Prairie Wool

Dad’s, I’d slop through ditches in a pair of rubber boots; my identity hidden. However, my kids were not as enthusiastic. They often suffered the profound embarrassment that can only be felt by teens. Who wants to be defined as a family that pilfers through the refuse of society for cast-off fivecent pop bottles?

One day, as we skulked through the overgrown grass of a ditch near their school, my eldest son Chris, who’d been lagging behind, stared at an approaching car, stiffened to attention, and then threw himself prostrate into the weeds.

“Get down, you fools,” he hollered.

“That’s the principal’s car! HIDE!”

But it was too late. The sleek gray Buick slowed as it neared our position and crunched to a halt in the gravel. Rolling down a window, the man leaned across his console and addressed me with concern. I stood in a patch of thistles holding a grimy box of Pilsner beer.

“Excuse me,” the kindly man said. “I’m wondering if your son Chris is alright. He’s lying in the grass about fifty feet back, clutching an empty bottle of vodka.”

“Hahaha, yes, he’s fine,” I hastened to assure the man. A sudden image of me cowering before the court on charges of child endangerment crept through my mind. Making matters worse, I caught sight of eleven-yearold Rebecca gripping a crushed can of Labatt’s Blue.

“He’s just tired,” I assured the man once more. “No cause for alarm.”

He smiled, clearly unconvinced. Reluctantly he motored off, watching us closely in his rear-view mirror.

Another time, a carload of older teenagers roared past me on the road. I could hear one yell, “Here, lady,” as they screeched to a stop, lowered the window, and tossed an empty to the curb.

Nothing says bag lady quite as well as the sight of a woman eagerly scut tling across the road to pick up a tencent pop can and shove it in her plastic

1 egg

3 tablespoons almond flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons monk fruit sweetener

Sprinkle salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 teaspoon water grocery sack.

Melt butter a microwave safe bowl, have it warm but not hot. Stir the egg in. Add the flour, salt, sweetener and baking powder and mix well. Mix in the vanilla and water. Pour the mixture into the buttered bowl, and microwave for 90 seconds. Allow to cool slightly, and remove from the bowl, by loosening the edges with a knife. Slice the cake open and top with whipped cream and berries.

Sigh.

Yes, I’m no stranger to money troubles, but consider all the fabulous things I have:

Beloved family and friends.

The scent of sheets having blown dry in a prairie breeze on my bed.

The joy of unearthing the first spring crocuses beneath the prairie wool near my home.

I’m rich, after all. What about you?

Find Helen’s latest book, a sweet, holiday romance and much more at helentoews.com

Vermilion Farmers Market

Tuesdays 10:00 am - 2:00 pm Starting March 14th

(we are an Alberta Approved Farmers Market!) Please contact Breanne Orton Market Manager for more info. 780-787-3935

Vermilion Soccer Association

will be holding their Annual General Meeting on March 20, 2023 at 7pm

Location: Vermilion Curling Club - Reunion Hall (use the outdoor stairs at back of the building) Zoom link is available register by emailing vsa.reg.agm@gmail.com

Deadline to sign up for the meeting is March 19.

Details of the upcoming 2023 Outdoor Season will be outlined at the AGM For more information visit Vermilion Soccer Association on Facebook

Registration will be done online this year. Everyone is welcome to attend the meeting for more information or follow our facebook page.

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