The Family

Photos on Picasa

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:08:00 +0000

A reminder that photos of the family are on my Picasa page, including this awesome flying trip in a small plane.

New Year's Black-Eyed Pea Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:02:00 +0000

New Year's Black-Eyed Pea Soup

3 rounded cups dried black-eyed peas
Ham born with meat or ham hocks
3 cups celery
3 cups minced onion
3 cups minced carrot
2 lb. smoked sausage
2 tbsp. chili powder

Please peas in 3 quarts water with ham bone and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until peas are soft, about two hours. (No need to soak peas.) Discard bone, leaving bits of ham in soup. Add celery, onion and carrots and cook for another hour. Add diced smoked sausage and simmer 30 minutes. Add chili powder. If needed, and more water, salt or black pepper. Serve with corn bread. Makes about a gallon.

-- Dottie and Joe Wilkinson, as published in the Austin American-Statesman

Want to order Scout Popcorn?

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 04:15:00 +0000

If you missed our personal plea to buy excellent Scout Popcorn, then here is your chance to order online.

Go to this site:

http://www.orderpopcorn.com/Store/Catalog/Default.aspx

and use this code for Sean:

TEV70HM

Sean and Pack 61 thank you.

Table Scraps at Mills Talent Show

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 01:14:00 +0000

The Table Scraps played the Mills Talent show in may, 2008

Where the Sidewalk Ends

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Fri, 09 May 2008 05:07:00 +0000

Sean was Jimmy Jet in the fourth grade choir musical "Where the Sidewalk Ends." It was a fantastic play based on the poetry of Shel Silverstein.

Rush concert at the Erwin Center

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:56:00 +0000

Brian and Sean were invited to a Rush concert for Blake Richardson's birthday. Dad, of course, had to take them there and make sure they were safe. Wish I had such a great dad at 10 years old!

The concert was awesome and funny and loud.

Setlist (I think):

* Limelight
* Digital Man
* Ghost of a Chance
* Mission
* Freewill
* The Main Monkey Business
* The Larger Bowl
* Red Barchetta
* The Trees
* Between the Wheels
* Dreamline

Intermission

* Far Cry
* Work them Angels
* Armour and Sword
* Spindrift
* The Way the Wind Blows
* Subdivisions
* Natural Science
* Witch Hunt
* Malignant Narcissism

Drum Solo ... about 8 minutes

* Hope
* Spirit of the Radio
* Overture/Temples of Syrinx
* Tom Sawyer

Encore

* One Little Victory
* Passage to Bangkok
* YYZ

The Thief: Forgivenes

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 16:52:00 +0000

This post is about a rock song, but it is really about Easter.

Today, at Easter Service, our paster talked about the words Christ gave us from the cross. When he got to the story about the thief who hung on the cross next to him, and how he was forgiven even then, at the end of a long life of sin, I was reminded of a great song.

Third Day "Thief" comes from the thief's perspective as he hung on the cross. It is a powerful, haunting, wonderful, rocking song.
Give it a listen.

Luke 23:39-43 (New International Version)

39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"

40 But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? 41We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."

42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[a]"

43 Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

Chicken and White Bean Chili

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 03:51:00 +0000

I don't have the reference for this recipe, unfortunately. It was some kind of dutch oven cookbook and uses that in the recipe, but I usually use a crockpot or stove pot.

Serves 8 to 10
2 tbs. olive oil
4 onions, chopped (I usually use less)
6 garlic cloves, chopped
4 (4 oz) cans chopped mild green chiles, drained
1 (12 oz) bottle regular (not dark) beer
2 cups chicken stock
3 tbl chili powder
2 tbl ground cumin
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and black pepper
6 boneless, skinless chiken thighs, but into 1-inch cubes (I used canned chix at campout for ease.)
1 (15.4 oz) cans white northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15.5 oz) can chickpease, rinsed and drained
1 (15.5 oz) can cream-style corn
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice

Optional toppings
Grated cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses
Sour cream
Chopped green onions
Chopped tomatoes
Sliced jalapenos
Tortilla chips

LIghtly coat a 5 1/2-quart Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray. Over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, onions, garlic and cook until soft. Add the green chiles, beer, chicken stock, chili powder, cumin and red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to tase. Stir in the chicken. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 45 minutes, or until the mixture is nicely thickened and the chicken is cooked (I always cook the chicken first anyway.)

