Fausta is an unusual name. A Saint of mercy was named Fausta and that was one quality my aunt had among many. She was one of my dad's sisters. My aunt never uttered a complaint as far as I know. Everything was just fine with her and she saw no evil in anything or anyone. She was known for her pies, her easy going personality, and quilting. She used to come to our house along with my mother and she would make pies. My mother would make pillow-soft dinner rolls and also cinnamon (rolls). Mother fixed chicken with her famous home made noodles, and then they would quilt. They chatted quietly and laughed loudly all day long and it was some how stabilizing to my household. She and my mother were closer than my mother was to her own sister. That happens sometimes I have found.
My Aunt Fausta (we pronounced it Aunt Faustee) was the best pie baker ever! Her lard crusts were so flaky and delicious one could eat them without the filling. I had been to her house many times for lessons on pie making, but the lessons never seemed to work once I got home. Never one to give up on pie, I decided one Sunday afternoon when the house was quiet I would make pies until I got it right. I had flour from one end of the kitchen to the other. I tried pounding the dough into submission, but to no avail. I also refused to chill the dough for 30 minutes because I wanted instant gratification...always in a rush. Hence, it never worked.
My aunt died at 93 the year we moved into this current home but not before Andy got her to the Ohio State Fair; a place she had always longed to visit. I was in London and she was staying for a long visit with Andy and the boys. Andy got it in his head that she should indeed see the fair, so he and she drove to the fairgrounds on a hot and humid day. He hustled her hither and yon to see the quilts display and the baked goods contest. It could have killed the poor woman but it didn't and see it she did and she talked about it until she died. I loved her and her qualities and I wish I had them.
Note: Oh, you can get them on Amazon, but two packages, coming from the UK cost $50. US. No thanks. Scoops will suit me.
