We (my daughter and I along with my dear friend Laura Landsberg and her daughter) just got home from a delightful, though somewhat gray and wet week on Hornby Island. As I made my way back into the city, with a car full of freshly picked blackberries and damp clothes (yes, it mostly rained) I felt the relentless stress of city living reenter my soul. By the time my key was in the front door anxiety had a firm hold. For me, September is the month where “it” all begins. “It” might be all that didn’t get done or followed-up on during the past Fall, Winter and Spring. Or “it” might be everything I avoided doing ’cause it was Summer, or “it” might be the numerous great ideas that were born while, in my case, doing things like picking blackberries. No matter, it’s a familiar sensation and this year it seems to have come back around at warp speed..Before I had even managed to set my suitcase down, the to-do list had pulled centre stage. I should paint, mow, call so and so. I should write that book, get more exercise, I should make a pie before the berries go bad, pay my bills, market my business, write my blog, go school supply shopping, get some food in the fridge, make a gift for my new nephew, go back to school, finish that workshop…

I did manage to get the pie baked– a really glorious, deep purple, sweet and summery blackberry pie. At least I have my priorities straight!!