Hi Friends! It's been a SUPER BUSY month and you'll see why in the video. Please give me a few hours of grace to email you your grocery guide!!!! I'll have it completed by noon EST tomorrow (Thursday, June 27th). xoxo, Cassandra
Thank you for all your hard work and helping all of us strangers out! I greatly appreciate your love and care and teaching! I truly hope that you have all the lovely things your heart desires and will keep you and your sweet family in my prayers!
I know well the situation you were in with your dog. A year and a half ago, my male dog got into some peanuts and came down with a deadly kidney stone. My vet wouldn’t operate on it, he said I had to go to the animal hospital. The vets there said they would operate or put him down for me. They charged $4000.00 for the operation, which was bad enough, but then she gave me the most ridiculous advice on how to care for him. My husband and oldest son were prone to getting kidney stones which are caused by oxalates found in plants, like spinach and well peanuts. She told me the disease was genetic, that his stomach acid was too high, and to put him on a vegan diet. So, I challenged the vet to produce a single legit study that could conclude that it would work, and no studies were produced. I did the opposite of her advice and put him on a carnivore elimination diet, to see what he could eat and not eat. So, I am happy to report a year and a half later, the dog made a full recovery, and he just doesn’t eat food with oxalates in it.
Hello friend! As I was reading your story, my heart went out to you, your pup and family. The combination of grief, shock from the price tag and being presented with the idea of putting your dog down is intense. I see that you quickly went into action and, through second opinion from books/research/your own family history came up with a plan that indeed worked. That's the frustrating part about all of this---it's not that I don't appreciate what vets have to offer, or that I wouldn't pay for more severe treatments, but too many folks have household dogs/cats that inevitably encounter common scenarios and how have we gotten to a point where "solutions" are hundreds and thousands of dollars for the average consumer? I am so encouraged by your story and I appreciate you for sharing this so that others may be encouraged too!
Cassandra. I am blessed to be the one that was able to take care of my Nana. She taught me that taking care of the elderly is such fun! At near 40 I changed my career to geriatric care. Then when my Daddy’s health failed my mom asked if I’d help her. It was a blessing to take care of Daddy. He passed at home in my dear Momma’s arms. Now I get to take care of my Momma. The stories I have heard from my Nana, Daddy and Momma, the things I’ve learned from them. I’ve taken care of many elderly and loved sharing time with them and listening and learning all they would give me. But when you hear from your own it means something different. But I have loved and been blessed by so many. I praise God for the gifts He has given me.
Hi Kate. You, my friend, have experienced the most meaningful and richest parts of life that so many never have a chance to, or realize too late that the opportunity to do so slid right through their hands. Even now, I have shared with my parents that will absolutely be their care takers at all costs. You are right, to hear it from your own is priceless. Goodness, some stories I've heard from them or shared by other family members multiple times, while others I'm just hearing in conversations that seem to just pop up in the oddest of times/places. I'm so glad God nudged me to return to Chestertown because for a stolen moment I thought, 'Mom will want to get away, go to a part of MD we haven't been to'-but let me tell you, it was the first time she was chatty and smiling again the few visits we've made since Nana passed. These moments are my most prized holdings and with happy tears, I am so glad to hear you realize how special they are too!
@@BecomingaFarmGirl you are blessed to have two parents that are great storytellers. Always make time to listen to them. If they allow you to video them (to she shared on your channel or not-their choice), write letters to them by hand while they are in transition to move back to MD if that’s still a thing. Encourage them to write back. Yes calls are great and lovely to hear their voice (and now see their faces, but nothing holds a candle to their penmanship, their words, their insights on paper thar can be treasured for years to come. I love the hand written recipes of my Nana and Grammie. I love the LP record of my Papa that my nephew plays on his phonograph. I love the pictures that my Daddy took while he was a wedding photographer and he had to finish the roll on us kids so he could develop the roll of film. Mom made sure he had film in his camera for holidays, family reunions, camping trips, day trips, improvements on the house and all the precious moments that God grants us. Your history is held in your parents. Ask about their parents, grandparents, childhood, the good parts the bad parts the things that plowed the path to you being who you are. You have a lovely family. Keep listening.
I was a military wife on 9/11 and life was never the same again. Our kids were 2 & almost 5. They don't remember the before times. He's a 100% permanently disabled vet.
I am so sorry to hear your husband is disabled. May God supply abundantly the resources you need. And comfort you in difficult times. My daughter has severe medical conditions. The medical journey is hard. Again I am sorry. I have so much gratitude for those who serve our country in the military and their families who support them. Thank you. Blessings and peace on you and your family
Hello Lisa. As a military wife, I don't have to know you, to "know you" and the incredible sacrifice both you and your service member (along with your children) have made and continue to make. Firstly, I can't imagine how watching this brought back a range of emotion, but please know that my heart was in sharing that too many folks are either forgetting or never even realizing in the first place this moment in American history. As a public school educator, I have first hand experience that too many of our young folks, heck even young teachers are so disconnected from this and other historical moments and so I often like to share moments and places that I fear are becoming overlooked. You are truly a woman of incredible strength and courage, and I pray that you have and will continue to know that God sees and cares for you, even on the hardest of days. I do not take it lightly that you shared this comment for me and others. Love and prayers to you and your family.
As a fellow 100% injured vets S/O I just wanted to send a huge hug and tell you we all appreciate your families struggle and you're not alone. The cost of the Afghanistan war (O.E.F.) will never end for our family.
How special to be able to travel first with your mom, soaking up the history she was able to share with you. Then to travel with your immediate family to New York. You have a beautiful relationship with your family that spills over into how you interact and even look at each other. It’s simply precious. Good to see you sweet Cassandra, blessing on you as you continue to expand the apothecary to include Thor!
I would so love to go back in time and have a vet like James Herriot! I had to take my dog to the vet and spent $680 for multiple X-rays, tests and medications. It was a very rough month for us! Kudos to you for thinking of grandparents and what they would do! That pet bag is adorable and what a great idea! I’m going to make one of those. I find if I think outside the box and remember my dad caring for animals, with common sense and no internet back then, he relied on encyclopedias and word of mouth from farmers! Thor is lucky to have you for his mama! Sending you hugs!
same - I have extra organic eggs and fruits and nuts - I would trade hundreds of dollars worth so the whole staff has something - but nope - we can't do that anymore .... so my dogs only get emergency care :(
Getting a dog during Covid changed my husband and I’s lives. I know how you felt. Our Pug Emma is our Princess. We focused so much on her that it eased the world situation around us. At this moment, she is snoring in my lap as I watched this video.
Linda here…excellent video, especially the part about your pet issues and you learning more natural ways to care for him. Please show yourself some Grace with this. You’re “waking up” on your own timeline. I will share with you that my rescue dog came to me 7 years ago when she was only 12 weeks old. The “rescue” insisted on giving her many meds that I normally would have declined, but they wouldn’t release her to me without those meds. Well, when she turned 1 she started with very severe and frequent seizures that were so bad she was put on 2 meds at maximum doses and was still having frequent, severe seizures. This required frequent labs to check her liver/kidneys. We decided to forgo the labs because she couldn’t live without the meds. All this was happening while sailing through the Caribbean over many years and involving multiple vets. And she was eating kibble almost exclusively because it was readily available on all the islands. I’m a retired nurse/educator and decided there had to be a better way after a vet discussed euthanasia. I found through researching that keto diet could successfully treat seizures in people. I ditched the kibble and started cooking. Her seizures slowly stopped by the end of 2 weeks. Then I started adding coconut oil for the ketones. Most recently we switched to MCT oil for the medium chain triglycerides. After the first initial 2 weeks I started tapering her meds down and have managed to reduce them by 2/3 total. She still has some seizures, but they’re very infrequent and much milder. I follow Dr Judy Morgan and Dr Karen Becker. Also, the Homegrown Herbalist. Feel free to hit me up with questions or for information and I’d be happy to look around for you. I have no financial interests. Happy Awakening!
Excellent information & way to go on taking your furbabys needs & health into your own hands. The vets & herbalist that you follow are superb. I too, follow them & much of their advice. I adore these 2 vets & Dr Andrew Jones. They are the best in the world in my opinion. What they do, what they share so freely makes them the Ultimate Vets! Homegrown Herbalist is phenomenal. A vet told us we would only be able to make our baby girl comfortable when she was dx with 2 cancers & other health issues. I refused to believe that vet. I immediately found a holistic vet and I'm grateful to report 3 yrs later. My baby is doing great! She had a heart murmur that can no longer be detected. It was a 3/5 then. Holistic Vet started her on Standard Process Canine Cardiac. I will forever swear by that now. We changed her diet and I've cooked for her every since. She takes mushrooms as well. What these common vets are and have been doing to our animals & us as pet parents should be a crime. I've been trying to come up with a way to gather people to help me fight these ways of theirs. I hope we as a whole, as pet parents & advocates can one day put a stop to what they're doing. Bless you and your sweet baby. ❤❤❤ keep up the great work.
Oh Cass, I have so much to say after watching this month's Pantry Chat and updates! First, yes it is such a gift to just share time with loved ones! Make memories and cherish the time spent, for certain! One of my fondest memories with my Dad, before he became too ill to travel, was us meeting with one of my sons at MEPS for his swearing in ceremony. My Dad was a Marine who served 3 voluntary tours in Vietnam, and I am a Desert Storm USAF Veteran, so getting to witness our next generation taking his oath of service, as well as the conversations on the round-trip drive is an experience I will always treasure. Secondly, the vet visit - YES to all the things! We have three cats in our household, and previous to this year, we had their yearly visits spaced out to mitigate the financial blow of exams, vaccinations, and tests. However, we had what can only be called "the perfect storm" of annual exam for one, high concern of a skin issue for another, and then DAYS later the third one had a behavioral concern that could have been a sign of dangerous urinary tract issue. So, over less than 2 weeks, we dropped about 2/3 of a mortgage payment on exams, tests, vaccinations, and medications for our 3 cats. We love our vet practice, as there are three marvelous vets on staff there and some really wonderful vet techs, so I'm not bashing them AT ALL. But I nearly fainted when they gave me the total each time. And in about 2 weeks, two of the three will be returning for follow-up visits to ensure everything is getting remedied. Costs are so high - it's not the veterinarian trying to gouge people or anything - their expenses have risen, too. And just a note - we aren't ones who run to the doctor at the first sign of a sniffle and are not ones to run to the vet at the first symptom of our cats seeming a little off their game or something - so having a home pet apothocary is a necessary thing if we want to keep expenses down. I wanted to interject that my memory is not what is used to be, but you said "aspirin" but showed "acetaminophen" - and they are not interchangable for pets. I know acetaminophen is fatal for cats, and generally not recommended for dogs except under careful monitoring by a veterinarian because of liver toxicity. I believe low-dose aspirin might be safer, BUT I'm just relying on my memory at the moment... Anyways - I adore your chats and am so happy you have had so much wonderful stuff happening since we last saw you. Many hugs from NW GA!
