Sarah & Jeff | 7.26.09 | Rye, NH

Been awhile

2009-08-10T12:21:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. It's been a long time since I posted. I have no apologies; just an explanation. Over the past two weeks, Sarah and I got married, packed up our lives, moved to TN, closed on a house, moved into that house, and have started to re-acclimate to the hot hot August in southeast TN. On top of that, we're both getting ready for the semester to start, me at Lee and Sarah at both Covenant and Lee. So, we're busy.

But I'd be remiss if I didn't say what I've been thinking a lot about over the last two weeks (especially during the long drive down I81 in Virginia when I had plenty of time to let me thoughts wanted...) and that is this: thanks. To all of you. For your support, love, prayers. For helping with the wedding or just being at the wedding. For buying me knives (I love you, my Vermont friends!). For calling me or Sarah or writing on her Facebook wall. For being absolutely wonderful people and wonderful friends. We love you all. We really do.

Once things settle down, I'll start updating this thing more. But it might be awhile...

The awesome thing

2009-07-22T13:18:00.001-07:00

Two things, really:

I'm getting married in, like, three days. Whoa.
The weather for Sunday keeps getting better. Hot dog and hallelujah.

Parking at Rye Harbor State Park

2009-07-22T12:54:00.001-07:00

The good news: there's plenty of parking at Rye Harbor State Park.

Even better news: it's free. Sarah paid for it when she reserved the spot for the day. Just tell them you're there for the wedding...

What time the wedding is

2009-07-21T10:38:00.000-07:00

Essential information, ain't it? The ceremony begins at 11am. A barbecue reception, hosted by very good friends of ours, will follow immediately. The rain will start later that afternoon.

Wear your helmet

2009-07-15T05:52:00.000-07:00

My good friend Adam, who had a collision with a car while biking home from work Thursday, is doing remarkably well. Sarah and I met up with him, his wife Gina, and their daughter Louisa to get ice cream the other night. He's walking around, albeit slowly, but he went back to work yesterday. It's quite miraculous, really, and there's little doubt in my mind (or in Adam's, for that matter) that he's alive because he was wearing a helmet. If he hadn't been wearing a helmet, his head would have gone through the windshield. Who knows what that would have done to his head, neck, and spine.

As Adam was telling me how cracked and banged up his helmet is after the crash, I started thinking about a post my friend and fellow blogger Cassi wrote back in May. She talks about how her son, Mason, fell off his bike and ever-so-slightly cracked his helmet. She writes, "I can’t say for certain that his helmet saved Mason’s noodle, but looking at it afterward, I can only feel grateful that it came between him and the pavement." I think Adam can very safely say that his helmet saved his life. And neither Adam nor the driver of the car he hit were doing anything wrong. It was a fluke circumstance in which two people weren't able to see each other until it was too late.

So, for the sake of your own life, if you ride at all--even casually around town (Adam was less than a mile from home)--please, please wear a helmet. It really could save your life.

Jeff's Top Six Most Useful Posts

2009-07-14T15:55:00.000-07:00

6. Directions to Rye Harbor State Park
5. Hotels in the Seacoast region of NH
4. Gift registry info for the many gifts you will buy us
3. Dress code for what you should most definitely wear
2. Wedding day details that are rather detailed
1. And the number one most useful post...

C&J Trailways

2009-07-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

Those of you who are flying into Boston's Logan airport and who are not renting a car likely will be taking C&J Trailways up to Portsmouth or Dover. C&J is a bus service that runs between the Seacoast region of NH and Boston. They have the nicest buses I think I've ever been on: they're clean, they have comfy seats, and, if you bring your iPod headphones, you can plug in and listen to xm radio. And they navigate Boston traffic for you. A sweet deal all the way around.

