ES - Stay Warm at War, or watch out for popsicle toes!

[Vicki Marsh]

Wilim,

In our big green and white tent, Llywelyn, Arnbjorn and I stayed fairly
comfortable with one propane tent heater at Namron Protectorate.  We were
toasty, once we got under the covers.  It was close to freezing, but I'm not
sure how close.

Xene's tips for staying warm:

1)  Sleep off the ground - get a cot or a wooden bed frame.  Even a futon
pad will work.  The ground works as a giant heat-sink, sucking the vital
warmth from your body.  Tarps, blankets, mattresses- anything to get between
you and Mother Earth.

2) Put a real wool blanket underneath your sleeping bag.  Make sure that it
is large enough to reach all the way to the ground from your cot or bed.
This makes a dead air space under the bed and keeps you warmer.

3) If you have a significant other, zip your sleeping bags together and work
on the combined bodily warmth thing.  Once you warm up the popsicle toes,
it's great.

4)  Wear a cap, a knit hat, a fuzzy cap, or even a linen arming coif.
Anything (excluding helms) to keep the heat on your head.

5)  Make sure you have clean, dry socks and underclothes on.  Thermal
underwear and flannel pajamas are really nice.  Then you just put your
costume on over the thermals and stay warm until after breakfast.  Or lunch
on a cold day.

6)  Get a tent potty for those midnight urges.  Keep it clean.

7)  A tent heater with it's own igniter is great.  Same with propane lamps.
The lamps also help dry out and warm up your tents.

8)  If you do leave your bedding uncovered during the day to dry out, make
sure you cover them back up before the sun goes down.  Cold, soggy pillows
are not conducive to sweet dreams.

9)  If all else fails, let the dog and/or kids sleep in bed with you.  It
makes for a tight fit, but, hey!, at least your teeth will stop playing the
Macarena.  Do the words "Three Dog Night" come to mind?

10)  Keep a water bottle and Kleenex nearby.  It doesn't help you stay warm,
but might keep you from having to get up and let all the cold air into you
and your partner's bed.

11)  If you aren't allergic to it, real wool is the greatest for blankets.
Even wet, the wool keeps in bodily warmth.

12) If you can have something hot to drink right before you go to bed, it
helps.  However, see tip #6.

13) If you have a regular, mundane tent try setting up a tarp over the tent.
It keep out more rain, and will help you stay warmer.

14) If you have a large period pavilion, wall off your bedroom area.  You
know all those medieval and renaissance paintings of beds with curtains
around them?  They didn't have central heat, either.


Alrighty, there will be a quiz at the War.


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