New Year: Browse The Strips

Friday, December 31, 2010

Lynn's Comments: When they were young like this, the kids never really got into the swing of New Year's Eve. Other than being able to dig into the dregs and leftovers from the night before, it was just another day. They would look about, wondering what was new? What was different about the first of January? For the adults, on the other hand - in a town where ANY reason to party meant a full house on a moment's notice - New Year's Eve was the night of nights. You needed no preparation, really. If you had heat, a working loo and some furniture you were golden. Food happened and beer was just a short walk away from the pharmacy. We raided each other's fridges and cooked on each other's stoves. We borrowed each other's music and made our own. We all knew each other so well, there wasn't the slow process of "getting things under way". We simply carried on from one get together to the next, bringing the gossip, gaffes and groceries with us. In the small mining town of Lynn Lake, New Year's Eve meant a great time would be had by all, and the change in the date meant we had all made it through another year - together. In a small town, family means "everyone".

Monday, December 26, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Every year, New Year's Eve was celebrated in a private home; all of us taking turns hosting the event. We had a pretty nice rec room downstairs: a bar, big bathroom, two large couches to sleep on and lots of chairs. When it was our turn to have the big bash, I decorated as best I could with whatever was available at the local shops and applied my mother in law's recipe for a good time: "make sure everyone is a little sauced before you serve the food".

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Lynn's Comments: In reality, it was I who felt uncomfortable in a crowd. My husband fit nicely into any large group and could dig into any conversation easily. If the gathering was at our place, I knew my role. But if it was elsewhere, however, I would rather help the hostess in the kitchen than try and fit in with the guests. Despite the public speaking and all the travelling I do, I'm still out of my element when I'm in a crowd!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Lynn's Comments: I enjoy company, but I always seem to make too much food. I make hors d'oeuvres, salads, mixed drinks and have munchies on hand, so when it comes time for dinner, everyone is too full to eat anything. I always have a ton of perishable leftovers, which then go into the fridge to die. Party food is only good when there's a party!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Lynn's Comments: My spouse enjoyed big events. He was comfortable at conventions and other public gatherings, but when it came to having folks over to the house, he preferred a very small group. I guess it's because there was less to clean up!

Friday, December 30, 2011

Lynn's Comments: The pharmacist hosted the first New Year's Eve party we ever attended in Lynn Lake. Because the liquor store was in the pharmacy, libation flowed. It didn't take long before my husband was leaning dangerously. Fearing we'd make a scene in front of the town's professionals, I insisted we walk home. As we shuffled the six blocks between houses, we heard a truck behind us. It was the pharmacist and all the guys from the party. They were hanging out the windows... wildly cheering us on!

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Lynn's Comments: The day after the party, my husband was really under the weather. Surprised by how miserable he was, I asked him if he remembered the good ol' university days when drinking was a sport and the results taken for granted. His response was "I've never been drunk before! This is the first time!" I guess he was saving the worst for last.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Lynn's Comments: My kids used to beg to stay up until midnight, and if there was no party planned, we'd say yes--hoping they'd pass out well before the ball descended the post in Times Square. More than once they woke us up to tell us the New Year had come.

Monday, December 31, 2012

Lynn's Comments: I remember waking up on the morning of January first hoping to see something new--anything that would tell me that a new year had begun. This is when I became interested in calendars. My first calendar was courtesy of the BC dairy farmers who sent one to all their customers. It had a cow on the top, and stapled to the base were the twelve months of the year--ready to be written on and torn away. I must have been around six because I could write well and I remember making notes on each month--like a grown up.

Monday, December 30, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Our log house had an opening next to the top stair, just before you stepped up to the second floor. It was a perfect spy-hole from which the kids could watch what was going on downstairs in the living room. We knew it was there, but we'd forget. Many an evening's get-together was monitored by two silent, pyjama-clad spies, who went undiscovered ... unless they snickered or fell asleep at their post!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Lynn's Comments: These strips are from a scene in my childhood. The morning after a New Year's Eve party, our house had been left as it was. Bottles of half-finished beer, glasses with the dregs, drying canapes, and stale chips covered the tabletops. Remnants of cigarettes and cigars filled the ashtrays. Alan and I were the first on the scene, and the place was ours!