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Peggy Thompson Hudon of Hood River is pounding a trail between Central America and Hood River.
Helping the women of La Cañada, Honduras, avoid the arduous pounding and grinding of beans by hand is one of Hudon's goals in her association with Las Mujeres Cooperativa, a 12-women roasting operation there.
Hudon, co-owner of Hood River Coffee Co. with her husband, Mark, will make her fourth trip to Honduras later this year in what has become a confirmed international partnership with the people who grow and roast coffee at its source.
She will return to La Cañada later this year and for the trip Hudon has some ready-made carry-on luggage.
The Hudons repurpose burlap coffee sacks into messenger bags, which are sold to benefit Las Mujeres.
The bags won the Hudsons the People's Choice Award April 22 at the 2012 Specialty Coffee Association Convention in Portland.
They were recognized for their efforts on behalf of the cooperative.
"Last summer we came upon the idea of making these repurposed burlap messenger bags and giving the profits to the cooperative," she said.
"We are thrilled to have won this award to help create an awareness."
Peggy first met the women of Las Mujeres in November 2010 and learned of their efforts to augment their livelihoods by roasting their own coffee on an open fire using a very large wok-shaped pan.
She said, "I filmed their roasting methods, as well as the milling of their coffee using a mortar and pestle. I left La Cañada, feeling connected with these women, yet unsure how to help them."
Hudon will be going back to the cooperative for a week this December.
"I will be with a member of the coffee industry in Honduras to teach them cupping methods so they can access, and if necessary, learn ways in which they can improve the method of their coffee," Hudon said.
Cupping is the technique of sampling coffee to observe and determine the flavor, feel and aroma of brewed liquid.
"Beyond that, we also hope to help them with the purchase of a hulling machine," Hudon said.
"The mortar and pestle method that they currently use makes for back-breaking work. They would definitely be better served to put their energy in other directions. The hulling machine will help them do just that."
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|One-of-a-Kind Poppy Parker doll
by Dawn of One Sixth Sense
I'd always thought Poppy Parker was the cute and classy, girl-next-door type of a doll. She had the big eyes and the slightly pouty lips going on, with her streamline 60's style wardrobe. A few weeks ago, Dawn has made me rethink that notion when I saw her post a OOAK Poppy on the Doll Divas board. I was totally blown away!
As you can see, this is not your typical Poppy doll! She's definitely past the girl-next-door stage. This one exudes maturity on all angles and still retains that sweet elegance that I've come to love about the Poppy dolls. Those piercing green eyes. The fiery red hair. The Ms. Jolie lips. I had to have her!
|Reira and the Barbie Look wardrobe
She was originally named Rowena by Dawn but I had renamed her Reira, after a character from a manga (Japanese comic), Nana. Like the character Reira, I imagine her just blossoming out of the girl-next-door phase, still with her insecurities, but ready to take the world by storm with her singing...or in this case, modelling.
And so, as my fellow W club members and I bite our nails and pull our hairs, wondering if we will be confirmed to get all the the dolls we wanted from the 'unveiling' last Saturday, I'm going to try and just enjoy the moment with my new Poppy. Thank you Dawn for such a lovely doll!
Happy Monday!

