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Thursday, March 11, 2010
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Lynn's Comments: When I did this, Katie was well into the language learning curve and her baby talk was a lot of fun. For years, well after her move into adult vocabulary, we used her words ourselves, not wanting to lose the charm and the memory. "Blaffoon" was "bathroom", "puffermink" was "peppermint" and "bleffus" was "breakfast". These were all part of our vocabulary until she went to university!
It was hard not to perpetuate the errors. Talking baby talk to our offspring was not our style, and yet we loved the sounds and the new words they invented as they learned how to communicate. It was interesting to see how a newfound ability with language made for nonstop talking. You can't wait for them to be able to tell you what they're thinking ... and, later - you're wishing they'd be QUIET!!! The dialogue in this strip went exactly as written, except that I kept the punch line to myself!
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Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Lynn's Comments: We didn't have a chainsaw--we didn't need a chainsaw ... but for some reason known only to men, my husband bought a big one, with all the safety gear that went with it!
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Lynn's Comments: I have always wondered why gymnasiums didn't harness all the energy that is wasted by wheels on exercycles and the like as they spin all day long. With that in mind, I think hamster wheels could be installed in homes where kids tear around relentlessly. If this energy was being put to good use, such as running the vacuum, perhaps we wouldn't resent the mess and the dust they create quite so much!
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Lynn's Comments: The other day I watched a young mother guiding her son around the grocery store. She was letting him do all the shopping. She asked him what ingredients he would buy if he was going to make chili and what would make a nice salad. The child was about four years old and right into the project. This was a shopping trip just for him. He had to think about what he was buying and why. He was told about the cost, how one kind of bathroom tissue might be a better value for the family than another. He made decisions about desserts and treats and whether one kind of bread would be more nutritious than another. I was so impressed with this young woman's insight, patience, and ingenuity that I had to compliment her. She just said, "He was interested, so I thought it was time." As I watched her continue to the checkout counter, I wished I'd had her good sense when I was shepherding my little ones!
Friday, December 6, 2013
Lynn's Comments: Katie was much too big, but she insisted on riding in the shopping cart baby seat. I told her repeatedly that it wasn't a good idea, but I gave in. As soon as she was settled, she was stuck. I told her to be patient, that we'd get her out when I paid for the groceries. She wailed. The man at the meat counter came out from behind the showcase and lifted Kate's upper half while I pushed her feet. We extracted her without injury. I said nothing. I didn't have to!
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Lynn's Comments: This story came about when I picked up a huge turkey by the metal tag and lifted it into my cart. It occurred to me that I had done something really stupid. The turkey weighed at least eighteen pounds, and if I'd dropped it, I could have broken a foot!
Monday, December 9, 2013
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Lynn's Comments: The thought of someone struggling with a turkey-induced injury made me laugh, and so I inflicted this on poor John.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Lynn's Comments: When we were kids, a friend broke his leg while roller skating. The thing we all thought about, however, was how lucky he was to ride in an ambulance!
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Lynn's Comments: I'd occasionally buy the National Enquirer if I recognized the celebrity on the cover--and cared! I did, however, buy the News of the World regularly. Who could resist headlines like the ones I had fun with in this strip?! The stories were so wonderfully preposterous, I secretly wished I was one of their writers. A few years before this fine rag went belly up, I read a headline that was very similar to "Octogenarian gives birth to triplets" (panel three), and I hoped it had come from this strip!
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Lynn's Comments: I am a militant shopper sometimes. I sneer at able-bodied folks who park in the handicap zone, grumble when they squeeze all the tomatoes, and will audibly sigh if there's a long checkout line and some bozo decides to redeem a wad of coupons. On a busy weekend outside my favourite grocery store, someone had parked across the ramp. Shoppers couldn't get to the parking lot without heaving their carts over the curb. The situation I drew in this strip was based on this incident, but it has a different ending.
