Dalyan – 18th December

We had splashed out on getting a cleaner in on Monday 18th December. Our original plan was to have been going to the Köyceğiz weekly market on the yellow boat so that we could have a nice day out with a trip to the market for a few treats, however, with not getting paid I’d thought better of it. We decided we would go next Monday instead, with Josh and his girlfriend and make a bit of a day of it.
Instead, I went over to Vanessa’s for a nice cup of tea and a catch up. Her son, Brad, had arrived in Dalyan for Christmas and we all got treated to one of Vanessa’s bacon sandwiches with brown sauce – lovely.
Captain Caveman had gone Dogging but messaged me at lunch time to say he was at my parents’ place, to keep out of the way of the cleaner at our apartment. I said my goodbyes to the Grubb family and went over to Ma & Pa’s.
By 1.30pm, the 4 of us were on our way to Ela’s Kitchen for lunch. Captain Caveman ordered the large English breakfast and I chose to have a second breakfast with a small fry up, giving my egg and tomatoes to Captain Caveman. My parents ordered chilli con carne which I thought was a brave move, given that spicy food doesn’t agree with Dad. The food was absolutely delicious although the chilli had tons of fresh chillies in which I had to help Dad take out of his meal as he couldn’t see all of them. They said they still enjoyed their meal and was great without all the chillies in it.

After our meal, Captain Caveman and I went to the hardware store where he picked up a tool for mending our door handles and I found some cute yellow wellies. Both were 250 lira (£6.76) each, which I thought was cheap for wellies but expensive for fancy pliers. Winters in Turkey can be very wet and I didn’t have any suitable footwear to handle rain so they would come in handy. Our next stop off was to Migros and the off licence for a few bits;

Migros Supermarket
1 Onion 2.48
Bleach 23.75
2 Quark 39.90
15 eggs 60.00
Total spent 126.13 lira (£3.41)

Yaman Büfe 2
2 bottles wine 259.00 lira (£7)

When we got home, the cleaner had not been and I was not too pleased. We’d been out all day so that she could get it done and our guests arrived tomorrow. I would have to do it myself and started stripping the beds as I messaged to check what happened. For some reason, it had been booked for next week but I was told that the cleaner could still be there at 8.30am tomorrow. I was hesitant as we had stuff to do and I didn’t want the bedding, floors and rugs to still be wet, when our guests arrived. I was not feeling too well but was ready to tackle it when Captain Caveman said to confirm the cleaner for tomorrow, so I did.
We noticed the woman, who we thought was the cleaner at B4, was actually staying in the apartment and had the dog on the balcony. It had started barking at anyone walking past now and seemed strange that the dog wasn’t inside. We do have a rule of no animals on the complex but given that some people encourage and feed the cats, a dog didn’t make much difference. After sorting out the bedding ready for the cleaner and guests, I got on with organising a meal out for tomorrow night. I’d asked my parents if they fancied joining the 4 of us and suggested YOLO restaurant as both Captain Caveman and I had it on our list to go to and lots of friends had recommended it. They had been once and didn’t enjoy it so I went in to town to take photos of some restaurants’ menus. That way I could see where might be good for the 6 of us to have our first meal. Another one of the places I really wanted to try was Simple, and I called in to ask about the menu. Onur, the owner and chef, had worked in Koh Rong (Cambodia) and Backyard No.9 (Dalyan) so I already knew he was good. He was in the process of updating the menus so he let me take a photo of the one on his phone.
Once I had all the menus, I suggested Simple to my parents and they agreed to give it a try.
Captain Caveman made us pasta for dinner and we had a power cut just as the food was ready. It didn’t last too long and we had candles at the ready to eat our food by.

