Dalyan – 13th December

Friday 13th December was one of those unusual days and it really cheered both Captain Caveman and I up, I had 2 cups of tea to start my day and a grapefruit. I had a bit of a shift in attitude and decided I needed to be a bit more positive and grateful for the things I did have. Our first mission of the day was a first for me – taking Norman and Edna to the vets. They had their appointment for some routine medication so Captain Caveman and I walked them along to Kaunos vets. They both seemed fairly happy to be in the vets and Edna even jumped on the scales and tried to choose herself some treats for being good – this was before we got in to the vet’s room. Once inside, Norman knew exactly what was going on and was already moving back towards the door. Each dog was to be given 2 tablets and one was pretty big for a small dog. First up was Edna and I told her the tablets were treats! I barely saw both of hers get swallowed but I did see her try to eat Norman’s too. Norman was very crafty and he pretended to swallow the first smaller tablet, I actually saw him swallow, so the vet gave him the larger one and held his mouth shut. He waited and then spat both out!! The second and third attempts were more successful. On the way out Norman had to be lifted on the scales but Edna jumped on and waited for her result. They had both lost weight and Edna was pleased to be doing so well on her weight loss journey.
We called at the shops, where Captain Caveman and the dogs waited outside. Here’s what we bought and the prices in lira;

Şevikoğlu Supermarket
1 tomato puree 19.90
1 tin of tomatoes 23.90
880g chicken breast 140.71
Total spent 184.51 lira (£4.19)

Yaman Büfe 2
1 bottle of red Idol wine 215.000 lira (£4.89)

Migros Supermarket
2 Dido chocolate bars 28.50
1 packet Tutku biscuits 35.50
Mozzarella cheese 89.90
420g Feta style cheese 278.30
Total spent 268.80 lira (£6.11)

Back home we had the obligatory soup, with bread and a Dido chocolate bar each. Edna had decided she liked the sunny sofa arm and I did a quick video for Jamie and I finished work early, with it being a Friday. Captain Caveman and I shared making fajitas for dinner.
We arrived at our friend’s villa on time and armed with 2 bottles of wine and some chocolate biscuits. Joining us were 2 ladies who had only met briefly before but had quite a lot in common. We all knew each other from the Sunday walks, which was nice. The night was so lovely, with perfect hosts; there were pastries, mince pies, chocolate cake, pickled onions (which I love) and plenty of mulled and normal wine! I didn’t take any photos on account of the company who prefer not to have photos taken so I didn’t want to be rude and I was too busy enjoying myself to get my phone out anyway. It was just what we needed!
I got rather tipsy with 3 mulled wines and 3 red wines before we staggered home. I had one of those drunken epiphanies that one sometimes gets after reading too many words of wisdom on social media!

Dalyan – 12th December

Due to the wet weather forecast on Thursday 12th December, Bumming had been cancelled so Captain Caveman decided to go Dogging. He brought me a cup of tea in bed and both dogs so I worked from the bedroom for a while, still in my PJs until 10am. I went downstairs for more tea and some cornflakes but it was a cold day. Unfortunately, the Lukka Bar owners had put a post on Facebook to announce their cancelling of Christmas lunch due to bullying about the price they were charging. It was sad as I knew at least 5 people who were going and really looking forward to it, some of who were relying on it due to their health situation. It was the equivalent of £50 per head for a full Christmas dinner and the people complaining were mostly Dalyan Dwellers. I can’t afford to spend £50 on a special meal out this year but I’m not slagging people off on Facebook for it – what is wrong with people!?
I worked all morning and watched the dogs, Captain Caveman was home in time for a lunch of soup and a Dido chocolate bar, before we took the dogs out for a walk and missed the rain this time.
We received an invite for a Christmas buffet lunch from Bridge friends of Captain Caveman’s, Jan & David, and they were 2 of the worst affected by the Lukka fiasco. The invite for the Saturday before Christmas was very nice and, although we don’t celebrate Christmas while in Turkey, we did accept the very kind invite.
By 5pm, I was almost done with work, when Norman decided he was taking over in the office now, while I made Slimming World style pizza wraps for dinner. I pushed the boat out by making some potato wedges to go with them so dinner was very tasty and filling. Captain Caveman and the dogs were asleep before 9.30pm but I managed to crack on with blogging until after midnight.