I just started looking into herbs for my household, but for some reason I NEVER thought of herbs for my cat. She is experiencing a similar situation to Thor!! Vet couldn't figure out why, so she either has to get a shot or cortizone cream which does not help long term. I'm going to see what is safe to grow for her that might ease her skin issue now. She looves eating what I grow anyway, might as well make it cat friendly. 😂 Glad you have a lovely family trip and Thor is on the mend, too!
Hello Cassandra. So glad to see you. My eyes are glazing over with your first two recipes. Oh would you be proud this week. Not one but two new grocery stores had huge grand openings. Dallas, Joe V's oh my word huge chicken leg quarters .28 cents a pound. Pork butt .65 cents a pound. Sweet potatoes .20 cents a pound. 3 pound bag of apples .78 cents bag. garlic .10 cents a head. fresh pineapple .78 cents. The store was packed with everything to purchase and lot of people. 18 check stands all open and it was fast to check out. My husband and I processed meat and chicken and I just had to freeze it. Way to hot to can 102 degrees. I did cook half of a pork butt in my 8 quart crock pot (the lid almost would not close). Pulling it off the bone and adding BBQ sauce and freezing in quart freezer bags for later. If that wasn't enough Today a HUGE HEB grocery opened in Mansfield, Texas. Sales on meat and fresh produce were amazing. I did not go today because at 6am when store opened there were no parking spaces. The news coverage was crazy. It's like a Buccees with a drive thru BBQ restaurant on the side. ha ha.
Lady, you are BLESSED! All those deals are just incredible and I am so encouraged that you shared this with me and the many others that will see that the deals are still out there! My husband's family was stationed in TX and he would talk about HEB all the time (I always forget if you say the letters or pronounce it as a word).
Hey, Cass! I love this varied video! A smorgasbord of your life! I love every part of it. I’m just heading off to an appointment now but I had to nip in and say one (more) thing. I had to put my dear Cairn, Smokey Joe down two years ago because of pain from arthritis and dementia. He was blind, deaf and very frustrated. It hurt more to watch him go through the pains and frustrations than the pain of no Smokey Joe. 😢 We went 5 months and none of the dog jobs were getting done. Then through a customer and dear friend, she got us in touch with a darling little Yorkie. She was failure to thrive and in the year+ since we’ve had her she had not only thrived but excelled. Between her first visit with her doggie doctor and her second just a few weeks ago her doctor couldn’t believe the difference in her. When I got her, I feared if I didn’t handle her gingerly then she would pop a bone or joint. Now she’s so strong! The food she was on when I got her is very recommended by veterinarians. It is what I fed Smokey Joe. But she did not like it. Then I learned that the food we give out loved pets is a carcinogen because of the way it is processed. Imagine! So then I took to researching what dogs can and should and what they can’t and shouldn’t. I now make my little girl’s food from what I learned. Do you know that food for cats and dogs has only been around for about 100 years? Before that we fed them what we eat. I’m sticking to making this little girl’s food and snacks. She loves her snacks and likes 95% of the food I feed her at meals. She doesn’t have a sensitive stomach anymore and when she throws up it’s not because of something we fed her. Love all you do, Cassandra! Keep going!
I tell you, every time I watch your channel you have the most awesome recipes and the food looks so delicious and you have very valuable information now I have to admit I have never grown vegetables or herbs but i really want to start 👍🏽🙂
Omg!!! Blueberry BBQ sauce! I literally just made some not that long ago!!! I can't eat nightshades (tomatoes, 🥔, eggplant, peppers....all the good stuff!) So fruit BBQ sauces for the WIN for me!!! I also tried (I know your mouth will water for this) mango ginger 🫚 BBQ sauce and a Mixed Berry BBQ sauce. I want to do blackberry next and I think a cranberry one would be decadent! I used alot of ingredients for my BBQ sauce....i went a lil crazy but its worth it!!! Mmmm.....Thanks for sharing your wisdom! Loving it! 🙌 blessings!
I went through something similar in the last year. Last fall I drove from New Hampshire to New York and back to rescue a German short haired pointer mix puppy. I had been looking for a female for over two years and was so excited! I am of an age where she will be my last dog so i wanted the "right" fit. I am also a very, very experienced dog/animal owner and learned a lot of home treatments growing up in the country, but have gotten away from them due to time and physical constraints. My dogs and cats always lived to be at least 18 and we rarely went to the vet beyond the annual check up and usual shots. I have to say, I was astonished at the vet bills this time! The trip to get Sophie, plus the adoption fees and required vaccinations, was almost $2k..then as she grew, she became intermittently lame and got recurring rashes. Pursuing that was almost $2k with no real resolution. Then after about 4 months with her, I woke up in the morning to find her having a massive seizure. She couldn't even walk for over 24 hours. That was another $2k, with no answer. Then she tore out a nail and broke a toe. That was almost $1500. I haven't even had her for a year and the only thing the vet resolved was the broken toe. I left those visits frustrated and shocked. I can afford those bills, but barely, and regardless, I don't think anyone should be expected to pay that because as you say, most people would not be able to afford or justify that kind of expense for a pet. At this rate, animal ownership will dwindle to nothing and it's a shame. Prior to this new puppy, I had two certified German shepherd protection dogs. They passed within a few months of each other. In the two years since, something - not just the prices- radically changed at my vet. I had no idea vet clinics were going corporate. That sure explains a lot! (Thanks for the insight!). I made the switch to home remedies too after my last visit. Fortunately I have been a practicing home herbalist for over 20 years so it's an easy segue, but the resources you found sound great and I plan to pick them up, so thank you for that too! As an easy starting place for beginners: an alchohol based garlic tincture makes an amazing wound healing wash. I have seen it heal a serious skill saw wound overnight; comfrey as an herbal mash or salve will draw out stings and bites and if used promptly can almost entirely prevent reactions. I have a medical condition that can send me into anaphylaxis if i am stung, but it was diagnosed very late (so no eppi pen). Twice i have been stung by wasps while gardening and twice a fresh comfrey mash prevented almost any reaction..even when I was bitten while pregnant. The salve is also wonderful for the skin (it's also incredibly easy to grow). Aloe is a great all purpose remedy that can be grown as a houseplant; but the most miraculous and least talked about treatment for topical infections and wounds is an alcohol tincture of hops. I make it by the gallon because it's become so highly sought after by my friends. It saved a friend's finger from being amputated after antibiotics failed to cure a staph infection, and yes, it cured another friend's dog's chronic , bleeding abscesses after nearly a year of failed vet treatments. There are university studies that prove hops is 98% effective against staph. I have two friends who both lost their only brothers to staph. My husband was in the hospital for 6 weeks with a staph infection and nearly died and I acquired it after an emergency surgery during the pandemic. After 3 weeks of ineffective antibiotic treatments at home, and a persistent 103 degree temp, the docs wanted to hospitalize me. But I told them to give me 1 more week, during which time I stopped the meds and switched to my hops solution. The fever resolved in a day and the infection was gone (without recurring), in four. I am neither a dr. Or a professional herbal clinician, so do your own research, but in my experience, this stuff works and these are the treatments i would not be without. I so appreciate Cassandra for her thorough and systematic approach to acquiring new skills and sharing her journey of continuous learning with us and I hope this (long) post is helpful to all us kindred spirits!
Everything looks delicious! I just made eggplant lasagna and zucchini boats last week, the zucchini is basically enchilada ingredients and the inside of the zucchini stuck in the canoed out zucchini. I’m trying your blueberry bbq sauce. I have some store bought in the pantry so I don’t know why it never occurred to me to make it. Have a great week. Glad to see you back.
I get it. I paid over $700 in a 3 week span for treatment, and meds for my 9 year old bulldog fur baby for her to pass away from a heart attack as I rushed her to the vet. She was otherwise healthy. She had a checkup in those 3 weeks. She came down with skin issues as well so I took her back to the vet. I think the meds they prescribed is what took her from me. It’s been 6 month. I also had a homemade wellness bag for my girl. My Vera Bradley dig bag was a gift. I knew what you purchased was a VB bag.😉 Do what you need to do because the fees the Vet charges are outrageous! Another wonderful pantry chat. Thank you for sharing.😊🐶🫶🏽
Haha, yes, I do have a bit of sass, but its all with good intent! I said, "girl, leave that in there!" Thank you for the kind words, I appreciate it so much!
Cassandra, Thank you for sharing the recipes. A B&B mothers' Day trip is an EXCELLENT idea. No crowds. No noise. You are very generous taking the time to make these presentations. I appreciate you and your efforts.
Love, love , love Dr Jones! I love the vet bag what a great idea. My vet clinic is a small town, 2 female vets, one is also in the Army reserve and gets deployed occasionally. No corporation here blessed to live in the middle of nowhere.
My service dog got to where her back down by the tail smelled horrible and she was scratching herself raw. The vet prescribed antibiotics and an anti fungal tablet. It worked and cleared it up but came back a month later. I did my own research and started rubbing the areas with coconut oil. It worked way better than the drugs.
Amen, Mary! This is what I'm talking about. Like you, I tried the antibiotic/antifungal routine twice and I said to myself, for what should be a lower level health concern, there's got to be an affordable alternative. The OTC benadryl, coconut oil, a bit of comfrey salve and a twice daily nettles routine has restored Thor's coat (the hair is of course still growing in but you can feel his coat and its smooth, bite/bump free). If you and I hadn't explored something different, we'd both be out of hundreds if not thousands of dollars. It literally pays to do a bit of research on your own/ask around/get a second, third or fourth opinion.
Oh your Panna cotta looks delicious and the Blue Berry BBQ sauce, oh my how did this taste? Delicious. I'm sure. Thank you for the beautiful story of your Mother. So glad you had this wonderful weekend memory. Wow our parents are a wealth of knowledge. We have a cat. Vet bill for a rabies shot ( you must check weight and feel her body) was $185. They didn't even check her ears. Thank you for sharing Thor's kit. You are the doctor now. Cassandra it is not the medical facility/doctor's or vet's goal to heal you but to prescribe medicine, testing and administer vaccines. My last "real doctor" retired 20 years ago. 20 years ago my annual physical consisted of a total skin exam (I'm a redhead) from head to toe. Doctor noted any moles or large freckles and would compare on my next visit. Eyes, ears, nose, throat and your nails. Mammogram, pelvic and blood work up. Today if I am lucky 5 minutes for a physical. Ask about your diet and exercise then weight. Take your blood pressure, ck your eyes and ears and then you go downstairs to lab for blood work. The corporate medical machine allows 7 minutes per patient. It is a shame. You got me on a roll. Have a great week. Thanks for the video.
