Dalyan – 1st November

On Friday 1st November I got up early so I could have my cup of tea in bed and then get to the post office to see if my new residency card had been delivered there. Captain Caveman woke up to news that there was a possibility of some work that would be ideal for him and that cheered me up a lot. I was definitely more stressed than he was about him not having any set plans yet for what he was going to do when he had to leave Turkey in 2 months’ time. Captain Caveman was very relaxed about it all but I hated not knowing where he (or I) would be for 2025.
Captain Caveman and I walked as far as the Post Office together and he went off to Bridge Club. At the Post Office, I learned from the very helpful man, that my residency card was still in Ankara and I was advised to come back on Tuesday.
On the way back home, I called at the bakery for fresh bread and treated myself to an açma (a cross between a croissant and a bagel) which I would have when I got back with the last of Vanessa’s homemade strawberry jam. I took some measurements and photos of my David Roberts’ Egyptian fine art prints which I still had and decided to email Sotheby’s and some other auction houses to find out the value of them. I’d bought them about 30 years ago and, since leaving England and bringing them to Turkey, I had kept them in storage as I no longer had anywhere to hang them. I really loved them and I didn’t want to part with them but it seemed silly to have them in a cupboard and not sell them to someone who would love them, while also raising a bit of spare cash. With the start of the new month I was very aware of the need to be as frugal as possible, Captain Caveman’s Vietnamese bank card no longer worked in Turkey and I was only just in to my new part time role as a Travel Adviser for Resort Experts. I was conscious that I would still not be able to spend money willy-nilly until I was able to be in a more steady position.
I spent the rest of the morning tidying and cleaning the house as we had guests over this evening. Captain Caveman came back from Bridge Club and we had pasta with chicken, pumpkin, sucuk, quark, egg and cheese. It was quite tasty and filling, ready for tonight’s drinking session. In the afternoon, while I hoovered and cleaned the apartment, Captain Caveman was given the job of putting the sun lounger cushions underneath our bed, getting out the spare chairs and cleaning the downstairs bathroom. When I came downstairs he was playing Bridge and had only half done his jobs so I redid the downstairs toilet and told him to do the main bathroom (which generally he uses) and I did the en-suite (my bathroom). I was knackered and sweaty after doing the hoovering and, after a shower, still needed to go to the shops. At 5.45pm, we left what was not done and took the bins out on our way for the shopping. Here’s what we bought, with prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
2 cartons tomato puree 29.90
Peanut butter 69.95
Total spent 99.95 lira (£2.25)

Yamun Bufe 2
1 Salt & Vinegar crisps 45.00
1 Rituel Red wine 210.00
1 Isabey White wine 220.00
Total spent 475.00 lira (£10.72)

We were now ready for our Gin Night. It was Captain Caveman’s first one and the first at our place, the last one had been at Jamie’s. We had pumpkin and vegetable homemade soup with fresh bread for dinner and had poured a whiskey when the guests started to arrive. We had a lovely night, despite our apartment only just fitting everyone in, but at least it was cozy and a good laugh. Julia brought Coco & Bebe (her dogs) who are so lovely and it was the first time Captain Caveman had met them. Jamie mentioned a friend in the British Virgin Islands and I asked if she might know my friend, Kev. It turned out Lisa and Kev were meeting tomorrow for a beach day in the BVI – what a small world! It wasn’t a particularly wild night, although I did manage to drink about a bottle of wine to myself and ate some crisps as a treat. I went to bed about 1am, after Captain Caveman had already fallen asleep.