Days of Petanque: Why is it never simple?

I'm having a bit of a problem knowing which of my posts Google blocks.

I apologize if you receive duplicates. I'm trying a work around for the problem.

Carlos

Days of Petanque: Social distance

People, people, people. Six-feet apart. Maybe the solution is inflatable fat suits that extend three feet out in all directions. I started working on mine at dinner tonight.

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"The greatest fear in the world is of the opinions of others. And the moment you are unafraid of the crowd you are no longer a sheep, you become a lion. A great roar arises in your heart, the roar of freedom."
― Osho, Courage: The Joy of Living Dangerously

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Unsubscribe and roar—quietly please.

Days of Petanque: Too big to fail

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"Don't live the same day over and over again and call that a life. Life is about evolving mentally, spiritually, and emotionally."
― Germany Kent
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Unsubscribe and evolve. revolve, and dissolve. We're all just passing through.

Days of Petanque: Living well

Did you see this shot of Brian and Kristina I posted yesterday? I thought you might like to know a little bit more about them. They are both surgical nurses in SF but because surgeries are way down they are going to Sacramento to help with COVID. It's ok to say hello. They are not too scary.



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"The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well." ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Unsubscribe and live well.

Days of Petanque: Days of Summer

"I know I am but summer to your heart, and not the full four seasons of the year." ― Edna St. Vincent Millay

"Summer will end soon enough, and childhood as well." ― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

"A man says a lot of things in summer he doesn't mean in winter." ― Patricia Briggs, Dragon Blood

"The island is ours. Here, in some way, we are young forever." ― E. Lockhart, We Were Liars

The Mikado: Three little maids from school
Arthur Sullivan, William Schwenck Gilbert

Three little maids from school are we
Pert as a school-girl well can be
Filled to the brim with girlish glee
Three little maids from school
Everything is a source of fun
Nobody's safe, for we care for none
Life is a joke that's just begun
Three little maids from school
Three little maids who, all unwary
Come from a ladies' seminary
Freed from its genius tutelary
Three little maids from school
Three little maids from school

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Unsubscribe and end all this foolishness before the summer fades and winter chills our boules.

Days of Petanque: Big

Debbie holds a conversation with two of the smartest people she knows.





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"No matter how tiny you look, you can lead huge men if you have what the huge men don't have." ― Michael Bassey Johnson
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Days of Petanque: Competition

I've never been that good at anything I've ever tried, so I have nothing to back up my opinions. That said, I think when Peter and Wolfie play singles on a typical afternoon, I don't think they are competing against each other in the same way most of the rest of us do. It's not really about winning or losing. I think it's more like exercising. I think they are sharpening their skills so that when they play in tournaments they are each closer to their best. Beneath the rhetoric it's a subtle, dynamic and interesting relationship to watch. 

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"To collaborative team members, completing one another is more important than competing with one another." ― John Maxwell
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Unsubscribe and you will always be number one on your list.

I've been playing for two years and these guys are already better than I will ever be. Keep an eye on them.

Days of Petanque: Who showed up today

Some days just being able to show up is reason to celebrate.

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"I am not a Sunday morning inside four walls
with clean blood
and organized drawers.
I am the hurricane setting fire to the forests
at night when no one else is alive
or awake
however you choose to see it
and I live in my own flames
sometimes burning too bright and too wild
to make things last
or handle
myself or anyone else
and so I run.
run run run
far and wide
until my bones ache and lungs split
and it feels good.
Hear that people? It feels good
because I am the slave and ruler of my own body
and I wish to do with it exactly as I please"
― Charlotte Eriksson, You're Doing Just Fine

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Unsubscribe and go outside. Breathe as deeply as you can. Open your eyes and see the world.

Days of Petanque: Blast from the past

Bastille Day 2018 Depot Park

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"It's being here now that's important. There's no past and there's no future. Time is a very misleading thing. All there is ever, is the now. We can gain experience from the past, but we can't relive it; and we can hope for the future, but we don't know if there is one."
― George Harrison

Days of Petanque:

Bill, there is no crying in petanque. If the Wookie says I can sing, I will sing at 5 o'clock.



It's today. 3-6pm. Informal Bastille Day gathering at the park. If you are up for it please bring snacks or drink to share. If the Wookie says it's a go, Jean-Michel will sing La Marseillaise at 5 in his traditional attire.
Usually it's a club tournament with all the bells and whistles and a lot of fun. But with the semi-lockdown in place this is just a casual get together that may pick your spirits up a bit. Hope you can make it.

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What do people say on Bastille Day?
That roughly translates as The National French holiday – or 14 July holiday. In fact if you ask some French people if they know what Bastille Day is they will be slightly confused and not have a clue what you are on about. So, if you want to greet someone, it's best to simply say 'Bonne Fete Nationale!