Stir in the northern beans, chickpeas and creamed corn. (I usually dump it all together in the beginning, to be honest.) Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking. Stir in cilandro and lime juice and mix very well. Serve in large bowls, garnished with the optional toppings.

Spring Break Tour, Reprise

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 03:41:00 +0000

In need to write a long post about our Spring Break trip, but I don't have time now, and I want to point out all to the photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/christian.mcdonald

U.S. vs Mexico

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 04:47:00 +0000

Brian and I went to Reliant Stadium in Houston to watch the U.S. national team play Mexico in a "friendly" match. Of course, there are no "friendly" matches between U.S. and Mexico, and Houston is not a "home" stadium for the U.S. team. The crowd was probalby 90% pro-Mexico. It was a lot of fun and we had a great time and saw some great soccer. The teams tied 2-2, but Mexico moved the ball much better than the U.S. team.

Hiking in the New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 05:09:00 +0000

We spent New Year's Day hiking the Lost Maples State Natural Area with the Reyes and Manceaux families. It was an awesome way to ring in the New Year!

Pedernales Backpacking Campout

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 02:38:00 +0000

Brian and I joined the Reyes and Manceaux family on a backpacking overnight at Pedernales Falls State Park. It got pretty darn cold, but we stayed relatively warm and the boys were awesome carrying their gear. We weighed Brian's back when we got home and it was 30 lbs, and his was probably one of the lighter ones!

Zilker Park Trail of Lights

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 21:01:00 +0000

We joined the Table for 19 at Zilker Park for the Trail of Lights. Our flexible dinner plans kept us out a little late at Matt's El Rancho.

Brian's Roald Dahl project

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 04:35:00 +0000

Brian had an autobiography book report for school, and he chose Roald Dahl's 'Boy.' Brian did his report by acting as Dahl in an imaginary interview session. Sean helped a great deal with the video. They both did great!

Dynamo win Western Division

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 04:23:00 +0000

We went to our first pro soccer game, and it was a great, great time. We went to the Western Division championship match between the Houston Dynamo and the Kansas City Wizards. The Dynamo won and will play New England in the finals next week in D.C.

The game experience was really awesome. They had a great crowd (the largest for the Dynamo in history at 30,000+) and many sang and jump through the whole match. There was a fun little fan zone outside the stadium, and we also watched the pre-game warmups and the Fox Soccer Channel anchors do their show.

The game was great too. The action rarely stopped, and there was some really great play. (It's funny, I just searched on YouTube for game action and I found the "National Anthem", which was done by three tenors in orange kilts. At half time they sang "500 Miles," which was a hoot.

Brian's Austin Rock Gym party

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 03:48:00 +0000

Brian invited the Table for 19 boys to the Austin Rock Gym for his birthday party. They all did bouldering and rock climbing with Cory and I belaying them. Everyone had fun, and as Brian said, "Everyone did a little better than they could."

Brian's Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 05:09:00 +0000

Brian celebrate his 11th birthday despite my efforts to make him 12. No matter how old he is, he still likes playing in the box as much as the gift. (Especially since I failed to buy a cord for his keyboard amplifier.) We actually went camping the day of his birthday, and I had planned on making a cake for him in a dutch oven, but the day was too jam-packed to do it. So the following day we joined the Table for 19 at the Roadhouse in Bastrop for a cake mom made. Cake was great.

Halloween 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 05:06:00 +0000

Sean the zombie and Brian the, um, Death Eater? terrorize the neighborhood with their friends in search of candy.

Some Cub Scout Events

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 03:49:00 +0000

Pack 61 Fall Campout

Pack 61 had their Fall Campout at Camp Tom Wootton, led by Chief Dancing with Chickens. Actually, we had a great Native American theme and the campout was fantastic. It was the last pack-wide campout for the older scouts, so they had a really cool ceremony to light the campfire.

Den 8 Dragons at Krause Springs

The Dragons had their first camp out at Krause Springs in Spicewood, and the boys had a ton of fun. They earned their Forestry activity badge, cooked a wonderful camp stew from scratch, and did lots and lots of running around. The campgrounds there are wonderful, and it's nice and close to Austin.