Dalyan – 11th December

It was weigh day once again on Wednesday 11th December and I was hoping, but not confident, that I may have reached my target weight. My measurements were OK but both my bust and waist had remained the same and I had lost 2cm from my hips. I was now under target on my bust and hips and only 1cm over on my waist. I updated our shopping list and had pink grapefruit for breakfast and then did my Turkish homework upstairs, leaving it a little late before the lesson. On Jamie’s scales Captain Caveman had lost 1.4kg (3lb) and I had lost 0.5kg (1.1lb) but Carol’s scales would be the deciding ones later.
I was running late for Turkish class as I was waiting for the curtain pole workmen to arrive at Jamie’s. It also meant that I didn’t join Captain Caveman who went to say bye to a fellow Riverbum, who was moving towns.

The Turkish class was at Ela’s Kitchen again and was the last one for 2024. I treated myself to a lovely cup of Yorkshire tea for 80 lira (£1.82).
At midday Captain Caveman went on the postponed Sunday Walk and we had left the dogs in the front bedroom so they weren’t disturbed by the curtain men. When I got back to Jamie’s the workmen were still there so I had some bread and butter in the bedroom with Norman and Edna. Jamie had messaged and was missing the dogs so I took the opportunity to do a video for him.

At Fat Club, I had done well and had lost 0.7kg (1.5lb) but still had a tiny bit left to lose now.
After the group, I decided to get the shopping in and then struggled to carry it all back. Here’s what I bought, with prices in lira;

A101 Supermarket
1 plastic bag 0.25
1 lemon Dido 9.90
1 Salt & Vinegar Lays crisps 30.00
12 Toilet rolls 84.00
Total spent 124.15 lira (£2.82)

BIM Supermarket
1 plastic bag 0.25
1kg basmati rice 62.50
6 Dido chocolate bars 101.00
Total spent 163.75 lira (£3.72)

Yaman Bufe 2
2 bottles of red wine 460.00 lira (£10.45)

Migros Supermarket
1 tin tomatoes 14.95
2 Quark 59.90
15 eggs 87.50
Total spent 162.60 lira (£3.70)

I’d had to buy plastic bags as I couldn’t find any and needed more than I had in my bag. I bought the chocolate bars on offer and intended to take them to a friends on Friday night – if we didn’t eat them all first!

I’d barely put the shopping away when Norman decided he wanted me to play football, so we did. Captain Caveman made us spaghetti bolognese for dinner and then it was time for my Resort Experts team meeting where Jamie got to see his dogs cosied up on the sofa.
After the meeting we attempted to watch TV but Captain Caveman and the dogs were snoring away.

Dalyan – 9th & 10th December

On Monday 9th December, Edna decided she would help me in the office today, while Norman tried to hog the blanket. After cornflakes for breakfast, it was straight in to some work while Captain Caveman went Dogging. I had a friend who was off to London in the new year so I was on hand to help her find a suitable hotel for the night. While I was doing that, I came across a gorgeous hotel at King’s Cross and St Pancras called The Great Northern Hotel and it was really nice. I made a note of it for if I ever missed a train or wanted to stay in London. It was a bit quirky and had a posh train influence.
The weather wasn’t too good but we managed to get the dogs over to Fire Opal just as it started to rain heavily. Edna really wasn’t impressed and had to be wrapped in towels.

The rain had stopped for a bit so I went back to Jamie’s leaving Captain Caveman with Norman & Edna while he messed about finding some warmer clothes. Dalyan looked pretty after the rain and I took a few photos on the way back as I sloshed in some puddles.

I nibbled on peanuts as I was hungry and then we had a late lunch of soup (obviously). The water delivery man came out and brought us a 19l refill for 70 lira (£2.05) and I decided we would switch to this company at home when Captain Caveman left in 3 weeks.
We had leftover curry for dinner as I couldn’t be bothered to cook and I carried on doing some blogging in the evening.

Tuesday 10th December was mainly spent catching up with everything on my to do list and failing. I had cornflakes for breakfast and spent some time working with a hotel owner in Phong Nha for our Just Book Villas website. Captain Caveman took the dogs for a walk in between the rain and collected loads of grapefruit from our walking friend, Debbie. I carried on grafting and was feeling optimistic but with just so much to do, it was like walking through treacle!
We had soup for lunch with the vermicelli and bread and then I made jacket potatoes for dinner with spring onion, butter, sucuk and cheese. It was not particularly Slimming World friendly but still better than I may have chosen to have the day before weigh day. I finished the week on 179 syns and hoped for a loss tomorrow as it was my last week of standing in for Carol at Fat Club. I needed to lose just 1kg (2.2lb) to hit my target but I had a feeling I wouldn’t do that tomorrow!

