So very, very sorry for your loss, tommy.

Thanks everyone for your support.

I'm driving up today to meet my siblings at the funeral home for some planning. You know, I haven't worn a suit in 20 years so I don't have one that fits. I'll ask my siblings if they think I should get one. I wonder if I can have a rush suit-fitting job so I'll have it in time. Maybe I'll just buy a off-the-rack black jacket.

I'm certain some of my nephews did something similar for Mom's service. Feeling very with you, tommy.

I remember doing fast shopping for my FIL's funeral, but it turned out Hubby and I were the only ones in black. Everyone else just wore Sunday best.

re: Ferguson, the press' rule has been "If it bleeds, it leads." Reasonable people working together isn't that compelling for the masses.

I wonder if I can have a rush suit-fitting job so I'll have it in time.

Have you set a date for the funeral yet? Men's Warehouse turned around a suit for Tim's mom's funeral in a couple of days. (Fortunately the only real alternation needed was hemming the pants for length.) And Tim was upfront and said "This is for my mom's funeral, which is on Tuesday, and my budget is $300," and the salesman was wonderful. If you have a Men's Warehouse near you, might be worth checking out, if you have the time.

So nice to have so much actual experience to draw from.

In much less important news, I have such a quandry! I still can't decide if I actually want to get the Invisalign. The orthodontist said that to actually fix my mouth would take real braces and teeth pulling, but I definitely don't care enough about my overbite for all that. Just straightening out the front is 12-18 months and several thousand dollars, although apparently I have the best possible insurance for this. I have the money. But is this where I should be spending it? I have to decide today for maximum FSA benefit. On one upside, my night guard is getting manky, and that would be $500 to replace, so there's an upcoming dental expense that this would replace. Dither, dither, dither!!

I'd lean away from anything that involves tooth-pulling, because teeth are not replaceable, so if you lost one or two naturally, you'd still have some to fill the gaps. But then, I've had 4 pulled because eventually root canals and crowns didn't save teeth, so I'm hanging on fiercely to all that are left.

I'ms so sorry for your loss, tommyrot. Also, I think if you have a nicer pair of trousers, you could get away with just buying a dark blazer to put over a dress shirt and tie.

Yikes, Jesse. I don't know; my dentist recommended braces for my lower bite a year or so back, but I'm really disinclined. They don't bother me much, frankly.

tommy, the rules on black appear to be pretty flexible. Dark colors generally are appropriate, but I wouldn't worry if you can't find a solid black suit. Of course, if there are sticklers in your family...

I'm off to the mountains today: I have an appointment at a ski shop to buy New! Ski! Boots! for the first time in 15 years. (Not that there will be any skiing in California this winter, but I might be able to ski in Colorado at some point.) And then I will spend the weekend splitting and stacking wood at the ski lodge. I'm going to bring my laptop, though, hoping to do some writing.

I need to fish out my camera, too, and take some pictures of Dad's dog. If I want to find him a new home, I need to provide evidence of his cuteness.

Also, I think if you have a nicer pair of trousers, you could get away with just buying a dark blazer to put over a dress shirt and tie.

I should have said this, too, in addition to pimping for Men's Warehouse. Tim bought a suit because he didn't have nice dress pants or a blazer (his clothes were, at best, dress-casual for, say, a super laid-back company; this is what happens when you work in a warehouse). So since he would have needed to buy pants and a jacket anyway, he decided he wanted a suit. But if you already have dress pants and only need to buy a blazer, do that. Unless you want a suit.