never did leave my brother alone in the house with Farley, but if I had, he would likely have talked to him like this. As kids, we'd never had a dog. We had budgie birds, turtles and a chameleon, but nothing big and fun and responsive. It took us awhile before either of us was comfortable with a dog. Where do they like to be scratched? How do you handle one? We tended to talk to them as if they were other adults - and come to think of it, other dog owners talk to their dogs like this, too!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Lynn's Comments: It amazes me how resilient and stoic some dogs are with young children. They put up with being sat on, pulled at and strangled. Their patience and good humour is remarkable. They seem to instinctively know that babies don't know any better and just have to learn. On the other hand, some dogs can't tolerate young children at all. Some bark and snarl, some just ignore kids and walk away. Amazing, isn't it... to see how often dogs behave like people!

Monday, July 25, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Twenty minutes is forever when you're a kid. We sat in the train station trying to keep Aaron occupied until we could board and get settled in our rooms. Katie was an easy traveller. If she was restless, you could settle her down with a book or a puzzle and she'd often fall asleep. Aaron on the other hand was a ball of pent up energy and required all of our attention, patience and creativity.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I thought I had booked two bedrooms, but in error I'd booked "roomettes". These tiny spaces had a bench seat, which converted to a single bed for sleeping, under which - inconveniently stored - was...the loo. I had planned for the "boys" to share one compartment; Katie and I would share the other. The roomettes were so confining, however, that in order for us all to fit, the kids were exchanged. Kate stayed with her dad and Aaron stayed with me.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Despite watering both kids before bedtime, they both had to use the facilities during the night. This meant we had to leave the privacy of the compartment, lift the bed up, expose the lavatory, close the door and "go." The process was reversed when everyone got back into bed. I was not the most popular "travel agent" and heard a lot about what I "should have done" before booking something so irritatingly small!

Friday, July 29, 2011

Lynn's Comments: The bar car was also the observation car and even though kids weren't supposed to be in an area where liquor was served, there seemed to be a double standard on the train. Kids sat with their parents and when it got too dark to enjoy the scenery, youngsters watched the grown ups lose their cool and happily act like children!

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Aaron used to be up and running at 4 or 5 in the morning. Food and dressing took an hour, but there were usually 2 hours left before I took him to daycare. Exhausted, I'd lie on the couch as he ran from room to room, jumped on the furniture and on me. Sometimes, I'd actually fall asleep and this was when he'd go into the kitchen cupboards and find the stuff he shouldn't have. This scenario really happened... and both of us survived to tell the tale!

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Lynn's Comments: The dining car was, by far the highlight of the trip. At the time, CN Rail was still into "elegance". We had tables with cloths, nice dishes, good cutlery - and even the children behaved better in this classic and refined dining room. This is one of the rare strips in which I showed them being more of a hand full than they really were!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Lynn's Comments: For a number of years, the passenger train was scheduled to go through the Rocky Mountains late at night. This astounded us as the most breathtaking view in Canada is here and we didn't want to sleep through it! Eventually they realized they were making a mistake and changed the schedule. Over time, we eventually forgot the discomfort of the small sleeping quarters - but we'll never forget the view!

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Aaron did not put a marble in a man's mouth - but he thought about it. He was standing on a seat, looking into this snoring aperture. It was an open invitation to neatly drop something in. I caught Aaron's eye just before he let go of the marble he was holding. We both smiled. It was almost too tempting to resist, but resist he must...and we both laughed out loud just thinking about it.

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Lynn's Comments: All told, the trip by train was a great adventure. We had spent quality time together in an environment of constant change and we saw our country from a different perspective. It's something I hope we can do again one day, but next time... I'll know the difference between roomettes and cabins!

