5 on Friday

It's been a while since I've done a 5 on Friday but I've got a few minutes so I thought I'd whip this out.

1. We're off to a Marriage Enrichment Retreat this weekend - first time in our 22 years of marriage so we'll either be more in love than ever at the end of it...or off to divorce court!

2. Must get my Pinterest under control - I've pinned enough care package ideas for several deployed husbands and many college students.  I'm going to make a schedule and pick the best of the best.  I'm also toying with the idea of holding a social event for our ship's spouses to exchange ideas and put together an "I love you and I'll miss you but here are a few comforts from home" care package for the next time the ship leaves for more than a month.

3. Remember when I said we thought we'd be going to Italy next?  Well, the Navy took that option off the list as someone else's name is on the list in that slot.  Will.eat.more.pasta.here.to.assuage.disappointment. Hmm, where will they send us next?

4. This weekend is Viking Fest, our town's annual celebration of Norway's Constitution Day of May 17 - it will be Maifest all over again but the Norwegian version!  Although we'll miss most of it, we should be back in time to take in some of Sunday's events.  How to choose?  Watch the donut eating contest or the oyster eating contest or the lutefisk eating contest?

5. Sunday would have been Mum's 89th birthday.  She's been gone for twelve years and the sadness has shifted to great memories. Still not a day goes by that I don't think about her and want to share something with her.

Mum and Dad as stall holders at the 1996 Christmas Craft Fair at their retirement home in England - they raised a lot of money for local charities from the handicrafts and baked items they and their fellow residents made