The last event I did in Star Wars costume was 12-21-14. I was the event coordinator for a Pops Orchestra event at the Rialto Theater in Joliet. I wish I could have actually seen the performance as I love to listen to Star Wars Music Live. It was also difficult to get members to participate in costume. I am ever grateful to the few people that did show up. We took a LOT of photos and some of the people coming to the performance were actually there to see us.In December, I became the LMO of the Rebel Legion and that has been a very time consuming task. I usually spend about 2 hours a day (sometimes MANY more hours) on that endeavor.
The weather has been brutal again this last couple months. Snow and cold are the watchwords of the days. There have been a couple significant snowfalls and the temperatures have dipped to record levels on some days. There have been few days in the past two months where the temperature has been above freezing. When this kind of weather drags on for months, it really starts to get to you. Couple the bad weather with the fact that I have been really sick since the beginning of December, and you have a very un-fun period of time.
I have done several sewing projects for people over the past couple months and also one for myself. I decided to get serious about dying fabric and went through a really time consuming project of removing the color from my tan Yavin Tech jumpsuit and then re-dying it. The color came out awful so before it dried, I re-dyed it again in the original color I dyed it in the first place. What a waste of time and materials. I also sewed a tusken outer robe for a friend using the drop cloth that he gave me. Wow...is that stuff tough to work with.
I also started a very large project with the U of I Extension Master Naturalist Program and have been spending a LOT of time doing research on that. The program is with regard to the Monarch butterflies and their disappearance in our landscape. There are several reasons why this is happening, but our group will address the one thing we CAN change, and that is the loss of milkweed plants due to agricultural practices. Where we can 't do anything about agriculture, we can urge homeowners, business and civic concerns to add milkweed into their plantings. I am working on a brochure and flyer for the group and have been active buying milkweed plants and also starting seed. This will be a long term commitment.
On January 24th, I hosted the 22nd Annual "Frozen Butts" workday at Brightway Prairie/HCB. It was one of the few nice days we experienced the past two months. The temperature went above freezing and the day turned out really nice. 
As always, we got a LOT done and had a great time. After the workday I hosted the Pot Luck at my house. This year I had purchased tables rather than rent them and with another donated table and some donated chairs, we got by fine in the small confines of my house. As always, the food was great. I really enjoy this workday even thought it is a LOT of work for me. I baked cookies for the 10:00 AM break and made a whole bunch of pulled pork and salads for the pot luck. Then there is the set up and clean up of the Pot Luck. 
One of the biggest projects I have been working on for the past two months is a Hoth set piece for the Joliet Library Star Wars day and the Discovery World event in October. It is a re-creation of the vidscreen at Echo Base. I have spent a lot of time on finding and buying materials and then set out to start the construction. The first part I got done was the vidscreen itself. I had to cut a sheet of plexiglass and then take pvc pipes, cut channels in them for the sides and top of the plexi. Once that was done I started work on the two legs of the piece. I don't have a lot of fancy tools so doing a lot of the work was challenging. Crix Turner stopped by after I had some of this done. Crix is a carpenter and member of Nar Shaddaa Base and made up the blueprint and built the top of the console of the set piece. Wow, he did a GREAT job and I could not have done the project without him. The piece is now pretty much fully constructed. I have to finish putting the outer "skins" on all the pieces and then the mind numbing part of sanding and painting. I have several thoughts on the whole painting thing, I am just not sure what direction to go. For now I will continue to work on the legs.
