Aunt Jessie~Part 3

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

 My Aunt Jessie…..

Jessie was born in 1910, and died in 1990.  As you can see, she lived to be 80 years old – one of her goals in life.  As it turns out, she, her sister (my mother), and their mother (my Granny) all THREE died when they were 80 years old!  She had only one sibling, my mother.  I really enjoy these pictures of them as children.

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This one is one of my favorites.  When I showed it to a friend, her comment was, “Look at that – she’s mad as a wet hen, but still has a bow in her hair!”  Seems like Granny liked for her girls to look feminine – with bows in their hair a lot.

 This is also one of my very favorite pictures of Granny, Jessie, and Mother.  Someone must have said something really funny!

I’ve mentioned before her love of antiques.  This is an antique drop-leaf table that she treasured.

For Christmas in 1955, one of her friends “wrought” a tapestry for Jessie that is truly amazing.  She had it framed and hung on the wall between the dining room and living room.  This picture shows just how huge it is!

Jessie had a really unique house in Albuquerque.  This window corner is in the kitchen.  When Granny was alive, she had pots and pots of African Violets in that East window.  She loved to tend to them.  After she died, and Jessie couldn’t keep them up, she placed some of her knick-knacks and beer steins there, so she could enjoy them.

The upstairs bathroom was a neat room – the tile work was fascinating.  Actually this same theme was throughout the house wherever there was tile – kitchen (white with black), downstairs bathroom (green with black), etc.

The wall between the dining room and the living room was a “stair-step” affair, and she used it to advantage.  At Christmas, she would make candles, using waxed cardboard milk cartons.  She would literally whip some of the melted candle wax to make a foamy outer layer, and she would sprinkle sparkles in it before it hardened.  When the candle was burned, it glowed through the foam (and sometimes color) to make a delightful ambiance in the room.  I really loved those candles. (If you look in the background, you can see the “cove” ceiling I mentioned last week)

She had a real talent for decorating.  She loved Christmas and went all out to decorate the house for her – and our – enjoyment.

She was a delightful lady, and I’m glad she was in my life.