Elly: Browse The Strips

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Lynn's Comments: This reminds me of a story: We had a cabin once, which needed a window sill replaced. When we removed the window sill, we discovered there was rot in the wall, so we had to remove the wall. With the wall removed, it seemed foolish to not take the opportunity to add a small bathroom. (We had been using an outhouse, which, with two small kids, was never a "convenience.")

In the local Lynn Lake garbage dump, where many good items were "stored," we found a fancy, "clean-waste" toilet, which heated up so deposited materials could be removed from the bottom in powder form. This we installed--without first using it to see how it worked. It heated up so much that it was actually dangerous. Later, we were told that the previous owner, while indisposed, had managed to burn some valuable "private parts." Thus, the discovery, of what we called "The Wonderbiff," in the dump. Armed with this vital information, we were determined to make the contraption work. With the Wonderbiff installed, we were now an indoor toilet family. Everyone used the biff, and as the contents heated and were turned to powder (actually a disgusting kind of crust which had to be chipped off a sort of hot plate inside), we noticed an odour we had not perceived before. Our neighbour, who was familiar with lakeside living, advised us to install a "stink-stack" on the roof of the cabin, to disperse any disagreeable smell.

We returned to the dump where we found pipe and flashing. The dump was our "Home Depot"; a place where you could find everything from good furniture to fine used clothing. We called it the "exchange." On the roof of the cabin, we discovered more rot, loose shingles, and a large squirrel's nest. A portion of the roof had to be replaced. We thought that real soffits might make a difference, and these we ordered from a catalogue. With the wall and window replaced, the roof repaired, the bathroom added and the Wonderbiff installed, we had spent an entire summer, and a huge amount of cash, all because a window sill needed replacing. This, I'm sure, is a saga cottagers and homeowners everywhere can relate to: the ripple effect of a simple repair. *Sigh*

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Lynn's Comments: This was a one-liner of which I was particularly pleased. Sadly, like so many remarks, word play and colloquial expressions, it could not be translated, so FBorFW remained an English only comic strip. Imagine the world of wonderful humour we would all enjoy if we could only understand each other's languages!

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I have offered to help with projects only to discover that I was the only one who was really working on them! The adage, "Be careful what you offer to do," should be added to "Be careful what you wish for." Both can have serious consequences.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Lynn's Comments: When this strip ran, people all over the continent made paper hugs to send to loved ones all over the world. They sent me letters and photographs of the hugs they made and of the people who received them. This was a strip I didn't think was anything special. I never knew when a simple drawing I did might be seriously taken to heart.

Monday, March 14, 2016

Lynn's Comments: As a child, I used to think about this. I would wonder where in the world was the man with whom I would spend my adult life. He was wandering about somewhere, minding his own business, blissfully unaware that he would eventually wind up with me! The irony is that after 68 years--I have yet to find that man.

Monday, March 21, 2016

Lynn's Comments: A number of my friends' grandchildren are now getting married. The best part, they tell me is, not having to take part in the preparations. Everyone is simply happy if "Grandma is well enough to attend!"

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Lynn's Comments: Does anyone out there remember Melmac? I don't care how innovative it was supposed to be. I always thought it was horrible!

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Lynn's Comments: When I was a kid, my mother was the staunch churchgoer. Dad, my brother and I could hardly stay awake during the services. In order to keep us from fooling around in our seats, Dad would bring big, round, white peppermints, which came in a squeaky plastic wrapper. Try as he might, he could not keep the peppermints a secret; everyone from the folks in the rows around us to the minister himself could hear the telltale sound of the wrapper. Mom would be furious. Dad would be shrugging with feigned embarrassment, and we, with a bulge in our cheek, would simply smile. To this day, when I hear the squeak of a particular kind of plastic wrapper, I am rocketed back in time to the hard pews, the cedar smell, and the sleep-inducing drone of a sermon at St. John's Anglican Church. Thanks, Dad, for the peppermints!

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Lynn's Comments: My husband and I actually took a ballroom dancing class. He was not enthusiastic, but we attended so many functions where a dance came after the dinner that we felt left out if we didn't join in. After a few lessons, we got pretty good at a few steps and it made a wonderful difference when opportunities to dance came along. What a graceful and elegant thing to be able to do! Nowadays, people just gyrate around to something like wailing and thumping. Whatever happened to the art of ballroom dancing?

Monday, April 4, 2016

Lynn's Comments: The two-step was one dance we did manage to get down. When we figured the waltz was sort of like a slow polka, we aced that one, too--but anything else was a shuffling tangle of feet. I now watch "Dancing With The Stars" with my mouth open in awe. (I might also be eating popcorn.)

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Lynn's Comments: This is true. Both parties do have to want to learn how to dance. It's an activity that requires concentration and some passion, too. I think my husband regarded ballroom dancing the way I regard golf: It's a neat thing to be able to do, but please don't ask me to do it!

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I thought for sure I'd have to change this punch line. Things relating to birth control or anything related to sex was, and still is, a very sensitive topic. Maybe the editors were feeling charitable--or maybe they just agreed!

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Lynn's Comments: In the end, the classes paid off. We actually looked forward to convention dinners--and it gave my husband the ammunition to say: "What do you mean I never do anything for you?!"

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Lynn's Comments: There is a reason why parents wait a very long time before buying good furniture. Our living room couch belonged in the nuisance grounds.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Lynn's Comments: "Should I or should I not cut my hair?" This was a recurring concern for me. Since I was 18, I had worn my hair long, but now and then I yearned for a new look. It took time to grow my hair. Cutting it was a huge decision, and it was one that nobody in the family wished to weigh in on. In the strip, Elly Patterson wore her hair long and tied back--the way I did. Readers would often say, "Why doesn't Elly get a new hairstyle? She looks so old fashioned--so the same!" The thing is--a comic strip character has to have a certain "look"; a certain sameness so that continuity is kept from year to year. To cut Elly's hair would have created a major change in the way I drew her (almost as traumatizing as cutting the hair on my head). So, both Elly Patterson and I retained the same look for many years. I did, however, allow myself the fun of changing the way the kids looked. This is all part of the subtle "rule of thumb" which governs the way we draw and perceive the characters in syndicated comics!

Friday, April 22, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I fought this battle with my mother. My daughter fought it with me. Pierced ears were a rite of passage, then--and now, kids are piercing everything!!!