"But if you close your eyes,does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?" ― Bastille Pompeii
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Unsubscribe and be happy.
Notes. While playing pétanque, you should drink pastis or cheap white wine.

Days of Petanque: Seeing is Believing

It's so easy to see what we want to see and be blind to what we wish were not true.

In general, the way you see others is a projection of how you see yourself. We tend to love in others what we love in ourselves, and hate in others what we can't see in ourselves. In fact, other people's behavior is a great litmus test for our own self-awareness. —Brianna Wiest, Writer, poet.

Everything, absolutely everything, will reflect upon you as a person. Treating people well and being respectful will make others see you in a positive light. It's normal for you to have bad days sometimes, we're all human. But how we treat other people is how they are going to view us. —Grupo MContigo

"We don't see things the way they are, but how we are" —Jiddu Krishnamurti

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Unsubscribe and be not bothered by the visions of others. Let others dream their dreams and dream your own.

Days of Petanque: Little Peopl

Another day, another match. This time Peter Wellington and Casey Franklin came out on top winning the first two games.

I think that losing with grace and dignity is a sign of good breeding and strong character. An even more rare trait is the ability to win with humility and generosity.



"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor." ― Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games



"I was going to thank all the little people, and then I remembered I am the little people." — Barbara Streisand 
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One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you, don't do anything at all
—Jefferson Airplane, White Rabbit

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Unsubscribe and sleep in every morning.

Days of Petanque: Rear View

Face recognition software: Who needs it?



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"Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself; but talent instantly recognizes genius."
― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Valley of Fear

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Unsubscribe and never look back.

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Hey! Wait a minute. Why didn't I get included on the rear view image?
Too big.You know; "It's the pictures that got small."

Days of Petanque: Size matters

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"A great man is always willing to be little." ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Men and women are not limited by the place of their birth, not by color of their skin, but by the size of their hope." ― John Johnson

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Unsubscribe and you may expand your horizons 

Days of Petanque: Doubles Match

It was a nail-biter of a game in which the win could have gone either way. But Porto and Delio pulled out the win in the third game. Tough loss for Joe and Ted but the series is just getting started.




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"You're not obligated to win. You're obligated to keep trying. To the best you can do everyday." ― Jason Mraz

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Increase your odds of winning by unsubscribing.

Days of Petanque: Don't Get Mad—Get Even

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"If you spend your time hoping someone will suffer the consequences for what they did to your heart, then you're allowing them to hurt you a second time in your mind." ― Shannon L. Alder

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Unsubscribe and we'll call it even.

Days of Petanque: Simple / Not so Simple

Ted stopped by just to say hello.

Parent/offspring relationships are always complex. It's nice when they are also supportive (except when they are on opposite teams of course). 

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Calm down. It's not too late to unsubscribe.

Days of Petanque: Lazy

It was a warm lazy day. A let down after the non-celebration. First match of season. I think Damien's team won. 13 to something and 3 to something else. I hear Ed was in the zone.

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Too tired to unsubscribe? I hear you.

Days of Petanque: Petanque the 4th

Who played on the Pro-Court.



And on the Shady Court.



All in all a nice, easy-going, holiday afternoon of petanque at Depot Park in Sonoma.

The only way it could have been any better would have been to have you there.

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"A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in."—Robert Orben.

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Unsubscribe and you can take the rest of the day off.

Days of Petanque: Happy 4th

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"If we don't take responsibility of what happens to our society, then no amount of Independence can improve human condition." ― Abhijit Naskar, Citizens of Peace: Beyond the Savagery of Sovereignty
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Unsubscribe to run free.

Days of Petanque: The Novato Shirkeys

In case you haven't played in a game with her, Sandra Shirkey (of the Novato Shirkeys), is a demon pointer.

Oh oh. This doesn't look good. Sandra, just kidding about the demon thing. Everyone knows what a wonderful and FORGIVING human being you are.

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"The world is run by those who show up."

"If you can't be happy at the prospect of lunch, you are unlikely to be happy about anything"

"Don't ever knock a bottle out of my hand."

—Robert Johnson

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Unsubscribe and you are just likely to beat old Beelzebub at his own game.

Days of Petanque: The marvel of the everyday

The truly remarkable thing about this photo is the unremarkable nature of the scene. This could be any day of the week here in Sonoma. To be able to walk onto the court and play petanque with some combination of expert/beginner, shooter/pointer, serious/joker, young/old/even older, in our prime or just holding on, local/visitor, on any given afternoon is, I am told, a rarity in this country. And every single time I park in the lot and wander down the path, I am struck by the wonder of it all.



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"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

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Unsubscribing is less like quitting and more like moving on to other adventures.

