$0 no sew comfort bag

I am about to make a confession that seems to baffle many, gentle readers.  Here goes : I am not a huge fan of the summer. Yup I said it. In fact, I would rate summer as my least favorite of all four seasons.
But since the weather does not care about my whims of fancy summer is something that happens every single year. And since it is here I am simply going to make the best of it - or at least make it as bearable as possible.

We have central air conditioning in this house and I am very grateful for it on the days the humidity makes it feel like almost 50*C outside. (And you thought Canadians lived in igloos? Shame on you ;)   At the old house we did not have central air, so every year we would install window unit air conditioners. They sounded like a jet engine starting up and only cooled the room in which they were installed a few degrees.  
 On top of that, two years ago this time I was heavily pregnant with our daughter.   They don't call it "having a bun in the oven" for nothing! Pregnancy makes you HOT!

So to help me beat the heat I made up a few "comfort bags" and stashed them in the freezer.  These, folks are super duper easy to make, even if you're not a pro sewer. Simply sew a tube, and one edge closed.  Fill 1/3 of the way with rice (NOT minute rice!) and stitch the opening closed.  Volia!  This baby can go in the freezer or the microwave.

If you store your comfort bag in the freezer its great for resting your feet on, or laying over your shoulders during the summers heat.  The rice maintains the cool temp for about an hour at a time.  
If you have sore muscles or are feeling cold, take your comfort bag from the freezer and pop it into the microwave for three minutes.  Instant heating bag!

But wait! I promised you a $0 NO SEW comfort bag.  Whats the deal, right?  If you are unable to sew or just do not want to, or if a big comfort bag just wont suit your needs (say you got your wisdom teeth out and just need something cool to hold against your jaw) then THIS is the option for you.

Simply take a sock.  It doesn't have to be a sock you are willing to part with forever because you can wear this sock again once you're done using it for comfort purposes- but it really should be a clean sock.   Make sure its a 100% cotton sock - no nylon dress socks here.

This is how it can be done in 30 seconds flat.

Take your clean sock. Yes, mine is pilling a bit.  Such is the curse of cheap socks.

cheap, pilly socks.  Totally fine for this purpose

 Take your bag of rice.  You will want to add rice to right about "this" point on the sock.

add rice to here

 see?

rice filled sock

 Then tie it up.  You will be tempted to tie the sock closed right near where the rice ends but do not do that,  Its best if the rice has space to move around in there.

tie 'er up!

 Success! You now have a comfort bag ready for the freezer! (I reccomend keeping it stored in the freezer that way it is always cold when you need it to be.  If you need it to be warm a few mins in the microwave will warm it up no problem.  Since it takes longer to cool something in the freezer than heat something in the microwave keep it in the freezer)

Taa-daa!!