Dalyan – 16th & 17th December

Of course I was hungover (again) on Saturday 16th December and it was raining heavily. I spent all morning in bed and felt bad when we couldn’t even make it to the weekly market. When I did venture downstairs, I made myself an egg and banana pancake, with persimmon and quark for a very late breakfast.
There was a Christmas treat auction being held at River House at 2pm but I was in no fit state to make it. Even if I were physically able to attend, I really didn’t need to break my diet for excessive treats that I hadn’t budgeted for anyway so I wasn’t too bothered about missing it.
It was date night for our 12 year anniversary tonight and we decided we would just go to Lukka bar, with the weather being so wet. I’d tried to get booked in for my hair doing but I couldn’t get an appointment until next Friday. At Lukka I ordered soda water while Captain Caveman insisted on a bottle of red wine. I was absolutely begging for mercy as Çetin, the waiter, poured us a glass each of the red Buzbağ wine. For starters Captain Caveman wanted pâté but they didn’t have that, instead he had cheesy garlic bread, I had garlic mushrooms. Both starters were great and Captain Caveman even shared his starter with me. For main course he had pepper steak and I went for one of my old favourites, sweet and sour chicken. Both came with homemade chips which were nice and we enjoyed our food. I only managed about a glass of the wine while Captain Caveman drank the rest. I started to feel quite unwell before we had left to go home and I even had to go home before Captain Caveman, with some leftovers in a bag. Our anniversary celebration night out cost us just less than £50 in English money equivalent.
Back at home, I felt quite unwell and thought I might spoil date night by having to have an early night by myself. By the time I’d come out of the bathroom, Captain Caveman was on the sofa, fast asleep and snoring, it was only 9.15pm!

My parents and I joined Captain Caveman on his weekly walk on Sunday 17th December. It was a sunny day for the 12km so I could just about manage that. As we left home I noticed that the person who was staying in the apartment opposite us, had a German Shepherd dog and it was on the front balcony, barking. Captain Caveman and I assumed the Turkish woman who was inside was the cleaner who had brought her dog to work with her.
After the walk Captain Caveman, my parents and I had lunch at the Kefal tea gardens. I was good and had 2 big Turkish teas while the others had beers. I accidentally ordered a chicken döner sandwich instead of a cheese and onion toastie but it was rather tasty. It did mean that I’d gone over 300 syns for the week now so Wednesday’s Fat Club weigh-in was certainly looking a bit dicey.
Here’s what we had and the prices in lira;

2 çay 20
1 chips 50
1 chicken döner sandwich 65
2 cheese toasties 90
2 mixed toasties 100
4 Efes Malt 300
Total spent 625 lira (£16.90)

Not a bad lunch for less than £5 per person on average.
That evening, I made enchiladas for dinner using up lots of defrosted leftovers from various meals out. It was lovely but I was ready for an early night as it would be a busy day off work tomorrow.

Dalyan – 15th December

On Friday 15th December it was raining really hard outside so I decided on making a veggie Dahl in the slow cooker. Captain Caveman went to Bridge Club and while he was gone I made chicken and vegetable curry pasties with wraps, ready for our lunch. Unfortunately, our chosen restaurant cancelled our anniversary meal booking because of the heavy rain storms and we decided that we would go out with Jamie for a night out instead. Captain Caveman had already arranged it with Jamie for us to go to Sofra bar which was back open at weekends. I also had an invite from Janet, who’s birthday it was, to join her at 8pm in Cafe Ivy for birthday drinks, but we were already booked up – it’s all or nothing here!
Debbie from Fat Club popped round with a something for me. At the Fat Club party she’d asked me if I’d like her spare airfryer liners and an old stick blender (as she had got a new one) and wanted to give it to me for free. I was so excited and appreciated it a lot, especially as I now couldn’t justify buying one. She’d even brought it over in the rain so that I could use it as soon as possible. She was a mind-reader as I’d intended on getting the potato masher on the Dahl I was making. It was such a kind thing to do that it made me a bit emotional.
After lunch, Captain Caveman and I went to the shops to stock up for the weekend and for next week when we had guests arriving from England. We were both getting excited that Josh was returning for a week at Christmas and, this time, he was bringing his girlfriend. Here’s what we bought with the prices in lira, which was now 37 lira to the pound;

Migros Supermarket
Cherry juice 38.00
3 tupperware tubs 49.90
Toblerone 69.90
4 tins of tomatoes 89.68
Total 247.48 lira (£6.69)

Millennium Shop
Ceramic dishes 50.00 lira (£1.35)

Bim Süpermarket
1 wholemeal loaf 14.50
1 pack lavaş wraps 19.25
1 pack naan breads 33.00
Total spent 66.75 lira (£1.80)

Yaman Büfe 2
3 Bottles of wine 388.50 lira (£10.50)

I’d decided that I was going to buy the same ceramic pots for Mom so that she could also do amazing Yorkshire puddings in her airfryer. Mom does a great pudding mixture and doesn’t have an oven in Dalyan so this would be great for her to have with her slow cooker stews. We had french onion soup for dinner which was very nice but I gave most of my bread to Captain Caveman as it goes soggy in the soup.

