On Saturday 3rd December Charlie had not left us a present and I was pleased, he was getting used to us now. There had been a noise in the night but when I asked Captain Caveman if he had heard it, he hadn’t – I wouldn’t find out what it was until later. I took Charlie for a walk and when I got back Captain Caveman was getting ready to go to the weekly market. The weather was nice again and I took some photos from the roof of Charlie’s apartment. I took my measurements, because I had forgotten yesterday, and I was surprised to find I had lost 1cm from my bust and 4cm from my waist but had increased everywhere else. I was busy all morning and Captain Caveman brought chestnuts, apples, plums and grapes back from the market. We found out that Charlie is a sun lover and likes to sunbathe on the roof. Captain Caveman cooked a healthy chicken pasta for dinner and I happened to notice that, in our room, the wardrobe shelf and rail had collapsed – so I did hear a noise. Captain Caveman had not been content with having to leave his clothes in a bag to live from and had moved some of the clothes from one side of the wardrobe to the other. The weight had made it buckle inwards and all the clothes were now in the bottom of the wardrobe. Captain Caveman agreed he would get his tools and fix it! We had a nice pasta dish fo dinner and Captain Caveman and I walked Charlie together. That night I checked to see how much flights were in January for friends in the UK who might want to come to visit me for my 50th birthday, they weren’t too expensive but are only flying twice per week during the winter.
December in Dalyan started with rain on the morning of Thursday 1st. Captain Caveman brought me a bacon muffin for breakfast in bed, which was delicious. Charlie, the dog, had left us a nice present on the floor of the living room before 8am, I cleaned up, and took him out but he wasn’t a fan of rain so was quite reluctant to walk and just wanted to play. He’d started to get on with Captain Caveman and I well and we spent the whole day figuring each other out and getting used to where things were in our new place. Captain Caveman made a plan to go back to our own apartment once it stopped raining to get food and booze from the fridge which I wasn’t able to carry when I moved in. The owners had kindly left us almost a bottle of wine and the fridge freezer was big enough for us to fit most of our stuff in. At 3.30pm we chanced a short walk with Charlie where he introduced Captain Caveman to Poo corner, a favourite spot for Charlie to do his business! We had Slimming World pumpkin curry for dinner and hoped for a drier day tomorrow. Charlie started talking to me but I was unsure what he was saying, probably that he wanted some curry.
On Friday 2nd December Charlie had left us another gift in exactly the same place as the last one. I took him for a walk to Poo corner and we saw a Labrador who was off the lead. A dad and his kid were walking a black and white dog on a lead, which the Labrador attacked. Charlie was very scared and tried to run off but I kept him walking as we were far enough away. He came back from his walk very cold, wet and shaking so we decided he could have a duvet morning. Captain Caveman made us bacon and mushroom muffins before he left to go to Bridge club at 10am. I worked on my laptop for the rest of the morning, Captain Caveman finished Bridge about 1pm and he had already been to our place to pick up some stuff and do some washing. I walked Charlie over to Lukka to meet Captain Caveman and on the way the same Labrador from this morning’s walk came out of his gate to try to attack Charlie, I stepped in the way and stopped him. I spoke to the owner and told him of the incident this morning and he agreed to keep the gate closed. After a hand over of Charlie, the dog, to Captain Caveman at Lukka I went to my Turkish lesson and one of the girls there really had me laughing. She has a Turkish husband and family and had only just realised she had been mixing up the words for ‘interesting’ and ‘disgusting’ at family gatherings! Next week would be the last class until January as our teacher was going to visit her family in the UK. After class, I went to join Captain Caveman who was in Waterfall bar, having met Kate for a drink and to deliver her English goodies. Mark joined us later, saying he had just seen my reprobate parents at Tez bar but they were making their way over to join us. Charlie loved Waterfall bar and had been made very welcome by the owners and customers, including Skippy, the dog. My parents arrived, closely followed by John and Andrea, and they were very merry. When Gay Gaz and Engin arrived, Charlie recognised Gaz and was super excited to see him. He was trying to jump across the table to get to him but when they were reunited Charlie was licking Gaz’s face and smothering him with kisses. It was quite sweet to see Charlie like this, as not many people are that pleased to see Gay Gaz arrive in a bar in Dalyan. Charlie was very well behaved and enjoyed his outing to the pub but we had to get back for dinner. Captain Caveman and I had diet pizzas and an early night. Charlie slept in Helen’s bed with his toy sloth and I hoped that meant he wouldn’t be tempted to shit in the house again.
