2005 News Archives

Highlights of 2005.

January: Lutz and Judy were tested to see if they could give a kidney to Judy's sister, Karen.

March: We found out that Judy was the compatible one and would continue on with the multitude of tests in the following months.

April: We shared Easter with Mike and Jenica and they surprised us with the news that they were expecting their first baby on November 30.

May: Jamie heads off to England for 2 months. Judy and I go to Billings Montana and on the way we visited Fort William Henry Harrison, home of the First Special Service Force.

June: Medicine Hat experienced extremely high river levels again. It was all too much de ja vu as this event came, to the day, 10 years after the devastating 1995 flood which caused evacuations for thousands and millions of dollars in damages. Lutz’s Dad celebrated his 90th birthday

July: Rio Jones flew up from Houston, to visit us just before we left for England. Judy and Lutz travel to England for 3 weeks. Visited Lutz's dad in Berlin.

August: Watched Kyra, our eldest granddaughter, swim in the UK Nationals. Judy starts the final tests for the kidney transplant. After 9 years, Jamie meets Luke at the Medicine Hat Lodge.

September: We had our final appointment with the surgeon and then waited to hear about a date.

November: The kidney transplant was November 9. November 25th Mike and Jenica blessed us with a grandson, Gunnar Dieter.

December: Lutz’s mom suffered a massive stroke and went to be with our Lord on December 5. The Jones family came to Edmonton for Christmas at Mike and Jen's place.

Welcome to 2006.

Again we want to thank everyone who supported this site over the years.

This week in our lives. December 28, 2005

Christmas In Calgary & Edmonton

Judy and Shirley Ann share a moment at the Fairman's Dec 23.	Annemarie and Andrew ponder the conversation. For more pictures of our Calgary Christmas click here
Mike, Kyra w/ Gunnar, Deanna, Rio, share a moment Christmas morning.	We even let the parents hold Gunnar once in a while. His first Christmas, while Gramma looks on.
Deanna is suffering jet lag, Gunnar just sleeps a lot, and Brian.	Kyra, Grampa, and Rio, watching Polar Express. For more pictures of the Edmonton Christmas click here

This week in our lives. December 18, 2005

Busy Busy

Jamie turns 29 so no more birthdays after this one.

A great-grandmother meets her great-grandson.

Jamie visits Gramma

The loss of Lutz's mother recently was a sad event, but not without some positive things either. One is we have been going through her photo albums and through pictures getting to re-live some of her life. [some before we were even born] But also there are some photos we didn't have of us, and here is one of Lutz. My guess is 7 years old shortly after arriving in Canada. Lutz never learned to play a real trombone, but did learn the trumpet. In the next few weeks we'll have some more, just for fun.

This week in our lives. - Dec 11, 2005

A Tribute to Dorothea Perschon, Lutz's mother. [Jan 14, 1923 - Dec 05, 2005]

Dorothea Jaap was born Jan 14, 1923. In 1942 she married Fritz Perschon and they had 3 children, Annemarie, Fritz, and myself, Lutz. I do not remember the early years in Berlin. In 1954 our family emigrated to Canada. I remember my mother going to work shortly after we arrived so that we could buy a home. She worked in a Doctor's office as a receptionist which seemed to qualify her as a nurse at home, because she always took such good care of us when we were sick. After moving to Bowness, when the family went to Ghost Lake she would always be in the water with us often rafting to an island in the middle of the lake. She was instrumental in having me learn the trumpet. Although I never practiced as much as she wanted, none the less I learned to play. And you may appreciate that playing a trumpet solo doesn't work that well and sounds much better with accompaniment. And mom was my accompanists, on the organ or piano, which she played in the church for many many years. Playing along with a trumpet means having two sets of music because the trumpet and piano are pitched differently. But mom always transposed her music so I could play from the music score we had. Later when I learned to play guitar she would often just come into the room and harmonize with the songs I would sing, even though that was not her type of music.

