Thank you all for all the kind words, prayers, and messages. I was supposed to leave to drive home this morning but instead we got almost 8 inches of snow dumped on us here in Colorado Springs so I'll try again tomorrow. I'm driving my brother's car home, and driving a small car I'm unfamiliar with, which is a standard, through snowy mountains just didn't appeal too much to my safety senses. I guess its a good thing because I can be here with my mom when the funeral home delivers my brothers ashes to her. Once that hurdle is overcome I think we will be on the mend.
My brother was a total and complete slob, lol. When we went to clean out his apartment and car it was a real task. I'm sure he got a good giggle out of the fact that all his siblings were cleaning up after him. I took 3 trash bags of crap out of his car just so I could drive it lol. He apparently would eat every meal in it on the way to/from work and the ski slopes, and there were enough empty powerade bottles in there that nobody else could fit in the car...yuck. We gathered up all of his tshirts and clothing and once my SIL washes them all (apparently laundry wasn't exactly a strong suit either) mom and I are going to make up some memory quilts from his clothing. That will probably be quite a ways down the road though. Right now it would be too upsetting.
Since we only have one vehicle everyone decided I should have his car, and I've got a few of his baseball caps (I wear ballcaps nearly every day), a couple pairs of his jeans to make something out of, and one of his favorite hockey jerseys. We loved to tease each other when our rival favorite teams won or lost. My brother took all his snowboards and he is going to build my mom a bench out of them. Its just so tough to realize that I can't pick up the phone and call him or hear about yet another crazy thing he did while out boarding. I always teased him that he was going to be the eternal bachelor, because he didn't have time for a committed relationship because that would take away from his time on the mountains.
On a more on-topic note, I am bringing home my Pfaff treadle from moms. I squealed with happiness when I saw that the little arm on the underneath side of the tabletop that held a pincushion was there and so was the cushion! Now i just need to locate one of the little oil cans to sit in the place for it on the center brace and my machine will be complete (except for a manual and attachments but i think i can locate those). Yesterday SteveH picked up a Jones treadle that we are "sharing" so I have some new toys awaiting for some attention when I get home.
Thanks again to all of you who have sent messages. I may not get a chance immediately to reply to everyone but they are all appreciated and for the few of you who asked, no, nobody overstepped their boundaries in their comments or anything like that. I appreciate the thoughts that were shared.