On Saturday 19th November my diet didn’t quite go according to plan! It was one week since Captain Caveman had flown to England. I’d spent a mere 999 lira (£45), including 3 days where I spent zero, 4 days without any alcohol and I’d pretty much stuck to the diet. I made a shopping list for the weekly market and called for Ma & Pa along the way. I spent just 80 lira (£3.64) on mushrooms, peppers, potatoes, onions, plums and chestnuts before we all walked back via Migros. Dad wasn’t up for walking round the supermarket with a rucksack full of purchases so he used it as an excuse to go for a beer at Jiks while Ma & I went in. I bought just a fresh loaf and some Turkish sausage for a total of 33.90 lira (£1.54) then we went over to join Dad in Jiks. It was sunny but looked like rain – still I didn’t cave and have a beer, just a diet coke. After walking home, in a bit of rain, I went back out to buy top up data for my Turkish phone. I didn’t realise the Turkcell shop closed each afternoon (2-8pm) in the winter season so I had missed out and would try again tomorrow. I walked past Penny and Phil at Tez bar who were with other friends and I didn’t call in, but went straight home. I had a cheese sandwich (no butter) out of my allowance and was doing so well, I even had a few plums and a big glass of water. Kate messaged to say that the pool afternoon wasn’t at Rehab bar today so she was at Lukka bar and she was sat on her own having a wine if I’d like to join her. It was the first time she’d been ‘out out’, so of course, I would! She was already on her second glass of wine as I ordered my first, then Janet and a friend walked by and decided to join us. I spoke to Lily Fish who had unfortunately had a bad experience at the restaurant I was planning on going to tonight with my parents so I spoke to her at length about that. Kate and I decided that it worked out better to get a bottle of wine, given that the staff at Lukka were looking after us and it was a lovely sunny day. By the time we paid the bill a second bottle of wine had been had and it was jolly nice. Kate went home and I met Ma & Pa who were coming out fo the evening. We’d arranged to meet friends in Sofra bar to watch the Rugby match at 8.30pm. My parents and I decided Çağrı would be a good venue for dinner so we went there. My diet was well and truly on hold for the day as I tucked in to the courgette fritters for a starter and ordered a glass of wine. By the time we got sat in Sofra bar I was drunk and I was probably more of a hindrance to anyone trying to watch the rugby, than a supporter.
On the morning of Thursday 17th November I did some work on my preparation for a training workshop next week. I had buttered toast and pomegranate juice for breakfast and by 11.30am the sky looked full of rain. I was down to my last few Yorkshire teabags so I reminded Captain Caveman to buy more from England. He’d been away almost 5 days now and I’d not had a phone call yet from him so he was obviously too busy absorbing life back in the UK. I decided to try making a Slimming World friendly chicken and broccoli pasta bake, using the chicken from the butcher’s and I made quite a lot of it. I had a portion for lunch and it was very nice, I put some in the fridge and some in the freezer. For dinner I used the last of the roast chicken on a quesadilla, I’d managed to make the chicken in to 4 days worth of meals but had made more than 8 portions, easily. And I had a tub of chicken stock in the freezer now for future meals. I had some plain popcorn and an apple as a snack and watched a bit of Netflix before bed.
Friday 18th November was a bit of a different kind of a day for me. I got weighed at home, although my scales differ to the Fat Club scales, to find I’d put weight on, I did my weekly measurements and I’d lost 3cm from my waist and 1cm from my hips. I had cereal and Yorkshire tea with milk for breakfast then got ready for an appointment. I was tired and my eczema was bad today, I made Bolognese in the slow cooker so that I could have pasta and a hotpot from it. I was meant to be going to my new Turkish lesson at 2pm and I had switched from Tuesday morning to a Friday afternoon as it suited me better. I had a slice of cheese on toast for lunch and then Captain Caveman called me. He was freezing, sat in a tented structure in Kendal and said Josh was watching a film so he’d come to call me. I ended up missing my Turkish class and was gutted as I look forward to it. Sofra bar had reopened, Friday night was approaching and I’d finished everything I needed to for the week. Usually that would be my cue to get my shoes on and go out but not this week, I was trying my best to be good. I now had a freezer full of meals for next week, plenty in the fridge and a hotpot with such a thin layer of potatoes (no butter) it was silly. There was a storm due tonight so I had pasta Bolognese for dinner and treated myself to a gin and cherry juice.
I woke up on Wednesday 16th November excited for Kate’s birthday party this afternoon. I was also looking forward to finding out if my frugal lifestyle and 3 days of no alcohol had paid off when I got to Fat Club later. So far this week I’d only spent 888 lira (£40.36) so an average of £10 per day and I’d only been in a bar once. The weather was lovely so I went to meet my parents before Fat Club at the Kaunos tea gardens where I resisted the urge to eat anything or drink beer. When I got to Fat Club I was pleased I had lost almost 1kg so my efforts this week had been rewarded and I just had to keep it up. I walked to Mark and Kate’s feeling happy and ate a Bounty on the way as my lunch/dinner. Jacket Potatoes were being cooked on a fire by Mark but I’d already decided that today’s calories were going on wine. I took a bottle of Tılsım, which I’d took a splash out of to put in a slow cooker meal and that would be enough. My parents had taken a bottle of white and a bottle of red but I wondered if that would be enough for Dad.
