After a recent series of home improvements, four couples were having a dinner party to discuss the additions to their homes. Mike had not recently had a new bathroom. Lorraine had not yet done her kitchen, but perhaps would update it next. Chris, who is married to Renée, had not had new windows put in. Barbara delighted in showing photographs of her new den. Neither Al nor James had a new kitchen. Kelly had not had new windows. Mike, who also had not had windows, is not married to Barbara and Al is not married to Lorraine. Who is married to whom and what work had they recently undertaken? This is assuming that each couple had one improvement and no two couples had the same improvement.
To solve this puzzle, we need to match each person with their spouse and the home improvement they recently had. Let's start by listing all the given information:
1. Mike had not recently had a new bathroom.
2. Lorraine had not yet done her kitchen, but perhaps would update it next.
3. Chris, who is married to Renée, had not had new windows put in.
4. Barbara delighted in showing photographs of her new den.
5. Neither Al nor James had a new kitchen.
6. Kelly had not had new windows.
7. Mike, who also had not had windows, is not married to Barbara.
8. Al is not married to Lorraine.
Now let's break down the information step by step:
From clue 3, we know that Chris, who is married to Renée, did not have new windows. So, we can conclude that Renée did not have new windows either.
From clue 5, we know that neither Al nor James had a new kitchen. Let's combine this with clue 8, which states that Al is not married to Lorraine. Therefore, James must be married to Lorraine. Since James didn't have a new kitchen, we can conclude that Lorraine didn't have a new kitchen either.
From clue 4, we know that Barbara had a new den, so her spouse must be the one who hasn't been mentioned yet. Let's label her spouse as "Spouse of Barbara" for now.
From clue 7, we know that Mike, who didn't have new windows, is not married to Barbara. Therefore, Mike must be married to Kelly, and Kelly didn't have new windows.
Now let's analyze clue 1 and clue 2. Mike didn't have a new bathroom, and Lorraine didn't have a new kitchen, but perhaps she would update it next. Since Lorraine didn't have a new kitchen, her spouse, James, also didn't have a new kitchen, as stated in clue 5. Therefore, Mike and Kelly must have had a new bathroom, and Lorraine and James must have had a new bathroom. This means that Mike is married to Kelly, and Lorraine is married to James.
Lastly, let's determine who Barbara's spouse is. According to clue 7, Mike is not married to Barbara, so Barbara's spouse must be the one we labeled earlier as "Spouse of Barbara." Therefore, "Spouse of Barbara" is Chris, who had not had new windows according to clue 3.
To summarize:
- Mike is married to Kelly and they had a new bathroom.
- Lorraine is married to James and they had a new bathroom.
- Barbara is married to Chris and they had a new den.
- Renée is married to the unmentioned spouse.
So, the final answer is:
- Mike is married to Kelly, and they had a new bathroom.
- Lorraine is married to James, and they had a new bathroom.
- Barbara is married to Chris, and they had a new den.
- Renée is married to the unmentioned spouse, and they had a home improvement that is not specified in the given information.