Dalyan – 7th & 8th December

It wasn’t raining on Saturday 7th December but it had been forecast and was pretty cold and grey outside. The builders didn’t come and, apart from a walk with dogs, we didn’t do much – not even the market!
I had overnight oats for breakfast and the usual cup of tea. We had Captain Caveman’s vegetable soup for lunch with the vermicelli pieces in and that really is a game changer. It’s free on Slimming World and really fills you up for a bit longer without going mad on the carbs. We had banana bread after and we decided it might be a bit moist in the middle but I would use less egg in it next time.
I did a little bit of work, but mainly searching for holidays which I would like to go on myself and flights to Vietnam for next year.
Our dinner was the leftover chickpea and spinach curry with a bit of başlamak bread.

The Sunday Walk was postponed to Wednesday on Sunday 8th December due to the weather. It was wet and forecast to be rainy for the next 3 days. I’d been doing quite well sticking to the Slimming World plan this week but for breakfast I had banana bread with Nutella on it and it was so good. I worked as I was still trying hard to increase the amount of Facebook followers I had on my Jo Lo Resort Experts page. My favourite colleague already had over 1000 and I had just hit the 200 marker. I was pleased with this but needed more and, when I checked who was following me, I was surprised to see it was still mainly strangers rather than all the friends I had asked. Today I decided to focus on the best cities for Solo Travellers as a lot of my followers were people who travelled alone, for various reasons. I was also surprised to see that I had only been to 5 out of the 10 listed on a travel website and I wasn’t sure it was accurate. I mulled over which ones I would like to go to.
By midday I had decided to try working in the bedroom using a patio chair, as my back was really hurting. The rain came quite heavy as I toiled away at the laptop, hoping to attract lots of potential customers with my creative social media posts.
For lunch Captain Caveman made us chicken sandwiches and then we took the dogs out for a walk, in the rain! They were not too impressed when they got back and were made to dry off in their bed with the dog towels – another complaint added to their list!
While doing some social media posts in the afternoon, I noticed a free event with Charlie Day of Sales Made Easy. I follow her on Facebook as she is always flying business class and makes a lot of money with her new online sales business. She was hosting a 3 day online Sales Summit and I decided to sign up. I booked it in my diary to attend next week, starting from Tuesday. It had been a tough year work-wise and, with Captain Caveman still looking at his work options, I had decided that I didn’t want to be in this same position, this time next year.
While I worked more, Captain Caveman made pasta for dinner which was very tasty and I was now on 152 syns for the week, which was not as good as last week at this point and I needed to keep on track.

Dalyan – 6th December

Edna was most upset on Friday 6th December when she heard Captain Caveman and I talking about eating ‘fur’ for breakfast. She was relieved it was pho, which is pronounced like her coat, but she was still confused that it was soup for breakfast, not lunch. We took the dogs for an early walk over to Fire Opal as a few days of more rain was forecast to come today. While Captain Caveman watched Norman and Edna and played Bridge on his phone, I went to the bank (again). On my way I noticed a cat had been locked in to a bar and alerted the owner. While walking the dogs back to Jamie’s, just before the rain came, I bought the following at the shops, prices in lira;

A101 Supermarket
2 packs of wraps 30.00
15 eggs 81.50
Total spent 111.50 lira (£2.53)

Yaman Büfe 2
1 bottle of red wine 210.00 lira (£4.76)

By midday, I was doing more work and then arranging some more training on cruises. I got up to make some banana bread and little Norman held the fort in the office. I had my meeting with the Resort Experts cruise specialist and we spoke about the Quantum of the Sea with Royal Caribbean Cruises. Captain Caveman had been keeping himself busy with his phone scrolling and Bridge most of the day so I was looking forward to a Friday night glass of wine with him. That didn’t happen as, at 6pm he decided to do an online Bridge thing and went upstairs, leaving me to sort out a curry for dinner. We finally ate at 8.45pm and I was starving, we drank the bottle of wine but, by just after 10pm, Captain Caveman and the 2 pooches were all fast asleep. I carried on doing more work so that I had some free time tomorrow.

Dalyan – 5th December

Captain Caveman had got in to a routine of sorting the dogs out first thing and bringing me a cup of tea in bed and maybe even a dog. He did this on Thursday 5th December before it had even got light outside. Norman loved to go back to bobos but Edna preferred to stay downstairs with Captain Caveman as she had discovered that he had a higher chance of dropping tasty scraps on the kitchen floor. While Captain Caveman went Bumming and I had cornflakes for breakfast, Edna napped in the blanket that wasn’t for dogs and refused to share it with Norman – he made do with the dog towel. At tea break the dogs got closer to me for a warm as the tilers did the bit nearest to the dog bed. Captain Caveman went straight from Bumming to Bridge, he and Sezgin were playing in Ortaca. I had leftover chicken, green beans and potatoes for lunch and even Edna couldn’t believe it wasn’t soup! I gave her a green bean and she loved it, Norman wasn’t so bothered.

