A Spot of Bother

Last week, Borders UK officially went into administration, which is just the fancy British way of saying, "We're broke." The company is bankrupt and is now under the ownership of an administration company. The Cambridge store is closing, along with many others. The only frustrating thing (if things weren't already) is that now that everything's on sale, we're making lots of money (about 3 times as much). So the administration company is actually buying more stock for us to sell, which means it's not just a matter of emptying our shelves but seeing just how much we can milk the situation. On one hand, it means I'll be employed a little longer than we originally expected, but we have absolutely no idea how long that might be. I've been told we could be open for a week or several months. But I'm trying to be thankful for the time that I will have and the new changes that will soon befall our lives. I'm hoping that by the time we leave for Texas, we'll have a better idea of what lies ahead. But don't worry, our Thorton's budget will not be affected by these proceedings. :)

Autumn Arrival

One thing I will never get tired of is experiencing four distinct seasons. I would prefer it if the summer were a bit warmer and sunnier, but I guess that's the trade-off for having a colorful fall. Emily and I went out for a walk a few Saturdays ago to enjoy the weather and take some pictures:

The Pembroke Croquet Lawn

Emily in the Pembroke Gardens

Cam Punters from the Mathematical Bridge

(a) Footpath to the King's College bridge or (b) Lothlorien

Matthew on the King's College bridge, in desperate need of a haircut.

Emily and I continued our Halloween tradition of carving pumpkins, which usually involves at least 30 minutes of pumpkin inspection, followed by several hours spent browsing through carving pattern, and then finally the actual carving. On Halloween night, we set the pumpkins on the ledge outside the living room window, where they could be seen from the street. Unfortunately, at all other times they were kept inside, since we don't have any covered outdoor area. I think the smell has taught us our lesson, and next year we'll be carving much closer to Halloween, and disposing of pumpkins soon thereafter.

Can you guess which is Emily's and which is mine?