Illustrations

In Prague, people would leave cute little snowmen on people's cars......

....but most often, they would draw penises.

Snowball's Chance

As time went by in Prague, my snowball-slingshot-firepower got better.

Aim..... FIIIIIIRE!

You can see in the below illustrated example, I almost managed a Shane Warne-type Spin motion.

Instead of the famous bowling term, "the doosra", this is now the dubbed "the whooshka".

It's all in the position of the feet and the tilt of your body.... and you must always have a look of over-exertion on your face.

Putting My New Snowball Launching Skills To Good Use

This is me now using my new-found snowball-flinging skills.

This restaurant ridiculously overcharged the Boy and I for a terrible breakfast on New Years Day and then tried to lie about the calculation of the bill.

The Boy and I later returned to the scene, and do what any disgruntled customer rightfully should:

Dispense "the Mighty Whooshka" at them.

Tragically, the "Mighty Whooshka" wasnt so mighty, and fell a little short of its target.... into the curb.

We'll be back one day.... and we'll make that next shot really count.

Fear. This.

As i said. It's all in the facial expression.

CucumberLatte?

Huh?

Puppet Politicians

We all know that Politicians are often seen as Puppets, but in Prague, they are!!

Czech out these Puppets, one of Obama and one of Vladamir Putin (ironically, only two puppets down from the Devil!).

One of the things I noticed in Prague was its anti Russian sentiment.

Some anti-Russian sentiment.... one of many pieces of graffiti.....

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Men and Gadgets = Man Love

There is Man-Porn. And then there is plain old simple garden-type Man-Love.

The International Man of Mystery loves gadgets. If it drives, flies, fixes, screws, drills, measures, twists, or turns, the International Man of Mystery will have already grabbed it, disregarded the instructions, tried it, tested it, pulled it apart, put it back together again and then found another task that requires its use.

We were on the flight from London to Prague on the lovely BreakTheBank Airways (or commonly known as, BA) when the Boy disappears off to the toilet. He then returns, smiling like a Cheshire Cat. He'd managed to use his charm on the Cabin Stewardess who gave him an invitation into the cockpit once the flight had touched down. Apparently the "Captain" was more than happy to meet him.

Flight touches down, Boy goes off for a Love In with the Captain and his First Officer and I patiently wait in the wings (so to speak) ready for the Boy to get his fix of buttons, flicks, switches and gizmos.

I was almost ready for the Boy to light a cigarette once he was done, he was so happy afterwards. Either that or find out he'd given an invite for the Captain and his FO to join us for dinner!

Man Love. There you have it.

Football.... On Bikes?!

After celebrating New Years with an amazing dinner on the foreshore of the Prague River, the Boy and I came home and turned on the television.....

.....and this is what we saw.

I had to have a think about whether I had in fact consumed too much alcohol, but no, the Boy (who had consumed way more than I had) agreed that he was seeing it with his very own eyes as well.

Bizarre.

Pitter Patter of Little Feet

No, I'm not pregnant. No pitter pattering of tiny feet. I was referring to this photo, which I thought was so adorably cute. In Prague, the snow had melted but in between, you could see where the little birds had walked around. CUTE!

Man Porn - The Prequel

*freezing cold Day 3 in Prague, snow falling heavily and KoTB and the Boy have gone for a walk*

The Boy to KoTB: "Loooooooooook!!!!"

KoTB to the Boy: "What? Its water...? [The Boy], can we go, its freezing!"

Boy to KoTB: "Nooooooo. Its not just water. Guess what it is? Guess what it is? Go on, go on, go on!"

KoTB to the Boy: "Locks? Canals?"

[KoTB has made a mental note about the Boy's past enthusiasm for locks and canals]

Boy to KoTB: "Nooooooo, not just any set of locks!"

[KoTB makes a few more half hearted guesses]

Boy to KoTB: "It's a kayak course! Quick!!! Take a photo so i can look at it later!"

Man Porn

Boy to KoTB: "Quick, quick, take a photo of those pieces of equipment."

KoTB to Boy: "What? Why?"

Boy to KoTB: "So I can look at the photo later."

KoTB to Boy: "Why would you want to do that?"

Boy to KoTB: "Because it's man-porn."

Icy Runway

This was Prague Airport, when we were about to leave to go back to London. We weren't sure what was worse - flying out in these conditions, or arriving in the hell-hole that is Luton.

