The ultimate in microwave heating bags

Warning: I am not using this microwave heating bag in the manner of its intended use. At least I don't think I am, because when Katie gave it to me for Christmas -- and by "gave it to me" I mean "sewed with her own two hands" -- she did not state that it was to be worn as an accessory, like a belt or a nose ring.

This bag that Katie made and filled with rice is U-shaped, to fit around one's neck. She knows that my neck and I often don't see eye to eye, first of all because have you ever tried to see your own neck? But second of all because I want it to just do its job and hold my head propped up above my shoulders and it wants to hurt. Very annoying. So she made the bag, which is of unbleached muslin and the nice flannel slipcover, which is soft and cozy and I heat it up in the microwave for one minute and thirty seconds, take it out and drape it around my neck: HEAVEN. And by "Heaven" I mean that "the holy angels will be passing these things out to all good souls upon their arrival." Because, wow.

I heat this bag up about a thousand times a day and just wear it, as depicted above. I do have to hold my head very straight and maintain excellent posture so that it won't fall off, but that can only be a good thing, right? I particularly like to take it with me in the car, worn under my coat like a football player's padding. This can be tricksy though; I was very embarrassed when I wore it in the van a few days ago and forgot to take it off before I went into the public library. I noticed the clerk eyeing me a bit strangely, but I thought that was because she was wondering why I can't ever manage to return books on time, no matter how frequently the library attempts to keep me in the due-date loop.

Imagine my discomfiture when I returned to the van and realized how odd I must have looked, carrying a bag of rice around my neck like a burro going home from market day in the village.

I must have looked like a major goof. But I was a warm goof, and that's what really matters.



See my related post from December 19, 2009: How to: Make a microwave heating bag