Captain Caveman returned, having called at Migros where he bought soft drink and bread for 55 lira (£1.25) and then, after I finished work, I made Yorkshire puddings in Jamie’s oven but they weren’t brilliant. Norman tried his hardest not to fall asleep while we ate our roast chicken dinner as he wanted to help us eat it. I didn’t let either dog as it was unfair with Edna being on a diet. Neither dog was impressed, I’m sure this would be added to their complaint list.
After I had done the washing up and put my laptop away I was hoping for a bit of TV but Captain Caveman and both dogs were snoring away. Instead, I did some more training and social media posts for work while they all slept under the blanket.

Dalyan – 4th December

Captain Caveman was up out of bed before 7.30am on Wednesday 4th December. He brought me not only my usual cup of tea in bed but 2 dogs who had been out and it had not been raining. While Norman licked the pillow and space which Captain Caveman had slept in, Edna had come to tell me that there was no breakfast served for the doggos yet and that Captain Caveman had eggs on. I had a second cup of tea and overnight oats after feeding Norman and Edna, Edna took a fancy to my woolly hat so I put it on her.
As it was weigh day, we got weighed on our home scales; I had lost another 0.5kg (1.1lb) and Captain Caveman had lost 0.7kg (1.5lb) so we were both pleased. My measurements weren’t so favourable though and I was concerned Carol’s scales may not show a loss later. I had lost 1cm from my bust, but had put 2cm on my waist and 3cm on my hips – I knew it was because of eating more bread. I went to Turkish class and only had a small water at Ela’s Kitchen this week which is 40 lira (91p) and half the price of a Yorkshire tea, which I had already had 2 of this morning.

We walked back over to Jamie’s to have lunch and Captain Caveman did the soup and bread for us, he was getting a bit better at doing stuff now that he had got used to being in both houses. At 1.45pm Captain Caveman decided he would take the dogs on part of the Wednesday Wander which Michele had arranged. We weren’t sure if Norman’s little legs could manage it all so he was going to go to Kaunos tea gardens to meet everyone and only join the walk along the river before coming back. The electricity went off at 2pm so I tootled off early to go to Fat Club as I was still standing in for Carol. I had a Turkish tea which cost just 30 lira (68p) this week and was only small. Carol’s scales weren’t quite as good as the home scales and I had only lost 0.3kg (0.7lb) so I really needed to try harder and not just cut out/down the alcohol. On the way back to Jamie’s, I called at the bank (yet again) and then to the shop. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

Şok Supermarket
1 packet of jellies 17.00
2 chocolate bars 21.00
4 tins of tomatoes 59.96
Total spent 97.66 lira (£2.21)

The main reason I had bought the tomatoes was because they were on offer but when I got them home, I realised they were tins of tomato paste!
Captain Caveman excelled himself, as did little Norman who walked 6.1km without any problem whatsoever. I had pizza wraps made for me in the Slimming World style and in time for me to finish them before the Resort Experts team meeting at 8pm.
Jamie ironically dialled in from his cruise in Hawaii as we had the cruise training from our Cruise expert. It was so good and I really learned quite a lot, it even got me thinking that I would perhaps even consider a cruise in the future but it would definitely have to be one of the cruises with an entertainment schedule for the younger client and I would have to have an outside cabin so that I didn’t feeling claustrophobic. Jamie was able to offer some first-hand insight to the benefits of the drinks packages on board that could be pre-booked too. Some of the best offers would be for trips in the first few months of 2025 and I also considered it on my list for my birthday in 2026, perhaps.
It was gone 11.30pm by the time I finished work and the dogs were still awake in their bed.

Dalyan – 3rd December

Captain Caveman had now taken to getting up very early so that he could be the one to be on dog duty. On Tuesday 3rd December he brought me a cup of tea in bed, but with some bad news; Bridge Club had been cancelled for the rest of the year. I was very concerned how this might affect Captain Caveman as he loves Bridge Club. I came downstairs and had overnight oats for breakfast. I expected the builders would be back at Jamie’s so we decided to keep the dogs at Fire Opal for the morning with Captain Caveman while I needed to run some errands. I did more bank deposits and even changed some currency then I called at the shops, here’s what we bought with prices in lira;

A101 Supermarket
2 Strawberry Dido bars 24.00
400g of sucuk 67.50
Total spent 91.50 lira (£2.08)

Migros Supermarket
1 bag Pasta 11.75
1 bag Orzo 11.75
1 bag Vermicelli 11.75
Total spent 35.25 lira (80p)

Since being really frugal last month had paid off, I was definitely able to spot a good bargain and had took to buying the offers when I saw them. While walking, I spotted at least 2 hedgehogs and I also collected more oranges from my parents’ tree as they were so nice.