On the morning of Wednesday 30th November, I really enjoyed my cup of Yorkshire tea but, unfortunately, Captain Caveman wasn’t in a good way. He’d slipped up the stairs last night and now his knee was giving him some gyp. I had to take him painkillers, buttered crumpets and water to bed and I decided to have cheese spread on my 1 crumpet. I had promised to be at Charlie’s, before his owners left for the airport, at 12.30pm but it was obvious that Captain Caveman would not be coming with me. I finished off some tasks, packed my bag and said goodbye to Captain Caveman, he was hoping to be able to make it over to Charlie’s later. I had my wellies on for the first time this year as the ground was wet, rain was expected and I was probably going to get muddy walking Charlie, the dog. After saying goodbye to the owners, I petted Charlie and did a little unpacking. I had been allocated the daughter’s lovely bedroom but there wasn’t any space in the wardrobe. In fact, I had not seen such a full wardrobe in my life! I decided to leave my clothes in my rucksack and get them out as I needed them. Before the rain came again, I walked Charlie round the block but he didn’t seem very keen on going out. He walked fine on his lead but was quite nervous when he saw or heard other dogs. I left him at home while I went to Fat Club and as I left I decided to check the key worked as I had been warned it can be a bit tricky. I couldn’t get back in but I was running late for Fat Club so I went anyway. On the scales, I was disappointed to find last night’s frivolity had taken its toll, I had put on 0.3kg (less than a lb) this week. After Fat Club, Kate, who has the same type of door at her’s, came to help me try the key – it worked. Charlie was pleased to see me but then I left him again while I went to Rehab bar to meet Adele about Turkish class. She too had quit the class when it moved to a morning one and wanted to join the Friday one. We joined the others for a drink at Rehab and Captain Caveman called me to find out where I was. He was feeling better so was coming over to Rehab bar and he joined Mark, Wolfie and Tay to play pool. Back at Charlie’s, he was super excited to see us both and I took some photos to send to the owner for when she landed. We had a tomato based curry I’d made for dinner with some ready rice, as I hadn’t got my trusty rice cooker with me. Charlie, the 4 year old Turkish puppy dog, was definitely going to be great to look after and would keep us entertained until the end of the year!
Advantages •You get free pets to look after •You don’t pay any bills for electric or internet •You have a new local pub and can meet new people •There may be better facilities/bigger accommodation •Some owners leave you food, beer and/or wine •Some have a cleaner •Prevents me from going out or drinking as much as usual •I spend less because I’m not as near to shops or bars •Quieter environment (no Jazz Bar)! •Getting more fresh air and exercise
Disadvantages •Living out of a bag or suitcase •Not having your usual things (e.g. kitchen equipment) •Being further away from home/town •Having to be super organised with belongings •Not having enough fridge/freezer/cupboard/wardrobe space •Other people’s washing machines don’t always have the same settings (no quick wash) •When there are no cleaners you have to do it yourself, despite having a cleaner at home •Lack of lighting and plug sockets in the right places •Still having to go back and forth between own house for stuff •You are still paying electric and internet on your existing home •You are used to your own shower and other people’s are often not as good or easy to use •Feeling like you can’t properly relax as you’re in someone else’s house •Having to get taxis home if you go out of an evening so that you’re not walking home in the dark after drinking •I have less time to spend with family and friends •Missing my own comfy sofa/bed/pillows •Having to double up on things you buy which are at the other house (shower gel, washing up liquid, washing powder, drinking water) •When friends come to stay they are in the original house so more arranging needs to be done for meeting up •Not having a desk •Only having 1 set of keys between the 2 of us, when Captain Caveman joins me. •Having more power cuts and slower WiFi than at home
