Once this Ikea in West Chester, Ohio opened, you couldn't get near it with a 10 mile pole for the better part of the month. Well, unless you were willing to put up with terrific traffic jams trying to get in the parking lot, long lines just to get into the store and then swarming masses of people inside. It was crazy. Amy went on opening day around noontime. The store was giving away all sorts of free stuff to the first 1000 people. By the time she got there, all free stuff had been given out. It got to be pretty funny the number of times that Amy visited the store over a month's time. She went with just her two kids the first time. Then she took Todd and the kids a week later. Then she took me and the kids a few days later. That's when I got one clothes hamper with a strap. Then she took Kip and his girlfriend Emily, and the kids, another week or so later. And she went there just to browse around with the kids a couple of times. When they moved out a month ago, they went shopping at Ikea and bought lots of new stuff for their new house. That's why Ikea is so popular. The prices are reasonable.

A week later, I enticed Bill to give the new store a visit. It was crazy. We did get into the parking lot but when we saw the long line of people snaking around the building just waiting to get inside the place we gave up and left. Finally, just last week, Bill and I made it inside the store making it my third visit and his first. I had things to replenish in my kitchen since half of what I had was Amy's stuff and she took it with her when she moved. Bill and I got to Ikea early enough to enjoy breakfast for $1.99. This gives you a hefty serving of scrambled eggs, three slices of bacon, a nice amount of square hash browns and three sticks of French toast. If you get there before 10:00 a.m., you get free coffee. We had just missed that deadline by minutes. They had luscious looking cinnamon rolls but I bypassed those that day. I did pick up a box of their crisp double chocolate cookies after hearing Emily and Amy talk about them. Oh...mi...god, yes, they are just as advertised!

Our main objective in going to Ikea was to purchase silverware (cutlery, as they call it). But you have to look through the entire store before you get to the Cooking & Eating section which we didn't mind at all. It was quite an experience threading our way through the merchandise-filled aisles looking at every fantabulous item they had to offer. Simple styles but appealing; affordable prices. We oohed and aahed over many things but kept our restraint. Until I got to the kitchen department. Can you believe a set of three Teflon safe utensils for .59 cents? Picture me in one of their large wheelchairs being pushed by Bill and I'm pushing one of their little yellow bag carrying carts with one of their large yellow bags hanging from it in front of me. I am not a shopper but I was avidly adding stuff to my yellow bag without trepidation. In went two Teflon coated pans for $5.99, measuring spoons for $1.49, a citrus zester for $1.49, an oil cruet for $6.99, and a pepper grinder which, besides the silverware, was the most expensive item I got at $7.99.

When we got home, I began to unpack the silverware but then I stopped. You see, we liked the silverware we used in the cafeteria and we were trying to get that one. But the set we brought home was lighter weight and looked like it could bend if too much pressure was put on it. We were tired of bending silverware. So, we decided to go back to Ikea the next day and get the right set. Sunday morning we set off again, this time to get there so we could take advantage of another breakfast and free coffee before 10:00. I got the $.99 breakfast this time and added a cinnamon roll for another $.99. The 99 cent breakfast consisted of a nice heap of scrambled eggs, two slices of bacon and a mound of square hash browns. We took a good look at the silverware we were eating with and then headed out on the showroom again. This time I couldn't pass up the wooden lazy Susan for $7.99, Bill couldn't pass up the set of beer glasses for $4.99, and I found the set of measuring cups I had missed the day before. Oh, and we got the right silverware this time. It cost a bit more than the Fornuft style, unfortunately, but heck this was Ikea stuff we were getting. I topped off our purchases by getting a box of six cinnamon rolls. Oh, yum!