On entering the party, which I was late to, due to going to Fat Club, there were lots of familiar friendly faces and the sun was shining. Mark had made a punch which Kate insisted I try and it had my 2 least favourite ingredients in; Melon and Bacardi. It actually didn’t taste too bad but I was ready for the red wine. Despite Kate having to have a party at home due to recovering from her op, it was a successful move. She looked well and she was able to drink prosecco and have a little lay down if she needed it.
Around sunset Kate, Debbie and I walked down to the jetty to admire the view with a glass of vino in hand. It was a pity Captain Caveman, Vanessa and Matt had to miss the do as it was really fun and such gorgeous weather. When I got back to the house, Dad had ran out of wine so had poured a glass of mine and I asked Mark if it was ok to ‘borrow’ some of his for my Dad. At 7pm there were still jacket potatoes in the fire, surely they were cooked by now!?
Mark managed to get Kate a birthday cake without her noticing, we sang Happy Birthday then slices were passed around. I even resisted the cake and the jacket potatoes. It was a brill party and, as you can imagine, we were there later than expected, and probably the last ones to leave, with Gorgeous Gay Gaz from Gateshead with the Glass eye and the Giant Gonads. We got Fikri’s taxi to my parents and they invited me in for a beverage.
Mom pulled out all the stops as she dished up some curry while Dad got the gin and bitter lemon (with mint) out. I’d not brought a coat or a cardi so I left my parents place with ma’s hoody on. I was glad of it as it was so cold on my bare legs and this was the coldest I’d been for a while. I was pleased to have only had 1 glass of punch, (slightly less than) 1 bottle of red wine and a couple of gins in about 7 hours. I’d only spent 111 lira (£5) and come home pretty sloshed having had a great time.
The weather forecast for Monday 14th November looked nice with a high of 23°C. I was meant to be going with my parents on a trip to Ortaca but, unfortunately, I had decided not to go. Vanessa had let me know that Matt had tested positive for Covid, after feeling unwell for a couple of days. The best thing to do was to cancel my plans in case Vanessa had caught it and /or passed it on to me without us realising. I finished batching up my various soups and sauces for the fridge and freezer then I got an invite to Kate’s birthday party on Wednesday. Vanessa and I both decided to do Covid tests and we were both negative, which was good because I needed to have more than just soup in the house. I decided to go shopping, in case I started to get poorly. Here’s what I bought at the supermarket:
The exchange rate was now 22 lira to the pound which was the highest I’d known it. I bought a notebook at the stationers for 40 lira, a months worth of contraceptive pills for 115 lira from the pharmacy and a cooked chicken for 80 lira at the butcher’s. My total spend for the day was 509.57 lira (£23.16) and I had so far managed to avoid going to a bar or having any alcohol. When I got home I noticed that my Turkish phone had a text on it from Aydem from this morning saying they had closed the job. I went to check the meter and they had not done anything at all, I was so annoyed with them! It was a good job it was winter and we didn’t need any communal electric on, although I did notice that the roses at B1 and the route between A and B Block was now looking a lot more overgrown and would need more than kitchen scissors. For lunch I had a salad with about a quarter of the roast chicken, without the skin, then put the bones and skin in a tub to make stock. Later my parents were out at Tez bar but I resisted the urge to go out for a drink and stayed in. I wanted to have lost some weight this week and I knew if I went to join them I would definitely find it difficult to resist the booze or eating out. I added some of the chicken to a couple of portions of pumpkin and lentil base for dinner and added spinach and chopped tomatoes for a nice curry with steamed rice. I resisted a beer out of the fridge!
I had marked in my diary that the restaurant Duble was reopening on Tuesday 15th November, but it didn’t. This was good news for my diet and reducing the amount of booze I drank. I didn’t have any breakfast and I noticed we were running low on freezer bags so I messaged Captain Caveman to add them to his list of things to bring back. He’s bad at keeping in touch when we are apart but I got a thumbs up. I went to Turkish lessons, Vanessa was unable to come so I messaged her with the homework later. For lunch I had the curry but with a warmed up wrap instead of rice. I ate yoghurt with figs and honey as a dessert and then went to call for mom to go to singing. Vanessa and Kate couldn’t come and there was still no sign of Gay Gaz joining the group. I’m not quite sure what had got in to the singing crowd today but there were a few more choices of different, more lively, songs; I have a Dream, Wonderful Tonight, When you say Nothing at all, The Boxer, Moon River, I’d Like to Teach the World to sing, Will you Still Love me Tomorrow and there was a request for The House of the Rising Sun. Peter and I had added it to the request book but some people at the other end of the table decided we weren’t singing it, for some reason. I readded it to the list and we did sing it but I noticed a few members of the group not joining in. After singing, Mom and I went to buy Kate’s birthday present ready for tomorrow then we each went home. For dinner I had chicken and vegetables with noodles then some popcorn while watching a selling houses series on Netflix. It was a nice cosy evening until I went to bed and decided I needed a winter quilt on the bed. Captain Caveman had moved all of our 6 quilts around so it ended up taking me quite some time to get the right bedding out and reorganise the linen cupboard. It was my 3rd night without alcohol so I was hoping it would have made a difference at Fat Club tomorrow.
