Let me just get this out of the way first. There was only a minimal amount of knitting this weekend. Maybe four or five rows on the La Luz vest. Just too much else to do.

Saturday night Lisa and I went to hear a Scottish harper, William Jackson, perform at Cal Tech. The performance was great. He's a very quiet, gentle man with a soft sense of humor. I don't know anything about Scottish harp music but it didn't matter. The performance was beautiful. He also played some tunes on the penny whistle, or as he called it "the pretty penney whistle".

Even though Cal Tech is just a few blocks from where I live I had never been on the campus. I think I'd like to go back and wander around during the day. The architecture is somewhat eclectic and pseudo-Mediterranean, except for some of the newer buildings and parking structures. And I noticed there were lots of pools and small ponds scattered through the open areas. Very nice.

Yesterday I went on a home tour. One of my students is an interior designer and is on the board of the local chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers. She gave me a pair of tickets to tour five different homes that all had newly renovated or remodeled kitchens. My friend Robert joined me. At lot of driving was involved but it was all worth it. I thought we were only going to see kitchens but we got to see large portions of the rest of the houses as well. Let me just say, some people really live well! There was the eight bedroom colonial, a newly constructed castle, a 1940's ranch house, a Spanish hacienda and a relatively tiny English cottage. I got to see lots of the San Gabriel Valley that I had never seen before.

Patrick is giving me fits this morning. All he wants to do is play. We've already played way beyond my interest level and still he's whining and begging for more. I guess I'd better go see what he wants.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends in Canada. What a great idea! Start the holiday season a month earlier.