No, you don’t have to go out to a farm to buy a sheep for the holiday. LaBel Vie set up two rather large tents in their parking lot on New Year’s Eve day, the last time I was there. I thought at the time that it was something they were doing for the New Year celebration, but, no, it turns out that you can go into the tents and buy a live sheep for the Feast of Sacrifice. The price is 36 dirham per kilo, or about $1.75 per pound. I don’t know if that includes the butcher’s fee, and maybe you could recoup some of the price by selling the wool. However, that’s not the point; as I posted before, some of the meat is given to those less fortunate.
The weather has turned nasty, as forecast; it’s been chilly (about 45-50 degrees F.) and rainy most of the day. A great day to cook up a large pot of hearty bean soup. Yummmmmmm. Chock full of white beans, carrots, potatoes, onions and secret spices. Dip into it with a warm, fresh baguette. Yeah! More later.