Captain Caveman made us some of his very good red vegetable soup which he put some of the vermicelli in and had bread with it for lunch. We ate the Dido chocolate bars which were strawberry flavoured and on offer but they weren’t as nice as the other flavours.
Captain Caveman excelled himself today and joined me on dog walks, washed up and made chicken and veg pasta for dinner. Tomorrow was Fat Club and I really hoped I had done enough to lose a little more – I had not had any alcohol at all this week so surely that would mean a loss!?

Dalyan – 2nd December

While Jamie was on his cruise on Monday 2nd December, I had a more ordinary day. It started with Captain Caveman bringing me tea and toast in bed. Then he took himself off to the dog shelter for the morning. No work men came so I looked after the dogs and worked. As it was a new month, I went to the bank to pay in more money for my residency requirements and called at home before a dog walk.

I did a quick check of any leaks or storm damage and our apartment was fine. The Aussies’ place had a plant that had blown off the stairs, smashing the plant pot, so I put it back on the floor rather than the step. The swimming pool had got that full with rain water yesterday, that it had overflowed a little bit. I noticed that Captain Caveman had finally fixed the netting on the door to stop the stray cats spraying on our stairs and I was so pleased as I hate the smell and it ruins my wellies.
I also went to the shops for provisions and here is what I bought, prices in lira;

Bakery
1 loaf of bread 10.00 lira (23p)

Migros Supermarket
3 tins of chopped tomatoes 65.85
A 1.9kg whole chicken 148.07
Total spent 213.92 lira (£4.86)

I called to pick some oranges and lemons from my parents’ trees as they were starting to go to waste and my Mom had told me to eat them.

I was getting ready to have lunch, when I got a call from Captain Caveman who was outside Jamie’s gate and had attracted the company of a huge dog which looked like a polar bear. We took photos to post on Facebook to see if anyone had lost it and generally fussed the beautiful dog before it got bored and ran off.

After a lunch of vegetable soup with fresh bread, Captain Caveman decided to make himself useful in the kitchen by making more soup. From 1.30pm to 5pm I worked to the sound of vegetables being chopped and pots, big enough to roast them in, being found in the kitchen cupboards.
Even snack-starved Edna kept out of the way of the kitchen, by sitting on the back of the sofa cushion. For dinner I did a roast chicken with pumpkin, potatoes, onion, garlic, carrots and green beans. While that cooked I had a look at the 10 Cheapest countries to travel to for a holiday and then got engrossed in planning a city break to see the Christmas Lights in Puglia, Italy, where they have some of my favourite wine!
The dinner was lovely, although it seemed to take ages to cook the chicken and I put it down to it being a bigger one than usual. We managed another short walk with the dogs but it had been pretty wet out today. Over in Rhodes it was still raining – it was pretty horrendous and I hoped it wasn’t coming our way.

Dalyan – 1st December

Sunday 1st December was the day of the Çalış Winter Fayre which a few of the Dalyan Dwellers were going to. We didn’t fancy it as we were being frugal with the housekeeping and we didn’t want to leave Norman and Edna for too long home alone.
The electricity was off from 4am until 8am so Captain Caveman dealt with cups of tea and dogs, but we were lucky. Rhodes had suffered from terrible storms, floods and even landslides – posts on Facebook were asking for help and showed quite a lot of devastation, in particular where I had been on holiday with the girls in September.

I had cornflakes for breakfast and later some bread and butter which meant I had hit my syn allowance for this week already. It was quite chilly as Captain Caveman went off for his Sunday Walk without me. I didn’t fancy it and had work to do. I spent the day with the dogs, mostly indoors at Jamie’s as there were no builders in today and it was raining quite a bit. Captain Caveman returned from the walk only having had 2 of them do it today, he had gone via Fire Opal for a hot shower.

For lunch we had left over curry and rice and I did a bit of writing. I found a blanket to cover Captain Caveman and me, but Norman and Edna had other ideas. All 3 of them had sofa cuddles and I made lasagne with roast potatoes and cabbage for dinner. After what had been a trying month, I decided I needed to have a more grateful attitude as I was very lucky to be in the position I was, right now, even though it sometimes didn’t feel like it.