We met Jamie in Lukka bar for a couple, he was wearing his ‘A Gay in a Manger’ Christmas jumper and was looking to get on it for the evening. Lukka bar beers were 90 lira (£2.43) each and a glass of wine was 120 lira (£3.24), I had 2 wines and Captain Caveman had 3 beers. We had a great night in a quiet Sofra bar, as everyone seemed to be at Cafe Ivy. Jamie left as John, Andrea, Mark, Kate and Daisy arrived as he needed to get back. Captain Caveman and I didn’t get home until 2am.

Dalyan – 13th & 14th December

Before work on Wednesday 13th December, I got weighed and measured to find I’d got reasonable results; I’d lost 0.3kg on the home scales, 2cm off my bust, 1cm off my hips and my waist had stayed the same. I had my overnight oats with persimmon and a cup of Yorkshire tea for breakfast and was looking forward to my day as we had the Fat Club Christmas party later.
I worked until 12.30pm then I’d finished work for the week, month and year. My bosses were already away in the UK for a quick break to see family.
At 4pm I met 3 of the ladies from Fat Club at the bakery next to the bus station. We hadn’t been to Debbie’s before but she had pointed to the back of it once when I walked towards Jamie’s with her, after Fat Club. I’m not good at following maps but I knew if I walked the same way, I would find it and the others had asked if they could come with me – and why not!
We had walked a few metres past the gate to Debbie’s house when we bumped in to Kate who was on the mobility scooter with Daisy. She pointed out our error and we all went in to Debbie’s. One of the ladies apologised profusely at the 4 of us being late because I had got them lost. She was glad Kate had found us as we had been walking round lost for ages! I popped my curry down so that I could get weighed, I’d brought my own food as the curries that Ian (Carol’s husband) had made for us all, had chillies in, which I can’t have. I’d brought the IPA beers to have with my curry but Debbie had made us all a mulled wine. I got on the scales first and was pleased to see I’d lost 0.4kg (0.9lb). I was the lightest I’d been in 7 months, having lost a total of 8.2kg (1st and 4lb) since I joined Carol’s Fat Club. Now, I only had 1.8kg (4lb) left to lose to hit my target weight and I (rather optimistically) hoped to do it by the end of the year.
The curry night went very well, although not without a bit of drama. Just as we were about to sit down to eat, I got a message from my boss, to say he had lost his wallet with all his cards in, on a train in England, which meant he had no way of being able to pay me as scheduled. I tried not to let it spoil my night but it was obviously on my mind that I wouldn’t be able to do a few things I’d got planned for the rest of the month now. December was Captain Caveman’s and my parents’ last full month in Dalyan and I’d hoped I’d be able to afford to go out for drinks, meals and even the odd day trip with them.
Debbie’s hosting was second to none and we had a really fun time at the Fat Club party. There was a new first for me, seeing a bottle of red wine wearing a jumper to keep it warm and look festive! By the time Debbie’s husband came home, Kate, Daisy and I had (drunkenly) decided to go for more drinks at Tapa. Kate rode the 3 of us in to town on the mobility scooter as we carried a big box of cat food.

Captain Caveman had been in Tez bar and Mark was just leaving Tapa as we arrived. Both of them decided to join us ladies and the party at Tapa began with Daisy getting the microphone out and starting an impromptu karaoke style night.
I’d had 3 red wines in Tapa and I was very drunk when we eventually went home.

When I woke up on Thursday 14th December I had a bad hangover. I’d had 2 mulled wines, 2 proseccos, 2 beers & 3 red wines yesterday. I had gone over the week’s allowance of syns in one night and it was probably the most I’d drank since October. We were home by 10.30pm, though, after quite the wild night! It was also somewhat ironic that it had been at the Fat Club Christmas do, in a country where they don’t celebrate Christmas.
Captain Caveman brought me my tea in bed and announced he was off Bumming, I suspected I would be lucky to leave my bed today. He’d also popped the brisket with onions in to the slow cooker and would be doing dinner tonight.
I didn’t manage any breakfast until 12.30pm when I forced down toast and a paracetamol. For lunch I had garlic mushrooms done in the airfryer and they were very nice.
At dinner time Captain Caveman served up the brisket with onions, red cabbage and my amazing airfryer Yorkshire puddings. It was our 12 year anniversary next week so Captain Caveman decided he was taking me out for a date this weekend, he had booked a table for 2 at My Arancia and we had pre ordered our food.

