tag:www.mckinneytree.info,2012:/claire_mckinney//21 2012-01-08T21:01:06Z we're off to see the wizard... Movable Type 3.35 tag:www.mckinneytree.info,2012:/claire_mckinney//21.780 January 8, 2012 8:52 PM 2012-01-08T21:01:06Z

I recently got my great aunt Emma's sewing machine out of the attic, and had it repaired at our local sewing shop. We thought it was broken but it only needed a new needle. The repairman said...

1 Jeff McKinney http://www.mckinneytree.info/jeff_mckinney Mom and I didn't know much about the machine, so we got taught things like how to wind the bobbin. I had some scraps to sew, so I made a hounds' tooth pin cushion. My first big project was making this dress. I took an old tee shirt, and then dressed it up some by gathering fabric like a skirt, to make a t-shirt dress. ]]> tag:www.mckinneytree.info,2011:/claire_mckinney//21.756 September 10, 2011 6:08 PM 2011-09-10T18:12:20Z

Gotta love it, y'all. Some interesting sights in Ft Worth. Huge stadium for rodeos is just across the street; plus great museums. This horse is funny, but when it works it puts you into a video like...

4 Jeff McKinney http://www.mckinneytree.info/jeff_mckinney This horse is funny, but when it works it puts you into a video like you are really riding around. ]]> tag:www.mckinneytree.info,2011:/claire_mckinney//21.751 July 8, 2011 2:48 AM 2011-07-08T02:59:40Z

In one of my recent blogs, you saw a photo of the little sail boat I like, called a Bic O'pen. I figured out how to rig it up, and got out on the water last week....

2 Claire McKinney http://www.mckinneytree.info/claire_mckinney Tipping it over wasn't a big problem, because you can pull it up easily by climbing out on the dagger board, and then getting back on from the open stern. Steering was good practice, especially coming in to dock by all the big boats. Here we are on deck afterwards. It was fun. Then I got stung by fireants, which wasn't so fun. But I'm OK. Please blog back to me if you have time.]]> tag:www.mckinneytree.info,2011:/claire_mckinney//21.748 May 29, 2011 5:06 PM 2011-05-29T18:27:30Z

I used Mom's solar oven for my science fair this year. It turned out well. I did a lot of days worth of experiments and it seemed that I discovered something real, and useful. Dad taught me...

1 Jeff McKinney http://www.mckinneytree.info/jeff_mckinney My full data set was pretty complex: I looked hard for an effect from oven direction (measured with Riley's compass) on oven temperature: It appears that oven direction matters, but it is not all that matters: Cloud cover, that I estimated by eye, was the most predictive. A pretty impressive line, huh? I also looked at effects of other parts of the weather (which, surprisingly, didn't matter much!), using this cool website from the NOAA. Judges seemed to like it. I won for my school, and then also won a first place trophy at districts and at North Texas regionals got honorable mention. I was nervous before the district fair, because I had to present my work in person. And, there were a lot of other projects that were really good. But it ended up being a lot of fun. Some younger kids were looking at my project after it won, so maybe they'll help make solar power work better for our future energy needs. ]]> tag:www.mckinneytree.info,2011:/claire_mckinney//21.744 April 23, 2011 3:28 PM 2011-04-23T15:43:12Z

We had a big "Spring Fling" party for the pediatric residents at our house, which was a lot of people. Dad tried to make most of the food ourselves, which meant he needed big time help. We...

2 Jeff McKinney http://www.mckinneytree.info/jeff_mckinney The party went well. Good times. ]]> tag:www.mckinneytree.info,2011:/claire_mckinney//21.743 April 23, 2011 3:08 PM 2011-04-23T15:47:53Z

I am on a dance team now, with older girls, who I like performing with a lot. We have dance competitions that we go to, too. Here is on of my my costumes (standing in front of...

2 Jeff McKinney http://www.mckinneytree.info/jeff_mckinney The stages and crowds are really big, at auditoriums like this one at UT Arlington. We were excited by our results. We got a platinum award and a high gold award, and we won second prize for all of the teams in our category for the whole region. Here we are celebrating on stage after the awards ceremony. The way they run it is great. Lots of teams, and fun activities like bouncing this HUGE beachball (round yellow circle to left of the L and star) around among all the dancers at the end of the show, to cool music. I like it. ]]> tag:www.mckinneytree.info,2010:/claire_mckinney//21.734 December 18, 2010 11:29 PM 2010-12-19T00:06:15Z

We've have been checking out a sailing club here. It's a "corinthian yacht club", which sounds snooty, but is just an old style name for cooperative boat clubs where people sail and repair their own boats. Sometimes...

1 Claire McKinney http://www.mckinneytree.info/claire_mckinney Riley likes to find "specimens" by the lake shore - weird fish bones and stuff. There are some new little racing boats, called O'pen, made in France by Bic (Bic also is the company that makes pens... get it?!), that we can ride whenever we want. We do not know how to rig the o'pens up yet, but I think they will be faster than the boats called optis I learned how to solo sail in Missouri (see my old blog entry, and the boats that look like little upside down white bathtubs in the background below). Here's a link to O'pen web site, by Bic - with some cool video http://www.openbic.com/]]> tag:www.mckinneytree.info,2010:/claire_mckinney//21.709 May 31, 2010 3:46 PM 2010-05-31T15:57:22Z

We went to the Dallas Farmers' Market with some friends here. It was great. They have produce directly from the farmers who grow it. Remember, do NOT squeeze the peaches! This stand with corn was fabulous. It...