But since Logan Airport is like the rest of Boston--hard to navigate and goes in circles--knowing where C&J will pick you up in each terminal helps. You can find a map and a list of where to wait for the buses here. If you have any questions, let Sarah or me know. All the buses clearly say "C&J Trailways" on the side, and the destination above the windshield should read "Dover, NH." I believe they pick up at Logan 10 minutes past the hour.

I've never seen one more than half full, so don't worry about not being able to get a seat. That said, you should buy a ticket before you leave to catch your flight. After it leaves Logan, each bus stops in Newburyport, MA, Portsmouth, NH, and then Dover, NH.

Details, details, details

2009-07-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

The day of the wedding:

Bring your own chair or blanket--if you're local, that is. In fact, bring one or two extra for the folks who are flying in. The ceremony itself will take place on a grassy plot of ground that juts out into the ocean. God made beautiful views, but he didn't make natural seating apparati.
There's plenty of parking, and you don't have to pay for it. There's a booth when you drive in to Rye Harbor State Park, but we paid for your parking when we reserved the spot. Tell them you're there for Sarah and Jeff's wedding.
Bring layers. The weather's been nice of late, but temperatures near the beach can easily dip into the 60s. A breeze makes it feel even cooler.
We'll feed you after the wedding. Noonish. You should eat breakfast, though, because your mother told you it's a good idea. Science has discovered that she's right. If you're like me and you get hungry during weddings, feel free to bring snacks and eat them during the ceremony. The groom might ask you to share, but he'll be sure to smile if you do.
Keeping on the food theme, which is almost as important to the groom as the knives are, please please PLEASE feel free to eat at any point during the wedding, as long as you do so with your mouth closed. We're planning on providing some snacky stuff (fruit, chips, salsa) in case hunger strikes.
More food. Some very good, kind, and lovely friends of ours are providing a barbecue for the reception. We'll likely have to snap a few pictures right after we get hitched, but as soon as the kebabs start coming off the grill, ya'll (TN, here we come) can start diggin' in. Reckon.
Somebody also said something about cupcakes.

What (not) to wear

2009-07-13T05:49:00.000-07:00

We've had a few questions about what to wear to our wedding. The short answer is this: summer casual. I, for one, will not be dressed up that much at all, unless you consider flip flops, a short sleeve button up shirt, and linen summer pants "dressed up." Seriously, be comfortable. The wedding will take place on a grassy field overlooking the ocean. We'll have access to the beach which is only a few dozen yards away. There's also a jetty (a long pile of rocks that extends into the ocean) that's really close.

There is a pavilion with bathrooms in Rye Harbor State Park. If you wanted to wear dressier clothes for the wedding and change later for frisbee throwing and shish kebabs, that's fine. Keep in mind, though, that the weather will be either a) sunny and warm, b) hot and humid, or c) rainy and cool. Of course, we're holding out for the former.

Two things

2009-07-10T06:30:00.000-07:00

This one's really important: our good friend Adam was hit by a car yesterday while biking home from work. According to his wife Gina--also a good friend of ours--Adam has some broken ribs and a punctured lung and spleen. They kept him in the hospital overnight because they wanted to make sure his blood didn't clot and monitor any internal bleeding, but the severity of the accident could have been much worse. He was wearing a helmet, and that just may have saved his life: apparently his head hit the windshield of the car. Gina's asking for continued prayer, and I'll echo that here. You'd be hard pressed to find better people than Adam and Gina.

This one's way less important: Sarah and I bought a house. More details to come...

Southward bound

2009-07-06T08:15:00.000-07:00

Sarah and I leave for Tennessee tomorrow. We're flying into Atlanta, renting a car, and driving up to Chattanooga. We'll stay with our good friends Bob and Michelle and then head up to Cleveland Wednesday morning to meet with our realtor and look at houses. There's one that we really like that's been on the market for awhile and has a big front porch. We're hoping to make an offer later this week. Nuts, I tell ya. Nuts.

We'll also meet with some folks from Lee and stay with my long-time running buddy, Bill Estes. He told me to bring my running shoes; I noted that he'll run circles around me. Should be a great time.