Trista! Always good to see you friend! It's been a busy month of activity with family and friends so I didn't have as much editing time, but thank you so much for thinking of me!!
The World Trade Center Memorial is breathtaking and humbling! I was there at night! Stunning!! My daughter lives in New York and Times Square is one of her favorite places! And so glad you have taken the path to wellness for Thor! And that he's doing well!!🙂
I''m afraid to admit that I'm just realizing the important of probiotics for our dogs gut health too! You are so right. I freeze plain kefir and greek yogurt in ice cube trays and he's been loving the treat :)
With regards to the vet and the "we'll see if this works" but no real answers approach...my dad said something to me once that has a great deal of wisdom in it when faced with this (people, pets, car house, etc) He said, "if your car is acting up and the mechanic said they'll remove the muffler to see if that helps... would you do it? Or would you leave and look for your own answers?" This has worked in so many situations and saved me from outrageous bills, but also given me the courage to advocate for myself and say "no" in a world where we're told dr's/vets know best. Not to say there isn't a place for what they offer, but too often it's them giving you their opinion and basically pressuring you to decide right now with no time to process what the outcome may be. Glad you discovered some resources to help you feel empowered
Oh I’ve got to make that blueberry bbq sauce! Glad you’re back 💜 Yeah I remember watching The Lion King as a late birthday present when it first came out! It was one of my favorites!
That bnb is gorgeous! You know how much I adore your family and seeing your dad with Thor was heartwarming. It is wonderful to share those memories with your mom and I’m so glad you were able to do that.
I love you Cas, I'm right here learning with you!! ❤🙏 and yes, realizing the medical industry is a BUSINESS FIRST is a huge eye opener. God bless you and your family beloved!! Your trip looked like so much fun and brought tears to my eyes. 🙏❤️
Thank you for sharing those precious moments with your family, This video reminded me of the importance of spending time with family and documenting their stories.
LOVE your channel! I recall coming home from dropping my husband off at work and hearing about the first plane... then SEEING the second hit. Couldn't watch the news for YEARS without hyperventilating because of it.
Aww, thank you. I am SO NOT the best at lighting or sound, so I figured why not try something different. My kitchen/second floor doesn't get much natural light so its always been tricky for me. I'll stick with this for a while!
This thor story sounds very similar to my dog just all the sudden allergies! Grains any grains. I lost her last year, had her for 14 years. To watch her go out the way she did hurts til this day. Lots of money, lots of tears. Great video!
Oh friend, I am so sorry to hear this. Our furbabies are family and I had been so torn about seeing his skin condition and the frustration over the piling vet costs for something I had initially figured would be routine enough to address. I hope to get 14 years with my beloved Thor. While I'd like to think we manage our money well, I'd be willing to go to the poor house for Thor and the thing is, cooperations know this. While I understand pet owners must be aware that there are associated costs---the sticking point for me was that allergies shouldn't be this pricey. I hope to be on a path that will gibe him comfort as we enter into his elder years. Thank you for sharing about your pup.
Oh yeah! Now this is going to be a GREAT lasagna! Ooo, my mouth is already watering! You know, you make cooking look fun again. I have to say, I sure miss my strawberry crepes with whip cream. Thanks for this reminder.
I truly enjoy all your videos and tips. I probably enjoy all your moments with your family the most. You are truly a loving and kind daughter to your parents and they are indeed lucky to have you in their lives. You’re a ray of sunshine!
Hi friend! Thank you for such kind words about my folks! Any time I get to see them is just precious. We packed a lot into their week long stay and dad will be up next month!
I want to be like you and have an apothecary, as well! I’m trying to eliminate all processed food and get us eating healthier! Love the meals at the beginning! I’m definitely making those! Love your trip with your mom! So beautiful! What a fun family trip for you and your family! How exciting to go to New York and to a Broadway show! We love the Lion King, it was my oldest daughter’s favorite when it came out! I want to visit the Twin Towers memorial one day. I remember that day and everything I saw. I will never forget.
Cassandra, thank you so much for these videos. They are such a joy. Your family is wonderful and your positive and encouraging spirit is infectious. The recipes and knowledge are amazing. All the blessings to you, your family. Monica, you look fantastic, enjoy your beautiful bundle of joy. I pray you have a safe and happy labour. Blessings to you and your family. Love from the UK 🇬🇧 ❤
Cassandra, I agree with many of the issues that you outlined with the vet industry. I started using natural remedies for my poodles years ago. My oldest poodle is approaching 18. I was lucky to have an older vet and did lots of research. In my opinion, the (first) puppy shots are fine, as long as they are not too early. Most shots after that are not helping the animals in the long run. Money makers for vets. Depending upon how the dog lives, inside, outside, etc... There's alot of herbal remedies for your dog. I like buying from nutricargo and piping rock. A balanced homemade meal, some raw is important as is fresh air and exercise. I have an apothecary cabinet filled with remedies for myself and my animals. Every day, I learn something new that is safe for them and myself. Love your videos. You and I have so much in common it's always nice to watch you discover more.
We learned that 1/2 a benadryl for my kittie's seasonal allergies works . He was having trouble with constipation, his poops or lack of were costing in the $300 range. Well , while I was chatting with another vet she mentioned that she gives her cat 1/2 a teaspoon metamucil with his wet food every morning! Problem solved.
Exactly! It unbelievable that you can’t get a simple, honest answer like that from (some) vets these days. Instead you want to charge me insane amounts for basically the same thing or something worse. I know exactly the relief knowing you had a workaround brought. Our furbabies are so precious to us!
@@BecomingaFarmGirl I've had the same vet for the various pups I've had for the last 25 years. Honestly she had become like a friend. I'd run into her at the local farmers market, Costco etc etc. She and her husband were fresh out of veterinary school and with the help of her parents were able to open their own small practice in the town I live. I was one of her 1st clients. In the beginning she use to be very conscience about over medicating my dogs and always gave honest information about the OTC medications I myself could purchase oppose to a script she could write for the same stuff but at 2 to 3 times the cost. She wasn't a big fan of script dog foods and preferred to encourage wholesome fresh prepared foods (think The Farmers Dog or Ollie's) Flash forward to now...she and her husband purchased a very expensive plot of land and had a state of the art "veterinary center/boarding/grooming BUSINESS" constructed from the ground up. After a couple years they purchased a second location in a near by city, and a year later bought out another vets business in yet another city. I knew things were gonna change after the 1st new building but never expected the complete change of philosophies in her care of animals. Now when you walk into her place you're always gonna wait for a very long time. Lining the walls are endless high end prescription diet dog foods and countless other products. What did it for me was when "they" started what they call a mandatory annual $100 "wellness check". The only reason I was excluded was because I balked at the bs charge. She knows I take better care of my dogs than I at times do myself. Sadly its not just the big corporations with their hand in the cookie jar. It's even some small town vets who put profits over beloved family pets. Needless to say I'm currently looking for a new vet with the values she use to have. They've become a thing of the past!
First I want to thank you for always sharing with us. I love your videos and amazing you are. Our dog is a westie who sees to get some kind of itch or hot spot and my mom a uses epsom salt in his bath. She said read on chamomile and mint she seeps in boiling water then cooled to make a nice spray. She says read up for him first. Works great on our dog.
Cassandra, new viewer here, found you for your dehydrating content. You have such a beautiful smile! You're teeth are seemingly in perfect health Such a natural beauty, and smart, detail oriented and great communication, lucky husband!
Hi, Cassandra! Happy, happy summer break! You made it and so did I! Making those summer produce meals is a treat as there is more time to do so- at least for me. :) I'm working my way through your video and love the historic B&B where you and your mom stayed! While I missed you, I went back and watched last year's June and July pantry talks and have done better "scooping" meat and produce deals. Got Honey Crisp apples today for 77 cents a pound. Will make those into apple pie filling as last school year we enjoyed a pie every now and again. Apple was a favorite. Also working on scoring on meat deals. I can those up too and am focusing on meals in a jar. I'm loving these relaxing days, soaking it up. My goals are simple this summer: stock up, can it up, and clear out what we don't need. Enjoy!
So good to see you! I’m happy for you that you got to spend precious time with your family! You are so correct about the veterinarians it’s become big business. Thank you for a fantastic video❤
I really enjoyed seeing the time with your family. I've been to Chestertown a few times (mostly just a friend's house for outdoorsy fun), and it is such a cute little town. Your dad with Thor is just adorable. I didn't spend a lot of time at the Twin Towers memorial the last time I was in NYC (it's been a decade) because it was February and freezing cold, but I do remember it being very sobering. I was in college when it happened. The blueberry BBQ looks delicious! I'm so glad you got to spend some time with Monica. And I hope you get things figured out with Thor's allergies.
Such a wonderful time you had with your mom and family so happy for you and those recipes you shared look so good my mouth watered looking at those strawberries and peaches yum !!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us regarding Thor. I have a beloved Lab named Cooper. He developed diabetes in his later years. Our vet suggested we put him down , because them amount of costs of future vet bills were going to be huge. Listened to his advice and went home. Cried with my husband and children. We took him back and forth to the vet 3 times a week for 3!weeks and years it was costly. But, he kept saying are you sure you want to keep this up? With a very heavy heart and the advice of the vet we put him down. Now! Now! I am more educated on pet care and I would have Never ever put him down. I think if the vet gave me alternative treatments and more natural treatments I would it would have saved my COOPER. Never again. I ordered the book you suggested and subscribed to the new you tube channel to go along with my other materials. Again thank you.
Hello friend! As I type this I am wiping tear from my eyes because I can only imagine the combination of grief related to his diagnosis, the shock of the cost, and the lifestyle adjustment of taking your pet to the vet multiple times each week. We are all so busy living our lives and already taking measures to feed our families well, so on and so forth, that you at least think that you're being a good pet parent by keeping up with vet appointments and recommendations, but goodness---when I think about how his annual visits cost at least 1200 a year, not including his monthly heart guard and next guard, I kept thinking about why something routine, like allergies, had to cost me hundreds----like the vet industry knows that their average client can't afford that! Earlier this year when Thor had some issues with bleeding, they told me it was because I refused to have him fixed. I caved because I was scared, but the research I am doing now makes me REGRET that I did that because I would've attempted other natural remedies had I not put 100% faith in their suggestion. So, I get how you came to your decision and I do not fault you--you were doing the best you could under a stressful situation and with what you knew at the time. I know that was a lengthy chat at the end and I usually don't labor on a point like that so long, but this has been a gut-wrenching, very eye opening experience for me and your sharing proves that too many of us are waking up to the changes in the vet care industry.
