- 2 days ago
We are sisters, Julia and Anastasia Vanderbyl. A few years ago, we began a journey to live a life in perfect harmony with nature. A life of caring for animals, growing fruit, planting trees, gardening, cooking, creating, building and learning to live with the land.
In this time, nature has taught us more than we could have ever imagined.
Our environmental films document the landscape, the lessons we’ve learnt and our work as regenerative farmers here on Bundjalung Country.
We live on the land of the Arakwal and Minjungbal People of the Bundjalung Nation. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Country we live on and recognise their continuing connection to the land and waters. We thank them for protecting this rainforest and its ecosystems since time immemorial.
Chapters:
0:00 Starting a big renovation project!
2:08 Tearing down a wall
5:10 Finding mysterious old treasure in the wall
6:02 Starting the door frame
10:59 Pulling up the floor
14:55 Building a new wall
After years of incremental renovations on a former farm shed, one creator takes on a new project to improve the space's flow. By
In this time, nature has taught us more than we could have ever imagined.
Our environmental films document the landscape, the lessons we’ve learnt and our work as regenerative farmers here on Bundjalung Country.
We live on the land of the Arakwal and Minjungbal People of the Bundjalung Nation. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Country we live on and recognise their continuing connection to the land and waters. We thank them for protecting this rainforest and its ecosystems since time immemorial.
Chapters:
0:00 Starting a big renovation project!
2:08 Tearing down a wall
5:10 Finding mysterious old treasure in the wall
6:02 Starting the door frame
10:59 Pulling up the floor
14:55 Building a new wall
After years of incremental renovations on a former farm shed, one creator takes on a new project to improve the space's flow. By
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LifestyleTranscript
00:02it's been a big week but I just want to jump on here and thank you for all of this
00:06report that
00:07you sent Julia last week with her big surgery and give you a little update the surgery went
00:12well and Julia has just been recovering for the past week we were in Sydney for a week while she
00:17recovered and we've just come home and now she's just mostly just in bed trying to you know relax
00:24and recover and I thought today I would come out and I would harvest as much fruit as I can
00:30from
00:30the farm for a little care package for her if you missed last week's video there's a big update there
00:37but my sister Julia was diagnosed with a rare vascular condition and needed a major surgery
00:42last week we flew to Sydney and Julia got the treatment she needed it's been intense but we're
00:48really hopeful that this surgery can help Julia to feel better it went well without any complications
00:53and after a few nights in hospital and then a few nights recovering in Sydney we came back home
00:58Julia hasn't been able to do much more than just get out of bed at the moment but she's been
01:02sketching
01:03so much and she's so inspired she's got these sketchbooks full of watercolors that she's been
01:07doing from her bed and I told her about how I was secretly working on our website so that we
01:13could sell
01:14the prints to you and she was so excited and she was just really grateful for everyone that bought a
01:18print from her shoot to have her art around the world means so much to her especially in this time
01:24and she was also very grateful for the financial support while she's going through this hard time
01:29with the surgery cooking and baking from the land seems like a small thing that I can do for Julia
01:34right now for her health but also for a nice warm treat I'm always inspired by the seasons for what
01:40to
01:41bake and I also want to make something for Julia that's really cozy and one of her favorite things
01:44but I also want to keep it really healthy and healing so I'm thinking there's lots of avocados
01:50on there's also lots of pecans and macadamias so I'm thinking pecan macadamia base and then an
01:55avocado chocolate mousse with honey I think she'll love that maybe flowers all on top living here we
02:02try to eat as much in touch with nature as we can kiwi is high in vitamin c ginger and
02:08turmeric are
02:08anti-inflammatory avocados improve digestion and everything we grow on the farm seems to have some
02:14sort of purpose or remedy for your health it's the very start of kiwi season the kiwis only ripen
02:22when the cold nights come and there's something about the cold that changes the structure of the
02:26fruit until it sweetens and so they're finally ready I think a few of them so I'm gonna pick some
02:51so many Brazilian cherries these are great they're really high in vitamin c as well as kiwi fruits as
02:57well so that's really good in healing so Julia after this surgery can have all of the healing
03:02fruits fresh from the farm all organic
03:05the surgery actually ended up being the day after Julia's birthday so she didn't have the
03:10most relaxing birthday while she was being admitted into hospital and undergoing all sorts of tests so
03:15that's why I wanted to make her a cake that feels as warm and decadent as the birthday cake that
03:21she
03:21had to be able to do with her herbs but also be good for her recovery none of us expected
03:27how big it
03:28would be it was a six-hour surgery and just being in the hospital the anesthetic and just mentally flying
03:34and rushing to the city it's all been so harsh for her but now at home we feel optimistic about
03:40her healing
03:43no you gotta find your own you can't eat mine you can't eat mine find your own
03:57these are ore plums they're a native plum to this area and they're really sour and they are really high
04:03in vitamin c and they're supposed to have all of these like amazing properties that are really good
04:08for healing so I think I'm changing plans and I think I might make a cheesecake for Julia because
04:13it's her favorite cake in the world and then I make this sauce that goes on top of it out
04:17of this and
04:17it's like sweet and sour all at once and it's delicious so I think I better make her favorite
04:22cake so I'm gonna keep searching and see if I can find any more
04:33Maggie I found one for you
04:39yum you don't mind how sour they are seed and all
04:44don't swallow the seed Maggie this is an ore plum which is a native fruit to North Queensland and
04:49it has many benefits it's high in antioxidants even higher than blueberries it's rich in potassium
04:56vitamin e zinc magnesium and calcium it's very sour if you eat it fresh but Maggie loves it
05:04but cooked in jams or sauces or cordials it's delicious
05:09it has been used by indigenous Australians for thousands of years
05:14Maggie do you want to try?
