Where Paths Cross

While Annie met with a friend this morning, the rest of us had a lie-in, some longer than others, hey girls. A few bits of housework, a trip into the tardis-like loft (stuff only ever goes in, nothing comes out apart from decorations at Christmas).

A little walk around our estate, I went to photograph something specifically but got a bit distracted. A bit of autumn colour to capture anyway (one extra).

Time to start the risotto.

There is an old mathematical puzzle which asks: You have 12 red socks and 12 blue socks in a drawer. How many socks would you have to pull out in the dark to ensure you have a matching pair?". Some people will answer "13" to this - but the answer is of course "3".

As I (Annie) stumbled around getting up in the semi-dark this morning trying not to wake Chris, I found an alternative problem: "You have 12 grey socks and 12 black socks in a drawer. How many socks would you have to pull out in the semi-dark to ensure you have a matching pair?". Answer: 4. Pull out  2, and see they are a black one and a grey one in the half light. Pull out one more, see it is black, and put the grey one back. Go to the bathroom, put the light on and find one is a grey sock, inside out with a black lining. Stumble back out into the gloom, grope around for the original grey sock (sock 4) and trip over the cat on the way out. I think it's a snappier solution to the problem.