More updates to come. Hopefully we'll have good news aplenty...

Commitment

2009-07-04T06:53:00.001-07:00

It should come as little surprise that I've been thinking a lot about commitment lately. Sarah and I are getting married in three weeks. We're headed down to TN in a few days to look at houses and hopefully make an offer. I'm about to start a tenure-track position, a kind of agreement between institution and individual that has been described as a kind of marriage.

Till death do us part. 30-year fixed. Tenure. It's commitment all over the place.

And I'd be lying if I said it wasn't at least somewhat freaked out by it all. Don't get me wrong; they're all good things. Great things. Wonderful ones. But then I hear from good friends who are getting divorced after six years. (I was at their wedding; it was beautiful.) I hear, too, about more job loss, more foreclosures. At times it seems like we've hit the bottom in terms of this recession, and then we realize the abyss is a bit deeper still. And my position is open in part because someone got let go. Didn't make tenure. The harsh reality is that commitments aren't always commitments. They can fail, especially when humans are involved.

At my cousin's wedding a few weeks back, I was talking to my Uncle Kevin, someone I admire and look up to. It hasn't been easy for him. He's been married, oh, three decades or so. They've had some good times and some hard times, but the hardest has been the fact that his wife, my Aunt Jean, has multiple sclerosis. She's had it for years. I can remember when she could walk, when we'd go up to Maine on vacations together. But that was a long time ago, and now she's confined to a wheelchair. She can smile--boy, does it light up a room--but she can't really say anything. She can't do anything for herself. She's totally dependent on the folks at the nursing home to feed her, bathe her, put her to sleep.

And on my uncle. He spends most waking hours by her side. Sleep, work, Jean. Repeat again. He talked to me about commitment, said Sarah and I are in a good place because we know who we are. Said we'll be fine. But I think about the kind of commitment he has for his wife, and I'm humbled. Floored. Provides a whole new meaning to "whether in sickness or health."

I've also been reading Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz, a book that I've started several times but am just now getting into. He's a decent writer, but what I really like about him is his openness. It's not quite brokenness to the level of Anne Lamott, but his honesty challenges me. In his chapter called "Grace," he talks about how he once tried to live legalistically, as a fundamentalist. Then he realized he was rejecting what is arguably the core of Christianity: grace. "I am too proudful to accept the grace of God," he writes. "It isn't that I want to earn my own way to give something to God, it's that I want to earn my own way so I won't be charity."

Miller says he was humbled by his realization, and I have to admit that I am, too. I don't want to be charity. I want to earn my keep. I want to pay my mortgage faithfully. I want to write a good dissertation, be a good scholar, a good teacher. A good husband.

We live in such a merit-based society that it's hard to reconcile our day to day existence with grace, that radical manifestation of God's love for his creation. But then I think about the utter dependence of my Aunt Jean, and I think about the selflessness with which my uncle has devoted his life to her, and I'm reminded that, in many ways, that's our dependence on God.

I pray I can be like my uncle. I hope I can love and commit to even a fraction of what he demonstrates. But I hope I can be like my aunt, too. I hope I can depend.

A post

2009-06-30T05:10:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. I haven't posted in awhile. But there's a good reason. I promise. It's because I've been spending so much time writing my dissertation. Which is a good thing. As Sarah put it yesterday, I'm earning the money now that I'll get in the form of a raise once I finish my dissertation next year. Seeing as how I'm not making any money this summer, that was a good thing to hear.

And, since July starts tomorrow (!), things wedding-wise are about to start getting much busier. Not to mention all the news Sarah and I will have about house hunting, which starts next week when we head to TN. So I'm sure I'll be posting a lot more. Maybe even some helpful stuff.

Sometimes I don't get Gwyn's humor

2009-06-19T15:47:00.000-07:00

So, Gwyn told me that the picture I posted earlier today was the ONLY one she took that was good. She lied. Or, she was trying to be funny and I didn't get it. Either way, here's another picture worth looking at.

