I've Been to the Mall!

The Ursuline Mall, that is. It's the rummage sale portion of the St. John's Bazaar. The Ursuline Mall refers to the Ursuline Sisters of Waterville, ME, who staffed the St. John's School from 1915 to 1998. The school is still going strong, but is staffed by lay teachers (as it was at its beginning in 1882). I spent $13.50 at the Mall, partly on future gifts for Cordeliaknits and her roommate, and mostly on something I may set up and photograph for a later post.
There are many food booths at the Bazaar, and most of them are run by parishioners, so the prices are right. Here is a picture of two of the booths, with part of the school in the background. I did have a mocha shake from the ice cream stand, but I skipped the pizza in favor of a lobster roll for $5.75. (For those of you who don't know, this is a fantastic price for a lobster roll.) Of course, it was not such a roll as one could purchase at the Dolphin Marina or Red's Eats; the lobster was in smaller chunks and there was probably more mayo, but it was still a nice supper.

There is quite a bit of entertainment available at the Bazaar, from games (which Onkel Hankie Pants partook of) to rides (see below). There is also music from noon to 10 pm every day. When I was there, the music was being provided by Wild Horse, a country music cover band (at least the songs I heard). Yes folks, Maine is and has been for many years a hotbed of country music, and there is a Downeast Country Music Association. Wild Horse doesn't appear to have a CD out, but one of the musicians from Dirigo Highway was sitting in so I bought one of their CDs. Here they are playing:
If you followed the link to St. John's Church in the previous post, you can see some photos of the magnificent interior; it's almost a cathedral. The present building was constructed between 1913 and 1927. At that time the church was almost entirely French-Canadian. (Of course Mass was in Latin at that time, so any non-Francophone Catholics could understand most of the service). Most of the French-Canadians in Brunswick at that time lived in our neighborhood and worked at the mill which forms most of the view from our guestroom window. They had large families and low pay, yet they built this lovely church. Some people might disapprove, but I think it's admirable. The Ecumenical Service of Lessons and Carols is held at St. John's each year and we get to enjoy the amazing architecture and decor. Here is a photo of the church and the ferris wheel. The only downside to having this lovely church so near us (and the Episcopal church which is just beyond on the opposite corner) is the bells. We thought the sound of church bells was a neighborhood amenity, until we got Rusty. Along with people on wheels, church bells are one of the things that drive him slightly mad. Several times a day he barks and runs about -- he hears the bells before we do and he just doesn't like them.

That's all for now.