Friday, June 20, 2008

One part of leaving Ouaga is finding homes for many of our pets. That's why Dawn the Goat HAD to get married.
We managed to find a place for her with some lovely friends that already have a goat at home. But theirs is a BOY goat and as one thing would certainly lead to another, Mallory decided that a wedding would have to take place before any change in living arrangements could take place. Who is more of a stickler for the rules of civilised life than a 10 year old Nice Catholic Girl?

So, last Saturday Yann and Dawn got married.
When a Canadian friend of mine came by that morning, I was sewing the dress. And yes, I should have been packing boxes, working on the house inventory or even blogging. But I was sewing up a white lace-trimmed goat dress. Custom designed by me. Goat-couture, if you will.
The wedding cake was sitting on the table. It was pretty obvious what it was. It was a two-tiered white cake topped with white flowers and a pair of small plastic animals: the goat bride and groom.
Sandy laughed at me a while and then pulled out her camera to take some pictures.
"There's always something crazy going on at your house, Beth" she said, shaking her head, which I took to be a high form of compliment.
But you see how I may have gotten a rep around here for being a bit of an odd bird.


The guests arrived soon after and the ceremony began. As Mallory was needed to wrestle to bride down the aisle, Alexa had to be the officiating priestess. She got right into the rôle , digging up a white vestements and various trappings.


In the end, JP had to intervene, as Yann got a bit over-wrought with the emotions of the moment. As you can see, it was clearly a love-match. At the end, when Alexa said "You may now lick the bride", they sort of nuzzled each other, making us all optimistic about their possibilities for a very happy future life together.

Aslan and Midnight (who got married last year) will, of course, stay together. They'll be going to live at a sort of urban farm owned by some friends of ours. There are no other goats there, but plenty of horses and monkeys for company.

7 comments:

Ksam said...

I swear, you just have the funniest stories. I can't wait to see what you will blog about once you get back to France!

Bridget said...

So, I see Yann must be kept on a chain whilst little Dawn has what is clearly a little red ribbon about her delicate throat. Wasn't it the French aristocrats who made it the fashion to tie red ribbons around their necks, in tribute to those who fell to Madame Guillotine. I don't know where I'm going with this but it seemed significant somehow.

leena miller said...

that wedding dress rocks my world. beth, i nominate you for the most creative and cool mom award. i wish i was 10 and lived chez toi!

oreneta said...

Thank you for letting us know, I was wondering what wouldhappen to the goats when you left. I couldn't quite picture them coming toe France with you.

Momma Bee said...

Much applause to mom for making difficult transitions into a fun and happy memories! May the couples have many happy years together!

gwen said...

Your fam is wild and crazy!! and we love it.

Beth said...

I just finally got online today to manage my blog. As you will read in my next post, I ahev been under tons of stress these last few days and feeling pretty low. Seeing all these comments from you guys nearly made me cry right here in the internet café.
The support and love I get from all of you means THE WORLD to me!
Thank you Mom, Barb, Tuck, Leena, Gwen and Oreneta! You make my days easier to get through.