Lifestyle

[click "Play" to hear Kristin Holbrook's suggestions about "Fling" costumes]

Kristin Holbrook of San MIguel Resource Center and on the committee for the nonprofit's 15th annual Chocolate Lovers' Fling, its only public fundraiser. The event takes place Saturday, February 6, 7:30  – 11:30 p.m., at the Telluride Conference Center in the Mountain Village.


Is-1 Since 1994, the Center has supported victims of domestic violence and sexual assault living in the Telluride region. The idea is to help clients help themselves to form a loving relationship, first with #1, and then, perhaps, with a new, healthy, supportive partner. This year's party theme is "Love Boat." From 1977 – 1986, viewers set a course for romantic adventure when "The Love Boat," aka The Pacific Princess, sailed onto their TV screens and into their living rooms.

[click "Play" to hear Sergio Gonzalez talk about SMRC, the Fling, and Telluride Pizza Kitchen]

 
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Sergio Gonzalez

The San Miguel Resource Center is the Telluride region's only nonprofit in the business of eliminating domestic violence and sexual assault. The upcoming Chocolate Lovers' Fling is the Center's only public fundraiser.


Chocolate’s history dates back at least 1,500 years, when the Mayans of Central America crushed cocoa beans into an unsweetened beverage. Closer to home, last year tests of cylindrical clay jars found in the ruins of Chaco Canyon confirmed the presence of theobromine, a cacao marker. Researchers now believe the ancestors of modern Pueblo people of the Southwest used the jars to drink liquid chocolate. Years later in Europe, chocolate was prescribed for depression and made into love and death potions. (Its bitter flavor masked poisons.) You are in good company if you find the allure of chocolate irresistible. (Cravings may be in part be attributed to the natural chemicals in chocolate, including theobromine, thought to produce feelings of well being.) But did you know chocolate is good for you in other ways? According to the Harvard Women's Health Watch, over the past 10 year chocolate has undergone an extreme makeover from "fattening indulgence" to "health food."

Did you see them on the mountain in Telluride? Athletes with disabilities, some of them wounded vets, people with impaired vision, skiers in sit-down equipment. They were all over the mountain this week, on the Meadows, on Gold Hill, in Logpile, notching great times...

[click "Play" to listen to MD about his art]

Md_web The Telluride local known on the streets simply as "MD" is not what his handle suggests. Michael Patrick Doherty is an artist, this month the featured virtuoso at the Ah Haa School for the Arts. "Life on Telluride" officially opens tomorrow, February 4, for the First Thursday Art Walk., 5 - 8 p.m. in Ah Haa's Daniel Tucker Gallery.


Telluride local Ben Clark takes Telluride on the road every spring, doing what Telluriders often do: Get out there on the edge. This is the second post in a series linking to Ben's adventures in the Himalayas. View the website and check out the video...

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Chef Bud and Jenna Thomas

Telluride is always high. And we mean that in a good way. The town and its surrounding mountains range between 9,000 – 14,000 feet, great if you like skiing, hiking, parasailing, mountain biking, lots of sports, but challenging for basics such as breathing and cooking. Just ask "The Tomboy Bride," Harriet Backus.

In her memoir, Backus wrote  “'The Rocky Mountain Cook Book' became my guide, philosopher and daily companion.” One memorable Thanksgiving at their Tomboy cabin, the Backuses and friends sat down for what was sure to be the best meal of the year, only to find the bird still quite frozen.

January full moon (plus 1 day) in Telluride. Jackie Greene was playing at the Opera House, but for many locals, the place to be was the Valley Floor for moonlight cross country skiing. To sweeten the deal there were stations for hot cider, soup,...

[click "Play" to listen to Kristin Holbrook talk about shiny shoes] Could be a surrogate for the jewelry in lean times. They certainly sparkle and shine: metallics in clothes and accessories have been a strong seasonal trend, seen top...

With so much variety in Telluride, it's easy to forget how much there is to do within a few hours' drive in any direction. Saturday, January 23, Damon Demas and I took an overnight trip to Moab and Arches National Park to show...