She was an avid reader and tried to make one out of me, but never really succeeded. One time when I had to do a paper in first year University on John Donne, I lamented I had no clue what his poetry was about. Feeling sorry for her boy she said she would write the paper for me. The professor gave me a 'D' on the paper. Boy was she miffed. When I married Judy, mom was always there for us, and helped financially in getting our children through post secondary education. She was a great woman in her own right. After retiring she worked as a volunteer in the hospital library. Really what can a son say about his mother? Mothers are just always there when needed. We know that they play a significant role in our lives, but we mostly just take that for granted. My mother was mostly a serious person, [not that she wasn't beyond her own tricks from time to time] and I was a jokester. Probably more than once I drove her to despair with my irreverence. But more importantly I remember my mother as always being there for me when I need her in so many ways. She is gone to be with the Lord, but lives on in our hearts forever.

[Top picture - circa 1963, bottom right picture - circa 1954, just before leaving for Canada]

Picture of the Week - A Celebration of Life, even in Death

This week in our lives. Dec 5, 2005

We went to Edmonton to visit our new grandson, Gunnar. The grandmother probably held him 50% of the time we spent in Edmonton.	Dorothea Charlotte Annelies Perschon Jan 14, 1923 - Dec 5, 2005 Lutz's mom. Gone to be with the Lord!
The 3 Dieter's Mike Dieter, Gunnar Dieter, and Lutz Dieter [for the un-initiated - pronounced Deeter]	And where is he happiest? Wrapped in a nice warm house coat.

Picture of the Week - A new grandson Nov 25, 2005

This week in our lives.

This is the first image we had of Gunnar Dieter Perschon.	He is Mike and Jenica's first child.
Ready to go home	At home in the cradle, just snoozing.

Picture of the Week - Nov 13 - The Big Transplant

This week in our lives.

Judy and Karen share a laugh the night before the surgery. They were able to share a room which is uncommon for donor and recipient. The nurses said it was the first sister team they could think of in the same room. Nurses also said they knew as soon as Judy and Karen walked in they would be trouble.	Things were a little more subdued the day after surgery. The girls show off their IV poles and other baggage. All the nurses and staff were so good. Pictured here left to right is Karen, Tracy, Judy, Lutz [sort of] and Anita.
On the day before leaving, Judy pitches the ball "kidney" to Karen. The symbolism goes back to when Judy and Karen played ball. Judy pitched and Karen was the catcher. [If you look closely the ball is just a few inches from the glove.]	Out of the hospital, Judy rests with another couple of friends, the kind that help the healing process. If you are interested in a few more pictures click here

And a big thanks to:

The surgeons, nurses, and other staff at Foothills Hospital

Everyone who visited, prayed, sent flowers, cards, fruit baskets, balloons, gifts, and gave us support.

Fritz and Shirley Ann who put me up while Judy was in the hospital.

Pam and Allan who put us up [and put up with us] after Judy got out.

Picture of the Week Nov 6, 2005

This week in our lives.

The happy sisters pose at the Foothills Hospital	Judy shows off her new snoopy vest sewn by Karen
The final blood test for Judy and Karen before the Nov 9 operation	Judy got, among other things, a personal license plate for her 56th birthday. It's a code between Judy and Lutz that stands for...well you have to figure it out.

Picture of the Week - Oct 30, 2005

This week in our lives.

Halloween edition. We're not all that hyped about decorating for Halloween, but some folks get right into it. Here's a couple of places we found around town. Larger versions and a couple more here

Picture of the Week - Oct 23, 2005

This week in our lives.

Karen

Judy

These sisters played fastball for years. Karen was a catcher and caught for Judy who was a pitcher. A very winning combination to say the least. Now they will be teaming up again, except this time Judy will be pitching in a kidney, and if everything goes well, it will catch on in Karen. Nov 9 is the big date. [Pictures are from 1969]

Picture of the Week Oct 16, 2005

This week in our lives.

It's fall and the evening sun just caught our tree out front perfectly to show off the colours. And why are we flying the Texas flag you ask? Well because we are cheering for the Houston Astros in the World Series. We'll use any excuse.

And we planted a new Amur Maple tree. Hopefully next fall it will be as colourful as the Birch.

Picture of the Week - Oct 9, 2005

This week in our lives.

