farewell dumerilli

On the weekend we bid a bittersweet farewell to Mr M's childhood family home, Dumerilli. Yesterday the moving truck arrived and the only place Mr M has ever known as 'home' was left standing empty. It was sad, Mr M's sister was especially sad, but we were trying to be rather matter-of-fact about it all. My future in-laws are building a beautiful new home down by the seaside, a new home to fill with new memories.

I will miss heading out to what can only be described as the veggie garden of perfection to grab some ears of corn for dinner or raspberries for dessert...

And I will miss all the little touches that made Dumerilli such a happy home. The family pieces scattered throughout the house - Mr M's great-grandparents trunk which travelled on the ship with them from England, the Australian landscape oil paintings, the big exposed red brick chimney in the centre of the home to heat us all, the spices lined up neatly on the open kitchen shelving...

Purple viola's in terracotta pots and glasshouses will always remind me of Dumerilli and it's rambling cottage garden full of foxgloves, hollyhocks, granny's bonnet, anemones and Erica bush all surrounded by the giant towering gums of the state forest.

In the late afternoon on Sunday we all went for a final walk down the paddock to the hay shed. One last time. Mr M's parents bought Dumerilli 27 years ago, the house was half the size with no power, the garden hardly existed. They created a beautiful home for their three children to have an idyllic childhood. A home where they felt loved, comforted, warm and safe.

Farewell magical Dumerilli, we will miss you xxx

Images by Emma Durkin for Cinderella at Brindabella