Dalyan – 10th to 12th December

Norman, Edna and I had quite a lazy day on Sunday 10th December; I was on my second cup of tea and the dogs were still in their bed when Captain Caveman set off for his Sunday walk. He’d woken me up at 7.45am when he noisily emptied the dishwasher, so I’d been awake early but was still lounging about. I had my overnight oats made with quark and persimmon for breakfast then had a banana and egg Slimming World style pancake as a second breakfast. It was cold and misty out so I just did a short walk with the dogs before coming back for snuggles on the sofa.
Lunch was lentil soup with bread and cheese once Captain Caveman returned from his walk.
Jamie was due back about 7pm so we left after feeding the dogs. For our dinner we had pasta with sucuk (Turkish sausage) and veg which Captain Caveman cooked at home.

Monday 11th December was the start of my last week at work for 2023 and I had decided to split my hours between today through to Wednesday. Captain Caveman went to the dog shelter while I cracked on after my cup of Yorkshire tea, a banana and a tangerine.
I finished work at 1.15pm and heated up more lentil soup for lunch, by which time Captain Caveman had returned home. We had a chocolate bar and a tangerine then had a leisurely afternoon.
For dinner I heated up the lasagne and we had it with green beans. Later, we started watching 1899 on Netflix and had homemade popcorn as a snack.

On Tuesday 12th December I had a cup of tea, a banana and a tangerine for breakfast then got on with work until 1.15pm.
Captain Caveman was at Bridge Club but we reconvened for lunch. I reheated some chicken and vegetable curry and we had it with the remaining bread which needed eating up.
In the afternoon we went shopping, here’s what we bought with the amount spent in lira;

Migros Supermarket
1 tin tomatoes 29.90
15 eggs 60.00
622g Chicken thighs 62.14
Frozen fruit 79.90
2 IPA beers 111.00
Total spent 342.94 lira (£9.42)

Millennium shop
1 laundry powder scoop
3 Yorkshire pudding bowls
1 metal tongues
Total spent 125 lira (£3.43)

Captain Caveman treated us to 0.5kg of brisket which was 200 lira (£5.49) from the local butchers. I was looking forward to seeing if the ceramic pots we had bought would be good for airfryer Yorkshire puddings.
For dinner I decided to try something new from one of the Slimming World books, chicken and cauliflower bake. It was a great success and even Captain Caveman had seconds despite not being a fan of cauliflower.
My weekly syns total ended on 306 which, from past experience, would mean I would have put weight on at Fat Club tomorrow.

Dalyan – 8th & 9th December

I chopped and deseeded the rest of the persimmon on Friday 8th December, so that I could use them for my overnight oats. Captain Caveman had gone to Bridge Club and would meet me at Jamie’s villa. Jamie was off to Istanbul with friends for a birthday weekend, while we looked after Norman and Edna. For lunch I did us a jacket potato with cheese for a nice change then we walked the dogs. It started raining while we were out so we had to take shelter. Edna loves to nip in to Waterfall, her local pub, so we went there for a drink. Mehmet gave Norman and Edna some sausage which they enjoyed but Edna was disappointed as her boyfriend, Skippy, doesn’t frequent the bar on a Friday.
Back home we had some chicken curry with steamed rice for dinner and some tangerines for after.

Saturday 9th December was quite a lively one but started off lazy. I was still in my pyjamas on the sofa with Norman and Edna at 10am. I had Tetley’s tea and my overnight oats for breakfast before eventually getting ready to walk the dogs prior to our weekly jaunt to the market.
Here’s what we bought and the prices in lira;

Stall 1
Potatoes & onions 29

Stall 2
Red & Green peppers 25

Stall 3
Persimmons & bananas 53

Stall 4
Tangerines 30

Stall 5
2 spinach gözleme 100

Total market spend 237 lira (£6.51)

The lira had dropped to 36.4 to the pound yesterday but it was still set to increase again. Captain Caveman chose a different stall for tangerines this week and she charged us 3 times more than the guy last week.

Back at Jamie’s, I fell asleep on the sofa and my parents went for a walk ending up in a visit to Tez bar. Mom was looking for the new location of Emrah the hairdresser so I told her where it was, next to the Şarküteri shop along from the butchers. We were waiting for Norman to wake up so that we could go to Sofra bar for a drink and meet Ma & Pa.
Edna insisted that we go to see Skippy in Waterfall as she, quite rightly, pointed out that football would be on at Sofra meaning talking would be frowned upon. We got there about 5.15pm and let my parents know so they could join us, they were very merry when they arrived. By 7pm Mom was murdering Bonnie Tyler’s ‘It’s a heartache’ to a bewildered Norman and Edna. I have a video but Ma will not allow it to be published, so I took a screenshot of the dogs watching and listening.
We took the dogs home and gave them a late tea, Norman grumbled something about it being a good job they get treats in the Waterfall if dinner is going to be this late! We left the dogs, snuggled up in their bed, to go back out for dinner with my tipsy parents.

