Our house has its own theme song, courtesy of the British band Madness (I had to look that one up; consider it your fun fact for the day). Instead of “our house, in the middle of our street,” it’s “our house, in the middle of Abilene.” It’s squarely in the middle of town, about equidistant from ACU (northeast Abilene) and the mall area (south/southwest). It’s in the middle of a row of houses that back up to Highland, and it faces Sayles Blvd., a major thoroughfare. It’s our first house together and has been our home for two years. And today, as we leave, I thought I’d share some house photos with you.
Here are a few of my favorite things – books, lovely cards and a yummy candle – on our mantel:
We love having people over; I took this shot before some friends came for dinner:
We love having people to stay, too. Bethany has spent the most time in this room, but we’ve hosted lots of friends and family over the last two years:
Outdoors, we have a long front porch and I have a patio garden, which I love:
And a view that includes sunlight and green leaves and blue sky:
However, it won’t surprise you that the kitchen is the heart of our home (and I love that it’s RED):
Oh, we’ve loved this little (well, really big) house. We’ve begun married life here, cooked countless meals, watched hours of Friends, hosted game nights and birthday parties, shared our first two Christmases together. We’ve laughed about the “gremlins” in the air conditioner and waged war on mice and various bugs; we’ve walked barefoot over hardwood floors and brewed many, many cups of tea. We’ve laughed and cried and worked on projects and finished our grad-school work (both of us) and hugged dear friends and done a lot of living here. And I’ll always cherish our memories in this place.
Our house will have some new tenants soon – a family that’s new to Abilene. I hope they love it as much as we did (and do). And I know it will love them back.
cakes, tea and dreams 
I love your little house; the only thing I regret is that I wasn’t a part of the memories made there. I know the little flat in Quincy is just bursting at its seams to welcome you in with open arms. Remember to cherish the old and recklessly welcome and embrace the new sacred moments that your new home will host. You and J will be dearly missed. It’s a really good thing that you will be visiting our fair city and this lovely little Sayles Row again.
I can’t wait to see the new house! And my house in the middle of abilene totally works with that song!
Oh, get out of Abilene already. The leaving entries keep dredging up the memories of me leaving Abilene, and it’s just too painful. JOKE. Actually, truth is, I’ve enjoyed all the leaving entries. It feels good to live vicariously through you and remember that wonderful, odd little town. And, whether in Abilene or in Boston, we’re reconnecting over a burrito one of these days; I just know it.
Reading all your goodbye posts, I’m getting sad that I’ve never been to Abilene. You are really good at sharing your love and enthusiasm.
i loved my first house it was only 400 square feet but i owned it and it was cool.
Our wireless internet is “Our House” of course written by Graham Nash about his and Joni Mitchell’s house.