While Captain Caveman was on his way back from London to Dalyan, on Tuesday 29th November, I was doing my best to finish as much stuff as possible so that we could go out and play later. I’d spent the last 2 days at home, had zero alcohol and had not spent anything. I had cereal for breakfast and the remaining pasta for lunch before I headed off for an appointment. Unfortunately, this meant I had to miss singing group in the afternoon and instead I went to see some friends about a house and dog sitting arrangement. My Mom and Vanessa still went to singing group so at least they had each other to get into trouble with. Charlie, the dog, recognised me from before and was very friendly so I knew we would get on fine. Captain Caveman and I would be moving in to his apartment tomorrow and would look after Charlie for a bit. While I was there I got a message from Captain Caveman to say he was home and I headed back to meet him. When I got there, having past a bicycle on a gate and a big black cockerel, the kitchen table had lots of goodies on it and the freezer was being stocked with even more. Captain Caveman had brought back grub screws, cheese, bacon, crumpets, muffins, sausages, a proper Yorkshire pudding tin, freezer bags, a fish slice, silicone pan lids, hoops for poaching eggs in (apparently called poachettes), chopping boards and, best of all, 210 Yorkshire Tea teabags! I was very interested to see how the prices were in the UK as I hadn’t been back for almost a year so I took Captain Caveman’s receipts to check out the details. Here’s a list of what Captain Caveman bought in England and the prices in pounds;
He also bought some meat, galangal and lemongrass back for Kate, as you can never have enough. We really didn’t need those lids from IKEA for £12, nor the new chopping boards when we already had some. I wouldn’t use the rings for poaching eggs either so they would be redundant until at least September 2023. It was amazing how he got all this and his clothes in his hand luggage, but I was very happy that he had.
Seeing the teabags made me actually cry tears of joy and Captain Caveman couldn’t stop laughing at me! To cheer me up even further he suggested drinks with Ma & Pa at Tez bar so I texted Ma to see if they were available. She didn’t answer so we decided to go there anyway and, when we arrived, my parents were already there, sat with some of the usual frequenters. They had taken to having an early bar recently so I should have known they would be there. After a couple of drinks we decided to go to Duble for dinner to celebrate Captain Caveman’s return. I tried to order sensibly to help the diet I was meant to be on, so I had lentil soup and a chicken shish. Of course the main dish comes with chips, rice, salad and flat bread, with oil and butter used in the cooking, but it was better than some of the dishes I could have had. Dad and Captain Caveman had some delicious looking potato croquettes and we had wine with our meal. We had a complimentary hot beverage to finish off our meal and were home before 10.30pm having had a lovely night. Tomorrow we would be taking on another canine responsibility that was just so cute!
Having not slept too well, I was treated to breakfast at Mark and Kate’s on Sunday 27th November. Kate seemed in fairly good spirits considering she had gone home for an early night and it had turned out anything but. We said bye to Julius and Toni and then Mark and I went to drop off some lemon grass at Janet and Kevin’s on the way to take me home on the mobility scooter. When I did get home, I went straight back to bed for a couple of hours as my body ached from too much dancing at last night’s Bistro Blue party. I ate the Spice Garden curry for lunch as it was too tempting to save it and I generally pottered about at home. I vaguely recalled saying I’d go to watch Dalyan Spor play football at home but I hate football and can’t think why I would have said yes. I didn’t go and was glad as I managed to get some chores done. I was still busy doing stuff at 1am and had only stopped to have a diet pizza.
I was on the laptop all morning on Monday 28th November, it was cold and raining so I had to put the Air Con on heat mode. The living area was full of wet clothes that I was trying to get dry before Captain Caveman came back tomorrow. For lunch I had a Slimming World friendly pasta with quark, which Katherine had shared at the Fat Club group, and it was very tasty and filling. I made arrangements to visit friends tomorrow about house and dog sitting for them while they went to England. That evening I had a quiet night with a pumpkin based curry and no alcohol, for a second day.