05:17I don't have any I don't have any
05:20you can start with me but you better not find the ones I have to think more
05:26we live on the lands of the Iroquois and Minjabal people of the Bundjalung nation
05:30we acknowledge the traditional custodians of the country we live on and recognize their
05:35continuing connection to the land and waters we thank them for protecting this rainforest and its
05:40ecosystems since time immemorial
05:45we are very grateful for conventional medicine and have relied on a lot for Julia's health problems
05:51but like any system it has its flaws so we make sure to always use a combination finding paths of
05:57healing not just in the traditional roots but also in the way that we eat live and consume
06:03cooking is a huge way that we take care of ourselves and feed our bodies with ingredients
06:08that have the ability to care for us while Julia's whole system is inflamed
06:13ure plum's anti-inflammatory benefits are so important cinnamon myrtle is another australian
06:19bush food that grows throughout the forest here it's naturally antimicrobial which is so important
06:24for Julia right now instead of getting an infection and having to rely off antibiotics which
06:29have such negative effects on the rest of your body it's a bit ironic for me to talk about food
06:35as
06:35medicine right now because i'm making a big sweet cheesecake but even this decadent cake is gluten
06:40free sugar free and its main ingredient is yogurt and eggs and i think an important part of being
06:46healthy is being happy and a big cheesecake is the perfect thing for that diet is a big part of
06:53Julia's
06:53health protocol she doesn't follow any particular trendy diet but just something that feels the best for her
06:58body after experimenting with elimination of certain foods over the years mostly it's just organic fresh
07:06whole and protein rich foods before Julia became so strict with her diet i used to eat anything and
07:12everything when i was living in the city as a student with not a lot of money i ate a
07:17lot of processed foods
07:18but when i moved back home and we started cooking together i started to eat the same diet whole foods
07:24organic homegrown home cooked and it made me realize that in my own health as a healthy person that
07:30this change was massive i felt great and what's more interesting is that now any of the treats that
07:36Julia makes that i used to laugh at like tahini cacao with chia yogurt and a little honey they taste
07:41so
07:42good your gut just readjust to these things there were times that i would have way rather have eaten a
07:48chocolate bar but these days i crave julia sugar-free gluten-free protein rich organic homemade treat more
07:54than anything i could buy at a shop and this way of eating has taught me to be so creative
07:59with my
07:59foods to try new recipes and cook with the seasons
08:40i love this morning routine so much but sometimes these little rascals can be naughty and in those
08:46times i dream of travel and that's why this week i'm excited to thank aelo for being the sponsor of
08:51this
08:51video elo is basically the first digital e-sim platform so a digital e-sim just means that
08:58you're able to buy a sim card digitally in over 200 different countries all through the word app you
09:04are so loud if you've been following along you might know that i love a little solo adventure and in
09:09the past few years i've traveled to the u.s to new zealand and to indonesia all on my own
09:13but what you might not
09:14know is the behind the scenes struggle of trying to keep safe stay connected and not get lost all
09:21with a sim card i learned my lesson a few years ago when i was crossing the border from british
09:25columbia to washington state and the sim card that i bought at the corner store just randomly stopped
09:30working and i was deep in the mountains of washington with no reception for four days and i have never
09:36been in so much trouble from my mum in my whole life i couldn't text her that i was safe
09:41she didn't know
09:41where i was it was not good but i love my lesson and when i went to indonesia last year
09:47i got an
09:48airlo e-sim and was so easy to do through the app and everything went seamlessly it meant that i
09:53was
09:53able to order a scooter taxi straight away check in with my mum whenever i needed to as well as
09:58have
09:58the confidence to travel in new places without a single problem it's so much cheaper than roaming
10:02for me and just so much easier than the struggle of buying a sim card when you arrive in a
10:06country if
10:07you're ready for an adventure without all the hassle you can download the airlo app for free today
10:11and you can use our code mother3 for three dollars off your first e-sim go have fun and travel
10:16without
10:16all the stress i harvested this bunch of bananas maybe two weeks ago and it's been slowly ripening
