Elizabeth: Browse The Strips

Monday, September 2, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Boredom is the thing that drives kids to get into all kinds of mischief. It was hard to find stuff for my kids to do that wasn't electronic or fattening! This is where being "artsy-craftsy" came in handy. As long as I had art supplies, my kids had a project. I credit my mom for inventing many of the things we did!

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Lynn's Comments: The other day I watched a young mother guiding her son around the grocery store. She was letting him do all the shopping. She asked him what ingredients he would buy if he was going to make chili and what would make a nice salad. The child was about four years old and right into the project. This was a shopping trip just for him. He had to think about what he was buying and why. He was told about the cost, how one kind of bathroom tissue might be a better value for the family than another. He made decisions about desserts and treats and whether one kind of bread would be more nutritious than another. I was so impressed with this young woman's insight, patience, and ingenuity that I had to compliment her. She just said, "He was interested, so I thought it was time." As I watched her continue to the checkout counter, I wished I'd had her good sense when I was shepherding my little ones!

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Lynn's Comments: When I read that saying "I don't do mornings," I see someone who doesn't have kids. If you have a family, you do mornings until everyone is grown and gone. You do mornings in your pajamas and housecoat, and if you're lucky, you can swill down a coffee while you dress. The only family member with the luxury of NOT doing mornings is the family pet, who simply wonders why everything has to be so complicated.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Allowing Aaron to stay home while I went shopping was a privilege for both of us. He was a responsible kid, and his grandparents lived next door. As far as I know, he didn't get into any mischief, but I was always on my guard. All I had to do was remember what my brother and I did when given the run of the house.

For years Mom and Dad worked in our small jewellery shop on upper Lonsdale in North Vancouver. It took twenty minutes for them to walk home, so we could gauge almost to the minute when the front door handle would turn. It was my job to get dinner on and Al's job to stay out of my way. Sometimes, dinner was a snap, and I'd take off on my bike until the folks arrived. During these times of freedom, Al (aged 13 or 14 at the time) emptied Dad's gin, substituting the missing booze with water. He ate whatever candy was hidden and smoked Dad's cigarettes. I thought he'd be in for it, but he never got caught.

I explored every drawer and every crevice in our house looking for treasure or secrets or hidden birthday gifts. I tried on my mother's underwear and used her perfume. I made crank phone calls and listened in to the party line. (This was a forbidden indiscretion, but I saw Mom do it as well.) I ate stuff and danced on the sofa and felt the freedom I longed for. Freedom then was having the house to myself.

It was with these memories in mind that I looked for evidence of similar lawlessness when Aaron was left alone. I never saw a thing. Obviously, he was as good at covering his tracks as we were!

Monday, October 7, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Curlers had gone out of style along with the housedress, but Elly occasionally sported them. Curlers and gobs of face cream were a cartoon cliche. Television sit-coms and comic strips often used these props to make a woman look her most unattractive. Today, comedy has to rely on other props...and fortunately, the shapeless housecoat is still first choice in comfortable morning garb. The good thing is that husbands look bad in them too!

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Lynn's Comments: My mother joined a weight loss program for which she needed one of those tiny food scales. After buying both Alan and me a pack of Smarties, she actually weighed them to prove that neither of us was getting more than the other.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Lynn's Comments: When the Smothers Brothers did that routine: "Mom liked you more than she liked me," it was no joke. Those of us who truly felt like the family disappointment saw this skit as confirmation that inequality was a reality for many kids. In our "British" family, boys were definitely preferred!

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Lynn's Comments: As a kid, I had a talent for making insults. This "gift" could be quite a threat. Woe to the child who had a name that rhymed with something funny or initials that spelled a word. If I was suffering at the hands of a bully, I'd go into my repertoire of insults and "win." When I began to change from kid to teenager, however, I became a butterball, and if somebody called me "fatso," I'd crumble. What goes 'round, comes 'round!

