Urgent Aid Needed - please help all you can.

You would have to be living in a hole to not know of the devistation that has been happening in Australia at the moment - Victoria being the worst hit with the fires (although I wouldn't want to really compare - other states have had it really bad too). The toll is still rising but so far there are 173 people dead in these Victorian fires and thousands of people homeless with little more than the clothing on their back. They are saying 750 homes have been lost but I wouldn't be surprised if it was much more than that. We are only beginning to understand the depth of this.

My sister is in an affected area, and i never again want a phone call like the one she gave me on Saturday. She called , in tears to tell me that the fires were near, and the name of the solicitors office where her will is kept, just in case. She told me she loved me and that there was no opportunity to evacuate - all roads leading out are blocked with fire. The fire front was 20 kms wide, with flames leaping 60-100 ft high.

Somehow, with a lot of luck, and a lot of fire prevention in place, and by being up for 24 hours putting out spot fires on their property and saturating their house and property they survived unscathed apart from some singe marks.

As they run dog boarding kennels they had 8 boarders that they brought into their house, so they could defend them better. All the owners are very happy that they cared enough to do this.

Since then they have taken in a friend and her cats. This friend breeds russian blue cats and has 55 of them ranging from kittens to adults. They only managed to catch 49 of them before they were forced to leave because the fires were too close. They haven't been allowed back into the area yet to see if the other 6 have survived and whether her house is still standing - they will try every day to return though. So my sister's house is pretty full at the moment with lots of dogs and cats and 3 humans.

Of course with all this loss there is a great need for assistance from anyone. The red cross are accepting donations, as are most of the major banks. Please give what you can to help.

For those of us that are too short of cash that want to help out there are other things you can do.

COLES supermarket is having it so all money spent there Friday 13th will go to the bushfires, so PLEASE hold off getting groceries and shop at coles this Friday!!!

There is a Ravelry group that are collecting 12inch (30cm) squares to make blankets for those in need. Please go HERE and join up. Every square helps..and lets face it..If you were in need YOU would want someones help, dont be selfish, give just a few hours to make a square or two. They can be knitted, crocheted or sewn and if you want you can also donate materials.

If you don't have a Ravelry account and still want to make squares, you can send them to me and i will pass them on. Email me at mail(dot)bugsy(at)gmail(dot)com and i will send you my address.

It can pretty much be said that if you live in Australia you must know of at least one person who this has affected, even if its only a friend of a friends friend..its still so close to home. This could happen to any one of us.

Please - if there was ever a time to help someone out that seriously needs it - this IS the time.

Thank you