Elly: Browse The Strips

Friday October 4, 2019

Lynn's Comments: As Elly became rounded, I became more and more preoccupied with how she looked and how she felt. I began to feel what she was feeling, and had to keep reminding myself that this was happening in the comic strip and not to me.

Tuesday October 8, 2019

Lynn's Comments: When we lived in Lynn Lake, Manitoba, the growing season was so short that people would sprout vegetables in their houses, and when it was safe to do so, would transfer them to heated tents outdoors. We called these determined folks "the intense gardeners." Every year, we had a vegetable growing contest and one year, first prize went to an enormous cabbage proudly submitted by our friend, Thelma. She was soon accused of having purchased the celebrated choux in Winnipeg and smuggling it north for the fair. A loud and frenzied fight had to be broken up right there in the community centre. Yes, if there wasn't enough entertainment in the north…we made our own.

Wednesday October 9, 2019

Lynn's Comments: In Ontario, the growing of enormous pumpkins is more than a hobby. It's an obsession. Friends who had a small hobby farm would trade, buy and sell seeds to grow the most prize-worthy "breeds." Vines would be tended with care and the competition was serious.

Saturday October 12, 2019

Lynn's Comments: In the real world, my son was becoming interested in everything from girls to driving to life on his own. He was growing up, and it was getting harder and harder to follow "Michael's story" without including material that might be too close to home.

Sunday October 13, 2019

Lynn's Comments: We had a small piece of property near our house in North Bay. Friends who were involved with a tree planting program gave us two dozen evergreen seedlings to plant—which we did, hoping to see at least some of them survive. All of the seedlings grew, and today, there is a forest on that land. Hard to believe I have lived long enough to see a forest grow!

Thursday October 17, 2019

Lynn's Comments: From my bed, behind a closed door, I could hear the car arrive and the door open. I could hear a key in the lock, footsteps in the hall, and bedroom lights click on. I knew exactly who was home, what time they came in, and how long it took them to settle down. They always thought I was sleeping.

Sunday October 27, 2019

Lynn's Comments: This didn’t happen. I just wanted to show John and Elly Patterson wearing costumes for Halloween. Elly was "expecting" April here, so her outfit had to be baggy and loose. I could have put her in the rabbit costume, but it went to John instead. I thought it was funnier!

Tuesday October 29, 2019

Lynn's Comments: Funny story:
Five years ago, I went to my high school reunion and ran into an old chum who had lived in my neighbourhood. Paul, a musician and a widower (I hate that word!), asked if I'd like to walk around the familiar streets and see what we could remember of our childhood days: what had changed, who used to live where. We had a great time and agreed to see each other again. In a few months, my daughter, her family and I moved to North Vancouver, and for a short time I lived in her basement suite. My friend Paul and I had kept in touch. One day, he came by to drop off a CD he had recently produced. Katie saw him briefly. I thanked him for the gift and walked out to his car to chat. The chat turned into a date for lunch, which turned into a walk, which became dinner. After dinner, we went to see a mutual friend. As we were sitting in our friends' kitchen, my phone rang. It was Katie, wondering where I was! "You left with a strange man," she complained, "without saying where you were going or when you’d be back. I have no idea where you are or what you’re doing! Are you coming back? Should I leave the porch light on?" Well, did we laugh. Here I was, well over 65, apologizing to my daughter for being a delinquent kid!

Paul and I have been "partners" for almost five years now.

Friday November 1, 2019

Lynn's Comments: There were times when I truly wished I was expecting another baby. To make this story real, I had to imagine myself pregnant. Seriously. All of the sentiments, all of the sensations were very real.

Sunday November 3, 2019

Lynn's Comments: After I drew up this strip, I actually found a boot drying rack just like the one I drew here. It was home made. My guess is that some enterprising company is making them out of plastic now!

Tuesday November 12, 2019

Lynn's Comments: I once received a very nasty, angry letter from a woman who was objecting to a strip I had done. I looked up the strip and was surprised by her reaction. It was a very benign gag…nothing worthy of such a tirade. I wondered if she’d had a bad day and decided to take out her frustration on me! I replied to her letter, asked about this, and I also asked if she was feeling better now. Her reply in return was great fun. She had indeed had a very bad day and decided to vent her anger by writing to my syndicate. After she’d mailed the letter, she wished she had not! She asked the postman for the letter back and was told that, by law, it had to go into the system. She worried about the letter but thought it would just go to an editor and not to me personally. When she got my letter, she was horrified. She apologized profusely, thanked me for my letter, and we both had a good laugh over the whole thing. Exchanges like this connected me with readers in a very sensitive way. It made my relationship with them real, and obviously, lasting!

Monday November 18, 2019

Lynn's Comments: When I was offered the opportunity to do a syndicated strip, Universal Press asked me to send 3 weeks of dailies as an example of my work. I was expecting my daughter, Katie, at the time, so pregnancy was on my mind. One of the strips I sent was me, well-rounded and trying to play the guitar. It was resting against my bouncing belly and I was saying to the baby inside, "What’s the matter, you don’t like Vivaldi?"