Thank you for sharing this. My children were not yet born or even thought of then 9/11 happened. It was the same year I was married and was still asleep when my mother in law called us from where she was viiting my husband's sister in NY city. He was a NY police LT, he was blessed to survive and retired shortly thereafter and moved out of the city to NC
What a great video. I love that you celebrate time with your family!! I live in Norway and my immediate family lives in the USA (Houston, TX). So I def wished we were closer in distance but we keep in contact via emails and live chats. My hubby and I visited my family last March and it was great. Oh pet care. Sooo expensive so matter where you live One thing to think about is that a lot has changed in the last 100 yrs. People are reacting to allergies in a way that wasn't even an issue then. Which is the same for animals. There has been a lot of overbreeding of dogs too! Which has added problems. Tex, my 3 1/2 yr old Dalmatian, is having a lot of issues with allergies. We know he is allergic to chicken and ragweed. We have elimated issues to food and found that a lot of the his allergic reactions is outside environment. He scratches and chews on himself to the point of getting sores. Next month he will have additional testing to hopefully find out what he is allergic to. He might then be to get an allergy shot that will help him. (don't even ask how much we have spent at the vet and specialist so far this year!) Tips that have worked for my dogs over the years: if the dog is queazy, giving som Pepcid before meals helps. Dogs can eat coconut oil as well, I add some to all meals because it helps with their coat and skin. Pumpkin: great for both constipation and diarrhea!! Either use canned pumpkin or buy a whole one, cut in in half remove the seeds (which you can use for other things) and cook in the over at about 350F for a while (when you test it with a knife it should go in easily it is done). I normally puree it once it is cool. Then freeze it in ziplock bags then lay it out flat for easy storage. Both carrots and sweet potatoes are also good for fiber (needs to be cooked). Raw food isn't bad. Need to make sure that they get a good balace of proteins, carbs, fats, minerals and vitamines. OK I need to stop here. I get a bit enthusiastic about pet care LOL
You are such a sweetie🥰,,, I so enjoyed this video: the recipes looked mouthwatering, your family is awesome, the pet information...(I feel you; I have a cat that is therapeutic for me☺) I'll be keeping you and family in my prayers❤🙏... you are such an inspiration to me!
I know that situation well. You have to be your own advocate as well as you pets advocate. I did the same thing for my cats. And they are happy kitties now. Peace and Blessings.
I agree. Having the basic ingredients on hand you can make anything you want in larger quantities than what you can purchase in the store. My biggest expense each week is meat.
Thank you for talking about the vet care issue! I also follow Dr Jones. My 13 yo Staffy is also having skin issues like you're describing. Looking forward to hearing an update.
I really enjoyed this video, thanks for sharing your family fun with us. Crumpies sounds amazing! You are so right about expensive vet bills - we love our fur babies, but sometimes, there just isn't any room in the budget for dr's visits - be it for us or the fur babies. A few years ago my income took a temporary nosedive right at the holidays (of course), and Murphy's Law being what it is, my cat got attacked by a stray that had climbed our 6-ft privacy fence. He only got a couple claw marks, but one of them got infected and abscessed. Thank the Lord for YT-ers who share valuable how-to info here!! I went to Walmart, bought a $4 scalpel (craft section) and some Bactine to numb/disinfect the area. One little poke, out came the yucky stuff. More bactine. The vet would have been a mnimum of $350 right at Christmas. My cat healed great, and seemed to take my doctoring in stride, bless his heart, giving me big lovies right after the 'procedure'. Thank you for all that you share here, I've learned so much!! ♥
I have been following you for over a year now and love what you do. Your butter bell video hooked me. I signed up for your monthly grocery chats but have never read an email after confirming my address. Your current link isn’t working either.
Some of my groceries come from the yard (wild). Field plantain greens are an amazing addition to any soup, violet greens are another amazing addition (they taste a bit like green/string beans). Just a couple weeks ago i was bummed out i didn't have greens for my chili, so i went into the yard with some scissors. 😂
My family has a bug going around so I made french onion soup with a twist last night. I used chicken stock, onion, and beets. I served with feta. It was sooooo good, but I want to try with sausage next time.
I thought I was already subscribed to your channel, going to keep an eye open to make sure I don’t get unsubscribed just in case. FYI love your content and your energy even more so. Lots of love and respect from Wales 🏴
So many of these ingredient combinations I never would have thought of. Raised by my Grand-Mother, she made shake-n-bake way too often and veggie options were corn or green beans out of a can. Not many other options.
You are just fabulous, so glad you were able to see the lion king live show, I love it 😃 if you haven’t already try making sage water and see if Thor will drink, sage is antibiotic and reduce inflammation , blessings
So glad you are helping Thor. I listen to Clark Howard and he spoke about Vet costs and why they are increasing and yes it is ridiculous. It's almost like for our Health and our animals we have to go back to basics
You are such a breath of fresh air, welcome back, you were missed. My first car was a red Chevy Cavalier! Now to veterinarian care. I once took my dog to the vet, she had gotten into something. We didn’t know what it was, but her poop was black the Vet told us they ran test that would check for like 50 different things, found nothing. Upon check out They wanted to put her on IV And the bill was $600 before the IV. I forgot to mention I wasn’t physically there but on the phone, I was with my two son and my husband was at work. My 21 year old daughter which this is her dog, was there. This was before the medication. The medication was 600 as well and we took her to this 24 hour vet care which before 6 PM the cost is much cheaper. Well she got there at five but because she wasn’t seen until after six that’s why I was told it $600 so I refuse to pay for the medication because they didn’t find anything wrong with Mango, they also wanted to run additional test which I couldn’t understand why? I refuse and I said well can we come back and pick up the medication in the morning when it would be cheaper the medication only cost $40 in the morning. They had to ask the doctor, it was up to him, he agreed. I knew in my heart that there had to be something different and I found out that you can actually get your dogs medication prescription sent to a pharmacy which is cheaper. All in all Mango is fine for now, it was one of those disposable hand warmers my sons use during the spring baseball season.
My cats have allergies. They have been using medicine from the vet for 12 years. All of a sudden the price went up by 150%! So I have been feeding them turmeric and cod liver oil. It has been working! Not as well as the medication but it’s still working!!
Thor is just adorable. You made me feel extra old. I was in my late 20s when The Lion King came out. I'm so glad you spent some quality time with your mom. I love seeing all the historic buildings! Your brother is so funny(stealing dad's jerky,the nerve!). And yes, I hear you about the vet bills. My pooch was allergic to something in the grass and would break out something scary. I opened a small savings for her and usually had close to 1k in there because it was NEVER cheap. We ended up giving her fish oil along with other supplements and her black,shiny coat was back to normal. We also used Benadryl when she was super bad. I wish I knew back then what I know now about herbs and supplements to make her life even better. Thanks for the great video. Hugs to you Cassandra.
Where i live all vets have price fixed and I couldn't walk in for any service for $250. It is $9-1100 for a recommended dental check... Cleaning and treatment EXTRA! Are you kidding me? I can't pay that for my child either! Didn't even get me started on the racket of dentistry.... Medical that can't be afforded by the masses.
Fruit and meat go well together. I used to make a roast cooked in apple juice with cinnamon served with a sauce made with cherry preserves and cinnamon.
Love 💗 the car pillow backs I took food to HI when my Mom, Auntie, Neice & son went teenagers eat a lot Love Dr Jones. I’m hoping you share a canned dog food I’ve been looking for a safe canning recipe Just ordered this book thanks for sharing
I took in 3 cats all from a feral mother. One from the one year, 2 the next year. My male kitty from the second had so many health problems. Thankfully, it was during covid, so I was able to save money. I got up to $6000. For me to spend it all on the male cat. That doesn't even include the cost of putting him down and his cremation. So many vet visits and hoping we got him better over time for him to get congestive heart failure. He was the best little cat I ever had and I'm so glad I got to give him a good life. I just hate the fact that he only got to live for a year and a half. It's been 2 years and I still mourn for him.
Caster oil is also good for dissolving Cataracts in humans aswell in dogs, cats. Learned that from Barbara Oneil and Dr. Jones speaks of Caster oil for pets aswell ❤
Hi Friends! It's been a SUPER BUSY month and you'll see why in the video. Please give me a few hours of grace to email you your grocery guide!!!! I'll have it completed by noon EST tomorrow (Thursday, June 27th). xoxo, Cassandra
everything you do is amazing 🤩
Awesome job 🎉I’m so excited for this months goodies!
I’m looking forward to the recipe cards! Thank you so much! You are my inspiration! You gave me courage to pressure can 😁
Thank you for all your hard work and helping all of us strangers out! I greatly appreciate your love and care and teaching! I truly hope that you have all the lovely things your heart desires and will keep you and your sweet family in my prayers!
Thank you can't wait for the new recipes.
I know well the situation you were in with your dog. A year and a half ago, my male dog got into some peanuts and came down with a deadly kidney stone. My vet wouldn’t operate on it, he said I had to go to the animal hospital. The vets there said they would operate or put him down for me. They charged $4000.00 for the operation, which was bad enough, but then she gave me the most ridiculous advice on how to care for him. My husband and oldest son were prone to getting kidney stones which are caused by oxalates found in plants, like spinach and well peanuts. She told me the disease was genetic, that his stomach acid was too high, and to put him on a vegan diet. So, I challenged the vet to produce a single legit study that could conclude that it would work, and no studies were produced. I did the opposite of her advice and put him on a carnivore elimination diet, to see what he could eat and not eat. So, I am happy to report a year and a half later, the dog made a full recovery, and he just doesn’t eat food with oxalates in it.
Hello friend! As I was reading your story, my heart went out to you, your pup and family. The combination of grief, shock from the price tag and being presented with the idea of putting your dog down is intense. I see that you quickly went into action and, through second opinion from books/research/your own family history came up with a plan that indeed worked. That's the frustrating part about all of this---it's not that I don't appreciate what vets have to offer, or that I wouldn't pay for more severe treatments, but too many folks have household dogs/cats that inevitably encounter common scenarios and how have we gotten to a point where "solutions" are hundreds and thousands of dollars for the average consumer? I am so encouraged by your story and I appreciate you for sharing this so that others may be encouraged too!
Cassandra.
