The Kubacz Connection: Les fêtes

Since our last post, we have gone to a few local "fêtes" (festivals).

Last weekend we took G and a friend, "Z," to la fête pastorale in the neighboring town, Marthod.

Can you guess the theme of this festival?

Attempt to get pic with the sign...

As the picture above suggests, it was a rainy Sunday afternoon but we braved the intermittent showers in order to experience this "sheep festival."

Looking at the sheep...this one had a bell around its neck

There were dozens of make-shift pens set up, each containing a different breed of sheep. Some had pinkish faces, some black around nose/eyes/ears, some white and fluffy, some freshly sheered...

Gaining the courage to pet one...on the nose

You could tell this was a community-wide event that had been planned well in advance. One section displayed "sheep" art from the local school.

G & Z enjoyed looking at the colorful sheep

The highlight for the kids was....

the Kids' Zone

Coming of the little "straw house"
(bunnies were inside)

which was a petting zoo, too!

Up close and personal with the animals in the kid zone

In addition to all the sheep, there was a small fair with traditional crafts. Lots of local crafts -- made from wood, metal, cloth -- and foods -- cheeses, sausages and bread (of course!). We sampled a few things and bought some cheese. Dianna really wanted some bread but they were sold out and we didn't have time to wait around for the next batch to bake...

Baguettes lined up -- waiting to be baked

Wood-oven where these men were actively baking...
they had quite an assembly line going!

All-in-all a fun afternoon exploring local culture : ) And more beautiful vistas along the way...

Rain is becoming fairly regular here as the season changes.

Clouds lingering on the mountainside...
taken from our dining room window

Yesterday was quite a rainy day, but when the clouds parted mid-afternoon, we were able to seek over to a nearby park for:

"fête de la pomme"

G with friends at "la fête"

Have you non-French speakers deduced what "la pomme" is??

Checking out the bin of APPLES

Watching the men make apple juice!

The rain seemed to have dampened the festivities a bit...we almost missed it because there was such a small crowd. But thankfully our friend caught sight of the little tent and gathering in the far corner of the park. We left with a bag full of apples and water bottles full of fresh squeezed apple juice....YUM!!

Another fun fruit experience...

La prune
(what we consider plums)

This picture was actually taken a couple weeks ago. When Dean went to get our car he was gifted a bag full of freshly picked plums that were sweet, ripe and ready to eat!

G excitedly sharing her plums with her friends

And one final EXCITING event from the last week was Baby K5's ultrasound!! We are praising God for a healthy and happy-appearing baby...still a boy : )