Raspberry Vinegar

While looking at recipes on Newspapers.com, I came across this 1862 recipe, recommended for the aid of sick and wounded civil war soldiers.

  "It makes an agreeable and refreshing beverage and those who desire to do something for the aid of the sick and wounded soldiers, cannot prepare anything more acceptable than a quantity of this Raspberry vinegar."

It's not quite raspberry season here in Pa, but we may attempt a batch once it is.  


The Shippensburg News 
(Shippensburg, Pennsylvania)
05 Jul 1862, Sat  • Page 3

Farmers Almanac Dandelion Jelly

First Batch, April 2017

"Jelly made from dandelions is similar in taste to spring honey. Try making some of your own with this recipe!" I was skeptical - but it truly does taste like honey!  Just...  not as healthy, with a lot more processed sugar used.  :-)  

Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral Degrees in Geocaching

I'll be using this post to check our requirements and see what we qualify for.  The Bachelors Degree is 7 hours from home from us... but since we are at least a couple of years away from earning the degrees, travel to the graduation ceremonies is the least of our concerns. 


This is a really interesting geocaching challenge cache series.  There may be other versions, the series I refer to here is located in Ohio.  Each of the three degrees has a cache page with the "course requirements" to earn the degree.  Once completed, you receive a certificate with your geocaching name.  "Each degree recipient is eligible to receive an e-mailed diploma certifying his/her accomplishment. The President of the University will contact you for an e-mail address to which the diploma may be mailed."

This cache owner not only put in some serious thought, and work, to create this series, but what dedication to maintain it at this level!  These are challenge caches, all located at the posted coordinates, but you cannot log them until you complete all of the requirements.  The final caches appear to be pretty easy terrain rather quick finds.  The work is in earning the right to find them.

"You have hard work ahead of you to graduate, but you will learn about geocaching by following our curriculum, have a lot of fun, and meet many other students who will become lifelong friends. When you finish and become an alum, you will hopefully look back fondly on your time at good old "U of G"!

Listed in the "Bachelor's Degree Course Catalog" below are the courses offered by the University of Geocaching. For each course, you will find the number of credits earned by completing that course and the requirements for completing the course.

In order to earn your bachelor's degree, you must earn at least 50 credits. When you have completed at least 50 credits, you may attend graduation (sign the log and claim your find). As part of your graduation requirements, you must fill out your final transcript. Please list in your cache log: your total credits earned, the courses you completed (including credits for each course), your qualification for each course, and how your qualification may be verified for each course (please see my "Note" logs on 9/13/2014 for an example of how to log this challenge cache). Your geocaching profile at geocaching.com and either the output from the GSAK macro "FindStatsGen" or your Project Geocaching profile contain enough pieces of information to verify all of the course requirements. You may also verify your requirements in another manner if you like."



Bachelors Degree
https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC5CRR1_bachelors-degree-in-geocaching-challenge-cache

Bachelor's Degree Course Catalog (Course - Credits - Requirements)

Chronos I.B - 5 credits - Find geocaches on at least 100 days of the year (these do not have to all be in the same calendar year)
Chronos II.B - 2 credits - Find geocaches that were placed on at least 100 days of the year (these do not have to all be in the same calendar year)
Chronos III.B - 5 credits - Find geocaches on at least 31 consecutive days
Chronos IV.B - 2 credits - Find at least 50 geocaches during one calendar day
Chronos V.B - 3 credits - Find at least 500 geocaches during one calendar year

General Geocaching I.B - 5 credits - Find at least 1,000 geocaches
General Geocaching II.B - 5 credits - Find at least 10 geocaches of each size (micro, small, regular, large, not chosen, virtual, and other)
General Geocaching III.B - 2 credits - Earn at least 10 geocaching souvenirs
General Geocaching IV.B - 2 credits - Move or discover at least 50 trackables

Geography I.B - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 2 countries
Geography II.B - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 5 U.S. states
Geography III.B - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 1 Canadian province
Geography IV.B - 3 credits - Find a geocache in at least 50 U.S. counties
Geography V.B - 2 credits - Find a geocache at least 100 miles from home
Geography VI.B - 2 credits - Find a geocache at an elevation of at least 1,000 feet

History I.B - 3 credits - Find at least 1 geocache that was placed in the year 2000
History II.B - 5 credits - Find at least 1 geocache that was placed in every month of every year starting with January of 2002

Matrix I.B - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 41 spots in the difficulty/terrain matrix
Matrix II.B - 4 credits - Find at least 10 high-difficulty geocaches (4-, 4.5-, and 5-star difficulty ratings)
Matrix III.B - 4 credits - Find at least 10 high-terrain geocaches (4-, 4.5-, and 5-star terrain ratings)

