MY MOTHER-FLORENCE LOUISE JONES cont.

Continuation of My Mother
To let you know a little more about my mom, she was a very productive person. She made her own clothes and mine. I can remember her cutting a pattern out of newspaper of a dress that she had seen in the Sears catalogue. The one she made looked just like the picture only a different color. I was amazed that someone could do that. She said her mother taught her to sew. She designed floral arrangements of fresh and artificial flowers, decorated beautiful cakes, drew pictures and played the piano. She never took lessons, she just played by ear. And she was a beautician.I was her Guinea pig. Once she dyed my hair blue for a hair show in Atlanta and the color had to wear off. The next show, she just used pink hair spray and it washed out.
And her cakes were just beautiful-one cake she made for my 6th birthday was decorated in pink and red with small heart cakes in each corner. There was a big heart shaped layer in the middle of her sheet cake. I thought this was the first red velvet cake because of the white frosting and red layer. But I was just a little girl and I just wanted a red cake. But it was so soft and moist and it was mine. I never did get that recipe. One cake that she did use quite often is a 1, 2, 3 cake which I have included in one of my recipe stories. Mom had a flair for any decorations including Christmas. She put red and green cookies on the tree in the shape of stars and bells. Unfortunately for me, they were not the eating kind.This took place in the 1950's. She could place magnolia leaves on the mantle and some pine cones sprayed silver and gold around with a few homemade candles and it turned out great. I could never make candles until they came out with kits. I always wondered what my mom used besides paraffin. I do know that she learned alot from her mother and their cooking was done on an old wood stove.
Mom was one of 6 girls and they all had many talents. They were known as the Jones girls in Floyd county during the 30's time period. And they were beautiful, every one. My Aunt Aline was married to a farmer and lived in Adairsville, GA. She never had her hair cut in her entire life. When it wasn't in a bun, it would hang below her hips. Aunt Josie was married to a florist and they had a shop in North Rome called Whitehead's Florist. They had a farm in addition to the florist and he raised cows. Aunt Sybil worked most of her like just to raise her children but she could can and preserve vegetables and fruits like no one I have ever seen. Aunt Totsie sang in a Gospel quartet and her husband was a butcher. He worked with his dad at a store in North Rome. Their store was across the corner from Aunt Josie's florist. Aunt Doris was a homemaker but she worked at the phone company as an operator. They don't use those girls anymore. Just about everything is automated. All of these amazing women are gone now except for Aunt Doris and she will be 80 years young this May of 2011.
These are people who helped steer the course of my life. I have a little of each person in me and it carries on through my children.