Captain Caveman was packed and ready for an 18 day trip to the UK on Saturday 12th November. He made his own breakfast and I had cereal a bit later on. The electric meter issue was still not resolved so I called Aydem again and this time I felt like they were listening, understood and were going to fix it. They agreed to send someone out, gave me a job reference via text and Captain Caveman could leave, happy it would all get sorted – I still wasn’t holding my breath! Captain Caveman’s taxi with Fikri was booked for 11.30am so we still had some time to go to the bank and the chemist. Kate had messaged to ask if I could pick her up some more dressings and some veg, Captain Caveman was still suffering with a cold so he bought some flu medicine to take with him. He’d not seen his parents for quite some time so he was looking forward to seeing them, as well as attending the screening of A Crack in the Mountain, the Phong Nha film at the Kendal Film Festival.
After saying goodbye to Captain Caveman, I went to the weekly market with my parents and here’s what I bought:
I was meant to have bought a cauliflower too but, because I didn’t put it in to one of the plastic bags, the stall holder didn’t think I wanted to buy it and put it back, rather than in my shopping bag. While Captain Caveman flew from Dalaman to Luton I walked over to Kate’s. Mark was at Rehab bar for pool afternoon with the lads so I was taking her some dressings, spinach and tuna. We had a good natter and Kate gave me a couple of pairs of jeans, they were a bit snug but with all the weight I’d be losing I felt sure they’d soon fit better. I just drank water while there and on the way back I called in for 1 drink at Rehab bar. John was meant to be in Mark’s team at pool but Andrea had turned up so he was leaving. He asked me to play his game and I was surprised to see Tay and Wolfie beat Mark and I so easily. Mark and Wolfie were still playing pool at 7pm when I went home to cook up a nice dinner made from leftovers, pleased I’d managed to go to a bar ‘just for one’. I used the half portion of beef casserole, which I’d had in the freezer from Duble. I had it with steamed rice and it was delicious.
When I woke up on Sunday 13th November, there had been an earthquake in Rhodes at 5.30am this morning but our friends Steve and Michelle, who live there, were fine – in fact they hadn’t even noticed. I decided to have a bit of a soup making day, I tried the Slimming World slow cooker red onion soup which is super easy to make and smells amazing. I also roasted some pumpkin to make a base for soup, or curry which I would add lentils and Kate’s curry paste to. Vanessa came over in the afternoon and we did our Turkish homework together. She’d also brought me a piece of writing she had done from after her operation, which we’d been talking about. When I read it, I cried, it was well written, interesting and so emotional. At 5.15pm Vanessa had to get off because she had a family call. I was still batch cooking up more soup, after having a delicious bowl of the red onion one, then made a diet friendly pizza. While Captain Caveman was away I was going to use the time to my advantage to try to lose weight by not drinking, eating things I shouldn’t and spending too much money. I was on a mission and, although yesterday I had 1 beer and spent 122 lira (£5.68), today I had drank no alcohol and spent nothing. I stayed up until after midnight watching some murder series on Netflix, tomorrow I had a busy day planned.
I treated myself to buttered toast and a Yorkshire tea with milk on Thursday 10th November. Captain Caveman went Bumming and I went to the supermarket to get some essentials. Captain Caveman was going back to the UK this weekend so I bought some items that I would need for my diet friendly recipes. Here’s what I got:
Migros Supermarket
Onions 2.77 Pumpkin 19.60 1 Pomegranate juice 26.00 2 plain Quark 27.90 2 tins of tomatoes 45.80
Total spent 122.07 lira (£5.68)
Şok supermarket
1 bag of red lentils 22.50 lira (£1.05)
I got the slow cooker on to make a curry for dinner that night and then decided to have a super healthy lunch of a beetroot salad. Captain Caveman was back later than expected from an arduous morning of bumming and wasn’t too pleased when I said we were off out. I’d arranged to meet my parents at Kaunos tea gardens but Captain Caveman didn’t have time as he needed to have lunch and go for a shave and a haircut. I went anyway and my good intentions of having a Turkish tea without sugar were successful. But then, the sun was shining, my parents ordered another beer and a cleanly shaven Captain Caveman arrived and ordered a beer. I succumbed and ordered a beer, we saw Kaan and Selahi there with friends and it stayed sunny for quite a while as we enjoyed another beer. On the way home we saw Mark at Tez bar so I gave him back Kate’s house key and took a photo as proof, seeing as he’d had a few and might forget he’d seen us. Back home we had the curry I’d made and it was very enjoyable, there was some left for another day too. Captain Caveman opened a bottle of wine to have with his dinner and I couldn’t resist a small drop.
