If You Build It, the French Will Come

So you love France, French fries and fromage? This means one thing: you should make your own Petanque court. Since Mr. Wonderful and I just made one, I'll tell you how we did it. 

1) Buy the supplies, including: gravel, DG (Decomposed Granite), landscaping cloth and edging stones.
2) Grab a bottle of Ricard and mix yourself some pastis. 
3) Drink it in one go. 
4) Forget pleasure for the next 16 hours because it's time to build a Petanque court. 
5) Rope off the outline of the court. Regulation Petanque courts measure: 4 meters by 15 meters (aka 12.8 feet x 48 feet). Since my 86 year-old neighbor, Harold, wouldn't let me co-opt his front yard for a regulation court, I had to minimize these dimensions to fit my yard. 

6) Dig down 6 inches to form a trench, aka the court-to-be.

7) Line the perimeter of the trench with the edging stones.

8) Flatten the dirt in the trench and fill it with gravel.

9) Flatten the gravel and cover with landscaping cloth to prevent weeds from growing in your court.

10) Fill the trench with DG. This adds a honey color to your court and makes you think you're in France, along the Mediterranean or anywhere but in your own backyard.
11) Wet the DG and flatten it. Getting it wet helps it to lay flat.

12) Voilà! You have a Petanque court! 

Now that you have a court for Petanque, just beware of the French--they'll show up on your doorstep begging to play a game or deux. If they bring a bottle of Ricard... I'd let them play.

Profitez! (French for "Enjoy!")