Den 8 Dragons at Bowie vs. Austin High

The Dragons worked on their Sportsman activity badge while attending the Bowie vs. Austin High football game. Bowie ended up winning the game in thrilling fashion in overtime, though we were long in bed by that point. Go Bulldogs!

Den 8 Dragons at TPWD Expo

The Den 8 Dragon patrol spend a couple of hours at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Expo in Austin. It wasn't nearly enough time, but they had fun with bugs, helicopters, cooking, rope making and more.

Den 8 Dragon's Zoo trip

The Dragons invited members of Den 3 to join them at the Austin Zoo to work on Naturalist.

I Am

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:07:00 +0000

This is a video that Sean did with our church. During the service, there was a white curtain on stage, and as he steps through the back of the curtain in the video, he steps forward through the curtain onto the stage, he opens his arms and says, "Oh ... there you are."

It's gadget boy!

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 02:47:00 +0000

This has been an incredible week for gadgets. I've had a 47in. Philips LCD TV sitting in a box in my living room for a week, and this past Wednesday we finally got it installed. Along with the TV I put in an AppleTV and a Yamaha home theater.

It blows my mind.

Then, to top off the geekdom, I'm writing this entry entirely on an iPhone.

All of this (well, except for the phone) is part of a home remodel we have been doing. Cory and I decided that we didn't want to be the people who do all the cool things to their house just before they sell it, so we refinanced to pull out equity and put it back onto the house.

We have had the walls painted and then we followed doing the trim ourselves. Our house has been a wreck for weeks, but now we are starting to see the payoff.

Well, this wasn't easy and I don't think I'll be filing blogs via iPhone very often!

Fishing, camping a Beauscher State Park

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 03:56:00 +0000

Pack 61 had a fishing derby at Beauscher State Park on June, and Den 13 stayed over to camp. It was actually Brian's first time to camp without Mom & Dad because we had to work Sunday school the next morning. Of course, he did fine :-)

We Don't Have A Clue

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 03:35:00 +0000

Brian had a week long band camp at his friend Logan's house that culminated in a concert for their camp band, We Don't Have a Clue. Check out the video on the Boy Blog.

Sean's 9th Birthday - Harry Potter

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 03:22:00 +0000

OK, so I'm four months late on this one, but Sean's 9th birthday party was a Harry Potter party, so there was much spell casting, hat sorting and potion making.

Easy Dutch Oven Cobbler/Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Christian McDonald) — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 03:11:00 +0000

I make this cobbler at Cub Scout campouts, and it goes fast. Of course it goes best with french vanilla ice cream, so I usually serve it the first night of a campout before the ice cream melts in the cooler.

For each 10-in dutch oven:

Ahead of time:
In a zip lock bag, put:
1 1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp vanilla

In a small zip lock bag
* cinnamon & sugar mixture

Also bring:
1 stick butter (or squeeze Parkay)
1 package rolled pie dough (2 crusts). Found in the dairy aisle.
1 1/2 package frozen fruit (or about 4 cups?)

Assembly:
Get your coals going. A chimney worth of coals is more than enough for two cobblers. They don't have to be totally ashed to use (in fact, that's too late.) They just need to be well lit. So, get your fire started, mix your fruit into your sugar mixture, drink another beer (unless at a scout campout), then start assembling.

If you haven't already, put your fruit in your zip lock with the sugar mixture. It's good to get that mixed up and melding for 15 minutes or so. Unroll one of the crusts and center it at the bottom of the dutch oven. The edges should walk up the sides to make a bowl inside. Pour your fruit and sugar mixture in this bowl, but don't let it overflow. In fact leave a little room at the top. Unroll the other crust and lay it centered on top, and try to tuck in/squeeze together the crust edges to kind of seal them as best you can. It won't be perfect. Put some slits in the top crust for ventilation, cover with the cinnamon & sugar mixture, then drop cut 1/2 teaspoons of butter bits on top of the crust. (Or squeeze a bunch of Parkay in a nice criss-cross pattern.)

Cover the dutch oven. Put 6-7 coals on the bottom of the oven, and 14 or so on the top. It takes about 45 minutes to cook.

--
Christian McDonald