SC - Way OT: Need advice to prevent freezing

[Bethany Public Library]

Here's some of my favorite ways to keep warm, esp. at night at events (some
of which are even "historical").

A) Soapstone slab (or try a pizza stone  (which frequently gets tossed when
it's broken.  Recycle it!) or a couple of bricks). It gets warmed next to
the fire, then wrapped in flannel. Put it in your pockets or toss it into
your bed. If you're there cooking, you could always warm your sheets or
blankets with a few hot coals in a covered pot, waved between the cover
before you retire. Be sure to put them outside the tent and back into the
fire pit and tend to the fire if no one else is, before going to sleep,
though.

B) Hot water bottle. Either get a real one, or if you're afraid that you'll
instantly look like a crone to the check-out girl, make one out of a 2 liter
(or smaller) bottle. Fill with warm tap water, cap tightly, toss into your
bed or  hold next to your body. A more historical version would to use a
tightly-sealing crockery or stone bottle, but my theory is that the water is
heavy enough.......  I do this all the time for my kids at events, throwing
a used 16 oz. bottle, filled with hot water from the restroom sink, into
their sleeping bags before they bed down for the night. The heat makes them
sleepy.

C) My mother, who grew up in poor cockney London, used to take freshly
hard-boiled eggs in her pockets to school. They hold their heat for a long
time, and have the added benefit of being edible for lunch, by which time
they've cooled. The same theory was used by my PA Deutsch dad, in the wild
country of Litutz, PA, who used baked potatoes instead....

D) You can buy a really expensive "au natural" hot pad which is made of
corn, beans, rice, or other legumes, but it's easy to make your own. Just
make a small sack and fill with your choice of the above items. The heating
trick: empty them into a pot and place over the fire until very warm, or
microwave for a minute or two to heat (i've been known to use a zip-lock
baggie though you'll have to really watch it). Then pour the beans or rice
or whatever back into the sack, tie it shut, and tuck it into your bodice. I
did this for a breast-cancer patient at one event, since I lived close
nearby, and he began to feel much better. It will last longer if wrapped in
a kitchen or hand towell. The legumes are useless for food purposes after
this, much like beans or rice used as pie weights.

E)If the cloak-without-sewing is your first choice, however, simply take a
large  rectangle of thick cloth (or use an army blanket) and wear it as a
Roman-style cloak or Irish/Celtic Brat. It's historical, it's warm, and it
requires no work at all.

Myself, I'll probably do all of the above this coming weekend. I don't weant
to miss the chance to see who'll be on the throne for Pennsic XXX. And it's
gonna be cold and wet here on the northern East coast of the US.

Cheers

Aoife