casserole: Browse The Strips

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Lynn's Comments: As a kid, I thought being grown up would be the best thing ever. I thought about the freedom I'd have ... and now that I've experienced many years of freedom... I wonder why I didn't enjoy more those years when somebody ELSE did all the work and all the worrying!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Lynn's Comments: When this strip originally ran, folks asked "What in the world is a GARBURETOR?" Well, in Canada, that's what we called a garbage disposal installed in the sink. I was told it was called "insinkerator" and a variety of other things, but I was not about to change a Canadianism and so the word stayed. Whatever it's called, I have never owned one. The dog and I took care of the leftovers.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Lynn's Comments: For me, making meals was one of the most challenging jobs on earth. A repast must be colourful and attractive enough to provoke interest, flavourful and aromatic enough to invite ingestion and healthy enough to support life. The local grocery stores (we had two) supplied fresh meat, but fresh veggies were another matter. I remember fighting over a wrinkled green pepper in Perepeluk's just so we could experience the taste! Aaron was not a fan of mushrooms, but if I could lay my hands on a fresh pack of mushies, by jove we were gonna eat them - and I wasn't making a fungus-free meal for HIM! He had, however, a tongue that could locate and isolate a mushroom in any mix and he'd ring his plate with rejects faster than a dog spits out pills! Today, of course, his palate has matured. He is an omnivore who, living in Vancouver, enjoys the best of vegetarian cuisine. I've watched him eat mushrooms many times... and it surprises me still that he does so - on purpose!

Monday, October 17, 2011

Lynn's Comments: When I had my first baby I was living in a close-knit neighbourhood where neighbours really took care of each other. I've been lucky that way! I came home with Aaron to a freezer full of home made meals prepared by the ladies around me. I didn't know how much I'd appreciate having these dishes to fall back on when I was too tired to think, too frazzled to shop and too sore to work in the kitchen!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Lynn's Comments: When my second child came along, I was living a different life, enjoying the company of new friends and helpful neighbours. They all got together and filled my freezer with great meals which could be easily thawed and served. Even when you're exhausted from pushing a kid out of your nether parts, sleep deprived, and sore enough to want serious drugs, you're still expected to create in the kitchen.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Lynn's Comments: It's true. I have no idea how to handle a newborn now. I have friends who automatically rip into the mother role; they know how to pick up, turn over, bathe, feed, and bundle a tiny baby, while I just sit by helplessly and watch. Strange... I had no problem handling my own children. I had no trouble changing them either. I guess when they're yours, it's different. At least it was for me!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Lynn's Comments: Joan (aka "Georgia") came into my brother's life when my kids were in elementary school. Because we were living in such a remote area, they didn't see a lot of Uncle Al, and didn't have the opportunity to observe his relationships. I did! Knowing he would read all the strips which alluded to him, I openly needled him, hoping he would spill the beans and let me in on his plans for the future. He didn't...until he was prepared to see it in the paper!

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Lynn's Comments: This is another glimpse from my childhood. My dad was the kind of guy who loved to build go-karts and tree houses and water slides on the lawn. Even though it wasn't cool to do stuff with your parents, a day with Dad always ended with a trophy of some kind: something built or found or eaten. When we weren't building stuff, we were hitting the dump or scrounging in the workshop and after that, we'd go to the Dairy Queen. The BIG cone cost a quarter and was almost too big to eat. It was when we had grown up a bit that we stopped hanging out with Dad. We'd give him excuses for why we weren't into making stuff or going out and it hurt him to see us change. I do remember him taking the neighbour's kid out for an ice cream cone and wondering, "Why isn't he taking me?" - knowing full well that I'd cut him out of my circle of friends. I just wanted him to be a dad. What I didn't know was that he was being a dad and - he was exceptional!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Lynn's Comments: The worst thing about having a kid in hockey is the gear. The odd hours of practice, the driving and the butt-numbing seats in the stands were a pleasure compared to the fitting, loading, dressing and stench of the required gear. Hockey moms go unappreciated until a kid grows up and becomes a hockey parent themselves!

Friday, January 27, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Atari and Pong were the two big video games of the day and my son, Aaron, played them endlessly. The beep, bop, zap sounds drove me crazy...but compared to the earth-shattering sound effects of today's offerings, these were musical interludes!

Friday, July 20, 2012

Lynn's Comments: There was a single rooster on the farm and he had become downright mean. Don figured that the hens had all been eaten by pigs or other animals while they slept in the barn, so the old bird had nothing to do and took his frustrations out on everybody. We were told to wear boots and to use them if we had to--since the rooster would often pull a surprise attack. He frightened Aaron, who was low to the ground, so we figured we had a choice: get the rooster a partner or put him down.

