I have often passed a special house that drew my attention and wondered what it might look like inside. I recently gathered some friends and found out.

We snooped around through some fabulous homes, noted unusual features, commented on the décor, admired the landscaping and even checked out the bathrooms. And it was all legal.

My friends and I participated in the Auburn Symphony Home Tour and the Music in The Mountains Home Tour and we had a great time! Our tickets gave us entrance into some fabulous homes and the proceeds from those tickets benefited two wonderful programs.

Now, the Loomis area is poised to have their own home tour that will benefit the local schools in the Loomis Union School District. On Saturday, December 6, the Loomis Basin Education Foundation will hold their own home tour called The Loomis Basin Holiday Home Tour.

They plan to feature seven unique area homes on the tour. You have to hand it to the families who volunteer to have their homes on display and are willing to share their enclaves with the rest of us. They receive no compensation from their participation, only the knowledge that by sharing their abodes they have benefited local children and satisfied my “looky-loo” urges.

I doubt my home or garden will ever be “tour worthy” but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy seeing a home that is. And I can get some great ideas from very creative homeowners who have designed, decorated and landscaped their enclaves.

I will have to gather my gal pals for this event, or see if I can drag my husband along, and we’ll plan to have lunch around town and make a fun day of it.

I will definitely make it a “no-child” day as I can only see my kids trying to run through fancy houses and touch everything. I’m sure they would consider being brought on a home tour punishment, anyhow. I’ll leave them at home to make their Christmas lists and I will go off and have fun!

Tickets will go on sale for this event in early November. Watch for information on this Web site.