I waited a minute, wondering how long this inconsiderate person would be. He certainly had to know that he'd blocked everyone's path. I had a couple of choice comments to make like, "Couldn't get any closer, hum?" or "The parking lot's THAT way!" Soon the doors opened and an elderly man appeared. He was helping a woman who was pushing a small, half-filled shopping cart. He smiled at me as he held her steady and eased her forward. "My wife had a stroke," he said, "this is her first time outdoors since she managed to walk again and she wanted to shop for groceries." I opened the passenger door and kept the cart from rolling forward as he lovingly helped her into the car. I then handed him their grocery bags as he loaded them into the trunk. He explained that he'd moved the car closer to the door for her and was sorry for the inconvenience. He thanked me sincerely as he worked himself into the driver's seat. As they drove away I thought to myself, "Thank heavens I didn't say anything!" It was another lesson; a good story--and I guess I didn't have the courage to tell it the way it was!
I waited a minute, wondering how long this inconsiderate person would be. He certainly had to know that he'd blocked everyone's path. I had a couple of choice comments to make like, "Couldn't get any closer, hum?" or "The parking lot's THAT way!" Soon the doors opened and an elderly man appeared. He was helping a woman who was pushing a small, half-filled shopping cart. He smiled at me as he held her steady and eased her forward. "My wife had a stroke," he said, "this is her first time outdoors since she managed to walk again and she wanted to shop for groceries." I opened the passenger door and kept the cart from rolling forward as he lovingly helped her into the car. I then handed him their grocery bags as he loaded them into the trunk. He explained that he'd moved the car closer to the door for her and was sorry for the inconvenience. He thanked me sincerely as he worked himself into the driver's seat. As they drove away I thought to myself, "Thank heavens I didn't say anything!" It was another lesson; a good story--and I guess I didn't have the courage to tell it the way it was!
Sunday, July 24, 2016
Lynn's Comments: This happened. I was glad to have been wearing clean underwear. Old superstitions can bear fruit. In this case, it was Fruit of the Loom!
Monday March 13, 2017
Lynn's Comments: As I recall, I, too, left my room in an unruly mess. Thing is, in those days, there were some pretty harsh punishments, and I had to decide if going against the matriarch was worth the risk!
Sunday December 8, 2019
Lynn's Comments: Every now and then I did a serious and reflective punch line. I had to. This wouldn’t have been a realistic look inside the home of a North American family if the characters took their good health and good fortune for granted. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to buy groceries like this!
Thursday June 18, 2020
Sunday August 2, 2020
Lynn's Comments: This is that awful, unbelievable situation when a parent leaves a baby in a car. I've done it, and remembered before it was a problem...but I sure understand how a tragedy can happen.
Thursday December 24, 2020
Sunday March 21, 2021
Lynn's Comments: These were real Ontario winters, and when you draw strips like this you really have to make the audience feel those cold, wet, rainy days.
Tuesday July 5, 2022
Wednesday July 13, 2022
Lynn's Comments: One problem with scenes in a grocery store is you have to draw grocery carts. These things are awful to draw! Photos are good, but you have to find a good one—and a photo shows just one position. When I found a tiny toy shopping cart in San Francisco, I was thrilled! I still use it as a 3D model.
Tuesday November 8, 2022
Sunday April 16, 2023
Sunday August 20, 2023
Lynn's Comments: Drawing Elly's expression in the last panel took a few tries. When the punch is just a small line on the bottom of a face, it's gotta be right!
Friday January 12, 2024
Lynn's Comments: I actually tried making vegetarian meals for a while. I think I lasted a week. The problem wasn't the vegetable diet, but finding enough easy recipes that would please everyone. In the end, we caved and ran out for a greasy chicken dinner—which, at the time, tasted like ambrosia!
Sunday March 17, 2024
Lynn's Comments: When I was a little kid, I could never warm up to grown-ups who talked in baby-talk. I thought they were, well...insulting!