Just about then, the washing machine died, so Beth and I set out to find a replacement. An ad in the paper took us to a neighbouring community. The folks who were selling their machine just happened to have some nice white hens, so we added the price of a fat one to the price of the washer, loaded them both into the back of the truck and drove home. The men folk had stopped for a beer and were standing in the yard when we returned. Beth held up the burlap sack with the hen in it and announced that the rooster's new mate had arrived.

If there was opportunity for a wager out on the farm, the guys were keen. How would the new lady be received? Beth and I said she'd be attacked as soon as she hit the floor. The guys were more circumspect. They bet ten bucks that the rooster would be a gentleman. He'd welcome her to the pig barn, show her around, and THEN get to courtin'. Beth carried the sack and hen to the barn. The upper half of the doorway was open and the rooster was resting on a hay bale just inside. Beth lowered the sack over the barrier and shook it gently. The hen bounced onto the straw with a startled "AWWWKKK?!" The rooster awoke and was instantly on her--wings flapping and legs astride. We told the guys to pay up.

For a few days after that, we saw the hen and rooster together. They pecked around the yard and seemed to be happy. Aaron found eggs in the sod pile--a sign that the marriage was successful--and then the hen disappeared. Like the rest of the chickens, she had simply vanished.

For awhile, the rooster looked for her and then he got mad. He attacked Aaron and then me. He flew at Don's face while he was putting out feed and that was the last straw. Beth and I were getting dinner ready when we saw Don take his rifle and go into the bush behind the barn. We heard a sharp crack and then he returned. He had solved the problem "the way it's done on the farm." The rooster was gone forever...but his story lingers on.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Lynn's Comments: When we lived in northern Manitoba, mechanical problems had to be fixed by US. There were no technicians to call, no company to complain to. My husband just figured out how to get things going again. A dental clinic is a really complicated place. There are water lines, air hoses, suction devices, and all kinds of appliances. When we set up the practice, he put in all of this stuff himself. The clinic was in an apartment above Walter Perepeluk's grocery store. Rod and a friend worked for days to attach all the pipes, and this had to be done between the tiles on the ceiling of the store below. After a great deal of hard labour, it was announced that the pipes and the wiring were complete. We celebrated with a good dinner and a glass of wine. The next morning, however, when Rod went into the grocery store to check on his handiwork, Walter met him at the door with a strained look on his face. The entire ceiling, a network of plywood, panels, and tiles had fallen to the floor. The store was a mess of tiles, dust, and dirty produce. With more than a little fanfare, the new dentist had arrived!

Monday, October 8, 2012

Lynn's Comments: I don't remember mushrooms being a bone of contention for us growing up because fresh ones were too expensive and canned ones simply disappeared into the stew. Mushroom soup was a staple gravy base and casserole sauce, so it didn't count either. When actual fresh fungi were finally introduced to our palates, we were all grown up. It's our children who have had the luxury of rejecting one of the most delicious culinary delights known to man!

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Lynn's Comments: Sometimes, the old chestnut command "If you don't like what we're having, make your own dinner!" backfired. I found the best way to make a less-than-yummy repast disappear was to offer no alternative at all. This, of course, might result in a stoic refusal to compromise followed by a midnight raid on the fridge. The one consolation was that they would eat at midnight the now frigid dinner they'd rejected at 6!

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Lynn's Comments: The changes in my studio space and the hiring of new staff made work-related gags easier to do. Now, I was dealing with a group of people, my job had become a real business, and we had an established routine. In the strip it would not have made sense to have Elly suddenly confronting a situation like this herself, so I gave her a part-time, more believable job. The only thing about this strip that was true was--we really were all mothers!

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Lynn's Comments: After the applications for a new receptionist had been whittled down to a few, we called each girl out of the blue to see what her telephone attitude was like. An answer like, "Who? Who's calling? Hey, you kids shut the H*** up, I'm on the %#*&@^ phone!" was a definite "no."

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Lynn's Comments: My mom could make a casserole out of anything. In turn, I too have no fear of this classic leftover surprise. My friend Kelly once told me that her husband refused to eat leftovers. I asked if she had offered them to him in a casserole. She said, "No, because he'd find out." "What do you think quiche and stir fry and pizza and soup are made of?" I argued. "Bits of stuff from the refrigerator, cut up and fashioned into something ELSE!" She said she hadn't thought of that, and we set about making a great pot of soup out of what was left in her fridge. It was a delicious brew, and her husband ate it with relish (and buns). When he was done, he asked her how she'd made it, and she replied, "soup mix," referring to a mix of stuff from the refrigerator. "Good," he said, "as long as it's not made from leftovers."