Spring Has Sprung!

Spring Fling by the Pool!

We must make this an annual event!

What a great (if chilly) time we all had.

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I was glad, when I saw the weather report, that it was to cool off a little.

After all, 100 degrees, in the sun, is a bit brutal.

But jeesh!

It was cold!

With the temps in the 60's and a stiff breeze,

playing water volleyball was a challenge.

It did finally warm up enough to be more comfortable,

but nobody ever got warm.

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After playing volleyball for several hours, we all rushed home to

gather our goodies for the Super Duper Happy Hour.
Yummy food, as usual, and the piece de resistance...the bar under the trees!

Every liquor you could imagine!

Chocolate martinis!

John #5 made the national drink of...of...some South American country that tastes like liquorice and robs your memory.

All the mixers, ice, cups, and liquors you could ever ask for, to sample, to taste and to guzzle.

But...I think we were very responsible.

Mostly we got drunk on jello shots (more on that later-I did some research)
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On to the games.

The first was a hula hoop contest...hysterical to watch.

Sharon #116 and Pauline #49 wowed us with thier skill, but Pauline was the ultimate winner.

That girl can do things with a hula hoop that defy gravity.

But I must mention Roy...Pauline did take him down, but before he crashed we saw some wonderful moves.

And he wasn't wearing a tie.

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Recognize this?

Ah...the famous Charmin Plunge.

The goal:

Insert stick into hole. How hard could it be?

Harder than you could ever imagine, though some, I swear, practise every day.

I heard that if you don't practise every 3 days you get headaches,

but that may be an old wive's tale...or old husband's.

Pam & Bob must practise a lot, 'cause they walked away with the grand prize,

after a plunge-off against Joan & Roy.

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The GRAND PRIZES for all this hilarity were jello shots. Multi-colored little gems of fruity goodness. Got me thinking of different recipes for the shots, different flavor combos. Who knew there are whole web sites devoted to these tasty treats.

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Most of the following comes from a website that did extensive research

on jello shots...I share with you some of what they found.

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What Is The Best Tasting Jell-O Shot?
The Flavor Challenge
Previously we focused our efforts on maximizing the alcoholic potency of the shots.

But, as we discovered, the flavor suffered severely as a result.

This compromises the basic utility and purpose of the Jell-O shot.

Jell-O shots are supposed to get you buzzed, but they are also supposed to taste good.
In our selection of liquors and recipe combinations, we tried to stick to the basics: liquors and ingredients that were economical and easy to find or likely to be on hand.

Start With the Basics
Here’s a rundown of some of the best basic Jell-O/liquor combinations.

Of course, it goes without saying that you can put vodka in anything,

or use a flavored vodka that matches the Jell-O (Orange and Stoli Oranj, for example).

The following combos and recipes got approval from our panel of tasters.

Standout favorites were:

cherry and amaretto,

watermelon and sour apple schnapps,

orange and Captain Morgan’s,

and anything containing peach schnapps.

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These shots were prepared by dissolving 3 oz. Jell-O in 1 cup boiling water, then adding 8oz. (1 cup) of cold liquid – straight alcohol, a mixture of liqueur and vodka, or alcohol and cold water. For flavored liquors (Absolut Citron, Malibu, Captain Morgan’s) 1 cup of liquor was used.

For strong tasting, high proof liquors (tequila and rum) a mixture of 4 oz. liquor and 4 oz. cold water was used. The liquors varied in potency from 30 proof (15% ABV) to 80 proof (40% ABV), which put the shots in the range of 10% ABV to 20% ABV.

In other words, it would take a few of them to equal the alcohol content of one cocktail.

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Lime Jell-O:

Absolut Citron – Crisp and lively citrus flavor.

Tequila – Plain tequila and lime is the quick and dirty way to make a “margarita” shot.

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Cherry Jell-O:

Amaretto – An excellent combination, tastes like the syrup from a jar of maraschino cherries. Can be overly sweet if you add too much.

Peach schnapps – Mild but flavorful, tastes like candy.

Crème de cacao – This creates a chocolate/cherry flavor with more complexity than average. Too much of the liqueur tastes bitter.

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Orange Jell-O:

Peach Schnapps – Use for a Fuzzy Navel effect. Sweet and mellow flavor.

Tequila – Tangy and spicy, the orange really smooths out the tequila.

Captain Morgan’s - Sweet and spicy, would be good for the holidays.

Amaretto – Tastes like a creamsicle or Orange Julius.

Malibu – Very smooth, pleasant coconut aftertaste.

Southern Comfort – Sweet with a bit more alcoholic bite and edge than schnapps.

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Lemon Jell-O:

Absolut Citron – Tart and clean, like a lemondrop but not as sweet.

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Watermelon Jell-O:

Sour Apple Schnapps – Fantastic flavor, tastes exactly like a Jolly Rancher candy.

Tequila – Complex, tangy flavor, has a bite to it.

Midori – Sweet, more of a generic melon flavor.

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Strawberry Jell-O:

Peach Schnapps – Sweet and candylike.

White rum – The quick and dirty strawberry daiquiri.

Tequila – Peppery, tangy, not overly sweet.

Sour Apple Schnapps – The schnapps enhances the berry flavor for a sweet/tart effect.

Midori – Fruity, tastes a bit like bubblegum.

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Peach Jell-O:

Malibu – Very smooth, alcohol flavor almost unnoticeable.

Captain Morgan’s – Tastes like peach pie, a little spicy.

Southern Comfort – Sweet, with a mild bourbon flavor.

Peach Schnapps – Very, very sweet and very peachy.

Sour Apple Schnapps – Tastes like Sweetarts.

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Raspberry Jell-O:

Peach Schnapps – Fruity, sweet, tastes like red Twizzlers.

Midori – Very sweet, fruity, tastes like bubble gum.

What research!

A few last must-do recipes and I'll let you go...

Chocolate Covered Cherry Jell-O Shot
A few readers suggested Jell-O shot recipes involving various combinations of whipped cream, chocolate topping, chocolate liqueur, and alcohol soaked cherries. We combined them all into a chocolate/cherry concoction that was insanely delicious and really takes Jell-O shots to the next level and beyond. We started with maraschino cherries soaked in rum, and embedded them in a cherry Jell-O shot made with crème de cacao and vodka.That in itself was pretty tasty, but then we covered it with a layer of “Magic Shell” chocolate topping and added a dollop of Reddi-Whip. The refrigerated Jell-O was not cold enough to make the chocolate shell harden, so we popped it in the freezer for a few minutes before serving to achieve the ideal consistency.. We prefer to add a little vodka to take the edge off the crème de cacao's bitterness, but if you want a stronger chocolate taste, you can omit the vodka and use a full 1/2 cup of liqueur.

Finally...The Mojito Jell-O Shot
Mojitos are very popular right now, so we muddled some fresh mint and added it to lime Jell-O with rum. The result looked like that mint jelly that your mom would serve with lamb. It was refreshing and different, but your average partygoer might be put off by leaves floating in the Jell-O.

3oz. package lime Jell-O

8 oz. (1 cup) Boiling water

6 oz. white rum

2 oz. cold water

Mint leaves, chopped and crushed

And to see the original site and get more info on why to never use

Bailey's in jello shots, click on this url:

http://www.myscienceproject.org/j-shot-3.html