Monday, August 8, 2011

Lynn's Comments: My parents had a cottage in Hope, BC. I believe we got off the train in Hope and drove to Kawkawa Lake with them. We saw my parents perhaps once a year, but the kids always remembered them. Even though "they were not going to be spoiled", Aaron and Katie were the center of attention and had a wonderful time.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Lynn's Comments: We were totally beat by the time we made it to my folks' place. It was such a relief to turn our two busy offspring over to healthy, active grandparents. Mom and dad weren't used to having such busy kids about, but they soon managed to get into the swing of things. It was fun for me to see them being parents again - from the vantage point of being a parent, now myself!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Having a long distance relationship with my family was difficult. I was getting to know my in-laws very well and the kids were at home with everyone on "the other side of the family", but I missed my own. Both of my parents were creative and would have been happy to play a larger role in the children's lives, but time and the cost of travel separated us. Every visit was filled with activities and the time always flew by far too fast.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Lynn's Comments: My mom did say things to make me feel like a kid again. I felt as though she was watching everything I did; wanting to correct me or give advice. I had been living on my own, coping with all kinds of challenges and I wanted to feel like her equal. It didn't take long before the old sandpaper formed between us and we had to make sure there were no match heads in the middle!

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Despite his penchant for causing trouble, Aaron was a sweet and sentimental little boy. The bond he shared with my mother was very strong. The two of them seemed to have a secret between them and my dad thought he should spend more time with Katie to make up for it. Katie didn't seem to notice a discrepancy, though. Maybe she knew that Aaron needed the extra attention my mom gave him.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I remember the face-licking, body-slamming, seat-wagging welcome that Farley used to give us after he'd been left on his own for a while. It was a greeting so filled with joy and expectation, that you couldn't fault him for almost knocking you down!

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Lynn's Comments: This has to be one of my favorite Sunday pages. Aaron often came into my room early in the morning and talked to me while I was half asleep. Katie had no reservations about running outside in the buff. Combine these two elements and I had a good gag. I had fun with the illustration- most of all I loved doing the expressions on the faces of the characters. Facial expressions and body language are as important as the punch line and I erased Michael's sly smile several times before it was right on! Sunday comics like this one were fun to read when they came out in the paper. I would read this strip as if I were a stranger who'd never seen it before. If it made me laugh again then, I knew I had a good one!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Lynn's Comments: My friends told me about their toddlers' reluctance to be left at the daycare center, but Aaron was a social kid who couldn't wait to get into the stuff and the food and the excitement of new surroundings. Later, when Katie went to a sitter while I worked, she was also happy to have my friend Marian's attention and never made a fuss! These strips show what sometimes happens to others.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Caring for offspring was something I could grasp, but feeding was often contentious. Once they had tasted sweet stuff, fried stuff and Cheezies, nutrition went out the window. I bribed, teased and created live theatre around spoons full of meatstuff and veggies. I made my kids stare at plates of cold casserole. I told them they'd never grow big. I said they'd get nothing else until the next day if they didn't eat what was in front of them and I'd take the plate away. The trouble was- we lived in a friendly neighbourhood. More than once, I found Aaron and Katie in the lane, sniffing the air and wondering which neighbour deserved a mealtime visit. The fact that they could get a snack next door was something I grew to accept and in retaliation, the neighbours' kids were often fed by me!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Aaron was very much at home at the Dundas daycare center. As I said, I was grateful to what was then called "welfare" for helping me to keep my several jobs and be a mom at the same time. He was happy with the routine and when I came to get him, he often had to do "one more fing" before he was ready to go.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I don't know where this idea came from. Sometimes things just happened without a real memory or situation behind it. As Elly Patterson, I just supposed this would be a natural neighborly gesture and allowed my imagination to go from there.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Lynn's Comments: My friend, Audrey, was as nonchalant as could be when it came to delivering her baby. It was her husband who panicked! When she said she thought it might be time to leave for the hospital, Mack ran out to the car with her overnight bag and almost forgot her. Then he backed into a post on the way out of the driveway. Audrey ended up driving to the hospital and checking herself in. We laughed when she said she'd told the orderly to put Mack in the wheelchair for the ride to the room!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Lynn's Comments: This is another example of something I just made up. In fact, I don't remember my husband taking the kids to buy groceries - this was my job and I enjoyed it. This is a gag that I knew had been done by other cartoonists, and yet, I did it again.