Vacation

I'm officially on vacation for the next 5 days - woohoo! What does that really mean?

Well, clean the house so I feel reasonable about Thanksgiving dinner, even though it's just the four of us, buy a new dishwasher because the old one is not happy, get new shoes for The Dork, break down and turn on the heater, cook like a crazy woman (not really), do some grading, and figure out what to knit next!

Cleaning may mean "schlep all the yarn and patterns on the couch and throw them into the bedroom so we can sit on the couch for an evening, then move everything back". I supposed I shouldn't ignore the vacuum cleaner too much longer though. I don't have dust bunnies, but entire herds of dust buffalos. The Dog is shedding massively, getting in her winter coat, and I can't keep up with the roaming herds.

Dishwasher: out to Western Appliance and/or Sears this morning (although I doubt it can be delivered today).

Shoes: anyone got a recommendation for shoes Le Dork can use for fencing? Flattish soles, flexible and available in men's 11 wide. Fencing shoes are expensive, and they are easily destroyed, so we've been told to go find some inexpensive athletic shoes.

Heater: It was 57 degrees inside this morning at 7:45. It is now 10:15 and only 59 degrees. My fingers are cold and I can't type (liberal use of the backspace/delete key). Not everyone in the house is awake yet, so I hesitate to turn on the heater which will almost certainly set off the smoke alarms.

Cooking: Smoked turkey - in the house. Today's cooking - cranberry sauce (easy), and dessert, which I think means heading out to Marie Callenders or Bakers' Square and picking up a pie. Stuffing, green bean casserole, sauteed chard, yams - tomorrow.

Grading papers - ignore as long as possible.

Knitting - hmmm, hardest one. I'm still at a loss for what I should work on. Yes, I have 2 pairs of socks that can be worked on. The Midsummers are going just fine, thankyouverymuch, but I'm trying to save them for purse knitting. The 2differentsizedneedles socks are mostly boring stockinette, and are also purse knitting.

I'd love to make me a new cozy sweater! (The lack of heater this morning influenced me, I think). Swatched for Twist in my Dream in Color Classy, but am entirely incapable of getting 4.75 st/in.

Does anyone know of a resource by which patterns can be sorted by gauge (e.g. I only want to look at patterns that meet this gauge)?
I've spent a lot of time on Ravelry this morning, looking at other people's projects, thinking about what yarn I have in stash that might meet the stated gauge. There's so much out there, and my brain is not in a position to make decisions about what I'm capable of recalculating for my gauge with a given yarn. I suppose I could create such a sortable list, but then I wouldn't have any time for actually knitting!

Oh well, I'll keep on thinking!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I'm thankful everyday for my home and family, and all my friends - online and in person!