I am blessed to be the one that was able to take care of my Nana. She taught me that taking care of the elderly is such fun! At near 40 I changed my career to geriatric care.
Then when my Daddy’s health failed my mom asked if I’d help her. It was a blessing to take care of Daddy. He passed at home in my dear Momma’s arms. Now I get to take care of my Momma. The stories I have heard from my Nana, Daddy and Momma, the things I’ve learned from them. I’ve taken care of many elderly and loved sharing time with them and listening and learning all they would give me. But when you hear from your own it means something different. But I have loved and been blessed by so many. I praise God for the gifts He has given me.
Hi Kate. You, my friend, have experienced the most meaningful and richest parts of life that so many never have a chance to, or realize too late that the opportunity to do so slid right through their hands. Even now, I have shared with my parents that will absolutely be their care takers at all costs. You are right, to hear it from your own is priceless. Goodness, some stories I've heard from them or shared by other family members multiple times, while others I'm just hearing in conversations that seem to just pop up in the oddest of times/places. I'm so glad God nudged me to return to Chestertown because for a stolen moment I thought, 'Mom will want to get away, go to a part of MD we haven't been to'-but let me tell you, it was the first time she was chatty and smiling again the few visits we've made since Nana passed. These moments are my most prized holdings and with happy tears, I am so glad to hear you realize how special they are too!
@@BecomingaFarmGirl you are blessed to have two parents that are great storytellers. Always make time to listen to them. If they allow you to video them (to she shared on your channel or not-their choice), write letters to them by hand while they are in transition to move back to MD if that’s still a thing. Encourage them to write back. Yes calls are great and lovely to hear their voice (and now see their faces, but nothing holds a candle to their penmanship, their words, their insights on paper thar can be treasured for years to come. I love the hand written recipes of my Nana and Grammie. I love the LP record of my Papa that my nephew plays on his phonograph. I love the pictures that my Daddy took while he was a wedding photographer and he had to finish the roll on us kids so he could develop the roll of film. Mom made sure he had film in his camera for holidays, family reunions, camping trips, day trips, improvements on the house and all the precious moments that God grants us.
Your history is held in your parents. Ask about their parents, grandparents, childhood, the good parts the bad parts the things that plowed the path to you being who you are. You have a lovely family. Keep listening.
I was a military wife on 9/11 and life was never the same again. Our kids were 2 & almost 5. They don't remember the before times. He's a 100% permanently disabled vet.
I am so sorry to hear your husband is disabled. May God supply abundantly the resources you need. And comfort you in difficult times. My daughter has severe medical conditions. The medical journey is hard. Again I am sorry. I have so much gratitude for those who serve our country in the military and their families who support them. Thank you. Blessings and peace on you and your family
Hello Lisa. As a military wife, I don't have to know you, to "know you" and the incredible sacrifice both you and your service member (along with your children) have made and continue to make. Firstly, I can't imagine how watching this brought back a range of emotion, but please know that my heart was in sharing that too many folks are either forgetting or never even realizing in the first place this moment in American history. As a public school educator, I have first hand experience that too many of our young folks, heck even young teachers are so disconnected from this and other historical moments and so I often like to share moments and places that I fear are becoming overlooked. You are truly a woman of incredible strength and courage, and I pray that you have and will continue to know that God sees and cares for you, even on the hardest of days. I do not take it lightly that you shared this comment for me and others. Love and prayers to you and your family.
My husband and I were both in the military on 9/11 and our 3 kids were 3, 3 (twins) and just turned 5. It was a very scary and confusing time. 🫂
@@joankelley3772 100%
As a fellow 100% injured vets S/O I just wanted to send a huge hug and tell you we all appreciate your families struggle and you're not alone. The cost of the Afghanistan war (O.E.F.) will never end for our family.
How special to be able to travel first with your mom, soaking up the history she was able to share with you. Then to travel with your immediate family to New York. You have a beautiful relationship with your family that spills over into how you interact and even look at each other. It’s simply precious. Good to see you sweet Cassandra, blessing on you as you continue to expand the apothecary to include Thor!
I would so love to go back in time and have a vet like James Herriot! I had to take my dog to the vet and spent $680 for multiple X-rays, tests and medications. It was a very rough month for us! Kudos to you for thinking of grandparents and what they would do! That pet bag is adorable and what a great idea! I’m going to make one of those. I find if I think outside the box and remember my dad caring for animals, with common sense and no internet back then, he relied on encyclopedias and word of mouth from farmers! Thor is lucky to have you for his mama! Sending you hugs!
same - I have extra organic eggs and fruits and nuts - I would trade hundreds of dollars worth so the whole staff has something - but nope - we can't do that anymore .... so my dogs only get emergency care :(
Getting a dog during Covid changed my husband and I’s lives. I know how you felt. Our Pug Emma is our Princess. We focused so much on her that it eased the world situation around us. At this moment, she is snoring in my lap as I watched this video.
Linda here…excellent video, especially the part about your pet issues and you learning more natural ways to care for him. Please show yourself some Grace with this. You’re “waking up” on your own timeline.
I will share with you that my rescue dog came to me 7 years ago when she was only 12 weeks old. The “rescue” insisted on giving her many meds that I normally would have declined, but they wouldn’t release her to me without those meds. Well, when she turned 1 she started with very severe and frequent seizures that were so bad she was put on 2 meds at maximum doses and was still having frequent, severe seizures. This required frequent labs to check her liver/kidneys. We decided to forgo the labs because she couldn’t live without the meds. All this was happening while sailing through the Caribbean over many years and involving multiple vets. And she was eating kibble almost exclusively because it was readily available on all the islands. I’m a retired nurse/educator and decided there had to be a better way after a vet discussed euthanasia. I found through researching that keto diet could successfully treat seizures in people. I ditched the kibble and started cooking. Her seizures slowly stopped by the end of 2 weeks. Then I started adding coconut oil for the ketones. Most recently we switched to MCT oil for the medium chain triglycerides. After the first initial 2 weeks I started tapering her meds down and have managed to reduce them by 2/3 total. She still has some seizures, but they’re very infrequent and much milder. I follow Dr Judy Morgan and Dr Karen Becker. Also, the Homegrown Herbalist. Feel free to hit me up with questions or for information and I’d be happy to look around for you. I have no financial interests. Happy Awakening!
Excellent information & way to go on taking your furbabys needs & health into your own hands. The vets & herbalist that you follow are superb. I too, follow them & much of their advice. I adore these 2 vets & Dr Andrew Jones. They are the best in the world in my opinion. What they do, what they share so freely makes them the Ultimate Vets! Homegrown Herbalist is phenomenal. A vet told us we would only be able to make our baby girl comfortable when she was dx with 2 cancers & other health issues. I refused to believe that vet. I immediately found a holistic vet and I'm grateful to report 3 yrs later. My baby is doing great! She had a heart murmur that can no longer be detected. It was a 3/5 then. Holistic Vet started her on Standard Process Canine Cardiac. I will forever swear by that now. We changed her diet and I've cooked for her every since. She takes mushrooms as well. What these common vets are and have been doing to our animals & us as pet parents should be a crime. I've been trying to come up with a way to gather people to help me fight these ways of theirs. I hope we as a whole, as pet parents & advocates can one day put a stop to what they're doing. Bless you and your sweet baby. ❤❤❤ keep up the great work.
You are so sweet to honor your mom & dad so much. Love your channel.
Oh Cass, I have so much to say after watching this month's Pantry Chat and updates! First, yes it is such a gift to just share time with loved ones! Make memories and cherish the time spent, for certain! One of my fondest memories with my Dad, before he became too ill to travel, was us meeting with one of my sons at MEPS for his swearing in ceremony. My Dad was a Marine who served 3 voluntary tours in Vietnam, and I am a Desert Storm USAF Veteran, so getting to witness our next generation taking his oath of service, as well as the conversations on the round-trip drive is an experience I will always treasure. Secondly, the vet visit - YES to all the things! We have three cats in our household, and previous to this year, we had their yearly visits spaced out to mitigate the financial blow of exams, vaccinations, and tests. However, we had what can only be called "the perfect storm" of annual exam for one, high concern of a skin issue for another, and then DAYS later the third one had a behavioral concern that could have been a sign of dangerous urinary tract issue. So, over less than 2 weeks, we dropped about 2/3 of a mortgage payment on exams, tests, vaccinations, and medications for our 3 cats. We love our vet practice, as there are three marvelous vets on staff there and some really wonderful vet techs, so I'm not bashing them AT ALL. But I nearly fainted when they gave me the total each time. And in about 2 weeks, two of the three will be returning for follow-up visits to ensure everything is getting remedied. Costs are so high - it's not the veterinarian trying to gouge people or anything - their expenses have risen, too. And just a note - we aren't ones who run to the doctor at the first sign of a sniffle and are not ones to run to the vet at the first symptom of our cats seeming a little off their game or something - so having a home pet apothocary is a necessary thing if we want to keep expenses down. I wanted to interject that my memory is not what is used to be, but you said "aspirin" but showed "acetaminophen" - and they are not interchangable for pets. I know acetaminophen is fatal for cats, and generally not recommended for dogs except under careful monitoring by a veterinarian because of liver toxicity. I believe low-dose aspirin might be safer, BUT I'm just relying on my memory at the moment... Anyways - I adore your chats and am so happy you have had so much wonderful stuff happening since we last saw you. Many hugs from NW GA!
I just started looking into herbs for my household, but for some reason I NEVER thought of herbs for my cat. She is experiencing a similar situation to Thor!! Vet couldn't figure out why, so she either has to get a shot or cortizone cream which does not help long term. I'm going to see what is safe to grow for her that might ease her skin issue now. She looves eating what I grow anyway, might as well make it cat friendly. 😂
Glad you have a lovely family trip and Thor is on the mend, too!
So excited. I follow you and love your upbeat attitude and closeness with your parents💕💕
Awww, thank you friend!!
Hello Cassandra. So glad to see you. My eyes are glazing over with your first two recipes. Oh would you be proud this week. Not one but two new grocery stores had huge grand openings. Dallas, Joe V's oh my word huge chicken leg quarters .28 cents a pound. Pork butt .65 cents a pound. Sweet potatoes .20 cents a pound. 3 pound bag of apples .78 cents bag. garlic .10 cents a head. fresh pineapple .78 cents. The store was packed with everything to purchase and lot of people. 18 check stands all open and it was fast to check out. My husband and I processed meat and chicken and I just had to freeze it. Way to hot to can 102 degrees. I did cook half of a pork butt in my 8 quart crock pot (the lid almost would not close). Pulling it off the bone and adding BBQ sauce and freezing in quart freezer bags for later.