Days of Petanque: One more thing

Maggie and Casey played an awesome game today. Here he is on his way home to alert the media.

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And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance

—"I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack

Days of Petanque: Tim's Gathering, Some Photos

Featuring Maggie the Enabler, Tim the Wildcat, and the the rest of the disreputable cast of Valley of the Moon Petanque Club.
https://carloschavez.smugmug.com/Tim-Wetzel-Gathering/



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Life has meaning only in the struggle. Triumph or defeat is in the hands of the Gods. So let us celebrate the struggle! —Stevie Wonder

Re: Days of Petanque: Happy birthday Tim

OH!  Tim WETZEL!  Okay, so he and Gail are twins then.

On Sat, Jun 27, 2020 at 9:33 PM Carlos <cnchavez@gmail.com> wrote:

Sixty never looked so good.

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"Think where man's glory most begins and ends and say my glory was that I had such friends."
― William Butler Yeats

--

"Different is the condition of everyone, and different the nature of each place."

 - Monastic Rules of St. Carthage
     (He was Irish, you know)

Re: Days of Petanque: Happy birthday Tim

You are amazing! Thank you very much, Carlos. I am touched.

Tim

Sent from my iPad

On Jun 27, 2020, at 9:33 PM, Carlos <cnchavez@gmail.com> wrote:

Sixty never looked so good.

<Happy Bday Tim_1919.jpg>

<tim composit.jpg>

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"Think where man's glory most begins and ends and say my glory was that I had such friends."
― William Butler Yeats

Days of Petanque: Happy birthday Tim

Sixty never looked so good.

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"Think where man's glory most begins and ends and say my glory was that I had such friends."
― William Butler Yeats

Days of Petanque: Big Night

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"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales." ―Albert Einstein

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Once upon a time someone unsubscribed. And they lived happily ever after.

Days of Petanque: Carreau

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I did have one blindingly brief moment of petanque perfection. My first attempt at shooting in which Hans held his hands over the target boule and said, "Put it right in my hands. Trust me. I'll move." And somehow, miracles of miracles, I tossed it and it was a carreau! Tim Wetzel said, "Never shoot again. You are at 100%." Too bad I didn't take his advice.
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"I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God's business."
― Michael J. Fox

"Persistence. Perfection. Patience. Power. Prioritize your passion. It keeps you sane."
― Criss Jami, Killosophy

"One minute was enough, Tyler said, "A person had to work hard for it, but a minute of perfection was worth the effort. A moment was the most you could ever expect from perfection."
― Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club

"Perfection of character is this: to live each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, without apathy, without pretence."
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

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"Nobody's perfect. We're all just one step up from the beasts and one step down from the angels." ― Jeannette Walls, Half Broke Horses. Unsubscribe now and you will move one step higher towards the angels.

Days of Petanque: All you need is love. That and a good shooter.

When I first stand in the circle, I don't even really think about the jack, even if I'm looking at it. I'm feeling the weight of the boule in my hand. Pumping it lightly up and letting  its weight fall back into my curled fingers. With each lift I give it a small spin, feeling for the incised letters that orient my grip. It's not actually a grip so much as a cradle. I'm trying to remind myself to keep my thumb off the boule because if it is touching, my hand will be off center spinning the boule off line and to the left where ninety percent of my misses go. Finally I look to the jack and try to pick a donee. Once I hav picked some random spot, selected for some indicator like a leaf or bald spot, and if I'm lucky a track in the dust for me to follow, I think about how hard to throw it. If it's out past eight meters, I may remember to use some back swing. If it's in close I try to remember to put some back spin on it. The last thing to consider before I release is the arc. Too high and it's a potato. I've thrown so many of those I should have been an Idaho farmer. Too flat and the boule heads for the string like the bathrooms are about to close early. Just right and I should by a Lotto ticket.

And don't even ask me about strategy. I ain't got none.

I've come to the conclusion that this game is way too cerebral for a palooka like me. Maybe I should just stick to sitting in the shade. I have a lot of confidence in my shade sitting.

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For age is opportunity no less than youth itself, though in another dress. And as the evening twilight fades away, the sky is filled with stars, invisible by day. —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Twinkle, twinkle little bat How I wonder what you're at! Up above the world you fly, Like a tea-tray in the sky. —Lewis Carroll

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Lacking an UNSUBSCRIBE button you'll have to email me asking to be removed from the list. I know it's asking a lot but I have faith in you.

