Colorado

This just in: The PR folks for IKEA just sent out an e-mail blast alerting folks that plans are still on track for a fall 2011 opening of the IKEA store in Centennial.

IKEA 2009 Plan: it will be a while

Back in 2009 I gave a Construction on IKEA update that was a little depressing. And it seems like that still rings true.

From the e-mail this morning:

IKEA announced that contractors have been hired and a site-work permit
is pending for its future Denver-area store. This progress allows for a
Fall 2011 grand opening in Centennial, Colorado

So...it will be no earlier than Fall 2011.

Fall 2011 IKEA Opening in Centennial Colorado

But, it seems that they've hired folks and are getting final permits to get the show on the road...

Saunders Construction as the construction management firm. Other Colorado firms involved with this future IKEA store include: CLC Associates for civil design; Kimley Horn Associates as traffic consultants during the approval process; Ground Engineering providing environmental analysis and geotechnical services; Otten Johnson Robinson Neff & Ragonetti serving as local counsel; real estate brokerage firm Legend Retail Group assisting IKEA in the site selection process; Geothermal Systems of Colorado installing the geothermal component, and Miller Global selling the land. Atlanta-based GreenbergFarrow is architect responsible for store design, site planning and construction documents.

The actual clearing and prep of the site will start "soon" - I'll definitely try to get some photo evidence of the progress. As they say, it's not started until it's actually started. Given the long history of attempts at progress in the state I really hope this is finally a true start but it may not be.

Greg and I have been obsessed with tasty and healthy sweet potatoes lately, and have incorporated it into the unlikeliest of places...like breakfast pancakes!

Sweet Potato Pancake ingredients

• 2/3 cup flour
• pinch salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1.5 cups milk
• 1 egg
• 1 large sweet potato mashed
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of favorite spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom)

Sweet Potato Pancake process

Peel and cut up your sweet potato and put in pot of boiling water until soft. While the potato is cooking, mix dry ingredients and add them to the wet ingredients. Finally, mix mashed potatoes into mixture and stir briefly. Use plett pan or regular skillet. Buen provecho!

It's hard to judge the proper ratio of ingredients because sweet potato sizes can vary. The consistency should be just like your favorite pancake batter.

Following on from my post last summer about Concerts in Colorado here's a few summer concerts I plan to attend and a new service.

My Summer Concerts in Colorado

I just saw the Highland Ramblers at Dulcineas which was passable, but not great. I have big hopes for this band, but the venue choices are not awesome. Where is Denver's intimate theater setting for quality music? These guys need it.

I'll be going to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival this year. I'm nervous. It should be awesome, but I imagine I won't sleep nearly enough. Oh well. After that my only plans are seeing Punch Brothers at Chautaqua Auditorium which should be epic because we're in the front row and the Chautaqua has really solid sound.

After that, Leo Kottke in Breckenridge in August should be pretty fun. I plan to head up early, maybe go mountain biking, see the show, and spend the night up there. Should be a solid time.

Finding Concerts Near You

I started using two new services: Bands In Town and Songkick which both have "add an artist" feature and you set your location and then they alert you when those artists come to your town. Great feature, but I wish that they also alerted me when artists like the ones I like come to my town. Seems like a perfect opportunity for Pandora integration...but it doesn't seem to work well for either of them.

Anyone else have summer concerts

So, I'm officiating a ceremony and we get to be creative. I know what christian/catholic weddings are like. I don't know Jewish ones, much, but I've seen them in movies...? I wanted to research weddings in general to get some ideas of some universal elements and fun things that we shouldn't miss.

Here's the stuff that's been helpful to me so far:

a short Hindu wedding
Red Hot Curry's guide to Hindu weddings

Some wedding scripts from a unitarian universalist celebrant

I recently re-launched a little side project called Colorado Health Community. The initial goal is to just better highlight some articles about complementary medicine from some practitioners that I know in the area. Eventually I will add back in the directory of service providers and a calendar of events, but this is all for now.

Also, I had the logo done by my good friend Anita at A Cuppa Creative and I'm really happy with it. Thanks, Anita.

According to 9news.com IKEA is finally coming to Colorado!

My Past Discussions of IKEA Colorado

I've written about this in the past and become somewhat of a rumor hound on the subject:

• IKEA Store Located in Commerce City, Denver, Colorado
  *IKEA in Denver or Boulder or Front Range of Colorado
  *Ikea adding store to Denver, Colorado?
  *IKEA Fort Collins - 2008?
  *ikea store locations in the US

Often the comments on those posts are more interesting than the posts themselves...

I'll post an update comment on Wednesday after the real announcement.

Edit: Ikea Centennial

According to a comment I just received it will be in Centennial, Colorado. Centennial just recently incorporated into a city as expansion has grown south of Denver. I guess this makes sense since that area of colorado (Douglas County, southern Jefferson County) has been the fastest growing area in Colorado and one of the fastest in the nation for the last few years. I imagined they would put it north of Denver because my perception is that IKEA is popular with college students and the CU/CSU combination in Boulder/Fort Collins is the center of our college population.

And more sources are identifying it as coming to centennial.

We're just a few days away from DrupalCamp Colorado 2008 and things are becoming more and more tangible by the minute. Just now I got a package in the mail at the new offices.

The stickers just happen to be 2"x4" which is exactly the right size to emblazon them on the back of your iPhone. Ever since lijit gave it to me my phone has rocked a lijit sticker:

but now...at least for the next week...it's a DrupalCamp phone:

About quarter of the calls I get are organizing the camp so it seems only fitting.

If you're not convinced by these stickers that this will be a rocking weekend, here are the sessions.

Also, my best to the sticker's designer Don Hajicek and to the other logo designer amytremper.