We spent the weekend in Edmonton working. Judy worked at many jobs inside and out.	Jenica was the chief "mudder" and crew chief. Quite a challenge with a 33 week old child on board.
Mike had pastoral duties but chipped in when he had time.	And Lutz was the cutter. "Cut it twice and still too short."

Picture of the Week - Oct 2, 2005

This week in our lives.

We had to go to Calgary for Judy to meet with her kidney transplant surgeon. Everything went really well and now it's only a matter of picking a date.

While in Calgary we got an opportunity to visit Judy's mother, who asked if we would take a picture beside this bush displaying some beautiful fall colours.

Picture of the Week - September 25, 2005 This week in our lives.

It was Lutz's 58th birthday on the 22nd, and we celebrated with pie and drinks. [wink wink for P & A]

Jamie gave me this card, and who does that look like??

And not only did I get a card with a Grace look alike, but Deanna called from London and I got a birthday wish from the real thing. "Arouuuu, Grrrr, Aroooaaa" or something like that. Also got to talk to Rio, and Kyra.

Judy made cabbage rolls, my favorite for lunch.

Later Jen and Mike called and crooned out Happy Birthday, so it was a great day

On Sept 25 Judy again went on the mother/daughter walk for Heart and Stroke. Because none of her daughters were readily available she again joined Anna Mast and family.

The happy walker. 8km walk. Just a nice warm up for Judy.

More pictures here

Picture of the Week - September 18, 2005 This week in our lives.

The 2005 Senior Men's slow pitch season is over. To the left here is a team picture of the Zelmore Relics, who I played for. A fitting name for a bunch of old guys reliving their youth. But we play for fun and fun it was. Our record was not that good and we apparently finished last but who cares. It's great!!

Pictured left here are the "Wannabees". This was a make up team to play in the 2005 Medicine Hat Tournament. We did alright with a 3 - 1 record. Should have been 4 - 0, but that's what the other teams all said too.

We'll all be back next year.

Picture of the Week - Sept 11/05

This week in our lives.

Lutz and Mike "Foreman" Jen and Lutz

Well it was a working weekend at Mike and Jenica's in Edmonton. The task - build a bathroom downstairs. So we got a good start. The target was to get the framing done. Now I'm no carpenter so it's slow going. Lot's of breaks, laughs and concrete as hard as granite. Jenica measures, Mike or Lutz cuts, Mike drills - sets, Lutz puts the screws in and so it goes. A good carpenter probably could have done it in half the time, but it wouldn't have been as fun. It's been a while since Mike and I spent this much time together working at anything. And no Lu, you can't shower just yet!

Picture of the Week - Sept 4/05

This week in our lives.

September 1st marked Alberta's 100th birhtday so we raised the Alberta flag to celebrate.

We had to go to Calgary this weekend, and were able to have supper with Mike and Jenica.

Stayed with Pam and Alan Heck, a pleasure as usual.

Picture of the Week - August 28

This week in our lives.

The Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller is celebrating its 20th anniversary and we went there for the first time.

And we went with Gabriel, Anna, and Hope Mast, who invited us to come along with them. More pictures here

Picture of the Week - Aug 14, 2005

This week in our lives.

Nala gets a bath at the local Dog Wash. A little nose to nose debate.

After 9 years, Luke meets Jamie at poolside Medicine Hat Lodge. See his sisters here

Picture of the Week - Aug 7, 2005

This week in our lives. A few more candid shots from London

Strike a pose.	Gardening with "Le Chef"
London chainsaw massacre	And the Texas cleanup crew.
I'm trying to keep a straight face but...grampa's so funny.	Some heavy duty decisions
A rare shot of the official photographer - Suck it in please	Rio tried on every pair of high heels in the store
Photographing the "other" photographer	Brian's brother Dave and his family join us in London. The cousins wait for the bus to go to the Camden Markets.
What's that in your hair??	A rare father/daughter shot and of course you know who!!
Our hosts - Brian and Deanna and you know who!!	And the weary travelers ready to head back to Canada

Our trip is over. Both the time and money went way too fast, but it was GREAT!! Thanks Deanna, Brian, Kyra, Rio.

Picture of the Week July 29

This week in our lives.