10:21since then and the last few ones i've let get a little bit rotten but they're still they're perfect
10:25for baking so i'm gonna make some banana pancakes for breakfast and the rest i froze for smoothies so
10:31i have so many smoothies in the freezer as well as frozen mango from the summer
10:39do you want the rotten one do you know what to do with banana that's for you marigold knows what
10:45to do
10:49this is the simplest recipe ever and i eat it so often it's just bananas eggs and a tiny bit
10:56of
10:56buckwheat flour and it makes the best pancakes that you could ever dream of they never fall apart they're like
11:02little pie clips so banana bread and pancake combined
11:19all right
11:29and a little bit of flour which i always guess each time and always change
11:42julia instead of coffee drinks this turmeric drink that she makes herself and
11:46it's turmeric from the garden and it's really healing and it's kind of delicious
11:56so
12:02so
12:05so
12:06so
12:26last week really opening up to you all felt incredible it really gave us a vision of who you
12:33are to hear your stories and read your comments and send off your print orders and see the names
12:38from all over the world it made us realize just how lucky we are to have this beautiful community
12:43supporting us i think on here we often want to show the nicer moments of our life because i mean
12:50let's be honest no one wants to watch five hours of trying to find magnolia the goat when she's secretly
12:55escaped the neighbor's farm or to watch a failed project or to listen to sad stories but i realized
13:02i think i was wrong to think this of course you want to know what's really happening here and at
13:08the moment that's a lot but in between it especially on these routines like moving the goats
13:14i find those poetic moments of life working through and i remember that this is it the beauty the
13:21grandness the incredible moments of life that we all search for they aren't as hard to find as we
13:26think they are everywhere even in hospital dorms when me and mom are so worried about julia's health
13:32julia will crack a joke that makes us all burst with laughter and she reminds us that it's not as
13:38simple as a good day or a bad day i just wanted to thank everyone for how supportive and beautiful
13:44and
13:45caring you are after we opened up with you last week about julia's health and it just honestly means
13:50so much to us just hearing all of your own stories of hardship and understanding how beautiful this
13:57audience is and how much you guys care about us so i just wanted to jump on here and say
14:02thank you
14:02julia was so blown away by the amount of people that bought prints it means so much to her especially
14:09at this time and she just keeps imagining her in all of these different homes around the world
14:14she's really excited for you all to receive it you'll probably be receiving your prints soon or
14:19you might have already so please when you do comment how you like it send us a picture let us
14:26know
14:26this print behind me this is a painting julia did two years ago maybe and it's a self-portrait of
14:33herself it's called deep stream passes i hill gently which i think is very relevant right now and it's one
14:40my favorite of her paintings and i also want to show you it because i realized i didn't show the
14:46framed prints close up so this is an a1 in a natural frame and it's the biggest size and the
14:53print quality
14:54is just so beautiful but if you ordered one you will know that so yeah thank you again it it
14:59means so
15:00much i can't explain how much it means to us just to even put names and faces to you and
15:06hear your story
15:06isn't all of your love towards julia's art has just got her so inspired to be back in the studio
15:11and be painting again she's obviously not up for it at the moment her health is pretty bad right now
15:16a surgery like that for anyone is very rough but for her with her any cfs it's going to be
15:22a long time
15:23before her energy levels can hopefully be up enough to be painting but yeah she's feeling really excited
15:29about just inspired about everything and wants to get sketching but i thought in the meantime while
15:35she is recovering i might come down here and just start renovating a little bit i know i've renovated
15:42this place many times but i've got a few things that i kind of want to change up and i
15:47think that
15:47would be a kind of special present for julia so that when she's up for it she can come down
15:52this
15:52space will be sparkling and she can go and paint again anyway thank you all so much for your support
15:58and
15:58if you haven't already you can check out our prints on our website and there's lots available there
16:03so thanks again everyone it it means so much
16:07you
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