Today was A Day in the Life in a village about 45 miles from Riga. The village is unique as it was a factory town built nearly 200 years old. The paper mill was the main business and paper for printing money was produced there. The paper mill provided everything for the workers, a small salary, housing, utilities, food. The houses were wooden structures where 3-5 families might live. The factory was in operation until about 2 years ago when they went bankrupt. Many artists live there now. Our first visit was with a multigenerational family who have winery. The father has many business ideas and is not afraid to try them. At one point, they made cutting boards and wooden spoons, employed 150 people and had contracts with Costco and Walmart. Unfortunately the factory burned down. The father then went away to learn how to make wine. Now they sell about 15000 bottles of fruit wine in Latvia. They still make spoons and cutting boards. We spoke mainly with the 23 year old daughter who quite charming. The daughter lives with boyfriend and works with the parents The brother and his girlfriend also live and work in the family business. They were a charming and interesting family, quite entrepreneurial. Next idea is a fish restaurant. We met the grandmother of this family who showed us around the village and her 2 room Soviet apartment. She was a strong minded lady who did not want to live with her children and has a boyfriend she met on the Internet. Her last boyfriend was also from the Internet. The relationship lasted 13 years until she threw him out. Lunch was at another family in the village. The husband worked as construction supervisor in restoring old buildings, including Riga town hall. His wife was a teacher but retired. She started a 'fairy tale' business where she makes paper mache figures from fairy tales. Children come and do workshops. The wife also makes fine paper out of grass, jeans, and recycled paper We spent 3 hours with them. Like all the people we have met, they were optimistic and positive about their lives. We continue to be amazed how hopeful the Baltic people are after their oppressive history