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Lynn's Comments: I have a wonderful costume trunk. Over the years, I have amassed a huge variety of dress-up clothes, masks, wigs, props and makeup. We never lacked for materials when Halloween, plays, and local ice shows came along. I was never too protective of the supplies, which have been lent to family and friends, and now, passed from generation to generation.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Because Aaron was four years older than Katie, she was left out of a lot of activities. She couldn't race away on her bike or cross the street alone or camp out with the boys in the backyard. She became attached to her dad (since I was working full time in the house) and spent hours with him in his workshop learning how to glue things and make stuff. I think this is why she is so comfortable with tools and to this day can build or fix just about anything!

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Lynn's Comments: This is one of the most reprinted strips I ever did. Many dads received a signed copy for Father's Day, and others received it "just because." It pleased me to think that dads who spent real, quality time with their children were getting the thanks they deserved.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Penny candy was my childhood weakness. For a dime (my allowance), I could buy 30 jawbreakers or 5 liquorice pipes or 5 packages of Lik-m-Aid. Pop was 5 cents a bottle, and for a quarter the Dairy Queen made a cone too big to eat. My favourite things of all were the big 5 cent heart-shaped suckers which came out for Valentine's Day. I could work the whole thing into my mouth, unfazed by the numbness in my lips and laboured breathing. I was a candyholic. Halloween was the night of the big score--the candy rush and the fun of eating all the best stuff first. I could walk for hours even in the rain as long as porch lights were on. One neighbour used to give us money instead of candy, and when my mom told me I should save it, I thought she was crazy. Having a bit of cash meant another run to the corner store for more penny candy!

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Lynn's Comments: This storyline was really about the hiring of a new receptionist for the clinic. Our ad in the paper resulted in over a hundred applications. Many of these were instantly set aside due to the reasons I put in this strip!

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Our first dog escaped the humiliation of being dressed up. Aaron was only a few months old when I sent our big Old English Sheep Dog, Farley, to live on a farm. Willy, our next dog, wasn't so lucky. Patient and easy going, Willy, a small black spaniel, succumbed to the creative energy of two kids with a full costume box. Willy put up with wigs, hats, pants, bras and footwear. He wore baby clothes and pirate gear. Without protest, he allowed himself to be transformed into whatever the kids conjured up, and I guess from a dog's perspective, this gentle abuse was a means to an end. When Willy was in full drag, he got what all pets yearn for: extra treats and loads of attention!

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Lynn's Comments: After the applications for a new receptionist had been whittled down to a few, we called each girl out of the blue to see what her telephone attitude was like. An answer like, "Who? Who's calling? Hey, you kids shut the H*** up, I'm on the %#*&@^ phone!" was a definite "no."

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Next to the sink in my laundry room is a small dish into which I throw the coins, paper clips, nails, and other flotsam that's sucked out of pockets during the washing-drying process. Right now, I have 75 cents in coins, one metal washer, a zipper pull, and a large green elastic band. I don't know why I don't throw out the garbage and spend the change, but there it sits. It's a harmless collection.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Ours was an "English" household. My mom would often invite someone over for tea, and tea was served with a ritual of cubed sugar and freshly baked cakes. Kids had to be seen and not heard. If we wished to stay in the living room within reach of the desserts, we had to be patient, quiet, and still. This gave us ample time to research the guest's physical attributes and to think of suitable questions to ask later. Sometimes the questions came out before the guest's departure. I made some gaffes, but I don't remember saying anything punishable.

What I do remember is my mother telling me something she had once done. One of her mother's tea time guests was a stern, humourless woman who disapproved of children being within hearing distance of an adult conversation. My mom waited and watched in silence as the two women drank and gossiped. Eventually her mother acknowledged her presence and asked if there was anything she'd like to say. Surprised by the opportunity to speak, my mom turned to the haughty lady at the table and said, "You have a very pretty hat. It would look better if it had a smile under it."

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Lynn's Comments: There were times when I envied my dog: no bills to pay, no groceries to buy, just hang around and be loved. On the other hand, boredom, kibble twice a day and the lack of freedom must drag a guy down.