On Friday 11th November I remembered to take my measurements. I had lost 1.1kg on my home scales but had put centimetres on in most places. Captain Caveman made me a diet version of a sausage butty by using sausages that were skinny in a wrap with peppers and onions. I had orange juice too and really enjoyed my breakfast. Captain Caveman went off to Lukka bar to play Bridge and I worked on a presentation for the delayed training session I was involved in later in the month. When Captain Caveman got home we had leftover curry for lunch. I absolutely love having my rice steamer here in Dalyan as the rice takes only about 10 minutes and is perfect every time – I won’t do without one now. In the afternoon I’d arranged to have a walk over to Mark and Kate’s with Captain Caveman and my parents. Kate was still recovering and so she wasn’t yet able to be out and about. The boys had some beers, I stuck to water and Kate celebrated with a splash of prosecco – it had been a week since she’d been in hospital. Bebek the cat took a shine to Captain Caveman while he was sat on the sex swing. My parents and I left him there while we had a lovely stroll back in to town. It would have been rude to go past Rehab bar without calling in for a draft Efes and to say hello to Tay. Captain Caveman joined us later when Mark dropped him off on his mobility scooter. That evening my parents had invited us round for dinner which we were really looking forward to. Mom was doing one of our favourite dinners too, Spaghetti Bolognese. I did succumb to some crisps and 3 glasses of red wine with my large portion of spag bol, which was delicious. For afters we had taken some cheese so we had a cheese board with grapes and some of Kate’s membrillo and plum chutney. I purposely had a break before I ate the cheese so that I would eat less of it. It was a great night and, as it was Captain Caveman’s last night in Dalyan for a couple of weeks, a good way to have a bit of a send off.
I had cereal for breakfast on Tuesday 8th November before my Turkish lesson at 10am in Lukka bar. Captain Caveman was there at the same time for his Bridge group which lasts for 3 hours. I went to Singing group in the afternoon while Captain Caveman bought 5kg of washing powder for 82.50 lira (£3.84) in Migros. I was back trying to redeem what was left of this week’s chance to lose any weight but at this point all I could hope for was to have not put weight on. I would probably have gained weight but it might be a good idea not to throw the towel in just yet. At singing group we sang a new song, to me, Running Bear. It was really hot with the sun coming through the window and I wish I’d wore shorts. For dinner I made a bit of a make-do meal using my left over Chicken Shashlik, from M-Eyhane on Saturday. I added some extra veg and served it with steamed rice for a low syn dinner which was very tasty and filling. We even had a fruit salad with yoghurt and honey for a treat and I refrained from having any alcohol. By 7pm the temperature had dropped to 21°C and I was a little chilly.
Captain Caveman went Dogging on Wednesday 9th November while I got on with making a syn free snack to take to Fat Club. I went for the easy option of popcorn, which is virtually syn free and you’d have to eat a lot for it to count. I had cereal and milk for breakfast as part of my allowance then for lunch we had a lovely salad. It had lettuce, carrot, red cabbage, onion, peppers, figs, olives and cheese in it and I’d done some Slimming World friendly garlic potatoes to go with it but left them in the oven by mistake. We had a couple of them and saved the rest for another meal as I had to get off to face my result. Obviously, I had put on weight, 0.7kg to be exact, so that wasn’t good. We sat around in the group and tried each others’ snacks. There were courgette fritters and quiche which I didn’t try as they were made with egg. I accidentally did try the breakfast muffin and curry loaf which did have egg in and enjoyed them. If I hadn’t known, it was difficult to tell it contained egg and both were very nice. The pasta salad and broccoli soup were egg free and ones I could definitely do myself so it gave me some good ideas. After Fat Club, I called at Rehab bar to collect Vanessa so that we could go to see Kate. I also needed the toilet as the egg had taken effect. Kate had been recovering at home after surgery in Fethiye hospital so it was so nice of everyone at Fat Club to give me some of their snacks to take. Vanessa and I cycled over as she updated me on the events and their recent trip to Fethiye. When we arrived it was clear that Kate had not been taking things that easy and had been baking, quite a lot! We sampled a small piece of plum scone which was lovely and she’d made plum chutney with Wolfie’s plums. We didn’t stop too long as we hoped she would get a nap in before Mark came home from pool. Back home I limited myself to just 1 glass of wine with dinner, Captain Caveman made a diet friendly chicken pasta dish and we had strawberries with yoghurt for after.
We were off to Köyceğiz on Monday 7th November! I’d organised a boat trip with Rob in mind but he had to work and couldn’t come along. Not to be deterred, the rest of us still went on another of Kaan’s boat trips, this time to take us to Köyceğiz market. On board today were; Captain Caveman, me, Mom & Dad, Linda, Vanessa, Tracey, Diana, Jackie & Chris, Wolfie, Tay & Angelique. At one point we were doubting if the weather would be good enough to go as, up to an hour before, it wasn’t looking good. Once we had set sail, I suggested to Kaan that he write the price of each drink on the sheet at the top of the page – that way everyone knows what they were paying beforehand. He told me the prices and I wrote them on for him while we set sail to Köyceğiz, across the gorgeous lake. While I was behind the bar, helping people get the drink they wanted and writing it down on the bar tab for Kaan, I noticed a hat. I was sure it was Viv’s so I messaged her and it was, so I popped it in my bag to give her.
