A Suburban Mom

Meredith O'Brien, columnist, author of A Suburban Mom: Notes from the Asylum, occasionally does me the great honor of mentioning Stone Soup in her blog at Wicked Local Parents.com (see today's installment). As a mom in the trenches, she offers a great perspective on parenting. Something I'm always hoping to do in Stone Soup.

Meredith writes about pop culture and politics, and blogs about lifestyle issues. You can follow more discussions at Suburban Mom blog.

One thing I love about the online world... so many bright, intelligent women.

Which brings me cheer today when it is raining, hailing and dark as night at noon. An me with dogging deadlines. Then again, the weather keeps me at the drawing table. Back to work!

Comments

[gp]

I've been following Stone Soup for a while now and enjoying the strip a lot. I just wanted to make you aware of a few points regarding today's Happy Hanukah panel. Firstly, tonight was the first night of Hanukah and not the fourth night as depicted in the strip. Secondly, Hanukah candles are lit from left to right and not like Wally is doing, from right to left.

[Patricia McCarthy]

I am so happy to find a way to email you and say thanks for the work you do. I have total loved your work during the last two months and was rather taken back when Yahoo pulled your holiday story line this past week. I found the current one running on GoComic.

Seem they have pulled it since the lighting of the candles and dumped another story line in there. I was rather shock to find the story moving along different from what I recalled so I went back for the last two weeks and NO Happy Hanukah was to be found. Went online to different places to find your work and there was the story line I had been following.
I wonder if they have dumped in an OLD story line from the years past or if you wrote a new one for the folks with problems of the other holidays?

[Jan Eliot]

Hi Patricia...
Well, I'm stumped. I have no idea why they might have substituted, nor did I provide alternate strips. This requires some investigation! Stay tuned...

THanks!

[Patricia McCarthy]

Well some good news out of the mess. Because I searched online for your strips I ran over the fact you have some books out on your work. I am NOW the owner of books one to five and book seven. SO Yahoo sub earned you a little bit of money. WHAT is the name of book six? I will search for it to buy too.

Thanks to the books I found that Yahoo used old story Christmas lines...whatever.. from the second and third year you were out there. At least I found the strips in book two.

I read your work online by way of Yahoo for the last .. humm maybe two years? I do not get any newspapers. I have read each day.. for the last few months with yours being the cream btw just love your work as I am a single mom too. (All my birds are now out of the nest however.)

Another thing about Yahoo, they are slow to update and since I have to look for Zits online.. it is really no problem to add yours to the list of those I have to check somewhere else.

I mainly wanted to also let you know that I had NO CLUE of Zits being out there till you did a strip with other cartoon moms. I knew them all but for the Jenny's Mom. Now as a school teacher, I love reading what she deals with. Sooooo, pat yourself on your back as to getting the word out about other Cool Cartoons.

Another site I visit online where I can type to the Artist is arlo and janis.
However he does not run the current story line there but post up old ones that were like his fav or something. You both have the comment area which I dearly love.

Thanks again for letting me chat with you.
Feel free to edit or whatever if this is too long or subject matter is not what you want posted up here.

Thank you again for maintaining a corner of light in this nutty world.

[Patricia McCarthy]

Just got done with reading your archives here and found the answer to the question of what is the sixth book - and have ordered it. Now my main problem is .. do I wait to read book seven that I have till six gets here in a week or so.. or dig in? LOL

Hope the new year is a good one for you!!!!

[txgirl]

Hi, I've been a big fan of your work for a long while now. I've had a few questions along the way about characters and style but am not sure where is the appropriate place to ask as I cannot seem to find an email address. I would appreciate any suggestions.

One question that has been jumping around in my brain for awhile now is why do both Val and Joan have the same last name? (I do realize it is the name of the strip) If Val is widowed and not divorced, wouldn't she keep her, the love of her life, husband's last name? Like I said, I'm just very curious.

I love comics and find time to read this strip above all others.

Happy New Year,
txgirl

[Patricia McCarthy]

Txgirl,
I have two cents to throw onto the table here. ..hope you dont mind.

Val and Joan may have the same last name as they never took the husband's name. Lots of folks do that now and in some parts of the world, gals never took the man's name.

I am one who got married in 1976, am from Mississippi USA, and kept the name I was born with.

[txgirl]

Patricia,

Hi, it's been a while since I've checked this. No, of course I do not mind your two cents and while I totally understand and even assumed your idea--Joan has mentioned(can't remember which book)that she will now have or be known by Wally's last name in addition to her maiden name and the name of her first husband, Leon. (that lead me to believe she used Leon's name while married-although she keeps Stone for professional reasons)

The reason I questioned it in the first place is if you are married, even if you do keep your maiden name, the children will usually carry on with the father's last name.(a tradition ingrained in this part of the world it seems) The only time I see it otherwise is if the mom is single. (usually) That's why I was asking.