London is an interesting placed to drive. These are some things I have learned. There is an Amber light before the Red light turns Green, and you are expected to start moving on the amber, or people will let you know. Kind of like the light tower on a drag strip.	On major roads when traffic is heavy, motorcycles drive down the lines between lanes, At red lights they roll right up between traffic, even pulling in their mirrors to squeeze by. I doubt they would get away with that in Alberta.
There are no STOP signs, [or at least I have not found one]. There is apparently some sort of line code on the pavement which I haven't quite figured out yet. I think a double broken line means stop, but I haven't actually seen anyone stop, so not sure. The bottom picture is a yield marking.	Now that's a real "Green House" Also a colourful version of the smart car.
Another favourite restaurant is YO! SUSHI.	Quite different but mostly raw fish and rice. The food comes by on a long conveyor belt in covered dishes. You take off what you want and at the end of your meal you pay for what you took.
On the weekend we headed to Sheffield for the UK National Swim Finals. We rented a VW Van [They've come a long way since the old VW Bus] and made the 3 hour trip north on the M1 Motorway as they are called here. This is a "Rest Stop" where people actually get off the highway to rest. Complete with a full food court and very clean bathrooms, we could take a page out of their book.	We stayed at the Marriott. Judy and Rio both try on the only supplied house coat. Goofy gals. This is what I had to live with all weekend.
Rio feeds the ducks at the Marriott	Brian, Deanna, Judy on the grounds at the Marriott.
And this is why we came. This is Kyra in the 200m Backstroke event. She is the second from the bottom.	And though she went on to win this heat, she was 12th overall missing one of the 10 finals spots by a few hundredths of a second. In the 100m Backstroke she came in 11th. But she was there and competed. Yeah Kyra!!
Being the faithful Baptists we are, we had to take a picture of this old church in Sheffield.	On the way back we catch this shot of a nuclear power generating plant in the English country side. Quite impressive.

Our trip is mostly over. Both the time and money went way too fast, but it was GREAT!! Thanks Deanna, Brian, Kyra, Rio.

Picture of the Week July 24

This week in our lives.

The day started normally. We went down to the Trafalgar square area because Rio wanted to do a brass rubbing picture. For those who don't know a brass rubbing uses a brass template and then you take a crayon of some sort and rub it on black paper over the template and it creates and image of the picture.	Judy and Rio on the fountain at Trafalgar
and at Canada House	We went for lunch at the Texas Embassy Restaurant. While there the waiter told is that there had been another bombing.
When we got back out on the streets, the tube stations in the central area of London were all closed. We managed to find our way home.	On Friday we were off to Berlin
Three generations wait for boarding by eating cookies	We visited Opa in the Hospital. Lots of smiles.
And we had the first of two suppers we would eat at the Muggel Sea. Wieners and pan fried potatoes, purple cabbage for some. Our favourite place to eat in Berlin.	The three ladies read on one pillow in our "apartment". This is a basement suite in the apartment complex my father lives in and can be rented to family members when visiting.
Next day we go for a 2 hour tour on the Spree River through Berlin on the Luna	Under cool bridges
Judy and Rio visit the onboard dining lounge. Rio has - what else - wieners.	One of the museums on the Spree River
We visit the Wansee, and Rio finds a great place to climb	Judy and Lutz on the Wansee.

Monday we returned to rainy London.

Picture of the Week - July 17

This week in our lives.

We stopped and visited Gramma Thon	Gramma and Rio on the Gatwick Express to Victoria Station
Remaking old acquaintances	And old bed fellows
Another swim meet with our favourite swimmer, Kyra	And checking out the medals after
A goofy couple	A happy couple
Deanna and Rio review the menu at the Gourmet Burger Kitchen	And is that a burger or what!!!

Picture of the Week - July 10

This week in our lives.