Most of us had already had a drink before we arrived in Köyceğiz and I still had half of my beer left, which I gave to Captain Caveman. My parents, Captain Caveman, Linda and I headed to the clothing part of the market where my Dad decided to buy some trainers. My parents needed a new toaster so Captain Caveman went off to locate the electrical shop, but it was no longer there. The ones we did find didn’t sell toasters so we were just about to make our way back out. Unfortunately, a rather large Turkish woman in somewhat of a rush bumped right in to Dad making him almost lose is balance. When Captain Caveman rejoined us, she had almost done the same to him. It was time to get out of there and reconvene with the group at Tuana restaurant. Linda and I went to the public toilets, they are a short walk from the waterfront and it costs 4 lira (less than 20p). Because Kaan was charging 80 lira (£3.72) for a glass of wine and didn’t have any red, Linda went to buy a bottle in Migros. My parents went straight to Tuana but Captain Caveman and I wanted to find the fruit, veg and cheese market stalls. We found some lovely strawberries, then tried out and bought a few delicious cheeses.
At Tuana a few people were already eating and, although a glass of wine here was 85 lira (£3.95) a beer was only 50 lira (£2.33). The food was good and a few people recommended the quesadillas so Captain Caveman had that. It had chilli in so I ordered a plain chicken sandwich but when it came they had sprinkled chilli flakes on the chicken. I dusted them off and ate it as I was hungry but it was a bit warm. As we were leaving there was a bit of an unfortunate incident. I’d gone to the loo in the restaurant just before Tracey but didn’t realise that she was stuck in there. The dodgy lock meant she was trapped inside and had to phone Diana who alerted the staff. Tracey was rescued by them breaking the door so she didn’t get left behind!
Loaded up with fresh produce from Köyceğiz market, we got back on the boat just before 3pm. The bad weather looked like it might finally be catching up with us but we were heading away from the big black clouds. More drinks were had on the boat and I helped Kaan behind the bar a bit, to make sure everything was recorded properly. Our plan had been to anchor up somewhere on the lake, pop on some music and chill out a little but the rain did look like it might come. Kaan doesn’t have any side awnings on his boat but I momentarily couldn’t think what they were called to ask about them in English or Turkish. We had a laugh telling Kaan he needed to get some ‘side flaps’ for when it was wet! I made the decision to go back to Dalyan without anchoring up, just in case the weather turned, as we had been very lucky so far. This meant we were back by 4.30pm instead of the 5pm we planned so we didn’t cut it short too much.
A few of us decided to stop at Tez bar for a drink, Captain Caveman took our shopping home and went to check if Rob had finished work and wanted to join us. He was still in a meeting so he left a note to say to come to us and we had a couple at Tez’s. A guy sat there had just ordered a toaster which had been delivered to Tez so I took a photo of it for my mom to see if she wanted to order one. There was a German woman sat alone so she came to join us and, when Rob arrived, it turned out he spoke the most German out of any of us.
For dinner we decided to go to Çağrı, Rob had booked Fikri to take him to the airport so we were tight for time. Joining Captain Caveman, Rob, my parents and I were Jackie, Chris and Diana. We all ordered and a few people shared various mezes from the chiller too, there was more booze involved and we all had a lovely meal. Unfortunately Rob had to leave while we were still at Çağrı and we were all sad to see him go. He’d been a perfect guest and everyone had got on well with him, he is so easy going too. Captain Caveman gave him an open invite to come back any time. That really should have been the end of the night but, foolishly, after saying bye to Diana, Jackie and Chris the 4 of us had a table booked at the new Heybe’s Monday Entertainments quiz. When we got there it had just started and we got told off for being late. This quiz is an entertainments one which is based mainly on TV, film and musicals. Obviously Captain Caveman and I find that difficult as we were living in Vietnam for quite a while without any TV at all. We were in luck though as the specialist round was from years back, Only Fools and Horses, something we all used to watch. Jamie, Drew and Debbie were on the next table but we had no time for chatting to anyone as the quiz was on. Obviously we didn’t win and we weren’t sure this kind of quiz was our thing really. It’s ideal if you do like a lot of TV and film though. Earlier in the year I’d had a firestick but I rarely watched anything but Formula 1 or the news, so we were definitely at a disadvantage. Next week’s specialist round would be on the 1968 musical, Oliver! That was definitely more up Drew’s street as he’s good on musicals, none of us 4 have a clue. We were all drunk, we’d had an amazing weekend and now I needed to get back on track with my diet!
