I am trying to create a div on my page that contains two other divs that I want to position side by side (2 columns). The left hand div is fixed in height and the right hand div can have variable height based on its contents. I have tried positioning them with float left and right, or absolutely with respect to the inclosing div, and both work, but both methods result in the enclosing div having no height, so I can't do things to its background like set the color. How do I get the enclosing div to have height generated for it and yet position its children how I want?

I can post html and css if needed, but I think this is a pretty basic question.
I am using IE 8.
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