Yesterday was the last day of school!  Yippee!!!  I have two exams to write: on the 10th, and the 16th. I spent some time getting my school supplies and books all organized, and planned my reading schedule for the Xmas holidays.

Later, Hubby and I did some Christmassy stuff this morning - we put some "Cool Yule" tunes on the CD player, made some cookies, and got out a few decorations.  That was fun!  Then we went out to run a couple of errands.  On the way home, I stopped at my favourite thrift store, and got a few quilty things.

Some fabric, and even a couple of big pieces of vintage fabrics.  I also picked up a book on applique, and look at that milk glass head vase!  I've never seen one like it before, so I had to bring it home! 

One more day - - three lectures - -yippy yay!

Remember me telling you about the HORRIBLE essay I had to write for women's studies?  Maaaaan...I struggled with that thing....including two meetings with the writing guru guy at university, and one with my professor.  I emailed my prof yesterday and begged her to put my out of my misery.  She agreed to mark my essay right away.  So for the rest of the day I kept checking online for my grade.

When it finally arrived in the afternoon - - 94!!!!!!  I quite literally, nearly fainted with relief.  I had been teetering on the edge of deciding whether to drop the course - - Monday was the last day to drop without penalty. 

I'm not sleeping again.  This has been going on for a couple of weeks. I lie awake thinking I should just get up and work on school work.  Remember when once-upon-a-time I'd get up and quilt???  Nothing's different. What an adventure.

I'm reading a fantastic book: "Infidel" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. It came highly recommended by my mother, but I had been putting off reading it.  I was hesitant to read it, because I don't know a whole lot about Islam, and wanted to lay a foundational understanding of the religion before developing my own opinions.  This book is clearly anti-Islam.

While much of the subject matter is quite disturbing (oppression of women under Islam, female genital mutilation, honour killings, rape in war, African genocide) the way it is discussed from a first person point of view (this is her autobiography) with a "it is what it is" manner, reveals a completely different way of thinking. 

And I was thinking last night that if the author had never learned English, nor been exposed to a Western viewpoint through novels she could get in (largely Christian) Kenya, but not Muslim Somalia, her life would have gone a completely different direction. It's a priviledged look into a foreign culture - completely unfiltred, and without judgement.  She never says "look at this - isn't it horrific???", she simply presents her personal story, and leaves the reader to make her own judgement.  Absolutely fascinating.

Fast forward years later.  She partners with  Dutch film maker Theo van Gogh to produce a short film called Submission.  For this, he is murdered in the street by a radical Muslim man, who pins a death threat to Ayaan to van Gogh's chest with a knife.  I watched the film yesterday on YouTube - it's only about 10 minutes long. It starts off in Arabic, but 95% of the monologue is English, with Dutch subtitles.

Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the all day sew-in -- I just didn't feel up to it.  In fact, I spent the better part of the day in bed.  No, I'm not sick.  Just sickening!

When I did finally become vertical....'round about 4p.m. I did try to put my tulip quilt top together.  I got half the seams together.

It was guild night last night.  For the SECOND month in a row -- I had NOTHING for show & tell.  I offered to show them my scar from my gall bladder surgery in 1990, but this was not met in a very friendly  way.  It had stitches! It was hand sewn!  And dang near vintage! (Lord knows, they aren't making ME anymore....so RARE too!)

Ah....three more days of school, two exams, one month of holidays.  PRICELESS! 

I'm going to an all day sew-in tomorrow. I think I'm going to try to put my tulip bocks together. We'll SEE!  I'll share photos.

I know my blog sucks now. Even DH told me yesterday he's not going to visit anymore.  I've lost my BLOG MOJO!!

I fiddled around for a little while.  It's going to take time to make this "MY" space again!

So, what have I been up to?  Well, I spent all day Friday writing an essay, so I took yesterday completely off, and SEWED!  Can you believe this? 

•  I put the borders on my most recent scrappy quilt
• Sewed the binding on the front of a quilt (needs handstitching on the back yet)
• finished my last blue and yellow tulip block!

It's been an all around weird week.  This winter thing came.  It's awful pretty - but it's pretty awful too!

Two more weeks of classes and then it's exam time!  Then I'll pretty much have a month off to do as I please (yeah, right!).

I'm not exactly sure what happened - - but I'll be rebuilding