It's National Ice Cream Day!

 Join us (and Yvonne Craig) by having tasty, cold treats on this very fine National Ice Cream Day!

If Santa didn't make it to your house this Christmas Eve...

 ... blame Yvonne Craig.

While it's true that Santa did not bring her the gifts she wanted, there's no excuse for her decapitating him.

Yvonne Craig welcomes you to Summer!

Summer is officially here! We're celebrating its arrival with some pictures of Yvonne Craig in a bikini!

Craig was a dancer turned actress and model. She is a favorite here at Shades of Gray who is perhaps best remembered for her turn as Batgirl on television in the late 1960s. The featured photos are all from a shoot early in her career.

Remembering Yvonne Craig...

 ... on what would have been her 85th birthday!

Bones's White Chocolate Peppermint Bark

Christmas is rapidly approaching, and I thought I'd drink some coffee that reflected the time of year. And while I was at it, I might as well make it another of the many Bones Coffee blends that are sitting in my cupboard!

Even Santa gets to take coffee breaks.

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: WHITE CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT BARK

When I used to go to Seattle's Best (and then Starbucks) two-three-four times a week, one of my usual orders was a White Chocolate Mocha made with Non-Fat Milk, so I approached this blend with a certain standard and a preconceived notion of what it would taste like. I was not disappointed.

As this blend brewed, there was no particularly aroma that I could detect, other than the faint, wonderful smell of coffee, from the first sip of the White Chocolate Peppermint Bark, the white chocolate flavor was present and exactly what I had expected. It wasn't as strong as the mochas I used to order, but it was distinct. And it was delightful. This is a great coffee to drink when the weather outside is frightful!

Like most of Bones' flavored coffees, the White Chocolate Peppermint Bark blend starts with medium-roast Arabica beans, so that's already a plus for those who like their coffee on the less-bitter side. The flavor of white chocolate present as you start drinking this is strong enough that those who normally take their coffee with a touch of milk or sugar could probably drink this straight, while those who tend to take their coffee with a ratio of 1/4th milk or creamer to 3/4ths coffee (or so), will be satisfied with just a little bit of either. In fact, although I was happy enough with the white chocolate flavor while drinking this blend straight, once I added some unsweetened almond milk to my cup, that flavor became stronger and the experience more enjoyable. This has happened with several other Bones blends, but, since I love the mix of coffee and white chocolate, I appreciated the magic of chemistry even more with the White Chocolate Peppermint Bark blend than those others.

As I typically do when drinking coffee for review purposes, I tried this blend hot, as it cooled to room temperature, and chilled and over ice. I also tried it both with unsweetened almond milk and with sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream creamer. I think it was tastiest when hot and with unsweetened almond milk added. It was almost a little too sweet with the Italian Sweet Cream creamer--it wasn't terrible, just not as good. I think this might be a great coffee to drink with dessert, or even to put in a thermos and take with you if you're going to be running around in the cold. 

If you've gotten this far, you might be asking yourself "What about the peppermint? He hasn't mentioned the peppermint... why not?" Well, honestly, I didn't really pick up on much of the peppermint flavor while drinking this. I think there might have been a hint of peppermint creeping in after several sips before I added the almond milk, but I'm not sure it wasn't just my imagination; I was expecting peppermint, so I tasted peppermint?

Since it's not unheard of for Bones Coffee's flavors to grow more intense as you drink the coffee, and I expected the peppermint to show up more powerfully as I drained the mugs. However, it remained soft or completely undetectable. That said, it's not something that I am upset about. I don't know if coffee that was strongly peppermint flavored would be something I could bring myself to drink, but Bones has thrilled my taste buds and changed my mind with blends I feared would be horrible-tasting, like Wunderbones and Maple Bacon. Maybe someday I'll drink peppermint-flavored coffee, but today is not that day.

The Christmas Coffee Elf brings coffee to all the good boys and girls!

Bones Coffee's Oh Fuuudge!

The Christmas Season is underway, and I'm going to be drinking and reviewing blends from Bones Coffee with appropriately festive themes over the next few Sundays. (I've previously covered Jingle Bones, as far as straight-up Christmas coffees go. Some consider Salted Caramel to be Christmas-y, and I've covered that one as well. You can read my reviews at those links, and maybe get a jump on your own Christmas coffee drinking.)

BONES COFFEE COMPANY: OH FUUUDGE!

I decided to get things started with the Oh Fuuudge! blend. I don't know if fudge is necessarily a Christmas-only thing--although I do have a friend who makes fudge only around the holidays as she's also making Christmas cookies--but the cartoon on the package will evoke strong Christmas vibes among Americans of a certain age since it consists of iconic images from "A Christmas Story" (1983). Of course, the name of this blend may do that all by itself for some. But I digress in a major way.

