Sick Days
When I was a little girl, five or six years old, I loved being sick. It meant extra special attention, especially from my dad.
We lived in a small town on the Canadian prairies. My dad was the local jeweler and owned a jewelry store. When he came home at lunch, he would sit down beside me as I lay on the sofa, bringing paper doll cutouts bound in a book. It’s fun to imagine him now, stopping at the drugstore on his way home to purchase a book of paper dolls just for me.
Back in the early 1960s, I don’t recall there being perforated edges to punch out the dolls and clothing. Instead, everything was cut by hand, a great sick-day activity that entertained me for hours. It was tedious and oh so creative. I remember having to be extra careful not to cut off the small tabs on the shoulder and arms, as that’s how the clothing attached to the doll.
I also remember a bowl of boiling water with Vicks VapoRub stirred in. My mom would drape a towel over my head and have me breathe in the medicated steam. I’m pretty sure I’d avoid this practice now, opting instead for pure essential oils.
My husband has his own version of being tended to while home sick. Growing up in a two-story house, sick in bed, his mom gave him a bell to ring when he needed her. He caught on fast. Ding-a-ling-a-ling, up she’d come. A few minutes later, ding-a-ling-a-ling again. It didn’t take long before she said, “Give me that bell.”
Different homes, different rituals, but the same thing underneath: being sick as a child meant being looked after, fully and without question. As adults, we mostly have to care for ourselves now. This month’s Guest Creative showed us some ways.
Nourish Your Immune System for the Season Ahead
✨Nance Scott of The Wellbeing Apothecary joined me as September’s Guest Creative, just in time for the arrival of autumn. She demonstrated the method she uses for making elderberry syrup and guided us through simple, hands-on techniques you can use anytime, including thymus tapping and acupressure points for immune and nervous system support (included in the following video and summarized below).
Nance showed us the kind of care I love best: simple enough to do today, and generous enough to carry you through the whole season.✨
The notes that follow were summarized from the Zoom video with the help of AI.
Elderberry Syrup
Nance simmers the berries into a decoction and adds honey once it cools.
2 cups water
1/2 cup dried black elderberries (1 cup if fresh)
1 cinnamon stick (or 1 teaspoon powdered, which leaves a little residue that sinks, so shake the jar)
3 whole cloves (up to 5 if you love them)
Optional: about an inch of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced, or 1 teaspoon powdered
1/2 to 1 cup raw honey, added at the end
Method: Put everything except the honey in a pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes. The liquid cooks down to about a cup. Mash the berries with a wooden spoon, then press everything through a mesh strainer. Let the juice cool for about 10 minutes, until it is warm but no longer hot, then stir in the honey. Nance explained that adding honey while the liquid is still at simmering temperature damages the good qualities of the honey. Pour into a mason jar and keep it in the fridge.
Shopping notes: Look for organic, non-irradiated black elderberries (Sambucus nigra on the label). Nance orders hers online and mentioned Frontier and Purify Life.
A note on the simmer: Undercooked elderberries can upset the stomach, so the full 30 minutes matters.
Storage: With honey, the syrup keeps about 2 months in the fridge, even with the smaller half-cup amount. Without honey, expect about a week, maybe two.
Labels: Nance shared label ideas, from a drawing of berries and leaves to a piece of masking tape with the date. Whatever you choose, write the date you made it. The back of the label can hold the ingredients and dosage.
Dosage (general guidelines from Nance)
Daily support: about 1 tablespoon for adults, 1 teaspoon for kids. Take it straight, or stir it into juice or tea.
When something is coming on: about 1 tablespoon every 4 hours for adults, 1 teaspoon for kids.
Babies under one year: none, because of the raw honey.
Why each ingredient is there
Elderberry: Nance explained that compounds in the berries coat viruses so they can’t attach to cells and replicate. Other compounds help the body build antibodies. It is also an antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory. She said it can shorten a cold or flu by about four days, depending on how early you start.
Cinnamon: warming, anti-inflammatory, and soothing for a dry cough.
Cloves: help with sore throats and coughs, and offer some pain relief.
Ginger: warming, eases spasming coughs, and helps loosen mucus.