I had a mystery meal defrosting on Saturday 26th November so that I could eat a sensible lunch before I went out. I was busy all morning until lunch time and then worked out what the mystery meal was. It was a chicken casserole so I added roast potatoes and roasted cauliflower to give it a bit of substance. It was delicious and would sort me out for any beer drinking which might (would!) happen. Captain Caveman had been in touch and he’d given me some money to go to the Christmas Fayre with but it came with strict instructions to not buy anything unnecessary. Neither of us like ornaments or trim up for Christmas so there was no chance of that – it was more likely to be spent on food and drink, unsurprisingly. I’d told friends I would be at Bistro Blue at 2pm and I was already running late so when I arrived some people were there and others not yet. Vanessa and her mother in law were waiting for me and we managed to find a seat, as Diane isn’t too good with her legs. Ann, Jax, Debbie (Darling) and Kate were already there and I briefly said hello. Vanessa ordered a white wine and soda, I had a beer and Diane didn’t order a drink. My parents were running late and when they arrived my mom had a black eye from being drunk lask night. At first she started to tell everyone about her drunken walk in to a door but in the end I said she may as well say Dad hit her (which he didn’t), and no-one seemed to care about that. Kate came over to join us and was keeping an eye out for a tall black guy with dreadlocks, Julius. She did ask a few people if they had seen him and they said they wished they had. Julio (the less tall Welsh man) turned up first and his friends were also joining us later.
I had a little mosey round all the stalls with Kate and there was a lot of stuff for sale. We bought some cheeses and Kate bought a crocheted top. I decided to get some curry from the Spice Garden stall to take home and I also ordered some onion bhajis for us all to share. The afternoon got lively, my parents got tired after overdoing it yesterday and I walked them part way home with the intention of dropping my stuff at home and returning. I got changed and came back out as it was difficult to not get involved with 40 lira Bistro Blue beers and DJs giving it the ‘what for’! Most of the day time people I knew had either gone home or were about to leave but the evening crowd and the hardcore few had arrived already.
There was lots of dancing and I really enjoyed chatting to and dancing with Katrina, Steff, Penny, Eileen, Julio, Toni, Julius and Mark before it got quite messy. Needless to say a few of us ‘accidentally’ ended up back at Mark and Kate’s for some more shenanigans, despite Kate having gone home before it got dark. I slept in the upstairs room in a single bed with a tremendously warm blanket. Not everyone made it back to Fethiye as planned either so tomorrow was bound to have people with sore heads!
On Friday 25th November I did my weekly measurements and found that I had lost a tiny bit more weight on the home scales and a few centimetres from my bust, waist and hips. I treated myself to beans on toast for breakfast using some syns but I didn’t have any lunch. After checking some of the documents I went to my new Turkish class which was very interesting. The students in there had asked for revision of things they had already learned as well as conversational practice which I found useful – especially as I was sure I’d not learned half of it before. After class, I’d let my parents know that I’d be in Lukka at 3.30pm for a glass of vino if they fancied joining me. Seeing as it was Friday and I had achieved 3 alcohol free days and 3 days of spending zero money this week I was out for a treat. I had decided already that I wouldn’t ruin my hard work, though, and limit myself to 3 drinks. Because Ma & Pa had stayed in for a day due to the weather, Dad was already extra excitable and loud. Maybe he was excited for the England football match that night but my mom had to keep telling him off. Fortunately, Lukka didn’t have many people in at that time so he managed 3 beers without disturbing anyone and was getting louder with each one. Mom had 2 beers and I had 2 glasses of wine. The house red wine in Lukka bar is Buzbağ which has replaced the Tılsım and is served at the perfect temperature for me. My parents fancied one at Tez bar as the sun was gone at Lukka and they hadn’t brought a coat. I said I would go with them but I was only having one because I needed to stick to my diet and was busy tomorrow morning. At Tez there were Penny & Phil, Andy & Kaye, Irena & Wolfie, Jack & Sue – already some of them were quite merry but not a loud as Dad. Tez kindly gave us free walnuts and all was going well with an early evening drink. I’m not sure what happened, exactly, but after my 1 glass of red wine in Tez bar, I decided to go home. My parents didn’t want me to and started calling me boring, surprisingly it was mainly my Mom who was a bit tiddly and on her 4th beer. I’d not seen them both act as lairy in a while and, given the week I’d had, I stuck to my plan and went home at 7.30pm. I thought I’d done well to stick to my 3 wines in 4 hours and knew if I’d stayed out I would have blown all my syns in one night, and my budget! I made myself 2 diet pizzas, this time one with BBQ sauce as a base and got ready for and early night. I was in bed at 11pm, with my winter socks on for my cold feet, when I got a message from my Mom to say they were eating in Duble. I responded with a thumbs up and went to sleep a bit disappointed to not be out drinking on a Friday night but proud of myself for managing to do it. Tomorrow was a big day as it was the Christmas Fayre and I’d arranged to meet everyone from 2pm.