We decided on Mahir’s Kebabs which have fantastic fish and chips and cheap wine – yes my diet was going well! On the way I showed Ma where the hairdresser was now located and she looked in through the window to check it out.
At Mahir’s, Dad had chicken shish, Mom ordered an Adana kebab, Captain Caveman İskender kebab and I (obviously) had the fish and chips. The food was so good and service from Mahir is always excellent. A beer or a wine was just 80 lira (£2.20), Captain Caveman’s meal was 230 lira (£6.32) and mine was 280 lira (£7.70) which we thought was reasonable for the portion size. Mahir gave us free chocolate treats at the end of the meal too. We went straight home after dinner as I don’t like to leave the dogs too late, plus my parents probably wouldn’t remember getting home as it was.

Photo credit – Captain Caveman and Mahir

Dalyan – 6th & 7th December

I stayed in bed until after 10am on Wednesday 6th December as it was raining heavily. I had the usual tea and a banana for breakfast. It was weigh day so I did get on the home scales to find I’d lost 0.25kg (0.5lb) which was surprising after all the cheese and wine last night. My measurements were also quite promising; 1cm on my bust, hips remained the same but I’d lost 1cm from my waist.
At lunch time I tried cooking the sweet potatoes to find they weren’t as I expected them to be. They took ages in the air fryer to cook, and I’d have been better off doing our lunch in the oven.
Captain Caveman popped to the shops when the rain stopped and bought 2 jars of passata as it was on offer at 39.80 lira in total (£1.09) – a bargain.
At Fat Club, Carol’s scales were not so forgiving and I had put on 0.1kg (0.2lb) so I really did need to be more disciplined this coming week.
Having said that, we were invited out this evening again. I popped to the shop on my way home, here’s what I bought;

Migros Supermarket
Bicarbonate of soda 6.50
Lentils 20.00
Milk 22.50
1 tin of tomatoes 29.90
4 Dido chocolate bars 42.00
Total spent 121.80 lira (£3.34)

That evening we got the bus out to Bill & Jaxx’s villa, not far from the Günlüklu restaurant. On the way we saw an outside toilet and a dinosaur which were great landmarks for us to get off at the right bus stop next time. Bill picked us up and I should have took more notice of the route, but that was Captain Caveman’s department! We had agreed to house and dog sit for them later in the month so we were going over to discuss further and for Captain Caveman to meet their dogs.
We had a lovely evening, with lots of wine, garlic bread, chicken pasta, a cheese board and port. It was so indulgent and delicious and we had such a good laugh. The dogs were great and we knew we would enjoy looking after Big Boy and Lucy while their owners were away. It was gone midnight when we left, a little bit merry!

On Thursday 7th December Captain Caveman went Bumming, I had my obligatory Yorkshire tea in bed then got up for my overnight oats which I’d added frozen raspberries and persimmon to.
For lunch we had chicken wraps with fat free yoghurt, carrot and red cabbage which were lovely.
For dinner we were happy at being invited over to my parents’ place for dinner and wine. We had a great time and a tasty chicken casserole too. I went off my diet yet again when I was tempted to eat the crisps and some chocolate. It was only Thursday and I’d already consumed 162 syns so far this week. I was going to have to try my best to curb it a bit more this weekend but it would be tricky as we had some nice plans.

Dalyan – 3rd to 5th December

Sunday 3rd December was a wonderful day spent with Captain Caveman and seeing my my parents. Captain Caveman had arranged another easy Sunday walk which all of us went on. Surprisingly, we weren’t hungover but the fresh air certainly did us good and I really enjoyed the walk. I’d started to get to know a few other Dalyan Dwellers that I wouldn’t necessarily see in the bars and was enjoying that. The walk was really nice despite me, Ma and Debbie taking a wrong turn (too busy chatting) and getting a bit lost. It was only 7.4km but my body could certainly tell I’d done it.
Back home for lunch I did us each a portion of lasagne (the one with lentils and cabbage in) in the airfryer, it looked rather well done but tasted great. We spent the afternoon relaxing in front of the TV and it was the first day I’d actually started to feel it was getting a bit nippy.
For dinner I did us a roast chicken dinner and, not being content with my airfryer Yorkshire pudding process, I tried making one giant pud directly in the basket. This tasted good but didn’t rise as well as I expected, I needed to find some heavier ‘tins’ to fit in the airfryer. The meal was lovely and we had spare leftover for another dinner, we didn’t have any alcohol as I was already on 270 syns for the week and had work tomorrow.