subset: commoncrawl


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Bishop Marco Antonio Ordenes Fernandez, 48, of Chile resigned on Oct. 9 as a Vatican investigation into his alleged sexual abuse of a minor continued. • The Meaningful Chocolate Company, a fair trade enterprise in Great Britain, was forced to redesign its seasonal packaging after being advised that legally "Advent purple belongs to Cadbury," a candy giant. The position was unwelcome to the Anglican Bishop Stephen Cotterell, who noted that the color purple "was around" before Cadbury and "perish the thought—after they have gone, it will still be here." • President Barack Obama on Oct. 8 proclaimed the Cesar Chavez National Monument on 120 acres around the United Farm Workers headquarters in Keene, Calif. • The Archdiocese of Atlanta, the Diocese of Savannah and other Catholic entities in Georgia filed a federal lawsuit on Oct. 5 challenging the Health and Human Services' contraceptive mandate. • The United Nations on Oct. 11 marked the first "International Day of the Girl Child" by calling for an end to child marriage. • The bishops of the European Union called the awarding of a Nobel prize to John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka an "important milestone" in recognizing the superior potential of adult stem-cell research over experimentation on embryonic stem cells.
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|Kyle Busch Wins ISM Connect 300
|Modified Season Sweep for Santos
|Bell Wins UNOH 175 Truck Series Race
|Mile Kyle: Busch Takes Pole for ISM Connect 300
|Short Track Extravaganza Set for Sept. 2018
|New England Themed Going Away Gift for Junior
Letarte Leaving the 'Best Job in the Garage'
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Even as news was still breaking that Steve Letarte would vacate his crew chief job at Hendrick Motorsports in 2015 to join the NBC Sports broadcast team, the projections, rumors and predictions about who would replace him atop Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s pit box began.
"I think it's the best job in the garage that's coming open, I would put it at the top of the list," Letarte said Friday.
And who would argue? Working for the most successful championship NASCAR Sprint Cup Series organization in NASCAR history, calling the shots for Earnhardt, the sport's perennial Most Popular Driver is an attractive -- albeit challenging -- form of employment.
However, the man most vested in the pairing, the driver himself, said he thinks it best to have no input into the search process.
"I won't make any suggestions at all," he said. "I will leave that up to Rick (Hendrick) and (general manager) Doug (Duchardt). And I would love to have input from Chad Knaus and Steve. I think that Steve knows what makes this team work.
"I think it's important he has a lot of influence because he knows how well the shop works together and what the culture is in the shop, how a particular guy may mesh in that environment."
When approached in the Sprint Cup garage by NASCAR.com during Friday's Preseason Thunder test session, Knaus said he preferred not to name any front-runners specifically. But he acknowledged his Hendrick Motorsports team has a preferred history of promoting from within.
"It's cool that Dale values my opinion," said Knaus, a six-time title-winning crew chief for Jimmie Johnson, whose No. 48 team shares a shop with Earnhardt's No. 88 team.
"I think there's a lot of people out there that could fit into the mold we've got there pretty well and not disrupt it too badly. But it's going to be a task for sure.
"You have to realize Steve's been there a long time. Mike Landis our team manager has been there a long time too. And when you bring someone new into the fold it's going to change it a little bit. We want to be cautious and make sure whoever comes in doesn't really disrupt the workflow of that shop because that shop has been pretty successful."
As for a front-runner from within the Hendrick organization, Knaus would only say, "the company always tries to (promote from within), but this is all brand new so I can't comment too much on it right now."
While Knaus preferred to defer, the rest of the Sprint Cup garage was buzzing with speculation.
One obvious potential candidate is Ron Malec, Knaus' right-hand man as car chief on Johnson's six champion runs.
Greg Ives would also be a legitimate candidate. He currently works at Earnhardt's JR Motorsports operation as crew chief for 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series rookie Chase Elliott, and Ives would bring the experience of working for and with Earnhardt. He worked alongside Knaus at Hendrick for nine years, serving as race engineer on Johnson's five consecutive championship seasons (2006-10).
Hendrick Motorsports issued a statement Thursday expressing support for Letarte's decision and stressing it did not want the future job vacancy to be a distraction for the present.
"We don't expect to address the crew chief position until after the season," the statement said. "Everyone with the team is focused on 2014 and committed to having another great year."
Letarte said he'd be glad to offer his opinion and assist in the search for his replacement, but like Earnhardt and Knaus, he insisted this decision ultimately and fittingly belongs in Hendrick's hands.
"That's a question for Rick Hendrick how much he wants to involve me or not involve me," Letarte said. "I'd be happy to help him anyway I can, help Dale, help anyone involved. I care about them like family and I'll do anything I can do to help with their decision. Rick is the magician to this. He puts the right people together, so I don't know if he needs my help. But if he wants it, I'll be there."
And while Earnhardt may not have a preference or a desire to participate in the search for Letarte's replacement, he does know that person will have some big shoes to fill.
"I think that my fear is just (replacing) Steve," Earnhardt said. "It's a guy that's going to be hard to replace."