More great pics at Gwyn's site...

She said yes

2009-06-19T06:21:00.000-07:00

The weather was less than ideal: 50s, rainy, cold. But she said yes. And, thanks to Gwyn, I have a picture of the post-pop-the-question lean-in-for-a-kiss kiss to prove it. And a wet pair of shoes. Not to mention a beautiful fiancée.

Why I Love Sarah: Reason #23

2009-06-18T10:04:00.000-07:00

From: Sarah Barker

Sent: Aug 17, 2007 9:52 AM

To: Jeffrey M. Ringer

Subject: Re: I knew it was a fan!

Hey! I love Greyfriar's. It was actually started by two Covenant grads, one of whom was in a drawing class I took my Freshman year, so I always had a sort of clan-loyalty feeling about it, along with the fact that their coffee completely stands on it's own. In fact it's due to Greyfriars that I have become somewhat of a coffee snob. It was there that I discovered that I could taste the difference between Indonesian and African coffees, for instance, and which I liked the best...

From: Jeffrey M Ringer

Sent: Aug 17, 2007 1:36 PM

To: Sarah Barker

Subject: Re: I knew it was a fan!

I can't tell you how glad I am to hear that you (1) like Greyfriar's (forgot that it was started by two Covenant grads!) and (2) consider yourself a coffee snob. I think you and I will get along just fine...

Congrats

2009-06-15T09:09:00.001-07:00

My cousin, Christine Gagne, married Steven Judkins yesterday. Congrats and blessings to them as they embark on their life together!

Two REALLY Important Things

2009-06-11T15:16:00.000-07:00

My very own mother has entered the digital age. Yep, Julana M. Ringer, Mother Extraordinaire, has started posting comments on this very blog. (Take that, Garen Daly!) So please join me in welcoming my Mom to Web 2.0. We're glad you're here, Mom!
Sarah and I have been approved for a housing loan, so it looks like we'll be buying in TN. There are numerous cliches running through my mind right now, but maybe the most appropriate one is this: When once one maketh one Major Life Decision, other Major Life Decisions follow quite closely thereafter. Or something like that.
Okay, I lied: three things of monumental importance. Here's the third one: I got my wedding bands in the mail today. Yes, I said wedding bands. Plural. They were, after all, $8 each, so we figured we'd buy two. We'll post pics shortly. And, since you're probably wondering, they are sufficiently cheap (obviously) and boring. Hooray.

Word of Mouth has it...

2009-06-09T06:03:00.000-07:00

We got a shout out, yo. Virginia Prescott, the host of Word of Mouth on NHPR, mentioned our blog on the air yesterday. You should all listen in here. How exciting. And then Garen Daly of Frugal Yankee fame proceeded to warn us that folks over 30 might not be familiar enough with blogs or social networking for our cost-saving (and fun-producing, I might add) method to be effective.

Well. I may not have a Facebook account, but I am over 30 and I surely know what to do with a blog. And I have to say that the response from folks across the board--even those over 40, if you can imagine it--has been stellar. Lots of requests to keep the blog going even after The Big Day.

So, to Virgina Prescott and the wonderful folks at NHPR: thanks for noticing us. It's been great listening for the past five years.

And to Garen Daly: don't underestimate the ability of middle-aged Luddites to cast off their 20th century ways and fully embrace the wonders of Web 2.0.

We're not the only ones

2009-06-06T14:29:00.000-07:00

It seems that the so-called Great Recession has caused some other folks to have simpler, less-expensive weddings. Check out the blog at Word of Mouth, a great new show produced by the great people at New Hampshire Public Radio. I posted a comment, so maybe they'll mention us when the show airs on NHPR Monday at noon...

Check this one out

2009-06-05T04:32:00.000-07:00

My good friend Meagan, who is in the final throes of finishing her dissertation, somehow had the time and mental wherewithal to offer a dazzling little tidbit of sound wisdom: "I bet you can find a stainless steel wedding band somewhere..."