Non-Traditional Geocaching I.B - 1 credit - Find at least 100 Mystery/Puzzle/Unknown geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching II.B - 1 credit - Find at least 10 Multi-caches
Non-Traditional Geocaching III.B - 1 credit - Find at least 10 Letterbox Hybrid geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching IV.B - 1 credit - Find at least 10 Earthcaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching V.B - 1 credit - Find at least 10 Virtual geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching VI.B - 1 credit - Find at least 10 NGS Benchmarks
Non-Traditional Geocaching VII.B - 1 credit - Attend at least 10 Events (does not include CITO, Mega-Events, or Giga-Events)
Non-Traditional Geocaching VIII.B - 1 credit - Attend at least 1 CITO (Cache In Trash Out) event
Non-Traditional Geocaching IX.B - 1 credit - Find at least 1 Webcam geocache
Non-Traditional Geocaching X.B - 1 credit - Find at least 1 Wherigo geocache
Non-Traditional Geocaching XI.B - 4 credits - Find/Attend at least 1 "unusual" geocache/event (Mega-Event, Giga-Event, Project A.P.E, GPS Adventure Maze Exhibit, Geocaching Block Party, or Geocaching HQ)




Masters Degree
https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC5CRR2_masters-degree-in-geocaching-challenge-cache

Like the Bachelors Degree, The Masters requires you to earn 50 credits

Master's Degree Course Catalog (Course - Credits - Requirements)

Chronos I.M - 5 credits - Find geocaches on at least 365 days of the year (these do not have to all be in the same calendar year)
Chronos II.M - 2 credits - Find geocaches that were placed on at least 365 days of the year (these do not have to all be in the same calendar year)
Chronos III.M - 5 credits - Find geocaches on at least 100 consecutive days
Chronos IV.M - 2 credits - Find at least 100 geocaches during one calendar day
Chronos V.M - 3 credits - Find at least 1,000 geocaches during one calendar year

General Geocaching I.M - 5 credits - Find at least 5,000 geocaches
General Geocaching II.M - 5 credits - Find at least 50 geocaches of each size (micro, small, regular, large, not chosen, virtual, and other)
General Geocaching III.M - 2 credits - Earn at least 50 geocaching souvenirs
General Geocaching IV.M - 2 credits - Move or discover at least 500 trackables

Geography I.M - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 5 countries
Geography II.M - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 20 U.S. states
Geography III.M - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 5 Canadian provinces
Geography IV.M - 3 credits - Find a geocache in at least 200 U.S. counties
Geography V.M - 2 credits - Find a geocache at least 500 miles from home
Geography VI.M - 2 credits - Find a geocache at an elevation of at least 5,000 feet

History I.M - 3 credits - Find at least 5 geocaches that were placed in the year 2000
History II.M - 5 credits - Find at least 1 geocache that was placed in every month of every year starting with January of 2001

Matrix I.M - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 61 spots in the difficulty/terrain matrix
Matrix II.M - 4 credits - Find at least 50 high-difficulty geocaches (4-, 4.5-, and 5-star difficulty ratings)
Matrix III.M - 4 credits - Find at least 50 high-terrain geocaches (4-, 4.5-, and 5-star terrain ratings)

Non-Traditional Geocaching I.M - 1 credit - Find at least 500 Mystery/Puzzle/Unknown geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching II.M - 1 credit - Find at least 50 Multi-caches
Non-Traditional Geocaching III.M - 1 credit - Find at least 50 Letterbox Hybrid geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching IV.M - 1 credit - Find at least 50 Earthcaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching V.M - 1 credit - Find at least 50 Virtual geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching VI.M - 1 credit - Find at least 50 NGS Benchmarks
Non-Traditional Geocaching VII.M - 1 credit - Attend at least 50 Events (does not include CITO, Mega-Events, or Giga-Events)
Non-Traditional Geocaching VIII.M - 1 credit - Attend at least 5 CITO (Cache In Trash Out) events
Non-Traditional Geocaching IX.M - 1 credit - Find at least 5 Webcam geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching X.M - 1 credit - Find at least 5 Wherigo geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching XI.M - 4 credits - Find/Attend at least 5 "unusual" geocaches/events (Mega-Event, Giga-Event, Project A.P.E, GPS Adventure Maze Exhibit, Geocaching Block Party, or Geocaching HQ)




Doctoral Degree In Geocaching
https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC5CRR3_doctoral-degree-in-geocaching-challenge-cache

Doctoral Degree Course Catalog (Course - Credits - Requirements)

Chronos I.D - 5 credits - Find geocaches on at least 366 days of the year (these do not have to all be in the same calendar year)
Chronos II.D - 2 credits - Find geocaches that were placed on at least 366 days of the year (these do not have to all be in the same calendar year)
Chronos III.D - 5 credits - Find geocaches on at least 365 consecutive days
Chronos IV.D - 2 credits - Find at least 200 geocaches during one calendar day
Chronos V.D - 3 credits - Find at least 2,000 geocaches during one calendar year

General Geocaching I.D - 5 credits - Find at least 10,000 geocaches
General Geocaching II.D - 5 credits - Find at least 100 geocaches of each size (micro, small, regular, large, not chosen, virtual, and other)
General Geocaching III.D - 2 credits - Earn at least 100 geocaching souvenirs
General Geocaching IV.D - 2 credits - Move or discover at least 1,000 trackables

