Coming home

Leaving (what used to be) home was tough.

Saying 'see you next year' to your sisters and your best friends, is just wrong. Thank goodness for those we could say 'see you in September' to. Guests may not come as thick and fast as they did when we lived in Malibu - now everyone has kids, or proper jobs, or both - but as long as we're living by the beach I think we'll be a destination for friends and family.

As for the rest, those we don't know quite when we'll see again, well, it was very hard to say goodbye. 'See you on Skype' is not a happy phrase.

Still, coming home was good.

Not a terrible place to come back to, after all

Highlights of the return include seeing Lady P reunited with her nanny and the reconvention of their adorable mutual appreciation society. Also running the woodchip and along the beach, and a bike ride with TLOML up to El Segundo and back. Basically getting back into the lovely outdoorsy Hermosan lifestyle.

And becoming reacquainted with the enormous range of Cheerios you Americans enjoy.

The only Cheerios sold in the UK are sugar coated, which I discovered having bought a monster size box. Well, we were on holiday after all. So Lady P enjoyed 'holiday cereal' for a month and is now back on the wholegrain, low(er) sugar version. In fact, we are all eating rather more healthily now we're back in the land of unappealing tasteless cheese and oddly sweet bread.

I've enjoyed catching up on the beach with an old friend and setting the world to rights over poolside margaritas with newer friends.  And last night we had cocktails and seafood in a quintessentially SoCal restaurant, which was almost good enough to make me never want to leave this country again.

I did say almost. Roll on next summer and our next trip home.