On Sunday 20th November I had to rectify my diet quick sharp! I had plums and some bread for breakfast, and a tea with milk. Captain Caveman was in Sheffield but I didn’t speak to him so I wasn’t sure if he was catching up with any of my friends, back home. For lunch I had pasta bolognese and then the rain came down heavily. For dinner I had something a bit different, bolognese on a wrap, like a pizza, with some cheese. I had no alcohol because I’d had a week’s worth last night!
My day was very productive on Monday 21st November. I was up bright and early, had cereal for breakfast then I bought an 8GB data package for my phone and generally got prepared for a workshop tomorrow morning. I had red onion soup for lunch and planned to go to bed early so that I would have enough sleep before my 3.30am appointment, tomorrow. Tonight, England was playing Iran in the football world cup but I wanted to be asleep before then. I had a lovely jacket potato with bolognese and was about to settle down for the evening when I got a few last minute updates to deal with. Storms were due so I had charged everything up and got a Plan B in place.
I didn’t get to bed until stupid o’clock on Tuesday 22nd November because of all the last minute faffing about with changes for the workshop. I was awake at 2.30am with more last minute updates and horrendous storms outside. At 3.30am I logged in to the call and I could hear everyone but by 4am, as we were meant to be starting the workshop, there was a technical hitch. I was distraught as I’d spent so much time and effort preparing for this only for me to miss the first part, due to circumstances beyond my control. By 4.30am I could hear everything and had to sit back, watch and listen. The workshop went well and a great set of speakers, who we learned from. By 8am (which was midday in Vietnam) the workshop was finishing and I had my last Yorkshire tea bag in a cup of hot tea to make me feel better. I ate a cheese sandwich, made chicken stock in the slow cooker and was off back to bed. When I woke back up it was only an hour later and I probably could have gone to singing group but I was super tired and not in the mood. I had some noodles for lunch and got out a hotpot for dinner then went back to bed again. The sun was now out, I couldn’t sleep and by 5.30pm there were flood warnings for the area. I didn’t stay up long after eating dinner and, as I fell asleep that night, the rain had been coming down heavily again.
Wednesday 23rd November started with a nice sunrise at 07:54 and cheese on toast for breakfast (but without a cup of tea). I’d arranged to meet friends at the tea garden to discuss a dog sitting situation that was coming up soon but we cancelled due to more heavy rain. I was in two minds as to whether I would go to Fat Club in such a downpour but I decided no matter how much I had fell off the wagon or been naughty I would go. I decided not to have lunch before I went and instead had a couple of cups of winter tea, despite it being 24°C in the apartment. When I got on the scales at Fat Club I was pleased to have lost 0.9kg, so I was doing ok. The rain eased off a little so I decided to walk round to my parents’ place. Halfway there the heavy rain came again and I was a bit damp when I arrived. I saw their new toaster, which Chris and Jackie had ordered for them, and they were pleased that Dad no longer had to stick a knife in to get his toast out each morning. I had a beer with my parents and the rain got worse. I eventually decided to go for it and left before 7.30pm, despite my mom saying to stay as it was too wet out. I borrowed an umbrella and once outside I didn’t think it was too bad. When I got home my trousers, shoes and socks were soaked so came straight off. I put my masaman curry on and jumped in the shower to warm up a bit.
I kept Thursday 24th November I saw a post on Instagram for Bistro Blue saying that they were going to be having a Christmas party at the Winter fayre which looked like a good idea. It was cloudy but not rainy today, I messaged my parents and a few friends to let them know about the Christmas party. I had a pasta bake for lunch and by the afternoon the weather was sunny again. For dinner I had beans on toast and some roasted chestnuts later on. I’d done better than I expected at cutting down on eating and drinking, Captain Caveman was due back on Tuesday so I just had the weekend to get through.
joloyolo 