If that wasn't enough Today a HUGE HEB grocery opened in Mansfield, Texas. Sales on meat and fresh produce were amazing. I did not go today because at 6am when store opened there were no parking spaces. The news coverage was crazy. It's like a Buccees with a drive thru BBQ restaurant on the side. ha ha.
Lady, you are BLESSED! All those deals are just incredible and I am so encouraged that you shared this with me and the many others that will see that the deals are still out there! My husband's family was stationed in TX and he would talk about HEB all the time (I always forget if you say the letters or pronounce it as a word).
@@BecomingaFarmGirl H-E-B letters.
Florence Butt started the store but son's initials. 480 still privately owned stores.
Hey, Cass!
I love this varied video! A smorgasbord of your life!
I love every part of it.
I’m just heading off to an appointment now but I had to nip in and say one (more) thing.
I had to put my dear Cairn, Smokey Joe down two years ago because of pain from arthritis and dementia. He was blind, deaf and very frustrated. It hurt more to watch him go through the pains and frustrations than the pain of no Smokey Joe. 😢
We went 5 months and none of the dog jobs were getting done.
Then through a customer and dear friend, she got us in touch with a darling little Yorkie. She was failure to thrive and in the year+ since we’ve had her she had not only thrived but excelled. Between her first visit with her doggie doctor and her second just a few weeks ago her doctor couldn’t believe the difference in her. When I got her, I feared if I didn’t handle her gingerly then she would pop a bone or joint. Now she’s so strong!
The food she was on when I got her is very recommended by veterinarians. It is what I fed Smokey Joe. But she did not like it.
Then I learned that the food we give out loved pets is a carcinogen because of the way it is processed. Imagine!
So then I took to researching what dogs can and should and what they can’t and shouldn’t. I now make my little girl’s food from what I learned. Do you know that food for cats and dogs has only been around for about 100 years? Before that we fed them what we eat.
I’m sticking to making this little girl’s food and snacks. She loves her snacks and likes 95% of the food I feed her at meals. She doesn’t have a sensitive stomach anymore and when she throws up it’s not because of something we fed her.
Love all you do, Cassandra! Keep going!
New subscriber! I started gardening last month and I am so glad I found your channel ❤❤❤
I tell you, every time I watch your channel you have the most awesome recipes and the food looks so delicious and you have very valuable information now I have to admit I have never grown vegetables or herbs but i really want to start 👍🏽🙂
Omg!!! Blueberry BBQ sauce! I literally just made some not that long ago!!! I can't eat nightshades (tomatoes, 🥔, eggplant, peppers....all the good stuff!) So fruit BBQ sauces for the WIN for me!!! I also tried (I know your mouth will water for this) mango ginger 🫚 BBQ sauce and a Mixed Berry BBQ sauce. I want to do blackberry next and I think a cranberry one would be decadent! I used alot of ingredients for my BBQ sauce....i went a lil crazy but its worth it!!! Mmmm.....Thanks for sharing your wisdom! Loving it! 🙌 blessings!
I went through something similar in the last year. Last fall I drove from New Hampshire to New York and back to rescue a German short haired pointer mix puppy. I had been looking for a female for over two years and was so excited! I am of an age where she will be my last dog so i wanted the "right" fit. I am also a very, very experienced dog/animal owner and learned a lot of home treatments growing up in the country, but have gotten away from them due to time and physical constraints. My dogs and cats always lived to be at least 18 and we rarely went to the vet beyond the annual check up and usual shots. I have to say, I was astonished at the vet bills this time! The trip to get Sophie, plus the adoption fees and required vaccinations, was almost $2k..then as she grew, she became intermittently lame and got recurring rashes. Pursuing that was almost $2k with no real resolution. Then after about 4 months with her, I woke up in the morning to find her having a massive seizure. She couldn't even walk for over 24 hours. That was another $2k, with no answer. Then she tore out a nail and broke a toe. That was almost $1500. I haven't even had her for a year and the only thing the vet resolved was the broken toe. I left those visits frustrated and shocked. I can afford those bills, but barely, and regardless, I don't think anyone should be expected to pay that because as you say, most people would not be able to afford or justify that kind of expense for a pet. At this rate, animal ownership will dwindle to nothing and it's a shame. Prior to this new puppy, I had two certified German shepherd protection dogs. They passed within a few months of each other. In the two years since, something - not just the prices- radically changed at my vet. I had no idea vet clinics were going corporate. That sure explains a lot! (Thanks for the insight!). I made the switch to home remedies too after my last visit. Fortunately I have been a practicing home herbalist for over 20 years so it's an easy segue, but the resources you found sound great and I plan to pick them up, so thank you for that too! As an easy starting place for beginners: an alchohol based garlic tincture makes an amazing wound healing wash. I have seen it heal a serious skill saw wound overnight; comfrey as an herbal mash or salve will draw out stings and bites and if used promptly can almost entirely prevent reactions. I have a medical condition that can send me into anaphylaxis if i am stung, but it was diagnosed very late (so no eppi pen). Twice i have been stung by wasps while gardening and twice a fresh comfrey mash prevented almost any reaction..even when I was bitten while pregnant. The salve is also wonderful for the skin (it's also incredibly easy to grow). Aloe is a great all purpose remedy that can be grown as a houseplant; but the most miraculous and least talked about treatment for topical infections and wounds is an alcohol tincture of hops. I make it by the gallon because it's become so highly sought after by my friends. It saved a friend's finger from being amputated after antibiotics failed to cure a staph infection, and yes, it cured another friend's dog's chronic , bleeding abscesses after nearly a year of failed vet treatments. There are university studies that prove hops is 98% effective against staph. I have two friends who both lost their only brothers to staph. My husband was in the hospital for 6 weeks with a staph infection and nearly died and I acquired it after an emergency surgery during the pandemic. After 3 weeks of ineffective antibiotic treatments at home, and a persistent 103 degree temp, the docs wanted to hospitalize me. But I told them to give me 1 more week, during which time I stopped the meds and switched to my hops solution. The fever resolved in a day and the infection was gone (without recurring), in four. I am neither a dr. Or a professional herbal clinician, so do your own research, but in my experience, this stuff works and these are the treatments i would not be without. I so appreciate Cassandra for her thorough and systematic approach to acquiring new skills and sharing her journey of continuous learning with us and I hope this (long) post is helpful to all us kindred spirits!
Yay! Peaches and pork!!! Thank you!
You're very welcome my friend!
Everything looks delicious! I just made eggplant lasagna and zucchini boats last week, the zucchini is basically enchilada ingredients and the inside of the zucchini stuck in the canoed out zucchini. I’m trying your blueberry bbq sauce. I have some store bought in the pantry so I don’t know why it never occurred to me to make it. Have a great week. Glad to see you back.
I get it. I paid over $700 in a 3 week span for treatment, and meds for my 9 year old bulldog fur baby for her to pass away from a heart attack as I rushed her to the vet. She was otherwise healthy. She had a checkup in those 3 weeks. She came down with skin issues as well so I took her back to the vet. I think the meds they prescribed is what took her from me. It’s been 6 month. I also had a homemade wellness bag for my girl. My Vera Bradley dig bag was a gift. I knew what you purchased was a VB bag.😉 Do what you need to do because the fees the Vet charges are outrageous! Another wonderful pantry chat. Thank you for sharing.😊🐶🫶🏽
"Do you take a break from eating?" LOL the sass. Awesome video! We missed you! Thanks for sharing those moments with your mom with us
Haha, yes, I do have a bit of sass, but its all with good intent! I said, "girl, leave that in there!" Thank you for the kind words, I appreciate it so much!
Cassandra, Thank you for sharing the recipes. A B&B mothers' Day trip is an EXCELLENT idea. No crowds. No noise. You are very generous taking the time to make these presentations. I appreciate you and your efforts.
Oh and card games, we love those too! We have a lot of fun on roadtrips and camping and are very competitive!
Haha, so glad to hear its not just my family. Card games can get brutal!! Lol :)
Love, love , love Dr Jones! I love the vet bag what a great idea.
My vet clinic is a small town, 2 female vets, one is also in the Army reserve and gets deployed occasionally.
No corporation here blessed to live in the middle of nowhere.
Seeing Chestertown through your Moms eyes is priceless. I had that experience with my mom before she passed. Priceless
My heart is SO HAPPY that you also captured a moment like this with your mama. I'm telling you, I will cherish that memory forever!
I love how this is a pantry chat, family vlog, and food inspiration all in one, definitely not complaining if more have similar content ❤
My service dog got to where her back down by the tail smelled horrible and she was scratching herself raw. The vet prescribed antibiotics and an anti fungal tablet. It worked and cleared it up but came back a month later. I did my own research and started rubbing the areas with coconut oil. It worked way better than the drugs.
Amen, Mary! This is what I'm talking about. Like you, I tried the antibiotic/antifungal routine twice and I said to myself, for what should be a lower level health concern, there's got to be an affordable alternative. The OTC benadryl, coconut oil, a bit of comfrey salve and a twice daily nettles routine has restored Thor's coat (the hair is of course still growing in but you can feel his coat and its smooth, bite/bump free). If you and I hadn't explored something different, we'd both be out of hundreds if not thousands of dollars. It literally pays to do a bit of research on your own/ask around/get a second, third or fourth opinion.
You should also get a test for diabetes or just adjust your dog’s diet to increase the ratio of protein and vegetables to carbohydrates.
Oh your Panna cotta looks delicious and the Blue Berry BBQ sauce, oh my how did this taste? Delicious. I'm sure. Thank you for the beautiful story of your Mother. So glad you had this wonderful weekend memory. Wow our parents are a wealth of knowledge.
We have a cat. Vet bill for a rabies shot ( you must check weight and feel her body) was $185. They didn't even check her ears. Thank you for sharing Thor's kit.
You are the doctor now.
Cassandra it is not the medical facility/doctor's or vet's goal to heal you but to prescribe medicine, testing and administer vaccines.
My last "real doctor" retired 20 years ago.
20 years ago my annual physical consisted of a total skin exam (I'm a redhead) from head to toe. Doctor noted any moles or large freckles and would compare on my next visit. Eyes, ears, nose, throat and your nails. Mammogram, pelvic and blood work up.
Today if I am lucky 5 minutes for a physical. Ask about your diet and exercise then weight. Take your blood pressure, ck your eyes and ears and then you go downstairs to lab for blood work. The corporate medical machine allows 7 minutes per patient. It is a shame.
You got me on a roll. Have a great week. Thanks for the video.
What a wonderful excursion with your family. Forever memories. Thank you for sharing, Cassandra. Love your videos. 😊 🙏
I miss the special times I spent walking through places special to my family as well and those are the most precious memories I have.
