YARD & BAKE SALE....A SUCESS!
If you were in the cloistered part of the chapel at 7:30 AM on Saturday morning you wouldn't have guessed that the driveway was jammed-packed with cars and that there was a line of "early-birds" waiting for 8:00 AM! In fact, inside the monastery, we really couldn't tell that our St. Dominic's Hall was full of people looking for a bargain, enjoying meeting friends and getting that last apple pie or loaf of bread!
Our extern sisters would periodically update us on how things were going and on occasion nuns were known to peek out the door...and just as quickly pop back in before someone could see us! Snatches of conversations could be heard as our wonderful volunteers of the Rosary Shrine Guild got people to buy just one more thing!
It was amazing to see by 4 PM that nearly everything was gone and what was left was all packed up to be taken by another group a few days later. The novitiate sisters came down in the afternoon to collect the soap products and baked goods...and to try a few cookies— just to make sure they were still OK!
We extend a big THANK YOU to all our wonderful volunteers, especially to Lambie Newsham who directed the event. We won't mention any names because we know we'll leave out someone!
The Sale netted nearly $7800, which will be used toward the rebuilding of the front stairs of the chapel, a project to begin hopefully before the end of the summer. Included in the design will be a handicap accessible ramp, something that we have always wanted and which has been an expressed need by many who come (and many who can't come!) to our chapel.
We hope to share more about this project soon. Meanwhile, just in case we thought we could take the day off, work began Monday afternoon on the renovation of the soap department! In the morning, sisters frantically packed up and moved the entire contents while at the same time making soap! (Is this possible? We found it is!)
The renovations of this room have been needed for years! The floor tiles have been slowly falling apart, moisture has been coming through the cider-block walls and many of the ceiling lights no longer work. We have been putting off renovating this room which was added on to the monastery in the 1960's because of more urgent repairs but with the extra sales from the Fox News feature we are now able to provide a better working area for the Seignadou Soap products production.
We have been stocking up on inventory so at least at this point we don't see that we will need to close the online store.