A Literary Life

Featured Home: Hidden treasure found

The romance of the Old West with modern luxury in Kings Deer
BY KATE JONUSKA - SPRINGSHOUSES.COM

It was 1891 in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona, deep in the Gold Rush era of the American West, and Jacob Waltz lay dying. With his last indrawn breathe, the legend says, he told a friend about the location of a gold mine he’d found, drawing a map to the treasure trove of riches the mine contained. But she never tracked down the treasure, nor could the dozens of others who sought it.

So the fanciful and fascinating legend of the Lost Dutchman Mine began, and so it spins out to this day, perfectly encapsulating modern Americans’ idea of the Old West: rugged, romantic, epic and slightly whimsical.

But in this week’s spotlight home in Pine Creek, historical inspiration from tales of the Old West combine with modern style to create a different kind of gold mine: a home that tastefully mixes splashes of western style and high-end building materials. In short, a treasure for any family, listed by Mark Pledger of Prudential Professional REALTORS for $1.2 million.

“We call this whimsical rustic elegance,” says the seller, walking through the front yard with its wagon-wheel bench, scattered authentic ore carts and an artfully placed wagon, bleaching in the sun. The sellers spent a good six figures on the custom landscaping because, she explains, “There was the standard three trees over here, three trees over there and rocks and weeds. I wanted it to feel like Colorado.”

CLICK HERE to read this article, which printed in Springs Houses on August 2, 2008.

Parent: Preparing for the game of life

Classes teaching real-life skills equip teens for
adulthood’s true challenges
By Kate Jonuska

You’ve graduated high school. Do not pass GO. Do not collect $200. Hold on … do you even know how to earn $200, or how to budget that $200 for rent, food and entertainment?

Despite all the quadratic equations, sentence diagrams and the periodic table of the elements that high school drills into the head of teenagers, are they truly prepared for the Game of Life, able to handle all the random “CHANCE” cards that could be thrown their way?

A teen who has taken advantage of any family- and consumer-science classes — electives teaching real-life skills to fill the scary gap between book learning and adult reality — may be ahead of the game.

“When you can get information that you can accumulate for your own experience and lifetime goals, why not get it?” asks Lori McManigal, the family- and consumer-science liaison for School District 11. “It’s the overwhelming feeling of helping improve lives.”

Food and Nutrition, Relationships, Child and Adolescent Development, Independent Living: These are just a few of the many classes that offer teenagers lessons usually learned in the school of hard knocks, such as how to buy a reliable used car, cultivate good credit, have a healthy relationship or find a meal without consulting a drive-thru window.

In other words, the class covers many of the pitfalls young adults face, helping them avoid mistakes — such as bankruptcy, divorce or obesity — they might otherwise spend years correcting.

“People are realizing some of these (family- and consumer-science) skills are necessary, but don’t really know how to fit it in yet … We’re so governed by the CSAPs and test scores and all that,” says Palmer High School teacher Sharon Nemeth. Of her Relationships class, she says, “By the end of the class, every kid will say this class should be required.”

CLICK HERE to read a PDF of this article, which published in the July 2008 Pikes Peak Parent magazine.

Featured Home: An oasis of taste

Upgrades, color choices lend newer home fabulous personality
BY KATE JONUSKA - SPRINGSHOUSES.COM
Photos courtesy of Wendy Crawford

When it comes to real estate, money can buy a lot of things, including acreage, views, corner lots and square feet. Having walked through a wide variety of homes in my line of work, I’ve seen some that are no more than a combination of those parts: four walls, location and XYZ square feet.
But one thing that money can’t buy, even in high-caliber real estate, is exquisite taste, something that this 2007-built home radiates. Located in the Northern Colorado Springs Cordera neighborhood, the six-bedroom, four-bath home is listed for $550,000 by Wendy Crawford of Keller Williams Real Estate.
Perhaps jadedly, I expected such a recently built house to still retain that sterile yet crisp new-home smell and lack of personality. But past the earthy yellow stucco and stacked stone columns of the exterior, I was pleasantly surprised by the home’s contemporary and tasteful — yet far-from-bland — style.
“They have very good taste,” admits Crawford, pointing out the warm mocha walls throughout most of the house, the striking highlight walls of red and green, and the sellers’ awe-inspiring art collection. “Very,” she repeats.

CLICK HERE to read this article, which printed in Springs Houses on July 5, 2008.

Parent: Zookeeper profile

Local animal handler brings her love of animals home
By Kate Jonuska

You might think that after a 40-hour week of caring for two hippopotamuses — transporting hundreds of pounds of food, brushing gigantic teeth, cleaning up their, ahem, droppings — a person might barricade herself alone in her home, where no other creature could demand her time and energy.