Well, right you are, Meagan. Right you are.

Check this one out. It's at Amazon, but it sells from a store called--of all things--"Eve's Addiction." Ha.

Posting comments on this blog

2009-06-04T19:25:00.000-07:00

A few folks have mentioned that they've tried to post comments on this blog but haven't been successful. To post a comment, you need to be signed in. (At the top right hand corner of this page, you should see the words "Sign In." Click on that to, yep, sign in.)

In order to do that, you'll need a Google account. This is pretty easy to do. Click here and then follow the instructions. You can use any valid email address to create an account. For instance, I used my UNH account.

Once you've created an account go back to the blog and use your account information (your email address and the password you selected) to sign in. Then you should be able to post comments to any blog posting.

If that doesn't work, let me know.

When should Jeff Propose?

2009-06-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

Hi all! This is Sarah, making my blogging debut. Seriously, I have never written a single word on a blog before. So many things are changing in my life in such a short span of time...

A short disclaimer before I get any further: Jeff is funnier than I am, and he's a better writer. So don't get your expectations up too high.

All that said, Jeff had the clever idea of using this blog as a means of getting friends' opinions (about rings, for example), and it struck me as a great idea. I'd love to hear opinions from all our intelligent and thoughtful blog-followers. Here's the question, with a little context:

About a week and a half ago (the Sunday before Memorial Day to be exact) we went ring-shopping and actually bought my ring. It's beautiful and simple and I love it. It is neither quite as plain nor quite as cheap as Jeff wants his to be, and it's perfect for me. But, for a whole variety of reasons, and despite the fact that we have already planned our entire wedding, Jeff has not yet officially proposed (which, I hardly need to point out, means that I have not officially accepted either). Which is kind of funny, right? It's actually largely my fault; I have been traveling between Hartford, CT, Hanover, NH and Durham almost constantly for the past week and a half for teaching and gigs, and there hasn't really been a good opportunity for a proposal--at least not for one that would satisfy Jeff's vision of something special and meaningful more than an after-thought. And let it be known that I appreciate that--I'm quite looking forward to it, actually. Jeff says he has until July 25th, which I suppose might win us the distinction setting of some sort of record for longest pre-engagement ever. But I have to say I'd like it to be a little sooner than that. So I thought I'd put it out there for public comment. Let us know! When do you think Jeff should propose?

Cheap and Boring

2009-06-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

I have two requirements for my wedding band: it should be cheap and boring. "Cheap" meaning it should cost less than most sane people would spend on something that's supposed to last a lifetime, and "boring" meaning that, well, it should fit my style. Which is boring.

So I Googled something along the lines of "cheap and boring wedding bands for men" and came across a site that is oh-so-appropriately titled: www.justmensrings.com. Wouldn't you know it, but one can get a stainless steel--yes, I said stainless steel--wedding band for $19.99. Mother of God, I'm in the right place.

Bummer is, I don't really like the stainless steel rings all that much--except for the one that has a skull and crossbones carved into it, but Sarah doesn't think my mother would really dig that idea.

JMR (justmensrings.com--also my initials) also has Tungsten and Titanium rings. The former are in the $70 range; the latter are somewhere around $50. They're wonderfully boring. I'd love folks' thoughts and opinions on these...

Here's Tungsten #1:

Not bad, not bad. Meanwhile, here's Tungsten #2:

Less shiny on the whole, but I'm okay with that. The ridges might be a bit too exciting for my taste, though. Moving on, let's see Titanium #1 and #2. In that order.

One more:

Lemme know your thoughts. There are more here if you'd like to look for yourself. I'm open to cheap and boring suggestions.

