— Jenny Neill

Archive
Tag "coffee"

If my blog were to have a birthday, it would fall in June of 2011. That means I’ve been blogging 18 months and have averaged about three posts per month since I started. But that average doesn’t tell the real story of how I struggled to find a rhythm. Nor does it capture how I’ve experimented in long and short compositions, fiction and non-fiction, or including pictures and video as adjuncts to sharing my words with you.

Flaming Orange Peel

It took several tries for Mike to capture this image of me flaming an orange peel.
If you do decide to try this at home, use a longer match than the one I’m holding!

Photo courtesy of Mike Russell. All rights reserved.

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I interviewed five fair trade activists earlier this year about the meaning of the movement in the coffee sector now, nearly a quarter of a century after the first seal was launched. The split of Fair Trade USA from Fairtrade International and this year’s launch of the Small Producers Seal increased the number of certification bodies to four in North America. Will this increase in the number of players bring a return to solidarity about what it means to trade fairly?

Coffee in bags

Photo courtesy of puuikibeach. Some rights reserved.

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I can be the queen of procrastination when I have research to do. Thank goodness there are Google Alerts to help me out when I would rather be polishing my silverware by hand with a toothbrush than actually investigating a story idea. Let’s review the array of topics found by an alert I have set up to look for “coffee Portland” once a day.

Free Stamp

Photo courtesy of David Haines. Some rights reserved.

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I write therefore I drink coffee. Yes, yes, many fellow wordsmiths manage to face down the blank page through sheer determination or with the aid of other caffeinated beverages. But me? I prefer the rich, dark flavors of a good cuppa joe to start my day.

Seattle skyline at sunset

Photo courtesy of Mike Russell, all rights reserved.

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Brian Neely is a talented fine art photographer currently living in Kabul, Afghanistan. He works with digital and film cameras, loves single-origin coffees and microbrews, and is the only person I know who has run the Athens Classic Marathon in Greece.

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