Petanque Today is Cancelled

Happy Holidays!

'Twas the Sunday Before Christmas

Not a bad weather day, as North Carolina goes in December, with temperatures around the 40 degree mark as we took advantage of a little bit of warming sun and played all afternoon in Lincolnton. We were particularly glad to have Danny and Sue down from the mountains for the first time in ages. We hope to see a lot more of them in the months ahead.

It's the Holiday Season!

Christmas time is coming and the air in NC is becoming consistently colder. Yesterday wasn't too bad (though Susanne said she was "freezing"!), but most players chose to wear jackets or sweaters. The forecast for Sunday predicted a cold rain, so our decision to play on Saturday appeared to be the correct one. We were particularly glad to have Tom C. back in the fold after his latest trip to France. We missed Carol though! Too busy? Guess it's the season.

Sunny and Cold

Though the thermometer struggled to reach 40 degrees yesterday at Miller Park, the bright sunshine made a world of difference from Saturday's play in Charlotte. We were actually quite comfortable. The only snow we saw was on the goody bag Shirley was using for the picnic table. Don't let a little cool weather keep you from joining us the next time!

Nevin Park in the Sleet

It was about 34 degrees at game time in Charlotte yesterday with a wintry mix in the forecast when six of us got together for petanque at Nevin Park. We were very happy to have two new, first-time players with us. Dr. Ed Shoaf and his wife, Anne, had been communicating via e-mail for some time (he's the one who actually discovered the boules area at Nevin Park and informed CarolinaPetanque). Their schedule finally coincided with ours for Saturday. It's too bad the weather couldn't have been a little more cooperative for their first outing.

Nevertheless, we had fun trying to get a game in before the precipitation started. We only made it about halfway through the first game before the rain/sleet/snow began. The Shoafs were good sports and we finished in the wetness. Please come back again soon, guys, when we can hope for better weather.

The four CarolinaPetanque members who showed up (Augustin, Steve G., Shirley, and myself) continued through the ensuing showers for the next hour or so until the wintry mix finally subsided. We then played on until near-dark at 5:00 PM. We had good games and no one seemed to let the inclement circumstances deter their fun. Maybe it's just a mind set? Or maybe we're "mental"?

Back in Winston-Salem, NC

Jason, his friend Crystal and children

Even though we played on Saturday this weekend (see prior post re: Charlotte, NC), a few of us were able to play on Sunday as well--this time at Miller Park in Winston-Salem. We had a visitor near the end of the day from La Boule New Yorkaise. Jason Cheek, whose parents live in Liberty, NC, showed up to play a game or two. He is considering a relocation to North Carolina from New York. We hope their loss may be our gain!

Charlotte, NC

Daniel, Jordan, Jeff, and Jacob

We were made aware of boules courts in Nevin Park by a friend of CarolinaPetanque, Dr. Ed Shoaf of Charlotte. He sent us a snapshot, so, of course, we couldn't wait to try them out! Though Ed wasn't able to join us due to holiday travel plans, we managed to get together a group of CarolinaPetanque players and some visitors for a great afternoon of play. Our visitors were comprised of Daniel Smith, president of Boules de Leon in St. Augustine, Florida, along with his brother-in-law, Jeff, and his nephews, Jordan and Jacob. Jeff, Jordan, and Jacob actually live in Charlotte; we hope they'll join us again soon. Daniel happened to be visiting the area in regards to work obligations. We had met him previously in play at Amelia Island, Forida.

Valdese, NC

Jane Gantt and her husband, Steve, played at the Waldensian Presbyterian Church boules court in Valdese, NC, over the weekend. Jane invites anyone in the area who would like to try playing there to contact her through CarolinaPetanque@yahoo.com. Shirley and I look forward to trying it out in the very near future.

New Members

From top: Fred Marchant, Jane Gantt, and Steve Gantt.

We are pleased to have Fred, Jane, and Steve as the newest members of CarolinaPetanque. Fred is from Winston-Salem, NC, where he lives with his wife, Faye. Jane and Steve are from Morganton, NC. Fred was a walk-up player at Miller Park this past summer. He has since become one of our most regularly attending players. Jane&Steve are Augustin Quilici's sister-in-law and brother-in-law. [Jane is Susanne S. Quilici's sister.]

Welcome to the three of you and we hope you'll enjoy our group.

Autumn leaves

The Sunday before Thanksgiving found eight of us at Miller Park in Winston-Salem, NC. Augustin's wife, Susanne, and Fred's wife, Faye chose to visit rather than play; so, we had a triples match. In a best-of-three series, Fred/Juan/Gary narrowly defeated Shirley/Augustin/Marc in three games. The shortened days at this time of year made it necessary to play the final end in near darkness. Guess we'll have to move our starting time to one o'clock for a while.

Hickory, NC

There were ten of us for petanque at Augustin/Susanne's Hickory, NC, terrain on Saturday. Though many of the games were very close, the team of Shirley/Logan/Gary played into the darkness to defeat Augustin/Susanne in the winners' bracket.

Logan's friend, Mike, played for the first time and seemed to have a knack for pointing. We hope he'll join us again before too long.

Quilici Crew at Amelia

Augustine and Susanne's granddaughter, Jacie.

Brian, Jacie, Susanne, and Marc.....Stacy, Marc, Augustine (John Hayes in background)

Augustin and Stacy................Steve and Jane

Stacy, Marc, Augustin........................................Augustin points the way

Susanne C. Quilici sent some snaps of the gang. Thought I'd share a few with the rest of the group. Anyone else want to share?