A Man Shower

2009-06-02T09:31:00.000-07:00

A recent conversation:

Sarah: My friends in Hartford are thinking about throwing me a shower.
Jeff: [preoccupied] That's cool.
Sarah: I bet we'd get those knives.
Jeff: [suddenly un-preoccupied] Really? For real? I mean, great. Do it. Yes. What an awesome idea. Should I call anyone? Or maybe we should talk about our feelings for a couple of hours?

Later that day:

Jeff: [staring lovingly into Sarah's eyes] Hey, did you know that I could have a shower?
Sarah: Really?
Jeff: Yup. A man shower.
Sarah: Huh.
Jeff: Yeah, I Googled it and found this article called "Men Can Have Showers, Too!" on weddingbee.com. Isn't that so exciting?
Sarah: Yeah.
Jeff: Apparently I'm supposed to wear overalls and a straw hat and ask for farm implements.
Sarah: You're so bizarre.
Jeff: Uh-huh. And there was this other article on MSNBC.com about how man showers are all the rage, and how the whole point of them is to "shower grooms-to-be with tools and gadgets." Maybe, you know, for the kitchen or something.
Sarah: [silence]
Jeff: Isn't that a great idea?
Sarah: [more silence]
Jeff: Yeah, guys'll have, like, a theme or something for their shower.
Sarah: Like a farming theme?
Jeff: Yeah. Or maybe, like, I dunno, a kitchen theme or something. Knives, maybe. I dunno. Something to think about.
Sarah: Uh huh.

2009-06-01T15:54:00.000-07:00

Goodbye, Sledge

2009-05-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

This man is my roommate. His name is Sledge. He's about the same height as me and--no lie--outweighs me by another me. His real name is Tom DePalma. He's the brother of one of my other roommates, Mike, who's in the PhD program with me. Mike is taller, not as wide, and probably only outweighs me by, oh, two-thirds of another me. Mike rarely wears face paint.

Last night, in Lowell, Massachusetts, Sledge had his final wrestling match ever with Chaotic Wrestling. I made the trek down to the Polish American Veterans Center with Mike, his wife Courtney, her twin sister, Charmaine, and our friend Dennis. The event was, as amateur professional wrestling goes, utterly bizarre. Like the WWE (and the WWF before it), there are complex story lines, not-so-clear delineations between Good and Evil (Flannery O'Connor would have LOVED pro wrestling), audience involvement that can euphemistically be described as "earnest," and plenty of late middle-aged men wearing Killer Kowalski t-shirts who, psychologically and socially, still waiver somewhere in the range of not-quite-adolescent.

Since I'm making Major Life Decisions all over the place (i.e., taking a tenure-track position, getting married, buying a house, shaving), I've been having moments of extreme self-reflection lately. So as I watched the pony-tailed and well-tanned Scott Reed perform a smash mouth move on the surprisingly disturbing (and fan favorite) Demon Ortiz with a 10-foot ladder, I found myself having two thoughts:

Jesus loves these people and likely would have chosen his disciples from among them if he had shown up in Lowell, MA circa 2009 AD rather than Nazareth circa 0 AD.
I'm getting married, moving out, and will never (or probably never) have the privilege of seeing Tom lumber from his room in the basement to the shower upstairs wrapped in nothing but his red towel.

And that was probably way more self-reflection than has ever taken place at a Chaotic Wrestling event. As excited as I am to be marrying Sarah and moving back to TN to continue my career at Lee University, there are lots of things here I'll miss, not the least of which are the wonderful people with whom I live: Mike, Courtney, Char, Tom. I'll miss you guys.

And farewell, Sledge. We'll all miss you.

Hotels and such

2009-05-28T06:35:00.000-07:00

For those guests who are traveling from out of town and want some ideas on places to stay, here's a list that should get you started:

Hotels

Holiday Inn Express, Durham (near where Sarah lives)
Days Inn, Dover (near where Jeff lives)
Comfort Inn, Dover
Atlantic Four Winds Hotel, Rye (near the beach & wedding location)
Pebble Cove Motel, Rye

Cottages and Beds & Breakfasts

Swanky But Oh-So-Nice

Wentworth by the Sea, Newcastle (between Portsmouth and Rye)

Other

Sarah's backyard, Durham
The little grassy plot next to the condo Jeff lives in, Dover

She wants to ride her bicycle she wants to ride her bike...