There was not much going on, but work, on Monday 4th December. Captain Caveman went to help at the Dog shelter to keep out of my way. I had cheese spread on bread and a cup of Yorkshire tea for breakfast. I stopped work for a quick lunch with Captain Caveman, he made a veggie pasta which was nice. I drank green tea in the afternoon and had a couple of tangerines when I finished work. I’d made a slow cooker chicken curry for dinner. More fruit was had for snacks and I had no alcohol.

Captain Caveman went to Bridge club on the morning of Tuesday 5th December, but not before bringing me a cup of Yorkshire tea in bed. For breakfast I was back on to having overnight oats to be healthy.
I had some work to finish off so I did that until noon, when I was then done for the week. Next week would be my last week to work before Christmas.
When I finished work I popped to the shops to stock up on a few bits, here’s what I bought and the cost in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Chickpeas 19.90
Margarine 25.00
4 Quark 63.80
Sanitary Towels 73.38
630g chicken breast 106.47
Total spent 288.55 lira (£7.91)

For lunch we had beans on wholemeal toast, they were Tom’s homemade baked beans which were really good, they tasted just like Heinz. Captain Caveman had his with a fried egg on top.
Around 3.30pm Captain Caveman and I went for a little walk and popped in to the off licence, Yaman Büfe 2, to top up our wine shelf. Rituel wine had now gone up to 125 lira (£3.42) per bottle and it was pretty good. We got plenty in as we spent 867.50 (£23.77) in total on wine and snacks.
We had a cheeky drink at Tez bar as the sun was shining and Captain Caveman made us a Slimming World style sweet and sour chicken with steamed rice for dinner. It was delicious and I’d definitely have it again.
That evening we were invited over for a cheese and wine night with Jamie, Drew, Nanny Kay and Ann. We had a great evening with lots of wine, cheese and laughs. I stupidly left my phone at home and Captain Caveman did take a couple of photos but he preferred to be snaffling down the buffet!
My week’s syn total completely tipped over the edge to 338, so I would have to accept the inevitable tomorrow at Fat Club.

Dalyan – 1st & 2nd December

I didn’t know it on Friday 1st December but it would turn out to be an interesting yet challenging month. I started the day with Captain Caveman bringing me a cup of Yorkshire tea in bed. When he went to Bridge club I had my overnight oats with raspberries, orange and pear for breakfast. Carol from Fat Club popped by for me to hand back the scales and her books as I’d been holding the fort for her while she was away for 3 weeks. When I got peckish around noon, I had lentil soup and made the remaining chicken casserole in to pasties made from wraps. I had one and saved 2 for Captain Caveman, which he loved.
I’d been trying to get hold of my parents to see if they wanted to pick up the books for Dad, they both had a cold and weren’t feeling well so they had gone for a walk and some fresh air. At 1.30pm my mom messaged from Okyanus to say they had stopped off for some lunch but they might pop to ours for the books in a while. At 3.30pm they were at Tapa with some of the pool gang and wondered if we fancied joining. We had already gone to Waterfall to meet Jamie, Drew, Norman and Edna for a beer.
My parents had moved on to Tez bar so when we got back Captain Caveman dropped the books there. I got on with reheating the chicken and leek pasta bake for dinner.
At 7.30pm we went for a walk down the river and saw my parents were in River House. We called in to check they were ok and found them both wolfing down Singapore noodles, they were pretty merry having managed quite an afternoon pub crawl. We didn’t join them and went home as we were saving ourselves for tomorrow’s shenanigans.

Originally the Dalyan Winter Fayre had been scheduled for last week but had been postponed to today, Saturday 2nd December, due to the rain. Captain Caveman brought me my usual cup of Yorkshire tea in bed and we decided not to have any breakfast at home as we would have a Turkish pancake (gözleme) at the market. By 10.30am we were ready for the day but not before we had been to the market, obviously! Here’s what we bought and the prices in lira;

Stall 1
Garlic & (lots of) shallots 25

Stall 2
Potatoes & onions 55

Stall 3
Cauliflower, red cabbage, carrots, & sweet potatoes 150

Stall 4
Mushrooms, leeks & peppers 105

Stall 5
Persimmon 25

Stall 6
Bananas 25

Stall 7
Tangerines 10

Stall 8
1 spinach and 1 cheese & mushroom gözleme 110

Total Market spend 505 lira (£13.84).

