I love my office in New York. It’s painted the color of my living room and dining room at home. I chose those colors for the office since I spend very little time in my living room or dining room --- I joke that I can count the days we use them each year, and they usually are smashed between November and January. I have this great dining room table IN my office so I can have meetings and lunches there. I even have turquoise dishes in my office for entertaining. It’s also great space for having people drop by --- one of my favorite things. This week Carol Cassella was in town from Seattle, and we spent some time on Tuesday chatting up her upcoming book, HEALER, which I am crazy about. Katie Arnoldi was in from California, and Wednesday we caught up on the excitement surrounding her book, POINT DUME, which landed on the Los Angeles Times bestseller list the first week it was out. During the writing of this book, Katie had shared with me stories about the Mexican drug cartels who are growing marijuana on federal and state lands. A good look at her research can be found here in the Times this week.

Summer has crept into the city, and the humidity has made June feel like late July or August. My older son Greg is juggling his day between taking a class at college --- conveniently just blocks from the office --- and working with us. And of course, with him being around, adventures prevail. Last weekend, on a whim, he flew to Ottawa. Why Ottawa? Well, he had not seen it and Continental had a great special running, and he could not turn it down. Yes, he is his mother’s son. He can pack in a heartbeat and hit the road.

After weeks and months of waiting, it feels like summer is here (even though the calendar says it's still spring). The weather in the New York area has been beautiful --- sunny and hot --- feeling more like August than June. My gardens are starting to take shape; even the seeds are sprouting, which always amuses me. I assume they will not grow. I put TWO packages of basil seeds in one pot, which still has my husband laughing. It looks like a lawn of basil plants. There are few better pleasures this time of year than relaxing outside with a good book, or a stack of them. Lemonade or iced tea always helps, too.