During the night there had been heavy rain but it looked like it was easing off when we woke up on Sunday 6th November. Rob had already been up early for his morning run, where a street dog had accompanied him. He got back to the apartment just as the rain had begun again. Captain Caveman was still in bed rejigging today’s plans. The idea had been for Captain Caveman and Rob to walk it to Iztuzu beach over the hills. They would get the 10am bus part way along and walk the rest. My parents and I would get the bus at noon and see them there. Instead, we ate Turkish breakfast pastries at home with a hot beverage before our afternoon trip out. Just before 10am we thought the whole of Plan A would be stopped due to the heavy rain but, by 10.15am, the rain had stopped and the sun was trying to come out. All 5 of us got the 12 o’clock bus, Captain Caveman was a bit cheesed off as the 10am bus had been moved to 10.30am so they could have still done plan A if they had known. At the beach it was fairly cold, breezy, but the sun was warming things up a bit. I thought it was too cold to swim and didn’t take my swimmers. Our first stop of the day was to see the amazing work that is being done at the turtle hospital, one of my favourite turtles today was Nessie and she might even be getting released soon.
By 1pm we were on the sand watching Captain Caveman get in to the sea like a modern day Reginald Perrin. Rob wasn’t far behind but my parents and I thought it was a bit too bracing for that kind of madness. We had lunch at the beach cafe where a chicken döner sandwich was 40 lira and chips only 25 lira. Captain Caveman’s and my lunch came to a bargain 105 lira (£5) and was tasty and filling.
We got the 3pm bus back and decided on a drink at Tez bar, where there was a bit of DIY going on. Tez was making new indoor seating arrangements, now that it was getting colder at night. Rob is a cat lover and the new kittens were really sweet, we were joined by Penny and Phil who had a dog treat for Cani, the Tez dog. Jamie and Drew had been for Sunday lunch so they stopped by for a drink on their way home too. Tez had some spare Efes glasses, we don’t have any at home so he gave us some for free which we really appreciated. After a couple of drinks we decided to go for dinner at Kebapçı Yusuf. We had a lovely meal, of which I took no photos whatsoever, we had all enjoyed a great day together and I was glad to be back in my own bed.
I was up early, feeding the cats, on Saturday 5th November. Mark, Kate, Vanessa and Matt were due back this afternoon so I packed up my stuff and cycled, with my full rucksack, in to town. I’d booked a table for 5 of us at 10.30am at Saklı Bahçe for breakfast with Captain Caveman, Rob and my parents. Although I was supposed to be on a diet I decided to partake in the Turkish breakfast, leaving out the fried egg. The breakfast there is of the best in Dalyan, it’s always busy and the service is quick and professional. The food was amazing but I really tried to limit myself from being greedy with the cheese. Captain Caveman must have been feeling a bit peaky because I have never seen him eat so little of any meal! Luckily, I had some Tupperware with me and had no shame in taking some cheese and olives with me for later. While a fragile looking Captain Caveman took Rob to see the delights of Kaunos and then to watch Dalyan Spor play a home football match, I went back home to unpack, have a shower and put some washing on. While in the shower a massive wasp like creature was in the ensuite bathroom with me and it looked like it could do some harm! I set it free from the bedroom window unscathed and then tried to book us a table at M-Eyhane for dinner. This is a relatively new place, which used to be M-hotel opposite Retro bar and is owned by the same people as M-Eatery. I didn’t get an answer so we decided to walk down to M-Eyhane without a booking. They accommodated our table of 5 easily but did warn us it would get busy later when the Turkish football was on. The waiter spoke great English and asked about allergies and took the drinks orders. I already knew about the specials as they had been posted on Facebook and looked good. Dad is never too keen on having to go to a counter to choose mezes so he was a bit disgruntled about that part of the procedure. Rob, on the other hand, was most excited about the vast choice and had trouble narrowing it down to 3 starters. Captain Caveman went against his usual habits and agreed to share starters with me and then had some of everyone else’s too. The Baba Ganoush, Şakşuka and Fava bean purée which I tried were excellent. For main dishes I had the Chicken Shashlik, Captain Caveman had lamb, Mom had fish, Dad had chicken, Rob had a main and then an extra bowl of soup. All the food was good although my chicken had definitely been cooked on the same grill as fish as I could taste it. I don’t like fishy fish but I’m only allergic to molluscs so I wasn’t too bothered, but this could be an issue for people who are allergic. I took half of my dinner home as I had eaten enough and was trying to be good. 3 out of 5 of our group had the set menu which was meant to come with a fruit plate for dessert but, probably because of it being so busy by then, it got overlooked. Everyone enjoyed the night but I did get a bit bored when the men joined in watching the football and I couldn’t just drink as much as I would have normally!
By 7.25am on Friday 4th November all cats at Mark and Kate’s were fed. I was tempted to go back to bed but didn’t and I spent some time on my Turkish. I cycled back to see Captain Caveman who was looking forward to Rob’s arrival this afternoon. He made the spare bed and had a tidy round a bit, while I cooked lunch he went to the supermarket. He bought 3 cartons of cherry juice (for his gout), a carton of orange juice and a toastie loaf for a total of 88 lira (£4.20). He also bought a lightbulb for the cooker hood for 13 lira, a shower head for 35 lira and some coffee for 65 lira, just over £5 for those 3 items. We ate Slimming World friendly potatoes with peppers and onion, then I added tiny bits of sucuk (Turkish salami) and cheese. It wasn’t bad but not amazing though that didn’t matter as I had organised a night out later. I went back to Mark and Kate’s to check on the kitties then feed them.