On July 4, Independence Day in US, we flew their flag.	On July 6, Rio Jones flew up from Houston, Texas where she and her dad had been visiting. This was the welcoming committee at the Calgary Airport.
We stopped and visited Oma	We visited the Masts at Cypress Park Saskatchewan. After swimming a picture on the rock. Hope, Gabriel, Rio.
We were lucky enough to be there when the Saskatchewan Express [Inset] was entertaining. A couple of more friends of Hope's, recently moved from Texas, joined us. [L-R] Emily, Gabriel, Hope, Rio, Hanna	Rio stayed overnight and the next day went on her first horse back ride. Horse is called Coco.

Picture of the Week July 3, 2005

This week in our lives

July 1 is Canada Day and we like to show our colours. We also had the wind sock going. Unfortunately this type of thing has not caught on big in Medicine Hat [or Canada generally]. On July 4 in Houston Texas, every 3rd car will have a US flag on it, if not 2 or more. Also way more people fly US flags from their homes, mostly on angle poles off the house or garage.

Inspite of hail and pestulance, the "Grace" tree bloomed nicely for us. Nala cruises in the background.

Picture of the Week June 19, 2005

This week in our lives

First snake this year. First we thought it was a rattle snake, but it's not, it's a bull snake.	Then came the storms with hail the size of... well you be the judge. Put a few holes through our siding and left dimples in lots of vehicles around Medicine Hat.
Also caused a little flash flooding around the city and area. This intersection is just a few blocks from our house.	But the sun came out next morning and we had a senior men's scramble tournament on Saturday. We mix up the teams allowing us to get to know players from other teams.
Judy took great shots. Here I am fielding the ball. At this point we were winning 10 - 1, but at the end the game was tied. This tournament is about having fun. I managed to hit one out of the park in this game.	And here is Judy in her new car. Well actually it's ours but she drives it mostly, so we call it her car. Look the same as the old one? Yup it does, just 2 years newer.

Picture of the Week - June 12, 2005

This week in our lives

Medicine Hat experienced extremely high river levels again. Normally there would be another 15' of freeboard under the bridge. It was all too much de ja vu as this event came, to the day, 10 years after the devastating 1995 flood which caused evacuations for thousands and millions of dollars in damages. The 2005 version did spill over it's banks but the damage will be much less. None the less, it gave everyone a reminder of how mother nature just cannot be contained.

The river is flowing at 3800 cu meters per second. Anyone know exactly what that means?

Well it's 1,000,000 gallons per second for our US friends, and 4 - Crestwood Pools per second for those who swim there.

Does that help???? Yah right!!

Click on the picture for more photos of the flood.

For the two people who know exactly why it was taken, but the rest of you can enjoy it too.

Picture of the Week - June 5

The Flag Pole is Finally Up.

I always wanted to have a flag pole, and finally got it up last week. Canadians as a whole, although probably as patriotic as the Americans, tend not to display their patriotism as much. So we will fly the Canadian flag, and on special days some others.

In other news Kyra, our eldest granddaughter is at a swim camp in Spain where she will swim 75,000 metres in one week, and yes that is correct 75,000. In contrast I swim 5,000 metres per week.

Jamie is enjoying London more. She has 2 jobs, one in a pub and a pharmacy on "high street" which m

Picture of the Week - May 22, 2005

This Week In Our Lives - To Billings Montana and back

This is the primary reason we went. Here is Judy standing in front of one of her favourite places, this one is in Billings.	Along the way the views were breath taking. This shot is between Great Falls and Helena.
And this was the bonus treat of the trip. Just outside of Helena, we visited Fort William Henry Harrison, home of the First Special Service Force, in which Judy's father Edwin Thon served during WW 2. Click on the picture for a few more shots.	We visited the Lewis and Clark Caverns between Butte and Billings. In this picture Judy stands on a stair that is exactly 1 mile above sea level but several hundred feet underground. Click on the picture for more if you are interested.

Picture of the Week - May 15, 2005

This Week In Our Lives - The happy and sad

Caught this guy on our lawn looking for worms or other food - sure sign of spring...	...but when you get a little anxious with the underground sprinklers this can be the result.
I was in Kananaskis Country and part of the grueling training was an early morning walk. With bear warnings everywhere the pace is brisk, with the thought of running fast always on your mind.	Lauren Anne Adcock Oct 26, 2003 - May 9, 2005 Suddenly and unexpectedly taken home to be with our Lord. But that smile gave joy to all she met while here with us.