Funny thing, I thought about you this afternoon and realized we hadn't seen you in a minute. And here you are, just a couple hours later!
Trista! Always good to see you friend! It's been a busy month of activity with family and friends so I didn't have as much editing time, but thank you so much for thinking of me!!
The World Trade Center Memorial is breathtaking and humbling! I was there at night! Stunning!! My daughter lives in New York and Times Square is one of her favorite places! And so glad you have taken the path to wellness for Thor! And that he's doing well!!🙂
It was so good to "visit" with your mom. She is awesome! Whenever my dog has skin issues, I give him keifer. It clears up quickly.
I''m afraid to admit that I'm just realizing the important of probiotics for our dogs gut health too! You are so right. I freeze plain kefir and greek yogurt in ice cube trays and he's been loving the treat :)
With regards to the vet and the "we'll see if this works" but no real answers approach...my dad said something to me once that has a great deal of wisdom in it when faced with this (people, pets, car house, etc) He said, "if your car is acting up and the mechanic said they'll remove the muffler to see if that helps... would you do it? Or would you leave and look for your own answers?" This has worked in so many situations and saved me from outrageous bills, but also given me the courage to advocate for myself and say "no" in a world where we're told dr's/vets know best. Not to say there isn't a place for what they offer, but too often it's them giving you their opinion and basically pressuring you to decide right now with no time to process what the outcome may be. Glad you discovered some resources to help you feel empowered
Oh I’ve got to make that blueberry bbq sauce! Glad you’re back 💜
Yeah I remember watching The Lion King as a late birthday present when it first came out! It was one of my favorites!
Girl! that picture of mom getting her happy on , on that bed was priceless. 🤣 thanks for sharing.
That bnb is gorgeous! You know how much I adore your family and seeing your dad with Thor was heartwarming. It is wonderful to share those memories with your mom and I’m so glad you were able to do that.
I love you Cas, I'm right here learning with you!! ❤🙏 and yes, realizing the medical industry is a BUSINESS FIRST is a huge eye opener. God bless you and your family beloved!! Your trip looked like so much fun and brought tears to my eyes. 🙏❤️
I see your brother Rob wearing a Florida Gator shirt. I am a Gator fan myself. Born and raised in Gainesville Florida.
Thank you for sharing those precious moments with your family, This video reminded me of the importance of spending time with family and documenting their stories.
LOVE your channel! I recall coming home from dropping my husband off at work and hearing about the first plane... then SEEING the second hit. Couldn't watch the news for YEARS without hyperventilating because of it.
Love the new video shooting angle and your lighting is on point! Thanks for all the time and work you take to share this great info with us!
Same.
Aww, thank you. I am SO NOT the best at lighting or sound, so I figured why not try something different. My kitchen/second floor doesn't get much natural light so its always been tricky for me. I'll stick with this for a while!
This thor story sounds very similar to my dog just all the sudden allergies! Grains any grains. I lost her last year, had her for 14 years. To watch her go out the way she did hurts til this day. Lots of money, lots of tears. Great video!
Oh friend, I am so sorry to hear this. Our furbabies are family and I had been so torn about seeing his skin condition and the frustration over the piling vet costs for something I had initially figured would be routine enough to address. I hope to get 14 years with my beloved Thor. While I'd like to think we manage our money well, I'd be willing to go to the poor house for Thor and the thing is, cooperations know this. While I understand pet owners must be aware that there are associated costs---the sticking point for me was that allergies shouldn't be this pricey. I hope to be on a path that will gibe him comfort as we enter into his elder years. Thank you for sharing about your pup.
Going to try making the Panacotta! I usually make yogurt out of extra milk, that that looked so yummy.
Oh yeah! Now this is going to be a GREAT lasagna! Ooo, my mouth is already watering! You know, you make cooking look fun again. I have to say, I sure miss my strawberry crepes with whip cream. Thanks for this reminder.
I truly enjoy all your videos and tips. I probably enjoy all your moments with your family the most. You are truly a loving and kind daughter to your parents and they are indeed lucky to have you in their lives. You’re a ray of sunshine!
Hi friend! Thank you for such kind words about my folks! Any time I get to see them is just precious. We packed a lot into their week long stay and dad will be up next month!
I want to be like you and have an apothecary, as well! I’m trying to eliminate all processed food and get us eating healthier! Love the meals at the beginning! I’m definitely making those! Love your trip with your mom! So beautiful! What a fun family trip for you and your family! How exciting to go to New York and to a Broadway show! We love the Lion King, it was my oldest daughter’s favorite when it came out! I want to visit the Twin Towers memorial one day. I remember that day and everything I saw. I will never forget.
Cassandra, thank you so much for these videos. They are such a joy. Your family is wonderful and your positive and encouraging spirit is infectious. The recipes and knowledge are amazing. All the blessings to you, your family.
Monica, you look fantastic, enjoy your beautiful bundle of joy. I pray you have a safe and happy labour. Blessings to you and your family.
Love from the UK 🇬🇧 ❤
Love the wax paper roll for "rest" in refrigerator - brilliant!!!
Your Mom is one of my favorite people and she makes us smile!!! Thank YOU.
Cass, I just giggled out loud! When you put your glasses on and looked at the camera, omg, you looked so much like your dad!
Cassandra,
I agree with many of the issues that you outlined with the vet industry. I started using natural remedies for my poodles years ago. My oldest poodle is approaching 18. I was lucky to have an older vet and did lots of research. In my opinion, the (first) puppy shots are fine, as long as they are not too early. Most shots after that are not helping the animals in the long run. Money makers for vets. Depending upon how the dog lives, inside, outside, etc... There's alot of herbal remedies for your dog. I like buying from nutricargo and piping rock. A balanced homemade meal, some raw is important as is fresh air and exercise. I have an apothecary cabinet filled with remedies for myself and my animals. Every day, I learn something new that is safe for them and myself. Love your videos. You and I have so much in common it's always nice to watch you discover more.
Thank you for sharing your mom! I really miss mine ❤❤
We learned that 1/2 a benadryl for my kittie's seasonal allergies works . He was having trouble with constipation, his poops or lack of were costing in the $300 range. Well , while I was chatting with another vet she mentioned that she gives her cat 1/2 a teaspoon metamucil with his wet food every morning! Problem solved.
Exactly! It unbelievable that you can’t get a simple, honest answer like that from (some) vets these days. Instead you want to charge me insane amounts for basically the same thing or something worse. I know exactly the relief knowing you had a workaround brought. Our furbabies are so precious to us!
@@BecomingaFarmGirl I've had the same vet for the various pups I've had for the last 25 years. Honestly she had become like a friend. I'd run into her at the local farmers market, Costco etc etc. She and her husband were fresh out of veterinary school and with the help of her parents were able to open their own small practice in the town I live. I was one of her 1st clients. In the beginning she use to be very conscience about over medicating my dogs and always gave honest information about the OTC medications I myself could purchase oppose to a script she could write for the same stuff but at 2 to 3 times the cost. She wasn't a big fan of script dog foods and preferred to encourage wholesome fresh prepared foods (think The Farmers Dog or Ollie's) Flash forward to now...she and her husband purchased a very expensive plot of land and had a state of the art "veterinary center/boarding/grooming BUSINESS" constructed from the ground up. After a couple years they purchased a second location in a near by city, and a year later bought out another vets business in yet another city. I knew things were gonna change after the 1st new building but never expected the complete change of philosophies in her care of animals. Now when you walk into her place you're always gonna wait for a very long time. Lining the walls are endless high end prescription diet dog foods and countless other products. What did it for me was when "they" started what they call a mandatory annual $100 "wellness check". The only reason I was excluded was because I balked at the bs charge. She knows I take better care of my dogs than I at times do myself. Sadly its not just the big corporations with their hand in the cookie jar. It's even some small town vets who put profits over beloved family pets. Needless to say I'm currently looking for a new vet with the values she use to have. They've become a thing of the past!
First I want to thank you for always sharing with us. I love your videos and amazing you are. Our dog is a westie who sees to get some kind of itch or hot spot and my mom a uses epsom salt in his bath. She said read on chamomile and mint she seeps in boiling water then cooled to make a nice spray. She says read up for him first. Works great on our dog.
Cassandra, new viewer here, found you for your dehydrating content. You have such a beautiful smile! You're teeth are seemingly in perfect health
Such a natural beauty, and smart, detail oriented and great communication, lucky husband!
Hi, Cassandra! Happy, happy summer break! You made it and so did I! Making those summer produce meals is a treat as there is more time to do so- at least for me. :) I'm working my way through your video and love the historic B&B where you and your mom stayed!
While I missed you, I went back and watched last year's June and July pantry talks and have done better "scooping" meat and produce deals. Got Honey Crisp apples today for 77 cents a pound. Will make those into apple pie filling as last school year we enjoyed a pie every now and again. Apple was a favorite. Also working on scoring on meat deals. I can those up too and am focusing on meals in a jar.
I'm loving these relaxing days, soaking it up. My goals are simple this summer: stock up, can it up, and clear out what we don't need. Enjoy!
So good to see you! I’m happy for you that you got to spend precious time with your family! You are so correct about the veterinarians it’s become big business. Thank you for a fantastic video❤
I really enjoyed seeing the time with your family. I've been to Chestertown a few times (mostly just a friend's house for outdoorsy fun), and it is such a cute little town. Your dad with Thor is just adorable. I didn't spend a lot of time at the Twin Towers memorial the last time I was in NYC (it's been a decade) because it was February and freezing cold, but I do remember it being very sobering. I was in college when it happened. The blueberry BBQ looks delicious! I'm so glad you got to spend some time with Monica. And I hope you get things figured out with Thor's allergies.
Such a wonderful time you had with your mom and family so happy for you and those recipes you shared look so good my mouth watered looking at those strawberries and peaches yum !!
You have a lovely family. Thank you for sharing your adventures with us.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us regarding Thor. I have a beloved Lab named Cooper. He developed diabetes in his later years. Our vet suggested we put him down , because them amount of costs of future vet bills were going to be huge. Listened to his advice and went home. Cried with my husband and children. We took him back and forth to the vet 3 times a week for 3!weeks and years it was costly. But, he kept saying are you sure you want to keep this up? With a very heavy heart and the advice of the vet we put him down. Now! Now! I am more educated on pet care and I would have Never ever put him down. I think if the vet gave me alternative treatments and more natural treatments I would it would have saved my COOPER. Never again. I ordered the book you suggested and subscribed to the new you tube channel to go along with my other materials. Again thank you.