6 Jeff McKinney http://www.mckinneytree.info/jeff_mckinney They have produce directly from the farmers who grow it. Remember, do NOT squeeze the peaches! This stand with corn was fabulous. It is fresh corn, with butter and parmesean cheese, served warm in a foil wrap. It really is heavenly... Yumm. ]]> tag:www.mckinneytree.info,2010:/claire_mckinney//21.703 April 12, 2010 2:07 AM 2010-04-12T02:19:56Z

I think Ikea is cool. I got a chair there for my desk with Grandpa Ron and Hilda. I decided it would be a fun place to visit again with Mom, Dad and RIley. It is huge....

4 Jeff McKinney http://www.mckinneytree.info/jeff_mckinney If you like one, you go into the warehouse to pick out yours. Riley likes the lights section. Dad likes the Swedish Food Cafeteria. He says, "thank god we got out of here with only a pillow and some Salmon dinner". Nothing like a new $2 pillow on a windy blustery Texas day. ]]> tag:www.mckinneytree.info,2010:/claire_mckinney//21.696 March 17, 2010 10:45 PM 2010-03-17T22:56:29Z

We had a big Girl Scout cookies season this year. Mom was cookie mom, so our house was loaded with cookies. Dad was tempted to eat some of them but we stopped him. I sold a lot...

4 Claire McKinney http://www.mckinneytree.info/claire_mckinney ]]> tag:www.mckinneytree.info,2010:/claire_mckinney//21.692 February 22, 2010 12:41 AM 2010-03-01T18:31:59Z

My class was part of The Stock Market Game, where schools from all over the USA had teams that picked stocks that they thought would do well, as well as stocks to sell short. This link describes...

2 Claire McKinney http://www.mckinneytree.info/claire_mckinney http://www.smgww.org/overview.html My team ended up winning 1st place for all of North Texas. We did well by buying and keeping Amazon and a switch manufacturing company, and by selling short a wind energy company that we liked at first, but was having troubles. A High School team did well with a different approach, buying and holding stocks like John Deere and Harley Davidson. We ended up with a total equity of $114,876 from our initial $100,000 balance (of pretend money), finishing 1st of 143 teams in North Texas, and outperforming the S&P index by quite a bit. Because we won for our grade levels, I won $75 and we were invited to a fancy dinner by Merril Lynch, at the top of Thanksgiving Tower, about 48 floors up. It was cool, because we could see all the way to the Texas State Fair grounds, and to other landmarks we're getting to know. There was also a swimming pool on one building that went out over the street. Here are pictures with my teacher and team mates, and with Riley. It was a fun night, and now we can recognize the floor we were on from the ground, as we walk around downtown. ]]> tag:www.mckinneytree.info,2009:/claire_mckinney//21.677 December 24, 2009 11:45 PM 2009-12-24T23:57:11Z

I made rice crispy treats with mom. The recipe is pretty simple - and is often on the back of rice crispy boxes. Start with the cereal: Then put the marshmallows and butter in a microwave bowl...

3 Claire McKinney http://www.mckinneytree.info/claire_mckinney Then put the marshmallows and butter in a microwave bowl (we use a little extra butter!) Microwave on high for 55 seconds Mix the melted concoction Add to rice crispies bowl and mix. Spread out on a pregreased pan - add chocolate chips if you want. The best part is licking the spoon. Happy Holidays from Texas! ]]> tag:www.mckinneytree.info,2009:/claire_mckinney//21.661 November 9, 2009 3:16 AM 2009-11-28T00:18:10Z

We went to the Texas State Fair and had a great time. It's famous for a lot of things, but here are two:Big Tex, and great fried food. Big Tex's history is availble here: http://www.bigtex.com/aboutus/history/bigtexhistory/ Here is...

3 Jeff McKinney http://www.mckinneytree.info/jeff_mckinney Big Tex's history is availble here: http://www.bigtex.com/aboutus/history/bigtexhistory/ Here is a pic of me enjoying my favorite:a deep fried snicker bar. This sign is true: More updates from Dallas to come. I taught Dad how to transfer photos from his iPhone, so we have more to share, coming up.]]> tag:www.mckinneytree.info,2009:/claire_mckinney//21.580 May 28, 2009 12:10 AM 2009-05-28T00:21:22Z

A few weeks ago, I had my first babysitting job while my mom was having a party for one of her friends. Here is a photo from the distance in our back yard. The little boy I...

4 Jeff McKinney http://www.mckinneytree.info/jeff_mckinney The little boy I got to watch really liked dogs and balls. He loved to laugh, and I had a great time, too. I'd like to babysit some more. ]]> tag:www.mckinneytree.info,2009:/claire_mckinney//21.568 April 26, 2009 9:36 PM 2009-04-26T21:45:03Z

A friend of mine (herself a Brownie) taught us a great recipe for fabulous tasting brownies, which are really easy to make. Here's the secret... Use the brownie mix you like the best, pour half the batter...

5 Jeff McKinney http://www.mckinneytree.info/jeff_mckinney Use the brownie mix you like the best, pour half the batter in your pan, place one layer of Symphony chocolate candy bars of your choice (we like the one with toffee, for a crunchy effect), pour in the other half of the batter on top, and bake as usual. The result is a layer of great tasting chocolate in the middle, with a fabulous soft - yet crunchy - texture. We have no pictures of the brownies, because we eat them so quickly. ]]>