April Hyatt, an animal keeper for the hippos at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, is not such a person. In fact, her household includes two dogs, two cats, three parrots, two fish tanks and a bunch of “little ones,” like her two rats.

“Honestly, we’ve got a lot of little stuff I end up bringing home because I work at the pet store (in addition to the zoo),” says Hyatt. “I find myself being most complete when I’m around animals. I also pet-sit and work at a dog wash once a week.”

CLICK HERE to read a PDF of this article, which published in the July 2008 Pikes Peak Parent magazine.

Parent: Pets Fresh Perspectives

Featured home: Through the looking glass

Sweeping views, professional decor create a warm, relaxing home
By Kate Jonuska

People in glass houses, they say, shouldn’t throw stones. Of course, this idiom imagines a glass house as an exposed place, probably sharp and cold, where the world can look in and judge the occupants.

Obviously, that idiom never took into account this warm and comfortable home in Top of Skyway in Southwest Colorado Springs, where plentiful windows reveal a breathtaking view without exposing its occupants to prying eyes.

“I don’t see this much glass in a lot of the homes up here. You take all the trouble to be up here with the views, so that’s a huge selling point,” says Suzanne Holland of Platinum Group Realtors, who lists the five-bedroom, four-bath home for $785,000. Holland points out that the vista sweeps from Garden of the Gods over the city lights. “You feel like you’re outdoors with these views, and you’re almost at the top of the neighborhood, so it’s quiet and private.”

“It’s such a big view. She almost went crazy when she saw this,” says the seller of his wife’s reaction. But thanks to thoughtful planning and landscaping, the couple has never felt that the plentitude of glass infringed upon their privacy or cooled the home’s warm, cozy interior. “They’ve got the trees in the right places so you don’t feel people are looking at you.”

CLICK HERE to read a PDF of this article in its entirety, which was published in the June 7, 2008 Springs Houses.

Parent: June cover story

A teen lifeguard on responsibility, focus and misconceptions

By Kate Jonuska

Photos by Carol Lawrence, special to Pikes Peak Parent

When the final bell rings to let students out of school for the summer, many teenagers exchange books and pencils with plastic gloves for cleaning bathrooms or uniforms with funny hats.

But kids like Austin Ord, an 18-year-old senior at Liberty High School, have found a way out of typical teen work in fast food and retail by becoming lifeguards, a position that offers teens a rare level of respect and responsibility. And it doesn’t hurt that he gets to hang out next to a pool on the clock.

“At my previous job, you were the bottom of the pyramid, with no respect whatsoever,” explains Austin, who will serve his second summer as a guard with the City of Colorado Springs this year. “A lot of jobs don’t trust you with responsibility. You’re there for one task only.”

But after completing a YMCA certification course, a six-hour orientation and ongoing training, Austin finds himself in a position of trust and authority daily.

“It empowers you … Not many jobs certify you to save someone’s life. At a teenage age, that’s pretty cool,” Austin explains. “It’s not just flipping burgers.”

CLICK HERE to view a PDF of this article, which ran in the June 2008 Pikes Peak Parent magazine.

Parent: Zoo scavenger Hunt

On safari!

A take-along scavenger hunt for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

By Kate Jonuska and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Sunny outdoor fun can always be found at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, and new attractions like the Rocky Mountain Wild exhibit and the Mountaineer Sky Ride are sure to draw crowds. But if your children think the zoo is old hat or need a bit more structure, tear out this creative scavenger hunt to keep them entertained and — shh! Don’t tell them! — learning.

CLICK HERE to view a PDF of the scavenger hunt.

Parent: Father’s Day Fresh Perspectives

Featured Home: Room to relax

BY KATE JONUSKA • SPRINGSHOUSES.COM

Sometimes small is good, like in the case of golf scores or jeans size. But those who claim that smaller is always good have never had a car weather the elements because it lacked a garage, seen family members bump elbows while preparing a meal or stumbled over clutter due to a lack of storage space.

In real estate, bigger is often simply better. And this University Park home in northern Colorado Springs, listed by Connie de Jong of RE/MAX Properties for $999,000, proves how luxurious it can feel when you have space to let down your hair, let down your guard and let a sigh of relaxation drift — through the open floor plan, up to the vaulted ceilings and out the sunny windows to dissipate in the pine trees.

“A lot of houses of this caliber are outside city limits,” says Rob de Jong, pointing out that few homes so close to the city center have .66 acres of trees, soaring views and such private quiet. “The location makes it stand out. The privacy is amazing, and it makes it really unique to border 250 acres of open space.”

To read more: CLICK HERE to see a PDF of this article, which ran May 17, 2008 in Springs Houses, a section of The Gazette.