Elly: Browse The Strips

Friday October 28, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I was glad that the fireworks tradition wasn't part of an Ontario or Manitoba Halloween. On more than one occasion, we were threatened by big kids who wanted to ignite our paper costumes with "lady fingers" (small, red, tube-shaped fireworks) or sparklers. Every year, someone got hurt.

Tuesday November 1, 2016

Lynn's Comments: When my son, Aaron, was about two and a half years old, I enticed him into the bath, telling him he could have any colour water he wanted. I put a box of food colouring on the edge of the tub and he chose blue. I let him put a few drops into the water, and just as his blue bath was ready, the phone rang. The kitchen phone was right around the corner. I briefly talked to a friend as I listened to Aaron playing in the bath. I couldn't, however, see what he was doing.

Wednesday November 2, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I soon returned to the bathroom. I'd left the box of dye where he could reach it, and he had emptied every bottle into the tub. My son was sitting in a dark, murky swamp happy as a clam. I lifted him out of the water, and was surprised to see that his small behind had been dyed a dark, greenish-blue like an Easter egg. I thought it was funny, but Aaron was terrified. "I've got a green BUM!" He wailed. "I got a green bum!!!!" The colour lasted for over a week. He went to daycare afraid to ask for help in the bathroom in case someone saw. Fortunately, the staff had been forewarned and had the courtesy not to laugh out loud! This is a story I haven't let him forget.

Monday November 14, 2016

Lynn's Comments: Before I had my own business, I dropped my son at daycare and went to work like most other single moms. When Aaron was sick, I had, of course, to leave work, pick him up, and take him home. I felt guilty for leaving my job. I felt guilty for resenting the interruption in my day, and I felt guilty for not being a stay at home mom.

Sunday November 27, 2016

Lynn's Comments: There were times when we lived in Lynn Lake that I just couldn't get warm. I wrote this strip as soon as I'd served the hot chocolate.

Sunday December 4, 2016

Lynn's Comments: My mom always had the sheers drawn. Heaven forbid that anyone should see into the front window of our little house on 5th Street. If we wanted to look out the window, my brother and I would kneel on the couch, press our faces to the glass, and see what we could through the sheers: the white, almost transparent drapery, which smelled of dust and cigarettes. I hated them. As a kid, I thought the curtains should always be open. Surprisingly, when I had a house of my own, I too was determined to have the curtains closed for privacy. This Sunday strip was, again, a true story!

Saturday December 10, 2016

Lynn's Comments: I have always looked at a vehicle as something that would transport a family of four, with a load of groceries and a sheet of plywood, if necessary.

Sunday December 18, 2016

Lynn's Comments: My mom called these small annoying carpets "scatter rugs." I never really thought about it until I had hall floors to protect, then the word "scatter" made sense.

Friday December 23, 2016

Lynn's Comments: Some of the funniest strips have no words at all. My son did put Christmas balls on the dog's ears and this was the result. I see in the second panel that I only drew Elly in part. Strange how the eye fills in the details that aren't there. In my later work, I meticulously drew everything clearly, and I think I lost this fluid spontaneity.

Sunday December 25, 2016

Lynn's Comments: This is what I do and have always done: I carefully remove wrapping paper from a gift and fold it gently for reuse. I then try to use it as packing material, if possible. I also keep the bows. Good ones I do reuse, especially the ones I make myself. Both my daughter, Katie, and I have a wrapping space in our homes--complete with paper, tape, ribbon and cards. It drives me crazy to see someone scrunching up and discarding a perfectly good bow. I have launched myself across a room to grab a bow before the gift recipient casually crushed it into a ball! I love gift-wrapping and I prefer to make my own bows. I learned how to do this when I was about 8. Before the introduction of commercially-crafted gift toppers, the making of an attractive bow was an art. At the back of our jewelry store on Lonsdale, we had a gift-wrapping table. My mom did gift wrapping as a courtesy to our customers and she taught me how to make her famous bows. If you'd like to learn how, you can watch my quick video tutorial here.