This was one of the bigger spends at the market in a while but I was really trying to be healthy and cook everything from scratch so it would definitely last us. We rarely buy ready made meals to cook at home as frozen food here can be expensive and the choice is limited.

My parents came to call for us and, after dropping off some DVDs for a friend’s stall, our first stop had to be the mulled wine stall. None of us are shoppers so we mainly spent money on food and drink – ‘Quelle surprise’!
Here’s what we bought and prices in lira
1 jar homemade tahini 90
1 Dalyan Spor mug 100
Spice Garden Indian food 200
1 Dalyan Spor football shirt 500
Total spent 890 lira (£24.38)

We did need a mug as we only owned the one so I was fine with that but the other items seemed a bit frivolous. Having a low income was definitely making me tight with the money I did have!

After a few beers and wines in Bistro Blue and Cafe Ivy we decided we would go to Duble for a meal with my parents and then come back later. We had a fantastic meal but I over-faced myself by ordering a beef casserole which I struggled to finish and had to take half away with me. We also shared potato croquettes and liver & onions which were so good, washed down with more wine. Our bill came to 2,370 lira (£64.93) which was very good. It had been a good day, we left Jamie and Drew in Cafe Ivy at a fairly reasonable hour after me buying 3 pots of homemade baked beans from Natalie and Tom for 60 lira (£1.64).

Photo credit – some photos by Captain Caveman

Dalyan – 28th to 30th November

Jamie was due back later on Monday 28th November so we had a tidy up and packed our stuff ready to return home. I’d had a simit for breakfast and we had a roast chicken for dinner back at home. It was good to be home and have everything we needed to hand. Tomorrow it was weigh day and Fat Club again, I really needed to get back on it before the end of the year if I wanted to reach my target, as I’d definitely gone off plan a bit.

I felt like I was rich on Wednesday 29th November, as I’d been paid. Even a weight gain at Fat Club would not put me in a bad mood today! I got weighed at home and did my measurements. I had lost just 0.1kg (0.2lb) according to the home scales, 1cm off my bust, stayed the same on my waist but I’d put 1cm on my hips.
I had a green tea and popped a chicken casserole in to the slow cooker while I cracked on with some work. I had a linden tea then a rose tea and stopped work for lentil soup at lunch time and again to go to Fat Club.
To my surprise, I had lost 0.3kg (0.7lb) so I was pleased with that. I only needed to lose another 2.1kg (4.6lb) to reach my target. I called at the supermarket on my way home, to pick up some essentials, and here’s what I got, with prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
2 Dido chocolate bars 15.00
2 tomato purée 21.04
Plain noodles 21.50
Chickpeas 22.42
Milk 22.50
Boiled beans 23.92
2 packs sanitary towels 28.50
2 tins chopped tomatoes 44.84
Chestnuts 95.95
White Cheddar 99.90
Red Cheddar 99.90
1 pack tampons 117.50
Total spent 612.77 lira (£16.79)

There were a few extravagant purchases and chocolate as a treat, with it being pay day. The exchange rate was now 36.5 lira to the pound too.
I went back home to finish off my work for the week, which was lucky as the internet went off at 6pm.
We decided to go to Tez bar just for one drink and spent 250 lira (£6.85) on 2 beers and a wine! Back at home, we had a chicken and leek bake for dinner and saved the chicken casserole for tomorrow.

Captain Caveman wasn’t Bumming on Thursday 30th November, due to bad weather. He brought me a cup of Yorkshire tea in bed and I didn’t bother with any breakfast as I had a cheeky lay in. Captain Caveman decided to go shopping as we needed some bulky items as well as the regular food stuff. Here’s what he bought with the prices in lira:

BIM supermarket
Wholemeal bread 14.50
15 eggs 55.00
Total spent 69.50 lira (£1.90)

Migros Supermarket
New Migros card 4.00
2 bags pasta 17.80
2 Quark 31.90
Peanut butter 62.00
Toilet roll 69.90
3 cartons cherry juice 114.00
Washing powder 219.73
Total spent 519.33 lira (£14.23)

We had leftover lentil soup for lunch and I accidentally ate some crisps. I looked through the Migros leaflet to find there were a couple of bargains to be had. Around 3pm Captain Caveman went back to the shop to pick up the extra items, here’s the info;

