home: Browse The Strips

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Sallie's guest did not get away like this, but a reader told me about their hamster's disappearance. It was eventually discovered months later in a nest he had made for himself inside their couch. A rodent is a rodent after all!

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Lynn's Comments: My friend Beth's daughter, Ellie, keeps several tarantulas in her room. These eerie creatures inhabit a large glass terrarium, and every so often, Ellie will carefully take them out and handle them. Beth said they didn't bother her at all because they're quiet--but the crickets they eat chirp all night long! Ellie apparently can sleep through the racket.

Friday, March 22, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Now that I have a granddaughter to chase about, I have all the paraphernalia; including crib and highchair. Laura is just learning how to feed herself, so the above illustration says it all. Allowing for leaks, spills, and the occasional avalanche, I sometimes wish we still had our dog.... to help wash the floor beneath her.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Lynn's Comments: I would occasionally use the floor of my studio if I had larger illustrations to sort through--or to dry. Art supplies are a magnet for kids, and mine were often in the room looking for scrap paper and other things they were allowed to have. One time I did have posters drying on the floor and Katie did accidentally walk on them. Fortunately they were dry, but she was so upset, she cried. Today she is an artist, too--so even then, she had respect for original art!

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Lynn's Comments: I recently visited my son in his west coast apartment, and was gratified to see that he lives in a clean, tidy, and attractive environment. Amazing. After all that nagging, I really DID have an impact on my lethargic son... and it only took 30 years!

Monday, April 1, 2013

Lynn's Comments: This statement led to several daily strips. Women rarely get to hear this kind of stuff, and I thought it was a nifty insight.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Lynn's Comments: This was the rule in our house when it came to birthday parties. Although the "rule" was often broken, it did help to reduce the number of kids in attendance.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Aaron took a sort of aptitude test one day, and one of the results was that he had an adult vocabulary. This why it was hard to put anything over on him. My brother and I were always encouraged to learn more words; "You can't express yourself properly if you don't have enough words in your head!" was something my mom drilled into us. Aaron had a natural affinity for words and often surprised us with big ones!

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Lynn's Comments: When I look at this now, I smile. I was not yet forty, but I could see myself aging. Every wrinkle was worrisome. The tiniest hint of an eye bag sent me looking for creams. We had been married for a few years and I was wearing some pretty tattered nightgowns. I didn't care much about looking good when I went to bed... as long as the face looked good in the morning.

Now that I'm 65, I have given up on the face, but I wear pretty nightgowns--I seem to be doing things in reverse!

Monday, April 15, 2013

Lynn's Comments: I gave Aaron this lecture and then watched as he welcomed his guests into the house. The first thing they did, of course, was to hand him their gifts so they could take off their shoes and jackets. He grabbed for the gifts and had the last laugh again.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Party games were a must whenever I hosted a gig for my kids--and I had to keep finding new stuff for them to do. The best games were often the ones that elicited groans and complaints at adult parties but were a lot of fun--after you got started. Fortunately, kids don't need any "fortification" when it comes to being silly!

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Considering all the "health watch" infomercials and self-help columns, I've never read stats on the germ-spreading tradition of blowing out candles. Perhaps heat from the flame sears the bacteria! Anyone know if a study has been done?

Friday, April 19, 2013

Lynn's Comments: This strip was the catalyst for several letters from post-birthday party moms who wanted to say, "Thanks for telling it like it is." Being able to throw a well-planned kids' party is something moms take pride in, and only WE know how much work it is!

Friday, May 3, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Aaron did learn to play a few pieces on the trumpet. Through perseverance and some threatening, his junior high school music teacher succeeded in placing him in the school band, where he suffered along with the rest of the uncommitted until summer came.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Aaron balked at learning to read music and practicing, but he did love his rented trumpet. With my brother's guidance, he polished the bell, oiled the valves, and cleaned out the tube--which would otherwise fill with fungus, mould, and other odious flotsam (nourished by the moisture and foodstuff propelled by vigorous breath). The instrument itself was a beautiful possession, but it came with the guilt of not practicing.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Lynn's Comments: Sometimes my readers made some very astute but troublesome observations. When this strip appeared, a woman from Maryland wrote to say that the punch line didn't work because Elizabeth was not actually looking at the caterpillar. I explained that I needed to draw her face and also her dad's face, so I'd taken a bit of artistic license. Had I positioned her the way she should have been, the audience would just see the back of her head.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Lynn's Comments: The first panel in this strip was (and is) what I live for: Goofy expressions, exaggerated poses, and lettering that looks the way it sounds.