2009-05-27T08:57:00.001-07:00

I bought Sarah a new bike the other day. It's partly an engagement gift (or I guess a pre-engagement gift), partly a way to support Wayne, Mike, and Rob at Dover Cyclery, and partly an excuse to experience the joy and fulfillment of New Bike Day, which, if you haven't experienced in awhile, is something I highly recommend. No better way to regain some of the giddiness of childhood.

It's also terribly practical. We're planning on living close to campus and we'd like to keep the car parked as much as possible. So we outfitted her new Fuji Crosstown 4.0 (pictured!) with fenders and a rack (not pictured!). She'll likely be doing some teaching and playing at Lee, so having the bike to get around town will be handy. Cleveland, TN has a new greenway that we can use to get to some local businesses, including grocery stores. We plan to make liberal use of it.

Plus, Sarah (not pictured) looks downright HOT on this bike.

Gift registry info

2009-05-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

If you didn't catch it from the previous post, Sarah and I are registered at Bed Bath & Beyond. Search under my name (Jeff Ringer) or Sarah's name (Sarah Barker) and you'll find the list of goodies.

We do want people to know that we'll be packing up and moving a few days after the wedding, so gift cards are more than welcome. They're light, small, and you can fit a lot of them in a Penske. Bed Bath & Beyond, Target, Crate&Barrel, Ikea, Pier 1--they'd all be welcome.

Also, if you can't afford a gift, we don't care. We'd rather see you at the wedding or hear from you before or after. Gifts are a secondary concern. Except those knives. Those are pretty primary.

Bed Bath & way, way, WAY Beyond

2009-05-26T04:50:00.000-07:00

Being the principled, frugal selves that we are--and given the fact that we're moving, oh, 2 days after we wed--and taking into consideration the fact that she and I have both lived on our own for several years--Sarah and I decided that we would only register for six things:

A really good set of Wusthof knives.
Five other things (can't really remember what they are, but did you read item number 1 above? It's pretty important).

And then we walk into that palace of consumerism, that colossal warehouse of kitchen kitsch, that home of the really good set of Wusthof knives that Jeff wants, that capitalist competitor that apparently has run Linens 'n Things out of business...yes, Bed Bath & Beyond, or "B3" as people in the know refer to it. And, according to last count, we've registered for somewhere in the vicinity of 100 items.

We're not quite sure how it happened, but, once I've finished my dissertation, we plan on exploring more academically the phenomenon of walking into a store such as B3 and confronting the sheer enthusiasm expressed by the employees when they discover that you are there--in their very own store!--to register for your impending nuptials. We will consider the psychological impact of being given a "gun" and told by Darren, the friendly, bespectacled Brit who ridiculed me for not knowing how to feed cloth napkins through napkin rings (does one really need napkin rings?), to--and I'm paraphrasing here--"go bananas with the thing" and "shoot every UPC you find." I'm sure we'll think, too, about the sheer consumerist lust that takes hold in the brain when you realize that, hey, it doesn't cost us any money to shoot the expensive juicer and the expensive toaster oven (seriously, the UPC didn't work on the cheaper one) and the expensive rice cooker that also steams vegetables and fish (Isn't that awesome? It's like a whole meal. Powered by steam.). Finally, being the rhetorician that I am, Sarah and I will probably ponder the significance of the term "options" as it arises in the following excerpt:

Garrett: Can I help you with anything?
Jeff: I'm looking for a 12 quart stockpot that's better than the cheap one and cheaper than Emeril's.
Garrett: What do you need it for?
Jeff: [matter of factly; somewhat dumbfounded] Chili.
Garrett: Which one do you really want?
Jeff: That Emeril makes a mean pot...
Garrett: [coercively] Put 'em both on there. You want to give your guests options. And, who knows? Someone might get you the nice one. Or both.
Jeff: [coerced] Okay.