Picture of the Week - May 8, 2005

This Week In Our Lives

We took Jamie to the Airport. She is off to London England. Luckily this plane only takes her as far as Calgary. Bon Voyage	We celebrated our 37th anniversary. The yellow ones Judy received for the anniversary, yellow denotes love forever. I received a nice shirt from Judy. The pink one was added Mother's Day. It was given to Judy at church Sunday morning. Judy wants to say thanks to all her children for making her Mother's Day a memorable one.
Mike and Jenica came to visit for the weekend	And we spoke by phone with the Joneses, who we miss seeing.

Picture of the Week - April 24, 2005

Our Long Walk

Judy and I have started doing a long walk on Saturday. It was a beautiful day with a cloudless sky and +20 C temperatures. For you non-Medicine Hatters, it's OK to be envious.

Picture of the Week - April 17, 2005

“Grace's Tree”

We planted a tree in the back yard. It’s a called “Grace's Tree” after Rio and Kyra’s dog because she started the hole when she was with us in 2004. The first picture is Grace playing in the hole she made and then the next is me planting the tree Saturday, April 16.

Pictures of the Week - April 3, 2005

Birthday Party At Mikes

That's Mike with his birthday cake made by his mom seen here sitting around the fire pit. Lots more people and lots more pictures, but those are for Mike to show off on his site if he wants.

Pictures of the Week - March 27, 2005

Our new little neighbour - Silas. Pure (F) German Shepard

Happy Birthday, Brian, Rio, Mike

All three of these people have a birthday in March. Do you think maybe there's something strange about March?

Beware the Ides Of March

THE LORD IS RISEN - HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE

Picture of the Week - March 13, 2005

A Surprise Grace Report: Grace's Birthday Duck

Hello Canadians! - never mind singing Happy Birthday - sing with me "another one bites the dust ah ha, another one bites..."

Things haven't changed much in England. Brian writes: The girls got Grace a birthday gift, a quacky duck. She was riled right when it was taken out of the bag, it took no time to get the quacker out of it and stuffing all out. She now carries the lame duck around like a trophy. We blow into the quacker (similar to a hunters duck call) and she goes nuts. Knew all the Grace fans would like it. And this is only her second birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACE!

Picture of the Week - Feb 20, 2005

Yogi gives us a visit.

Judy's school bus job always has interesting stories. This one is just one of many. The brown bear under the covers [among all the other stuffed toys] belonged to a school project of one of her elementary school children. The project was to record the travels of Yogi bear. Somehow the little boy forgot the bear and the journal on Judy's bus, and Judy being the mom she is took the bear home so it wouldn't spend the weekend left on the bus. And Judy can't just bring it home, no she has to participate in the project by reading to the bear. This picture and another with the dogs, was entered with a little dialogue in the journal and returned Monday, much to the delight of its owner. Nice job!

Picture of the Week - Feb 6, 2005

My First Home - Berlin House

For those who may not have followed our 2004 European trip, this is the first house I lived in. It has been slightly modified since we moved out in 1954 [wow that's a long time ago]. Originally it was all brick and the upper side window has been added. It was an emotional moment to be there again and to be able to show it to at least a part of my family.

Not only was it great to see the house but it was great to be in the city of my birth, Berlin.

Picture of the Week - Jan 30, 2005

Ooooo... Did I step in any?

Well we went from the freezer to a couple of weeks of Chinook winds and mild weather all above 0 C, some days into double digits and as high as 16 C [60 F]. As you can see most of the snow on the open land is gone.

So Judy and I took the opportunity to have lunch out at Elkwater. Lutz had perogies, sauerkraut. and German sausages, yummy!! Chicken fingers for Judy.

These deer were feeding outside the window of the restaurant and later moved to the lawn for a taste of whatever lawn grass tastes like to them.

If you look closely way out on the lake there is an SUV [also inset]. With all the cold weather we've had it's probably safe, but after 2 weeks of warm temperatures, why would you want to risk it. Maybe SUV stands for Soon Under Vater!!

Anyway Elkwater is always a beautiful and uplifting place to go, summer or winter.

