Michael: Browse The Strips

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!

Friday, September 16, 2011

Lynn's Comments: When The Dundas Valley Journal accepted my first cartoons, I was thrilled. To see my work in print in a local paper was wonderful. For a while, I did this for free and it was one of the best learning experiences. I was working at a packaging company in town, freelancing for McMaster University as well as doing cartoons for the DVJ. As far as an education in graphic arts goes, this was a course well worth taking.

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.

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.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Lynn's Comments: When Katie was born, Aaron did ask why she was so small. Having just pushed her out of my nether regions and with walking and sitting still a quivering thought, I told him it was extremely good engineering and that was that. I don't think I gave a full explanation until he was much older!

Friday, September 30, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Aaron did ask why we didn't have another baby and my explanation was that we had sold the crib. In a way it's true. If you have even the slightest positive thought about having another, you store the stuff. With this in mind, however, I have friends who kept everything "just in case" and are now offering cribs and jolly jumpers to their married, adult children!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Lynn's Comments: My method for writing strips was to stretch out on the couch with a lined pad of paper on my lap and imagine myself in the Patterson kitchen at suppertime. It didn't take long for the characters to begin a conversation and I would listen in. Like a tape recorder, I could run the commentary back and forth, change or modify the answers, and if luck was with me, I'd get a funny line. I remember being particularly happy with this one and wondering again, where the idea had come from. It was too good (I thought) to have come from ME!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I have always welcomed question from my kids; It's an opportunity to share knowledge and to show them that I value their intelligence. It's just that they always seemed to ask me stuff when I had no time to answer. It didn't matter what I was up to; they always wanted an answer NOW! Do kids do this because they want our undivided attention all of the time, or because they enjoy hearing the often ridiculous, spur of the moment responses that we come up with? Either way, it drove me crazy.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I was so excited when I first saw my work in print I didn't know how to channel my energy. I danced around the house. I read my work in the paper over and over again. It was hard to believe what I was seeing, even though I had worked so hard to get there.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Some of my childhood friends were only children. They often told me how lucky I was to have a brother. From my standpoint, I'd have gladly traded places with them - or exchanged my brother for something more practical, like a bike or a movie projector. The only time Alan and I really got along was in the face of a common enemy. We might have belted each other about, but we always came to each other's defence.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Lynn's Comments: My kids regularly invited friends in for dinner- and THEN told me we were having guests. My lectures about proper household etiquette included the rule: "Ask first before inviting someone for dinner" but they knew I would always have enough food to serve and an extra kid at the table was always welcome.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Lynn's Comments: This is an example of how to fill the audience in on a lot of information with one strip. If I didn't have time to show the audience what had transpired, I could trust one of the characters to "tell all" in a sequence like this.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Lynn's Comments: The MaGoon family did live on McVeigh Avenue in Lynn Lake. The funny part of this strip was that their dog was the size of a chipmunk and sounded like a squeaky toy, no matter how furious he was!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Lynn's Comments: One of my childhood neighbours had a dog that was specifically trained to defend his owners. The result was that their young daughter would march down the road, dog in tow, and insult us all - knowing that we'd be unable to touch her. She was particularly mean and so was the dog. Eventually this family moved, but even with them gone, we kids were very nervous around large dogs for a long time to come.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Lynn's Comments: As a new single mother, with nobody around to give me advice, I often turned to the one instruction manual I was familiar with: "How to Train Your Puppy". This booklet got us through much of Aaron's toddlerhood and I don't think it warped his psyche too much. He grew up to be a fairly normal adult... he still does, however, stop and point when he sees ducks.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Aaron seemed to roll in dirt. I would send him out clean and tidy and in seconds, he would return with sand in his hair, stains on his shirt and knees the colour of swamp crud. We didn't have a dog at the time, but with a son who brought in as much dust as Aaron did, we didn't NEED one!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Lynn's Comments: ET was the best thing to happen to the movies. Kids loved this fantasy character. Everything about this story was wholesome and positive and with the new technology of video tape, my kids watched it over and over again.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Katie learned how to press Aaron's buttons long before she could speak. With subtle looks, sarcastic expressions and covert sabotage, she kept him on his toes. One thing she could do was cry on demand. This gave her a distinct advantage. Who could resist the tears of a sweet innocent when a fight broke out? Aaron's friends were his greatest allies. Nobody can figure out little kids... like another little kid!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Vancouverites always have an umbrella somewhere handy - ready to use at a moment's notice. My folks had a stand in the front hall full of them. We used them as swords, canes, and crutches. We filled them with water and we let the wind blow them inside out. I was always surprised by how much abuse they could take and still do the job. Much like mothers, umbrellas are always there when you need them!

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Katie and Aaron made their own Monopoly rules when the ones that came with the game didn't suit them. This is a shortened version of their game including "Va-Boogah!" which, was best shouted through a mouthful of Cheezies. These were the days before interactive video games and I often wonder if this was more fun.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Fall in northern Manitoba was short and the few deciduous trees we had shed their leaves into the wind and blew them away. We didn't have to rake the yard in October, but we did need other things done. Our son was a big, healthy kid who could handle a rake or a broom, but putting such implements into willing hands was...challenging. Trying to convince Aaron that chores could be rewarding and fun was a chore in itself. No amount of coercion, reasoning or threat would move our boy into action. Money, however, talked. Each chore had a value. He would figure out how much he needed for a toy or game and accept the work that brought him closest to his goal. One Saturday morning when he was bored and looking for something to do, I suggested he vacuum the rug in the rec room. He thought for a minute, then said; "nah...I don't need anything right now." I had to admit; he might be lazy... but he was practical!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I bought a set of goggles and a flight helmet at a flea market in Winnipeg, thinking we might have a use for them some day. I bought a lot of crazy things like this which eventually filled a sizable trunk (which we still have to this day.) When Aaron discovered these two items, he wanted to be a flying ace for Hallowe'en and together, we made him a costume to remember.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Lynn's Comments: We discovered why toy aircraft have such short wings. If you try to be somewhat true to the actual shape of the craft...you run into problems!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Lynn's Comments: What you see here is the exact costume with the dilemma of having to shorten the wings so our hero could get out through the door. This was one time when I was able to give a real glimpse into our private lives and the family didn't mind a bit.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Lynn's Comments: The town of Lynn Lake was small enough that kids could be out on their own and you knew they wouldn't be much more than a block away. Even so, one of us always accompanied the trick or treaters - as much for the social interaction as for their safety. Aaron resented having Kate along - he didn't like to be slowed down. So this didn't happen. This was another "what if" moment. What if Lizzie's appearance resulted in more loot?

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Lynn's Comments: The yard I drew here was the yard in front of our house on Tally Ho Road in Dundas. We had a number of big leafy trees and the amount of raking to be done in the fall was overwhelming. The good thing was that they created a wonderful playground. We could bury Aaron and each other in the leaves. We rolled in them, used the leaf bags as beanbag chairs and enjoyed the crackle, the colour, and the smell.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Lynn's Comments: This little one liner I used once before in a single panel cartoon, which I submitted to the Dundas Valley Journal. It was the first cartoon I had published in a newspaper.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Lynn's Comments: As much as I wanted my children to learn about cooking, cleaning, organizing and how to talk on the phone, It was easier if they simply played at my feet and just let me do these things myself. Some of our most treasured moments, however, were when they did help, and these mundane household accomplishments were as rewarding as a good grade in school. It takes time and patience to let children do ordinary things- but when we do, we're giving them lessons for life!