The Return of Old Friends

I'm slowly unpacking boxes, some of which have been unopened for years. Each time we move (and we've moved now ... I think ... 18 times in 26 years) I sigh at the number of boxes of stuff. My little knick-knacks, family treasures, pictures, candles, vases, doilies, miniatures. The very things that weary our husbands and make them tote back-and-forth as we decide where to put everything.
Years ago, in about 2005, we visited THE Yankee Candle Store in Massachusetts, and I bought a plastic case of votive candles; you can mix-and-match the scents you like. I've made this assortment last a long time!

And I still have a few to go. Today I chose "cinnamon sandalwood" to burn, in celebration of moving into our new/old house and of its beginning to feel like home.

Three things must occur, I've found, before a maze of blank walls and floors can begin to feel like home to me: 1) rugs on the floor, 2) curtains on the windows, 3) pictures on the walls. I've accomplished much of the first two, and have barely started on the third. I need a house to feel like a home, and for some reason especially this time. I've felt a bit insecure lately about life, about where it's going and what's happening. I feel like I'm on a roller coaster, and I am not at the controls. (Not that I ever was, but maybe I had the illusion of it.)
Anywho, back to "old friends."

 A few dishes I haven't seen in a about four years. I love the pitcher and gravy boat. Right now they are atop the piano, but I'll be putting them to use.

 An antique typewriter that's been kicking around with us since we lived in Mississippi. I always mean to put it out where I can see it, but often forget. No more collecting dust in the garage!

On top of the piano are two very special items -- a pair of crystal candelabra.

 They have quite a story of travels, and I hope I get this right in the telling and am not repeating myself. They belonged to my grandmother. At some point she gave one to her best friend Fanella Jenkins. Later, my grandmother gave hers to my mother, so when I was growing up, there was only one. It sat on our piano at home and the crystals tinkled prettily when I played. As I graduated into Chopin and Rachmaninoff, they tinkled louder, but never broke.
Then when I married, Mrs. Jenkins sent me her candelabrum for a wedding gift, and I was so thrilled! Later my mother also gave me hers, so now I have them both. I'm quite careful with them. And for some reason I do not like to get them out if I know I'm in a house temporarily. Like many of my most precious items, they seem best suited to a real home, one we plan to sink our roots into.
These lace curtains have been packed away for a long time. I'm not sure but I think I haven't used them since Mississippi, where our ceilings were 14 feet tall and our windows were 10 feet tall. I could not find draperies that long in the stores, so I bought lace fabric by the yard and made my own, cutting them to length.

I found my autumn chargers! I love them; they put me into my autumn mood, which I love to be in :) It may seem silly to have chargers on the table for dinner when all my furniture isn't even in the house, nor the pictures on the walls, but I don't care.

I'm reuniting with old friends in the fall, and it is wonderful.
Stress, be banished!
Joy, welcome to our home!
How's that for a declaration?