So, thanks to Garrett, Darren, and your friendly Newington B3, you all have options. Which likely means that Sarah and I will end up with two rice cookers (a cheap one and a good one), two stockpots (ditto), and a really, really, really good set of knives. The Wusthof Classic 8-piece Knife Block Set (UPC 4002293841809), to be precise. It's towards the bottom of the registry, under the category "Cutlery." Between the bath rug and the eco light bulbs.

Directions!

2009-05-21T09:27:00.001-07:00

Contrary to popular northern New England lore, one can get there from here. Or from wherever, really. Best options for directions to Rye Harbor State Park, which is on Route 1A in Rye, NH, are available at the park's website.

For kicks, and 'cuz I think this blog is the Coolest Thing Ever--apart from Sarah, of course. And my family. And Tater. And all my other friends. And God and cheese and strong coffee and the Red Sox... Okay, let me start over: since I think this blog is the Coolest Thing Online I've Ever Done (phew), I'll throw up a map of Rye over there on the right. And it'll be AWESOME. But not as awesome as Sarah. Or anything that matters, expect stuff online.

Hotels

2009-05-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

Sarah and I will be contacting some local hotels to see if we can get any kind of group rate. We'll also be adding a list of housing options in upcoming days. Keep an eye out for that...

Pics, yo

2009-05-21T06:02:00.000-07:00

The incomparable Gwyneth Colleen will be doing an engagement shoot with Sarah and me sometime in the near future. Once she does, we'll make sure to post some of the photos here. Check out her site. She's so good she might make even ME look photogenic.

Book of Common Prayer

2009-05-20T03:13:00.000-07:00

Here are a few lines from the Book of Common Prayer that I think applies to the busyness of planning a wedding, writing a dissertation, and contemplating a new life in TN. These are from one of the Thanksgivings towards the end:

Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. [...]

We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side.

We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us.

We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone. [...]

Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know Christ and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things.

Amen.

It's official

2009-05-19T08:51:00.000-07:00

Father Michael is available for Sunday, July 26th, so that looks like the day!

Thou shalt...

2009-05-19T06:30:00.000-07:00

...subscribe to this blog if thou art planning on coming to the wedding. Nifty way to do that by clicking over there to the right.

...vote appropriately on the little poll diddly, also over there to the right. Ain't nothin' like a happy statistic to make the dissertation writing go a bit smoother.

...pray continuously that the weather will be good in late July. Results available in that box--you guessed it--over there to the right.

...thank Jeff profusely for all of the cool and helpful things he's adding to this virtual wedding invitation. Driving directions to come. And they'll probably be, um, somewhere on the right!

...let Jeff know if there are any other helpful gadgets he could add to this blog. To the right. Over there. Near that other stuff.

Thus saith the Ringer, yea and amen.

The Details: Take 1

2009-05-18T09:15:00.000-07:00

Okay. Here are the details as they stand now:

Sunday, July 26, 11 am
Rye Harbor State Park, Rye, NH
Barbecue following
Casual, summery dress
Frisbee, swimming, walks on the beach
Fun
Perfect weather. 70s, sunny. No humidity.

More to come.

Woo hoo

2009-05-18T09:05:00.000-07:00

It's true. Sarah Barker and Jeff Ringer are done gettin' themselves hitched. On the beach. In New Hampshire. With friends, family, and seagulls. All the makings of a storybook beginning, for sure. There have also been talks of floating/paddling/ballooning off into the sunset, but that possibility is complicated by the fact that we're on the wrong coast. And most storybooks don't begin with a pre-dawn wedding.

Regardless of how we decide to begin our journey towards our life of bliss, we're getting married. And we'll update this blog as we get details. So keep checking back.