Picture of the Week - Jan 23, 2005

Kyra's Wales Swim Meet [Report by Deanna Jones]

Kyra had a GREAT swim meet over the weekend. We were in Swansea Wales at a very nice 50 M pool on the weekend. Swansea reminds me of East Coast Canada.

She took home 5 new Personal Bests [PB's] in her swims and just missed a bronze medal in the 100 back (both in the 12/13 year old group and also the open swim against 16 year olds - she beat her two older teammates in the prelims, but had a lot of races in the afternoon and was just too tired to make her time from the morning.)

So - her new Long course (50 M pool) 100 Back PB is 1:14 - this is her 12 years old national time. If her birthday wasn't before nationals then she'd be qualified to swim, but because she turns 13 just before that meet, she has to reach that qualifying time which is a 1:12. Her coach is confident that in the meets in Feb/Mar that she'll definitely make that time. He was very impressed she dropped so much time in her backstroke - with a 2 week break at Christmas and then only 2 weeks back training before the meet. Just to give you an idea of how fast this is in Texas terms... remember the TAGS time she was always chasing and just fell short - this time is 3 whole seconds below the TAGS qualifying time and is a Top 16 swimmers in Texas time.

Her new Long course PB for 200 Back is 2:40 - she is likely capable of faster if she was just swimming that event separate - this is also well under TAGS and is a Top 16 time. Short a bit of her national time for the UK.

Her PB for 200 IM 2:53 (AA), 100 Free 1:11 (AA), 100 Breast 1:40 (BB) - the breaststroke still plagues her - it's just not her favorite. Rhys [her coach] is going to work with her on the Breast and Fly to get her better technique so that she'll improve those times. He figures she should also be swimming a national time in freestyle as well so they are working on her kick and arm turnover (the arm turnover is basically what gave her the increased speed on the back - I've never seen her move her arms that fast) so I'm interested to see how the next set of meets go.

Anyway, she was pretty pumped and we are very proud. Makes all those practices and early mornings worthwhile. If she manages to get a 1:11 in her 100 back then she has a qualifying time for the Junior Nationals (Under 16) in Canada as well. - meaning she's on her way to a qualifying time for Olympic and Commonwealth trials... If Kyra does indeed get her national time she can swim in the UK Nationals which are scheduled for end of July early August.

[Pictures are from the STARS meet in Texas, May 2003. That's the latest we have. They don't let people to take pictures at pools in England. LP]

Picture of the Week - Jan 16, 2005

Brrrrrr....

It's been a couple weeks of super cold weather. Temperatures were down to -37 C with wind chills to -47 C. We've also had a fair amount of snow so lots of shoveling and piles of snow. Although the dogs posed for this picture, they didn't like being out at all. We weren't that excited about being out either.

The good news is that by next week things are supposed to be +10 C.

Picture of the Week - Jan 9, 2005

The 2004 Family Picture

We were fortunate enough to have the whole family home for Christmas, so when that happens we don't miss the opportunity to take a family picture. If you're visiting our site for the first time here's the line-up.

From Left to Right Front: Brian, Deanna, Rio, Kyra [the London, England crew]; Judy, and Lutz

From Left to Right Back: Jenica and Mike [the Edmonton crew]; and Jamie.

We are truly thankful for having everyone here, that's the best 2004 gift of all.

Picture of the Week - Jan 2, 2005

Welcome to 2005

It been a crazy cold start to 2005. We wanted to share this picture with you not because it's a particularly great decorated Christmas tree, but rather it was taken by our 8 year old granddaughter Rio, and we thought it was such a great picture, with the dusk sky giving a blue background. What makes it unique is that they live in London, England right now and so to show they had been in Canada for Christmas, she placed the window transfer Canadian flag from an interior mirror to the window behind the tree. You can see it on the right about half way up. We thought that was quite thoughtful.

It was great to have the whole family here again for Christmas. The Joneses returned to London, and Mike and Jen to Edmonton, both on December 28.

So here we are in the sixth year of the new millennium and it just seemed like yesterday we were talking about Y2K problems.

For a few more pictures from this holiday

click here.