The Oh Fuuudge! blend is based on single-origin, Brazilian Arabica beans, and my review is based on a 4-oz. pre-ground "sample package". Other than informing consumers that it's a medium-roast, there is no specific mention of what should expected form the brews that result--although the name of the blend is something of a giveaway.

And there were early indications that Oh Fuuudge! would live up its name. There was a faint smell of chocolate from the package as I opened it. Strong and wonderful smell of chocolate and coffee filled my kitchen and office as the coffee brewed. As I poured my first cup of my latest Bones Coffee selection, I felt certain that I was about to drink something  that would taste akin to a melted block of fudge.

Interestingly, despite the aroma filling the air, the coffee itself tasted like... well, coffee with a little bit of chocolate added. This Bones blends tasted almost EXACTLY like a mix I sometimes make myself here at home where I take Starbucks Pike Place Roast (or some other medium roast I happen to have on hand) with roughly 4/5ths pre-ground coffee to 1/5th unsweetened, 100 percent cocoa powder. The dominant flavor is still coffee, but there's an solid taste of chocolate, too. My homemade mix works especially well with unsweetened almond milk or unsweetened vanilla almond milk, both of which seem to bring out the chocolate more strongly. 

The Bones Oh Fuuudge! coffee behaved exactly like my homemade mixture when I drank cups first with the unsweetened almond milk and then with the unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Both softened the edge of the coffee while bringing out the chocolate flavor more strongly. The unsweetened vanilla almond milk mixed particularly well with the enhanced chocolatey flavor. I also tried it with sugar-free Italian Sweet Cream, and the drink almost became too sweet for my taste.

One aspect of Oh Fuuudge! that is superior to some of the other Bones Coffee offerings is that the flavors remain stable whether you drink it hot, room temperature, or over ice. When drinking it iced, the chocolate comes a little more strongly, but only slightly more than when it's hot.

Although my initial reaction to Oh Fuuudge! was mild disappointment, because the strong aroma the blend gives off when brewing didn't match the subtle chocolate flavor of the final result. Ultimately, though, this is a tasty coffee that will go great with Christmas cookies or desserts. And, of course, by itself if you're just looking for a caffeinated pick-me-up.

An over-caffeinated Christmas Elf

Picture Perfect Wednesday with the Batgirls

It was announced last week that Leslie Grace has been cast as Batgirl in an upcoming film from Warner Bros. We celebrate her casting here at Shades of Gray with a picture of her and another Batgirl, Yvonne Craig--separated by almost six decades yet equally fit to play the role of Babs "Batgirl" Gordon, and equally fit for sea-side frolicking!

And while we're at it, there's the Batgirl who came in-between the first actress and the most recent one-Alicia Silverstone. Maybe she'll hit the beach, too... if she gets out of bed!

In Observance of International Dance Day...

 ... we bring you a line-up of ballerinas from different nations!

Valeska Miller of the United States of America...

... Nina Theilade of Denmark..

... Yvonne Craig of the United States...

... Leslie Caron of France...

... Maria Tallchief of the United States...

... and Oksana Bondareva of the Ukraine.

We WOULD have featured last year's International Dance Day's star Brigitte Bardot (of France), but she was still getting ready by the time we had to make this post. 

You can also see one of this year's featured dancers, Valeska Miller, in the brand-new horror short film, "The Ballerina", at Terror Titans. Click here!

Picture Perfect Snow Day

It's a winter wonderland here at Shades of Gray on this Picture Perfect Wednesday.

We've been making snowmen and sledding...

... and some of us went skiing and made new friends!

But the ski trip wasn't without problems. Some of us forgot our jackets...

... some of us forgot our pants...

... and we're lucky that Yvonne Craig remembered to bring even her ski boots!

Santa's Helpers are getting ready!

It's almost that time of year when Santa is roaming the globe, dropping off presents for all the good children. If he should fall behind, he has numerous helpers standing by to lend a hand. Ava Gardner, for example, is already suiting up in case she is called upon!

Meanwhile, Yvonne Craig is prepping the back-up sleigh.

In Memory of Yvonne Craig

Today, it's five years since the great Yvonne Craig passed away at the age of 78. In memory, here are a few photos of her being where we all wish would be could be this time of year--young and hanging out on the beach.

In memory of the lovely Yvonne Craig

Yvonne Craig, a ballet dancer who turned to acting in the early 1960s, and best known for her role as Batgirl on the "Batman" television series, passed away on Monday, August 17, at the age of 78. You can read a more complete death announcement by clicking here.

Craig may have moved on, but she lives on in those fun episodes of "Batman"; her appearances opposite Evil Presley in "It Happened at the World's Fair" and "Kissin' Cousins; and her many guest appearances on television series during the 1960 and 1970s. And in photos like the ones that will make this a Picture Perfect Wednesday, despite the sad news of Craig's passing.