Needles on the Move

Back-burning

It's not quite front-page international news, but some of you may have heard that parts of Australia are burning down. One of the major fire fronts is about 20km from my parents' farm and they have been on alert for weeks. It is hard to understand what it is like there right now as I shiver in the greyness of London's winter, but reports of Christmas spent close to home, late-night calls to spot-fires and my older brother spending most of his holiday visit clearing scrub, help to bring the picture to life.

Mild weather in the last few weeks has been gratefully received as it allows for back-burning. Local firefighters, including members of my family, are able to operate controlled burns to reduce fuel and slow the progress of the fires. Mum has also been 'back-burning' in the house: cleaning out cupboards and reducing stashes of anything flammable to minimise the risk of losing the farmhouse.

It came to me today that, strangely, I am doing a bit of back-burning myself. Although not threatened by such dire need as those at home, I found myself towards the end of last year needing a bit of relief from the attacking forces of too many knitting projects. When you start a new knit almost every week, sometimes more than one, you NEVER get anything finished. That's not fun. So I put myself on a yarn diet. No new yarn means no fuel for the WIP fires. I can finish what I've started, knit up some of my stash, and clear the decks ready for new beginnings later on.

Maybe you're back-burning too: did you make a diet resolution? Did you throw out all the crisps/cookies/chocolate/soft yummy cheeses lurking in your pantry? Back-burning!

Good luck with your New Year's resolutions, especially those of you who didn't need to make any! And please send a prayer my mum's way this week.

Ciao, Diane

posted by dianemulholland @ 10:41 am