Lifestyle

by Dr. Susannah Smith

Telluride's San Miguel Resource Center, the region's only nonprofit dealing with the twin challenges of domestic violence and sexual assault, celebrated healthy relationships last night at its annual Chocolate Lovers' Fling, the nonprofit's major public fundraiser. Support for the event means supporting yourself, a family member or a friend in need, anyone regardless of race or gender, yes gender, because abuse is an equal opportunity offender.

I'm writing today about a topic that is unpopular among women, and even female therapists.  However, the battered male is a reality.

Our media world has done a good job of reporting on domestic violence in women, which is also a reality.  We have heard of the "battered wife syndrome": a diagnostic complex of symptoms often referred to by clinicians.  I prefer to speak about the "battered partner syndrome."

[ click the "Play" button to hear Susan's interview with Alanna]

Alanna poster Alanna Kaivalya was included in a Yoga Journal article featuring "Top 21 Instructors in the U.S. under 40." She returns to Telluride on the heels of her recent visit to town for the first annual Telluride Yoga Festival this past July, having woven her spell over that magical weekend. This time the senior Jivamukti instructor is here to teach a yoga workshop, "Compassion Through Action," in support of the San Miguel Resource Center.

On  Saturday night, February 7, the SMRC holds its only public fundraiser, the 14th annual Chocolate Lovers' Fling. The SMRC is the region's only nonprofit that helps victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and offers prevention education.

Appropriately, the theme of Alanna's workshop is "Compassion Through Action," and book II, sutra 35 from the "Yoga Sutra's of Patanjali," the first and foremost scripture if Yoga, provides the leitmotif:
 "Ahimsa Pratisthayam Tat Samnidhau Vaira Tyagah or "In the presence of one firmly established in non-violence, all hostilities cease."

The Wilkinson Public Library and Telluride Adaptive Sports Program host a showing of the adventure movie, "Blindsight" and events with mountaineer/motivational speaker Jeff Evans on Wed, Feb. 4 and Thur, Feb. 5. On Wed. see Jeff at Schilling Studio and Gallery, 151 S. Pine, ($50/person,...

[ click to hear the interview with Maegan Boyce]

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Maegan and Peaks
co-worker Zabe James

The San Miguel Resource Center is a small nonprofit with only five employees, yet it provides a menu of services of  that includes:

Short-term counseling
Follow-up contact
Support group treatment
Emergency shelter/safehouse
Information and referral
Criminal justice system support
Personal and legal advocacy
Emergency financial assistance
Emergency housing assistance
Safety planning 
Children’s art alchemy

  [ Click to hear Susan's interview with Jessica Forsyth] 

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The CHIP team

It was the wish of the Telluride AIDS Benefit’s muse, Robert Presley, to keep WestCAP healthy. The community-based referral, advocacy and service provider helped him in his fight against AIDS and remains of paramount importance to everyone on the Western Slope living with HIV/AIDS. TAB’s largesse, however, extends beyond WestCAP, its primary beneficiary, to Denver, where over the years the nonprofit has been able to give thousands of dollars to the Children’s Hospital Immunodeficiency Program or CHIP.

CHIP began providing specialized care for HIV+ children in the Rocky Mountain region in 1991. CHIP remains the only entity in the region providing comprehensive, coordinated, family-centered services to infants, children, youth (13-24), pregnant women, and parents of HIV-infected children.

A number of Telluride residents spoke to Beth Roberts of The New Community Coaltion about how to make Telluride, our region, and the world greener in 2009. On this video we hear from Giselle Winter, David Allen, Katie Klingsporn, Simon Collins, Andrew Dolese, and Nigel...

the background

Susannainthekitchen The Showtime hit, "The United States of Tara," is about one woman with a multiple personality pile-up. In Tara's case, the condition is pathological. In Dr. Susanna Hoffman's case, it is merely circumstantial: her interests are as wide ranging as her achievements and talents.

Lucky for us, Susanna's gift for cooking – she has written five cookbooks – intersects with her passion for, no kidding, football.

The story is that growing up her older sister was all pink and lace and girly girl, and so she became the rampaging tomboy: "I knew all the baseball stars and football signals."

They sit glowing lime green, tawny ochre, brown gold, rusty red, in their bins at the market, thankfully almost always present, because they come twice a year, in summer and early winter. So it is rare that we undergo a dearth of pears, one sort or another always states “here I am” to the grocery list roll call. 

For that reason, pears are a preferred fruit for a poached fruit dessert. Besides, their resolute flesh more than endures a hot treatment, it triumphs in it. But while pears are plentiful, there seems to be a paucity of ideas on how to poach them, almost always entailing some version of red wine. Rather, why not turn to white wine, and for a real twist flavor it with one of the herbal teas so popular now. Here the choice is chamomile tea simmered with white wine into a luxurious, silken syrup.

For fun, crunch, and color, top off the pears with a sprinkle of tasty, green chopped pistachio nuts.  Green tea can also replace the chamomile, and a spoonful of a colorful fruit preserve can replace the nuts, make the dish fruit on fruit. Any way, the dish is an exceptional treat and will draw gleeful applause.