The Long and Windy Road

Day after day, as the weather became worse, we would drive the long, icy and in part, windy road to the Boy's house. In the distance, you can see the grand building, its pointed roof standing out amongst the trees.

Despite the sadness that filled the house, it became a place of solitude for both the Boy and I.

Playing In The Snow

The International Man of Mystery enjoyed playing in the snow too.

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Making Snowmen

This is one of my favourite photos from the trip. It was freezing cold at the Boy's Parents' House, it was snowing heavily, but I decided that it was the perfect time to make a snowman! This is me, braving the snow in the name of creative perfection.

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Photos Coming - In No Organised Fashion

Over the next couple of days, given i am "snowed under" at work, I will only be able to upload one off shots that were taken, in no particular order.

I am sure you will still enjoy it, but i thought that I would send a warning, just in case anyone became a little confused about me being in Prague one day, London the next, then back in Prague.

Random Snow Shot

This photo was taken on one of the first days that the snow began to fall in London - 6 January 2010. I recall being astonished that there was so much snow, yet little did i know this was only going to be the beginning!

I am THAT woman....

As my dear friend Carli said... "oh no, dont be that woman...."

Well, I say to Carli..."YOU BET I AM!"

I just purchased myself a whizz bang new state of the art fluoro green grocery shopping bag that will now cart all of my healthy shopping back from the shopping centre each week.

Oh yes, ladies and gentleman, I was seen hurtling around FairPrice Grocery Store tonight with my pimped-up grocery bag.

Forget the tartan. Forget the black. Fluoro is BACK!

Hampton Court Palace, Surrey, England

Just up the road from the Boy's house was Hampton Court Palace, one of King Henry VIII's grand palaces. It then went on to house King William and then Queen Whatserface before King Whoever then took over. Bah, I shouldnt show such disregard for English history, but if I were to be completely honest, I didn't spend much time learning about the history. Instead, Theresa (International Girlfriend-In-Law of Mystery) took time out on our own to explore the area. We took photos, marvelled at the "prettiness" and took more photos.

Ice skating at Hampton Court Palace

The Entrance to the Palace

The long houses that line the path leading up to the entrance - i gather this is where the stables were, or where the workers lived.

The grandiose palace that it is!

The Union Jack flying high...

An example of the many tapestries hanging on each and every wall.

This would be spooky, if the candles weren't fake... great pic though!

Its King Henry VIII!

The crowd watching on in amusement.

His Man Servant

His wonderful wife-to-be Katheryn (not sure if he cut her head off).

Henry was a cranky old man.

Katheryn spent most of her time quivering in fright (as would I).

All of this was happening in one of King Henry's rooms.

The gorgeous Palace gardens

One of the many rooms with its hanging tapestries.

The inner courtyard of the Palace.

Wonderful courtyard views

More gardens.

Me - freezing cold.

The King's Kitchens

Theresa sampling the produce;

One of the grand staircases.

The Throne Room

The other kind of throne room.... ha ha ha

The dining room.

The reading room.

All in all, a beautiful palace!

Dazed and Confused

I am back in Singapore. Dazed and confused. I feel like the last couple of weeks have flown by and I have been unable to stop it from happening. I had little time to reflect on anything. I just lived, day by day, dealing with whatever needed to be dealt with.

The International Man of Mystery lost his International Father of Mystery. It was a quick passing, one that happened with family surrounding him - including the Boy and I.

In the back of our minds, when we headed to Prague, we knew that we would be unable to complete our grand european holiday and so when it was time for us to be told in no uncertain terms to come home quick, we did so. By acting fast, we were able to be there for the Boy's Father's last few hours. It was a sad passing, but one that was done with such dignity and grace.

So sadly, I have no photos of Florence, Venice or Milan, no tales of drinking machiatto while watching the boats go by on the Grand Canal. I do have a whole lot of photos though - laughing and playing with the Boy in the deep snow that fell across England, photos of London's fine castles, and a whole lot of wonderful stories that show the strength of family in times of suffering.

I am back in Singapore and I am lost. Lost without my Man of Mystery, lost without the family that welcomed me with such open arms.... it will take me time to adjust to being on my own again, but it was inevitable. No one liked to discuss what would happen when it all came time to end.

Anyway, so sit back, as I begin to upload some photos from our time away.

Thanks for everyone's support during what was, indeed, a tough couple of weeks.

KoTB