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Clients' reviews
"Receptionist were incredibly friendly and helpful. The view from the room was perfect, and the location couldn't be better."
H. from UK
"The hotel was a wonderful experience for our wedding anniversary. Thank you Xavier for all your assistance. We would stay again."
B. from Italy
Welcome to hotel La Bourdonnais
Located in the heart of Paris, a step from the Eiffel Tower and Les Invalides, La Bourdonnais is the place of choice for travelers eager to relax and be amazed. In an offbeat setting designed by Oscar Ono Interiors, this 4-star boutique-hotel themed around travelling and adventure pays tribute to Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais, lieutenant in the French East India Company.
Step into a world of elegance and refinement before setting off to explore all the beauties Paris has to offer to whoever comes to this cosmopolitan, ever-new city of legends.
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News of the Hotel La Bourdonnais
La Campagne à Paris
Published on 10 October 2018 in Mademoiselle Inwood
I invite you to stroll in this unique neighborhood in which you can see charming pavilions. Some houses have lovely porches...read more
The inevitable Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Published on 12 September 2018 in Monsieur Inwood
Discovering Saint-Germain-des-Prés while strolling is fabulous. The narrow streets, its old side, the typical architecture will allow you to spend pleasant moments...read more


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March 6, 2007
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - MIT rifle finished the 2006-07 season with a spot in the Expert Division of varsity smallbore at the Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC) Championships. Despite a great team performance, the Engineers lost by 20 points to VMI, 2155-2135.
Freshman Emily Houston shot the fifth-highest score at the championships in smallbore, using a strong performance on the last target card to jump ahead of Akron's Laura Kuntz with a score of 570. Senior Anton Katz registered one of only two perfect scores on the day with a 100 in the prone position and finished with the ninth-highest score overall (562). Both Houston and Katz finished ahead of VMI's contingent, but the Keydets' strength in depth enabled VMI to secure the narrow win.
Based on the entire season's body of work, Houston and Katz were both named to the MAC All-Conference team in air rifle before the championships.


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Wondering if as a general rule increasing the mash from 60 to 90 min and increasing the sparge from 30 to 45 min will increase efficiency without adding off flavors.
Thinking of increasing primary to 21 days, especially for big beers but wondering if the longer primary time is needed with a yeast starter.
You don't say whether you fly sparge or or batch sparge, but if you batch sparge a longer sparge won't make any difference.
He batch sparges, which is why I was confused on how a longer time spent sparging would increase efficiency.
Quote from: AmandaK on January 22, 2013, 08:59:50 PMHe batch sparges, which is why I was confused on how a longer time spent sparging would increase efficiency.With either method, it would increase efficiency if conversion isn't complete at the end of the mash rest.
I find conversion is done in 15-20 minutes, and certainly within an hour. Mash time is not a factor in my experience. YMMV?
I do hope Kai corrects me where I'm scientifically off base. All I can do is share what I've learned through experimentation and experience, in the hopes that it will help someone out there to be a more critical thinker such as we are.


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Nov. 22, 2008
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Despite six first-place finishes, the MIT women's swimming and diving team settled for split in a home tri-meet against Bowdoin and NEWMAC rival Babson on Saturday. On an afternoon in which the win wasn't decided until the final event of the day, Bowdoin clipped MIT with a narrow victory in the 400 free relay to secure the non-conference win.
The Engineers delivered a tremendous effort in spite of the heart-breaking loss as Jen Chao and Nicole O'Keeffe supplied the attack with two wins a piece. Chao swam exceptionally well in winning the 100 (1:00.72) and 200 fly (2:14.38) while her times rivaled her performances at last year's conference championships.
O'Keefe paced a dominating contingent of distance swimmers after winning the 500 and 1000 free. MIT swept the top three places in the one-grand circuit with freshman Megan Tadge and junior Rachel Price finishing second and third, respectively. In the 500, O'Keefe swam 5:20.28 to deliver a come-from-behind win, while sophomore Carrie DeBoer and rookie Sydney Giblin finished third and fourth.
MIT also received a boost from its divers, who swept the top three places on both boards. Junior Kristie D'Ambrosio topped classmate Lauren Cipicchio to take top honors on the one-meter, while senior Kristin Uhmeyer posted the top score in three-meter.