Hello friend! As I type this I am wiping tear from my eyes because I can only imagine the combination of grief related to his diagnosis, the shock of the cost, and the lifestyle adjustment of taking your pet to the vet multiple times each week. We are all so busy living our lives and already taking measures to feed our families well, so on and so forth, that you at least think that you're being a good pet parent by keeping up with vet appointments and recommendations, but goodness---when I think about how his annual visits cost at least 1200 a year, not including his monthly heart guard and next guard, I kept thinking about why something routine, like allergies, had to cost me hundreds----like the vet industry knows that their average client can't afford that! Earlier this year when Thor had some issues with bleeding, they told me it was because I refused to have him fixed. I caved because I was scared, but the research I am doing now makes me REGRET that I did that because I would've attempted other natural remedies had I not put 100% faith in their suggestion. So, I get how you came to your decision and I do not fault you--you were doing the best you could under a stressful situation and with what you knew at the time. I know that was a lengthy chat at the end and I usually don't labor on a point like that so long, but this has been a gut-wrenching, very eye opening experience for me and your sharing proves that too many of us are waking up to the changes in the vet care industry.
Princess is so beautiful. I love her family values.
I make bourbon vanilla, peach pane cotta sooo good!
@Just-Nikki That sounds amazing! Can you share a recipe?
Thanks, Cassandra. You always give practical advice. Today, you have given a gift to my pomeranian. I'm ordering Herbs for Pets. ❤
Thank you for sharing this. My children were not yet born or even thought of then 9/11 happened. It was the same year I was married and was still asleep when my mother in law called us from where she was viiting my husband's sister in NY city. He was a NY police LT, he was blessed to survive and retired shortly thereafter and moved out of the city to NC
What a great video. I love that you celebrate time with your family!! I live in Norway and my immediate family lives in the USA (Houston, TX). So I def wished we were closer in distance but we keep in contact via emails and live chats. My hubby and I visited my family last March and it was great.
Oh pet care. Sooo expensive so matter where you live One thing to think about is that a lot has changed in the last 100 yrs. People are reacting to allergies in a way that wasn't even an issue then. Which is the same for animals. There has been a lot of overbreeding of dogs too! Which has added problems.
Tex, my 3 1/2 yr old Dalmatian, is having a lot of issues with allergies. We know he is allergic to chicken and ragweed. We have elimated issues to food and found that a lot of the his allergic reactions is outside environment. He scratches and chews on himself to the point of getting sores. Next month he will have additional testing to hopefully find out what he is allergic to. He might then be to get an allergy shot that will help him. (don't even ask how much we have spent at the vet and specialist so far this year!)
Tips that have worked for my dogs over the years: if the dog is queazy, giving som Pepcid before meals helps.
Dogs can eat coconut oil as well, I add some to all meals because it helps with their coat and skin.
Pumpkin: great for both constipation and diarrhea!! Either use canned pumpkin or buy a whole one, cut in in half remove the seeds (which you can use for other things) and cook in the over at about 350F for a while (when you test it with a knife it should go in easily it is done). I normally puree it once it is cool. Then freeze it in ziplock bags then lay it out flat for easy storage.
Both carrots and sweet potatoes are also good for fiber (needs to be cooked).
Raw food isn't bad. Need to make sure that they get a good balace of proteins, carbs, fats, minerals and vitamines.
OK I need to stop here. I get a bit enthusiastic about pet care LOL
You are such a sweetie🥰,,, I so enjoyed this video: the recipes looked mouthwatering, your family is awesome, the pet information...(I feel you; I have a cat that is therapeutic for me☺) I'll be keeping you and family in my prayers❤🙏... you are such an inspiration to me!
I know that situation well. You have to be your own advocate as well as you pets advocate. I did the same thing for my cats. And they are happy kitties now. Peace and Blessings.
I agree. Having the basic ingredients on hand you can make anything you want in larger quantities than what you can purchase in the store. My biggest expense each week is meat.
Nutmeg is a wonderful flavor added to the cheese and egg mixture.
Thank you for talking about the vet care issue! I also follow Dr Jones. My 13 yo Staffy is also having skin issues like you're describing. Looking forward to hearing an update.
I really enjoyed this video, thanks for sharing your family fun with us. Crumpies sounds amazing! You are so right about expensive vet bills - we love our fur babies, but sometimes, there just isn't any room in the budget for dr's visits - be it for us or the fur babies. A few years ago my income took a temporary nosedive right at the holidays (of course), and Murphy's Law being what it is, my cat got attacked by a stray that had climbed our 6-ft privacy fence. He only got a couple claw marks, but one of them got infected and abscessed. Thank the Lord for YT-ers who share valuable how-to info here!! I went to Walmart, bought a $4 scalpel (craft section) and some Bactine to numb/disinfect the area. One little poke, out came the yucky stuff. More bactine. The vet would have been a mnimum of $350 right at Christmas. My cat healed great, and seemed to take my doctoring in stride, bless his heart, giving me big lovies right after the 'procedure'. Thank you for all that you share here, I've learned so much!! ♥
I have been following you for over a year now and love what you do. Your butter bell video hooked me. I signed up for your monthly grocery chats but have never read an email after confirming my address. Your current link isn’t working either.
Some of my groceries come from the yard (wild). Field plantain greens are an amazing addition to any soup, violet greens are another amazing addition (they taste a bit like green/string beans). Just a couple weeks ago i was bummed out i didn't have greens for my chili, so i went into the yard with some scissors. 😂
THIS IS AMAZING and I am at the beginning of my journey of learning what's available in my bio-region. I so want to be like you!!
Thank you! This is all around fabulous!
You are very welcome my friend!
Oh my gosh, blueberry barbecue sauce, I can't wait to try making this.
My family has a bug going around so I made french onion soup with a twist last night. I used chicken stock, onion, and beets. I served with feta. It was sooooo good, but I want to try with sausage next time.
I love how you and your brother get along .I wish my brother and I did😢
I was nice to see you with your family. I have been to Hagerstown for work, but I did not go to the doughnut place. It is a small world.
I thought I was already subscribed to your channel, going to keep an eye open to make sure I don’t get unsubscribed just in case. FYI love your content and your energy even more so. Lots of love and respect from Wales 🏴
Going blueberry picking tomorrow. Can't wait to make the blueberry bbq sauce
So many of these ingredient combinations I never would have thought of. Raised by my Grand-Mother, she made shake-n-bake way too often and veggie options were corn or green beans out of a can. Not many other options.
Love the family and friends video. Thank you for reminding us that freedom is definitely not free!
You are just fabulous, so glad you were able to see the lion king live show, I love it 😃 if you haven’t already try making sage water and see if Thor will drink, sage is antibiotic and reduce inflammation , blessings
So glad you are helping Thor. I listen to Clark Howard and he spoke about Vet costs and why they are increasing and yes it is ridiculous. It's almost like for our Health and our animals we have to go back to basics
You are such a breath of fresh air, welcome back, you were missed. My first car was a red Chevy Cavalier! Now to veterinarian care. I once took my dog to the vet, she had gotten into something. We didn’t know what it was, but her poop was black the Vet told us they ran test that would check for like 50 different things, found nothing. Upon check out They wanted to put her on IV And the bill was $600 before the IV. I forgot to mention I wasn’t physically there but on the phone, I was with my two son and my husband was at work. My 21 year old daughter which this is her dog, was there. This was before the medication. The medication was 600 as well and we took her to this 24 hour vet care which before 6 PM the cost is much cheaper. Well she got there at five but because she wasn’t seen until after six that’s why I was told it $600 so I refuse to pay for the medication because they didn’t find anything wrong with Mango, they also wanted to run additional test which I couldn’t understand why? I refuse and I said well can we come back and pick up the medication in the morning when it would be cheaper the medication only cost $40 in the morning. They had to ask the doctor, it was up to him, he agreed. I knew in my heart that there had to be something different and I found out that you can actually get your dogs medication prescription sent to a pharmacy which is cheaper. All in all Mango is fine for now, it was one of those disposable hand warmers my sons use during the spring baseball season.
I love your videos more and more the more I watch. Thank you ❤
My cats have allergies. They have been using medicine from the vet for 12 years. All of a sudden the price went up by 150%! So I have been feeding them turmeric and cod liver oil. It has been working! Not as well as the medication but it’s still working!!
Wow❤❤❤ you gave out some really great gems. Thank you so much!
Thor is just adorable. You made me feel extra old. I was in my late 20s when The Lion King came out. I'm so glad you spent some quality time with your mom. I love seeing all the historic buildings! Your brother is so funny(stealing dad's jerky,the nerve!). And yes, I hear you about the vet bills. My pooch was allergic to something in the grass and would break out something scary. I opened a small savings for her and usually had close to 1k in there because it was NEVER cheap. We ended up giving her fish oil along with other supplements and her black,shiny coat was back to normal. We also used Benadryl when she was super bad. I wish I knew back then what I know now about herbs and supplements to make her life even better. Thanks for the great video. Hugs to you Cassandra.
Where i live all vets have price fixed and I couldn't walk in for any service for $250. It is $9-1100 for a recommended dental check... Cleaning and treatment EXTRA! Are you kidding me? I can't pay that for my child either!
Didn't even get me started on the racket of dentistry.... Medical that can't be afforded by the masses.
Fruit and meat go well together. I used to make a roast cooked in apple juice with cinnamon served with a sauce made with cherry preserves and cinnamon.
BTW Birds of Vahalla which makes ethical products has an itchy scratchy pet soap. They also make bird safe wax melts.
You are beyond fabulous! Bless you🙏🏻
Love 💗 the car pillow backs
I took food to HI when my Mom, Auntie, Neice & son went teenagers eat a lot
Love Dr Jones. I’m hoping you share a canned dog food I’ve been looking for a safe canning recipe
Just ordered this book thanks for sharing
I took in 3 cats all from a feral mother. One from the one year, 2 the next year. My male kitty from the second had so many health problems. Thankfully, it was during covid, so I was able to save money. I got up to $6000. For me to spend it all on the male cat. That doesn't even include the cost of putting him down and his cremation. So many vet visits and hoping we got him better over time for him to get congestive heart failure. He was the best little cat I ever had and I'm so glad I got to give him a good life. I just hate the fact that he only got to live for a year and a half. It's been 2 years and I still mourn for him.
Very informative video! Thanks for all the work you put into these videos.
Caster oil is also good for dissolving Cataracts in humans aswell in dogs, cats. Learned that from Barbara Oneil and Dr. Jones speaks of Caster oil for pets aswell ❤
Hello friend! Oh thank you for sharing this!!! I love Barbara Oneil!!!!!