You can do it.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLU_sexiTQw

Days of Petanque: Summer Afternoons

There is a sublime beauty to playing petanque on the long summer days as the sun lingers above the ridge line of Sonoma Mountain well past the time for dinner. Tossed boules seem to float through the warm air seeking the perfect donee or target point and the clack of contact of steel on steel echoes across the nearly deserted terrain. High in the eucalyptus a bird sings a clear three note song and we pause to listen and search the upper branches for its distinctive red breast. It is a very different feeling than the frenetic cheerfulness of a morning tournament or even an afternoon singles match. There is a sensual laziness that rides the voices of gentle trash talking, remembered contests, and the metallics clicks to applaud a well thrown boule. The reluctant goodbyes are eventually shared as we head our separate ways but it is with the feeling that for at least an hour or two this little bit of living we are granted was a meal we enjoyed in full measure.



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"Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language."
― Henry James

Days of Petanque: Trying to be Free

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Like a bird on the wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free

Bird on the Wire
Leonard Cohen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JndLXV8JpB4

Days of Petanque: A day at the park burning the candle at both ends

Days of Petanque: How we hold our boules

I wish I had written this poem.

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people used to tell me that i had beautiful hands
told me so often, in fact, that one day i started to believe them until i asked my photographer father, "hey daddy could i be a hand model"

to which he said no way,

i dont remember the reason he gave me and i wouldve been upset,

but there were far too many stuffed animals to hold
too many homework assignment to write,
too many boys to wave at
too many years to grow,

we used to have a game, my dad and i about holding hands cus we held hands everywhere, and every time either he or i would whisper a great
big number to the other, pretending that we were keeping track of how many times we had held hands that we were sure, this one had to be 8 million 2 thousand 7 hundred and fifty three.

hands learn more than minds do,
hands learn how to hold other hands,
how to grip pencils and mold poetry,
how to tickle pianos and dribble a basketball,
and grip the handles of a bicycle
how to hold old people, and touch babies ,
i love hands like i love people,

they're the maps and compasses in which we navigate our way through life, some people read palms to tell your future,

but i read hands to tell your past,
each scar marks the story worth telling,
each calloused palm,
each cracked knuckle is a missed punch
or years in a factory,

now ive seen middle eastern hands clenched in middle eastern fists pounding against each other like war drums, each country sees theyre fists as warriors and others as enemies.

even if fists alone are only hands. but this is not about politics, no hands arent about politics, this is a poem about love, and fingers. fingers interlock like a beautiful zipper of prayer.

one time i grabbed my dads hands so that our fingers interlocked perfectly but he changed positions, saying no that hand hold is for your mom.

kids high five, but grown ups, we learn how to shake hands, you need a firm hand shake,but dont hold on too tight, but dont let go too soon, but dont hold down for too long,

but hands are not about politics, when did it become so complicated. i always thought its simple.

the other day my dad looked at my hands, as if seeing them for the first time, and with laughter behind his eye lids, with all the seriousness a man of his humor could muster, he said you know you got nice hands, you could've been a hand model, and before the laughter can escape me, i shake my head at him, and squeeze his hand, 8 million 2 thousand 7hundred and fifty four."
― Sarah Kay

Days of Petanque: Father's Day

Had a great Father's Day at the park today. Left my camera at home and only shot a couple of pics with my iPhone.
Played a very fun game with Wolfie, September and Wolfie's dad. We'll get our revenge next year.

And thank you to all you generous spirits who wished me a Happy Father's Day. How sweet it is to be among you.



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Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

― Dylan Thomas, Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Days of Petanque: June 21 2020

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Son, brother, father, lover, friend. There is room in the heart for all the affections, as there is room in heaven for all the stars. —Victor Hugo

Days of Petanque: Once

Dave. I'm only gonna say this once so listen up.
Pa pa pa pa
Papa oom ma mow mow
Papa oom mow mow
Pa pa pa oom ma ma ma mow
Papa oom mow mow.

Peter. Di di dit - papa oom ma mow mow
Papa oom mow mow
Di di dit - pa pa pa oom ma ma ma mow
Papa oom mow mow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQrQjNNZCAo

Everybody dance now!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaTGrV58wec

Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) [The 1991 House Dub/Bonus Beats]
C+C Music Factory
Everybody Dance Now ...
Everybody Dance Now ...
Give Me The Music
Give Me The Music
Everybody Dance Now ...
Everybody Dance Now ...
Yeah ... Yeah ... Yeah
Everybody Dance Now ...
Yeah ... Yeah ... Yeah
Everybody Dance Now ...

Days of Petanque: Dave v Peter; Semi-final

All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved. —Sun Tzu

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You wouldn't have to put up with this if you unsubscribed.

Days of Petanque: Too Hot

I stopped by the courts this afternoon to see if anyone would be insane enough to play in this heat.
I'll say no more.

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"The thing with heat is, no matter how cold you are, no matter how much you need warmth, it always, eventually, becomes too much." ― Victoria Aveyard, Glass Sword
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The heat make it too hot to unsubscribe today? Don't worry. Tomorrow is another day.