Yesterday was all full of knowledge. Today was a teambuilding day, with social activities and a nice dinner at the end. There were multiple activities to choose from. I opted for kayaking, and got to see the parks around the canal again, from a different angle.

We started out in the Daugava river itself, among waves and big boats. This part was quite challenging, especially when it came to steering – the waves and wind and the flowing river seemed to always be conspiring to push us off course. The canal by comparison was placid and easy.

Much conferencing during the day.

The best part by far was a web app security workshop where we got to hack a web app with a bunch of vulnerabilities built into it. It was a lot of fun; I’ve always wanted to try this kind of thing – SQL injection and script injection and accessing other users’ shopping carts and so on.

During our free time before dinner I went for a walk through the little parks along the canal. I don’t know about the rest of Riga, but the parks were lovely. More than just green spaces, they had sculptures, fountains, colourful plantings etc.

There is something magical about the combination of greenery and water. Greenery is nice; water is nice; the two together are more nice than the sum of the parts.

An evening flight to Riga, in a noisy little propeller plane, for a company-wide conference.

Ingrid’s class had a kind of “open house” day today: parents were invited to attend classes, and groups of kids acted as teachers. We got one lesson about energy (and how it can be transformed but not created or destroyed), one about Nordic geography, and one in art (during which we had to speed draw superheroes).

I now cycle to work three days a week. I learned my lesson – that the shortest route is not necessarily the best one – and now cycling is a pleasure again. The weather is great for cycling, warm and dry. It’s hot during the day but the mornings are cool enough. The cycle paths are mostly straight, wide and uncrowded. And edged with trees – as I note with joy almost daily – so I arrive at work (and home) sweaty but rested.

Scientific studies have shown that just seeing trees is good for people’s health, and I feel this every day.

Ingrid’s scout group are now deemed old enough to get their saw and ax badges.

It’s too hot to eat breakfast in full sun on the deck, so we moved the furniture out onto the unmown lawn.

It’s not even mid-May yet and the weather is as hot as it normally gets in high summer. Last year we had no summer; this year we almost skipped spring and went straight from winter into summer.

The cherry trees in central Spånga are already done and pink petals are piling up in small heaps on the sidewalks. Now it’s our trees’ turn.

It’s been ages since we played any games. I don’t know where all the time goes.

But today at least we played Carcassonne.