Captain Caveman met Rob for a drink at Lukka bar then I walked in to town to meet them at Aşkın’s for a pre-dinner drink. Jamie and Drew were already there with Captain Caveman and Rob, I joined Jamie in a Mr G to remember his late husband Graeme. The Mr G drink is named after Graeme and is very moreish, it was also Aşkın’s last weekend of opening as they would be closing for the winter. The evenings were getting a little cooler now so I had a fleece on as we walked through town to meet everyone at Bistro Blue. It was also their last night so l had reserved a table for 10 of us; Ma & Pa, Jamie & Drew, Viv & Paul, Nanny Kay, Rob, Captain Caveman and me. We sat down but Captain Caveman decided he would take Dad’s seat so Dad had to go back to sitting opposite Mom so that Captain Caveman could sit opposite Rob. I sat between Paul and Drew, opposite Nanny Kay. I’d already decided I was having a steak before I’d even looked at the menu, Captain Caveman and I decided to treat ourselves to the large one for a little extra. Drew had a mixed grill and it was massive, I really enjoyed my steak and it took me ages to eat it. After a gorgeous meal most of us wandered over to Sofra bar where there was a band on so we caught the second half. Luckily a few from Fat Club were there so I joined them on the dance floor. I loved Psycho Killer and it was the singer’s birthday so it was a great way to end the night. We met up with our neighbours and some friends and had a great night with more wine – the diet was going really well! When it was time to go home, I needed a taxi back to Mark and Kate’s but I didn’t have their address to hand. I went to the taxi rank and asked for a ‘taxi to Mark and Kate’s house please’ and the driver said he knew the way. It was pretty late and I’m not sure why I didn’t call Fikri but I got back ok and went to bed having had a lovely time.
While Captain Caveman went Dogging, I got ready for Jamie and Drew’s return on Thursday 3rd November. I stripped the bed and put a wash on then made sure the house was tidy and packed ready to leave. Norman and Edna were excited to be having their owners back home and were a little bit giddy when they saw my rucksack. We sat outside in the lovely sunshine and every time a car came near, the dogs thought it might be Jamie’s taxi. When at last they did arrive, the dogs were so happy.
I didn’t stay long as I had another appointment to get to; I was off to Mark and Kate’s for more house and pet sitting while they had a couple of days away. After buying more credit for my Turkish phone, I met Captain Caveman along the way. I parked Daisy, my bicycle, up outside Rehab bar and we went in to Sosyete for a bite to eat. We both had a pide served with a lovely complimentary pomegranate salad which was all delicious – I’d not noticed before but they don’t serve alcohol. At Bumming today the volunteers had very sadly found a dead turtle and cleaned up lots of rubbish from the river areas so Captain Caveman had certainly worked up a good appetite. He wasn’t joining me at Mark and Kate’s this time, firstly because of his cat allergy and secondly, because our friend, Rob, was coming to visit us tomorrow and he wanted to get the apartment prepared. We called at Migros where Captain Caveman bought a bottle of the red wine, Fiona, recommended by Linda, but he took that with him.
I was at Mark and Kate’s in time for the cat feeding and I let myself in as I already had a key. My bedroom had been made to look very cosy and had an overzealous amount of cushions. Unfortunately one of the younger cats startled poor Casha, who’s only got one eye, and she ended up hiding in the crisp box for the rest of the night. When I went to bed I tried to download something to watch on Netflix but I got an error message. As I updated my diary I realised I had already had double the weekly syn allowance and it was only Thursday. Still, I’d had no alcohol today which was a bonus. I went to sleep fairly early, knowing I’d be up at 7am tomorrow to feed the cats.
I had intended to weigh myself and do my measurements on the morning of Wednesday 2nd November, on account of me being due at Fat Club in the afternoon. However, I was still at Jamie’s without my scales and tape measure so it would have to be a surprise when I got there. After slow walks because of my injured toes, then a 4 syn breakfast of bread with hazelnut and tahini dip, I spent time with Norman and Edna. I have always thought that when my hair was down I resembled a King Charles spaniel somewhat, so I took some selfies with Edna – I had clearly found my animal! I drank a fair bit of water before Fat Club and was doing my best to avoid eating anything else before weigh in. Unfortunately, at 2.10pm I got peckish and ate a slice of cheese on toast which I definitely shouldn’t have had. At Fat Club my weigh-in wasn’t as bad as I was expecting and I had lost 0.3kg which was not even a pound, but still a loss. I treated myself to a small glass of soda water with ice and lemon for 20 lira (just less than £1), returned the last book I had borrowed, and chose another one, full of exciting recipes to spur me on a bit. Of course Captain Caveman thought it was hilarious that I’d lost 300g and said he could put that on and lose it within hours. Feeling a bit disheartened, but not surprised, I had 2 beers then a small glass of wine later on. Norman and Edna were really entertaining this evening too. I made the mistake of trying to tell them that Daddy was coming home tomorrow and I think they understood. Norman had an extreme fascination with licking my legs and just would not stop. Jamie reckons Edna is the licker in the family but I beg to differ. For dinner we had left over sausage cassoulet which says it serves 4 in the recipe but they never do with a Captain Caveman involved. The portions were small but we managed and Captain Caveman had plenty of bread with his.