Honey: antimicrobial, soothing for the throat, a natural preservative, and it makes the syrup taste good.
Black pepper: some people add it to boost the other ingredients. Nance skips it for the flavour.
Three practices to go with it
Thymus tapping. The thymus sits just under the breastbone. Make a light fist (or use your fingertips) and tap while you take three slow breaths in and three out, for about 30 seconds. Feel your feet on the floor and close your eyes if you can. Nance does this every morning. She described it as a steady, settled kind of energy that calms the nervous system and supports immunity.
LI11. Bend your arm and find the crease at the elbow. The point is in the soft, fleshy space at the outer end of that crease. Press gently or make small circles for 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Nance uses it for general immune support and inflammation.
LU7. Interlock your thumbs and let your index finger rest on the ridge of the other wrist, or find the indent at the base of your thumb and measure two finger widths up. The point sits between two tendons. Nance suggests it for a nagging cough or a stiff neck at the start of a cold.
For all acupressure, keep the pressure gentle and breathe slowly. If a spot feels tender, Nance said that can be a sign of built-up inflammation. Go easy, do 30 seconds, and come back in an hour. A yawn is a good sign that your vagus nerve is relaxing.
Questions from the group
I’m sensitive to sugar. Do I need a full cup of honey?
No. Half a cup still gives you about two months in the fridge, and the syrup will be a little thinner, more like juice. You can also use agave or maple syrup, or leave the sweetener out and use it within a week or so.
Is elderberry only for colds and flu, and only in winter? Do I need to take it every day?
It works against viruses in general. Nance takes it daily when exposure is high, like back-to-school season, and eases off in spring, then increases it again if she has been around someone sick. It is also an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, though she said other herbs work better for allergies. She often drinks a tea that combines elderberry and echinacea.
Can I use monk fruit?
Yes, but it's very potent, so the amounts differ a lot from honey, and each brand has a different ratio. Add it a little at a time and test as you go until it tastes right to you. Monk fruit isn't a preservative the way honey is, so the syrup will last 10 to 14 days in the fridge. For longer storage, or if you're skipping sweetener altogether, pour it into ice cube trays, freeze, then move the cubes to an airtight freezer bag. It should keep about 6 months that way, and you can pull a cube whenever you need one.
What kind of honey?
Raw, ideally local and organic. If you can’t find the ideal one, use what you have. Nance doesn’t want anyone skipping the syrup over it.
Where do you buy elderberries?
Online. Local health food stores sometimes carry them.
Does it need to steep before I use it?
No. The 30-minute simmer makes it ready right away, so you can take your first serving while you bottle the rest.
A Barn Warming Celebration
The Guest Creative Series in October will be included in a very special gathering I’m hosting. One visit, three rooms, the whole nest on full display: a stillness moment in the Garden, a hands-on session in the Creativity Studio with our guest creative, and connection at The Kitchen Table.
Join me on Saturday, October 17, 2026, from 10:30 am – 1:00 pm (MT), via Zoom.
Watch for more announcements coming soon.
I hope you enjoyed another peek inside The Creativity Studio. See you next month.
Warmly,
Kathy
A little about me
Hi, I’m Kathy. A guide, a gatherer, a maker of sacred space, and a woman who found her way home to herself after years of putting everyone else first.
For years, I wore many hats at once. Single parent, community manager in a role I was promoted into before I believed I deserved it, event organizer. And later, a family caregiver. Learning all over again how to give without losing yourself in the giving. Caring for everyone, in every direction, all at the same time. What I had to learn, slowly and imperfectly, was that I mattered too. What I found on the other side of that, through stillness, creativity, and the women who gathered around my table, became everything I now offer.
There’s a place at the table with your name on it.
I’m excited to share a glimpse of The Hummingbird Nest. Here’s a snapshot of the home page. Come on in for a visit.
I'm a little envious that your childhood sick days were somewhat sweet memories, 😂.
Thanks for the elderberry syrup suggestion.
I used to love cutting out the clothes and playing with paper dolls. Thanks for helping me bring back that memory. I always wished I had clothes that looked like theirs.