Spackle and glow

It was quite the productive weekend in the Foster-Peterson household.

The big move is next weekend, but Andy and I were able to grab the keys to the new pad this weekend so we could paint and prep. We did the master bedroom in "Chocolate Truffle," the guest bedroom in "Peanut butter," and the guest bath in "Blueberry Patch." (Why, by the way, do paint companies name every color after some sort of dessert?) It really was quite the eye-opening experience.

Andy was raised doing pretty much every type of home improvement. Me ... not so much. So it really was a lot of fun to get the hands-on experience I did this weekend.

For example, I never realized that there is a specific painting technique, called "cutting," that you use when painting edges. As near as I can tell, it's a very scientific approach that involves taking a large breath, shutting one eye, cocking your head to a difficult angle and, in one smooth stroke, spreading as much paint as possible along the seam.

No surprise, but Andy is actually quite good at it.

He can create a nearly perfect line of paint without tape. When I tried, I ended up painting an inch of wall I didn't want painted. So, I was entrusted with the sponge roller (more my style, anyway) and my very own brush for touch-ups.

So the new place looks great! It's really coming along beautifully. It's a ton of work to move, but so far, completely worth it. Remarkably, next week at this time, it'll be over and done with.

Ice castles

Camelot on ice ... without the dancing former Olympiads. Note the wizard in the upper rampart, the torches on the front wall, and (hard to see but right up front) the two armed guards. There was also a knight on horseback and a full-sized coat of armor from the waist up that tourists could pose behind for photographs.

There's a cool little former mining town about an hour away from the Springs called Cripple Creek. What was once a gold rush community is now one of the state's three gaming towns.

Once every few months, Cripple Creek has a wild festival designed to drum up business for the few downtown businesses that aren't casinos. This weekend was the Ice Festival.

Look, kids, Dumbledore lives!

Basically, the idea was to bring in a half-dozen really talented ice carvers, give them a piece of downtown road and several tons of ice, and set them loose. Apparently the theme was fairy tales. As you can see, the end results were spectacular, whimsical and remarkably out of place outside of establishments named "The Brass Ass" and "The Virgin Mule."

Carver Thomas Barlow polishes the body of a Pegasus he carved inside a castle wall.

Nonetheless, Andy and I had a great time taking in the sights, watching the artists and - yes - hitting a few slot machines. (we finished $9.75 up, by the way, and promptly spent all our winnings on an overpriced martini and kettle corn.)

A soon-to-be dragon takes shape on a rocky ledge and below a shooting star. Note the pride flag in the meteor's tail!

It's happening, again

Yep, once again, Andy and I are moving. This makes an even dozen in the eight years since I finished grad school. Not bad, huh?

This time, however, we aren't moving across the country, the state or the suburbs. This time, we're moving across the parking lot.

Here's the deal: We have the chance to upgrade from a two-bedroom to a three-bedroom apartment with mountain views for less than $100 a month. We're gaining something like 250 square feet and easy access to the hot tub. This means we'll have not just a master bedroom and den, but a guest room where our guests won't be crammed between the TV and sofa, and a study/library where I can work from home.

So if anyone gets the Rockies itch, you have a place to stay.

Drop me a line and I'll shoot you our new address. It takes hold Feb. 21.