My day started badly on Tuesday 1st November, when I kicked the coffee table with 3 toes at once. It hurt and I knew I had broken at least one toe. Luckily Captain Caveman was on dog walking duties so I only had to get myself to Turkish class for 10am and I was cycling. I couldn’t speak to our Turkish teacher for help with the electric meter issues because she had other people to help and her next class. Instead, I made a phone call to Aydem to try to get it sorted, again. They told me that they couldn’t see any reason for cutting the communal pool and garden electric off and that the payment had been made so they seemed as confused as me. They told me that they really couldn’t do much without a paper bill and said there should be some appearing this week, if not already. I ate left over chicken casserole, with white beans in, for lunch and decided to do a tally of all of the electricity which Captain Caveman had paid for this year. He’d never asked any other apartment for their contribution to the communal electric and had no intention of doing so. I sent him all the info which took me an hour to collate, in a way that made sense. Interestingly, the bills for the pool and garden had been zero from February to June, once again showing that no one had used any pool or garden electricity until probably May, this year. July’s payment was double that of June’s when the pool was likely to have been used more too. For some reason the August and September payments were never requested by Aydem with Captain Caveman’s bank but October’s payment was less than July’s. I didn’t get a reply or acknowledgement from Captain Caveman so I went to singing group with Mom, Vanessa and Kate. In addition to some of the usual songs, we sang ‘Both sides now’ and ‘City of New Orleans’. Back ‘home’ I sunbathed with Norman on the patio while Captain Caveman tried to check the meter cupboard at his own apartment for a paper bill. For the first time in years the cupboard was locked and no one had a key for it. On his way home he went to Migros as we were running low on Norman’s turkey ham, used for hiding his tablets in. He bought a packet of turkey ham, cherry juice and orange juice for a total of 86 lira (£4.09). That night we had sausage cassoulet with carrots and potatoes and I resisted the wine. Captain Caveman drank quite a bit of it as he was annoyed at the never ending communal electric issue.
Captain Caveman and I don’t do Halloween so we were pleased to be invited to a non-Halloween party on Monday 31st October. Norman and Edna had slept on our bed at Jamie’s villa and weren’t even up and about by 8.45pm. They had walks and breakfast, making sure I was still checking Jamie’s list for feeding and medication requirements. Vanessa came over to Jamie’s villa, while Captain Caveman had gone Dogging, so that we could do our Turkish homework. We even did it outside on the front patio with a soda water, ice and lemon. For a late lunch I made jacket potatoes with cheese and a bit of sucuk (Turkish sausage) but without butter to make sure it wasn’t too many syns for Fat Club. We had more dog walking in the late afternoon before we got ready to go out. We were already running late to meet Vanessa, Matt, Ma & Pa outside Istanbul restaurant so when we did get there they had already gone on to Adam and Kath’s where the party was already in full swing. Kate was still on her alcohol free stint and doing amazingly well as she sipped water with pomegranate and orange pieces in. Mark was being very supportive by not offering her one of his beers. I thought I could do well to take a leaf out of Kate’s book, as I opened a bottle of Tılsım red wine and poured Captain Caveman and I a glass. I sat next to Linda and she had a glass, there were crisps and Doritos which I luckily couldn’t reach but I saw Captain Caveman shovelling them in like a kid who’d been forever denied treats. Also there, were Andy and Kay who I’d not seen for a bit so it was good to catch up. Jack & Sue and Nigel & Amanda were at the other end of the table with some people I didn’t know so I didn’t get to chat to them. Adam and Kath had put a delightful spread of food on and it was definitely difficult to stick to the diet as I ate ham in a breadcake with some salad items, including olives which are not syn free. I was spared the fab looking roast potatoes as they had chillies on and I did have some crisps. Linda got a second bottle of wine out for the 3 of us to share, it was one I’d not tried before and I liked it. Matt decided to organise a pool tournament and it turned in to a right laugh. My Dad doesn’t usually play and, because of his bad eyesight, he wasn’t up for playing but it wasn’t an option – our names were down. We had a few rounds of Killer, which I like best and Dad wasn’t the worst player. Captain Caveman and I actually left at a reasonable hour as we wanted to get back for the dogs. On our way ‘home’ we walked near to the new Jazz Bar in the square next to Migros which was very lively. Norman and Edna looked like they hadn’t moved from the sofa when we got ‘home’ so I’m sure we could have stayed out longer. We left before my parents, Mark & Kate and Vanessa & Matt who were still giving the ball a good kick.
joloyolo 