Geography I.D - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 10 countries
Geography II.D - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 40 U.S. states
Geography III.D - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 10 Canadian provinces
Geography IV.D - 3 credits - Find a geocache in at least 400 U.S. counties
Geography V.D - 2 credits - Find a geocache at least 1,000 miles from home
Geography VI.D - 2 credits - Find a geocache at an elevation of at least 10,000 feet

History I.D - 3 credits - Find at least 10 geocaches that were placed in the year 2000
History II.D - 5 credits - Find at least 1 geocache that was placed in every month of every year starting with May of 2000

Matrix I.D - 5 credits - Find a geocache in at least 81 spots in the difficulty/terrain matrix
Matrix II.D - 4 credits - Find at least 100 high-difficulty geocaches (4-, 4.5-, and 5-star difficulty ratings)
Matrix III.D - 4 credits - Find at least 100 high-terrain geocaches (4-, 4.5-, and 5-star terrain ratings)

Non-Traditional Geocaching I.D - 1 credit - Find at least 1,000 Mystery/Puzzle/Unknown geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching II.D - 1 credit - Find at least 100 Multi-caches
Non-Traditional Geocaching III.D - 1 credit - Find at least 100 Letterbox Hybrid geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching IV.D - 1 credit - Find at least 100 Earthcaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching V.D - 1 credit - Find at least 100 Virtual geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching VI.D - 1 credit - Find at least 100 NGS Benchmarks
Non-Traditional Geocaching VII.D - 1 credit - Attend at least 100 Events (does not include CITO, Mega-Events, or Giga-Events)
Non-Traditional Geocaching VIII.D - 1 credit - Attend at least 10 CITO (Cache In Trash Out) events
Non-Traditional Geocaching IX.D - 1 credit - Find at least 10 Webcam geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching X.D - 1 credit - Find at least 10 Wherigo geocaches
Non-Traditional Geocaching XI.D - 4 credits - Find/Attend at least 10 "unusual" geocaches/events (Mega-Event, Giga-Event, Project A.P.E, GPS Adventure Maze Exhibit, Geocaching Block Party, or Geocaching HQ)


=================================================================

Other Geocaching Degrees:

PHD In Geocaching (Kansas USA)
https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC441J5_p-h-d-in-geocaching-degree-challenge?guid=d4e49575-6c91-4419-8f04-c3504ccafc47

PHD In Geocaching - (Maryland USA)
https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC4XZ7N_p-h-d-degree-in-geocaching-challenge?guid=23f74164-7c3a-4d07-b755-a5caf7b4c58d

PHD In Geocaching (New Jersey USA)
https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC44Y02_p-h-d-in-geocaching-degree-challenge-nj-edition?guid=9ead11d4-e4a3-465c-98f7-5bf86626f1bc

Windows Snipping Tool - Replaces "print screen"


Have you seen the new "Snipping Tool" in Windows 10?  It's REALLY handy.  Now instead of hitting the print screen button, opening a graphics program, pasting the image, then cropping it and saving it, this tool does it all in a few less clicks.




It's found under Windows Accessories in your start menu.  I dragged it to the right and created a new tile for it, as you can see above.  You could also drag it down as a short cut in the bottom toolbar.



To use it, click on the app, and a little tiny box pops up.  Select the part of the screen you want to crop, then name your save.

That's it.  SUPER quick.

There's a more in depth tutorial here - 
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/13776/windows-use-snipping-tool-to-capture-screenshots

=======================

Using Google My Maps to Plan a Trip



When our kids were little, we once passed a sign for a waterfall and our youngest piped up with "well there's another hour added to our trip".  LOL!  I do love to stop and see everything along the way on our trips. To balance out my need to stop at every interesting sight, with my husbands need to actually get where we are going, we plan ahead with My Maps.

It's a google app, separate from google maps, named My Maps.  This is the most awesome app ever. (I may say that about several apps.  Many of them made by google actually.  But I always really mean it.)

You can create as many maps as you want.  You can add many layers to each map.  You can add routes to maps, to show distances between locations.  You can color code locations, use different icons for different locations...  You can share your maps.  So when I create a map for a trip we are taking, I share it with my husband.  We can both then use the map to navigate to the locations.


You can go to  https://www.google.com/mymap and you can download an app for your phone.  The two sync, of course, this IS google after all.  :-)  

It's really just awesome.



Here are a few of my public maps, to give you some ideas:

Pa Road Trips - 
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1QvfavMSj4P7G80ZmXGDWKMAYrAI&usp=sharing

Columbia County Pa Covered Bridge Tour
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1vP180EhBv9P9MmhITmlpticZ7iE&usp=sharing

The Pine Creek Rail Trail
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1WBfhFICiTKJZ62lAM-jUrefCsJU&usp=sharing

Where to see the Elk Near Benezette Pa - 
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1wvcY5EEx3ti5E8nNJpyKgU853hA&usp=sharing



Other Uses - 
My maps is also great for mapping out genealogy.  I've traced where our ancestors have fought in the civil war, and some of their properties, etc, along with homesteads, graves and places to visit.

It's also useful for geocaching.  Have you ever solved a BUNCH of geoart puzzles and then were not sure how to tackle them in a logical order?  Plug all the coordinates into mymaps and it's easy to plan your route.  :-)