Migros Supermarket (2nd visit)
Soda water 17.45
Cheese 49.00
Coffee 133.52
Fairy Liquid 139.90
1.8kg whole chicken 96.53
Total spent 436.40 (£11.96)

Captain Caveman also called in to the barbers and to put the internet on until the end of September. Our next appointment was to meet Adele and Vanessa at the Kaunos tea gardens. It was raining quite hard and Adele didn’t make it. It was pretty cold and wet but the Sheffield lot carried on regardless; Vanessa and I had a cup of tea each, still only 10 lira (27p), Captain Caveman had 2 beers and a cheese & onion toastie. Vanessa and I finished off with a wine each. The total bill was only 425 lira (£11.64) between the 3 of us.
Back home, Captain Caveman and I had a rum to warm us up, chicken casserole for dinner and some roasted chestnuts. I did the chestnuts in the airfryer and followed mom’s instructions but ours weren’t cooked as well as her’s.
Tomorrow was the start of Captain Caveman’s last month in Dalyan, time was going too fast!

Dalyan – 24th to 27th November

After a cuppa and the dog walk on Friday 24th November, I tidied up and got myself ready to meet our Aussie/Viet friends for the last time. They were off this afternoon, on their journey to Istanbul, via some remaining archeological places. Captain Caveman had gone to Bridge so I met Veronika at Pier Gusto for a hot beverage. Bich and the kids joined us shortly after and we all had drinks while I listened to the tale of the missing hotel master key. I opened my purse to pay and found that I had picked up the white plastic card (the key) at the tea gardens yesterday, not realising what or who’s it was. They were delighted and it saved them paying for a new one.
We decided on a spot of lunch at Çağrı where we had a selection of food both off the menu and from the chiller cabinet. Bich had a beef stew but found it a bit salty, Veronika enjoyed her soup, I had chicken casserole with rice, Micheal and Howie had chicken wings. Captain Caveman joined us later and snuck in a Lamuchan and the kids leftovers. I couldn’t manage all of mine and took the rest home for the freezer. Ben didn’t join for food but swung by in the car to collect everyone. It was a lovely last lunch and I was definitely sad to see our friends leave. I was already looking forward to seeing them again in Phong Nha.
I was meant to meet Vanessa in the afternoon but she had already been to Kefal tea gardens while I had arranged to meet Adele at the Kaunos tea gardens. It is walking distance but Vanessa had a bad foot and she thought it may rain. We saw Adele and then went back to Jamie’s for more cute dog cuddles and to eat some lasagne (with cabbage in it!) for dinner. By 9.30pm everyone, but me, was having a bit of a snooze.

Saturday 25th should have been the Dalyan Winter Fayre but it was postponed to next week, due to the bad weather. I was slightly relieved as, I wouldn’t be getting paid until next week and I didn’t have any spare cash. We stayed in with the dogs and watched TV as more storms were predicted.

For the next 2 days I didn’t do much, aside from looking after dogs. On Sunday 26th November Captain Caveman did the Sunday walk. The rain had temporarily stopped so he and the one other walker were lucky with the weather but everyone else had been put off. Captain Caveman got some great photos and I wish I’d gone for the exercise, he said it would have been too difficult for me.

Because we were house and dog sitting for just the weekend, I moved my working day on Monday 27th, to later in the week. It would be easier back home to save bringing my laptop over and when Captain Caveman is out. The storm at not done any further damage aside from knocking a few outdoor plants over, and moving the patio furniture, which was lucky.
We got Jamie a shepherd’s pie out of the freezer to defrost for him tomorrow and Norman and Edna snuggled up with Captain Caveman.

Photo credit – Captain Caveman

Dalyan – 23rd November

After the usual morning walk on Thursday 23rd November, Captain Caveman had gone Dogging. I had some lentil soup for brunch which I watered down quite a bit. I went to meet the Le Mitchell family, my parents and Captain Caveman at Kefal tea gardens later. They all had food and drink, I just had a water and a bite of Captain Caveman’s toastie as I was trying to be good. Hilarity ensued as the kids, Howie and Michael, were messing about on the grass and managed to get covered in cat shit. Much toing and froing went on as they attempted to clean themselves up. Bich then had to clean the bathroom as it was covered in cat shit too.

Off they went to explore Dalyan while my parents, Captain Caveman and I went back to Jamie’s to see the pooches. Norman surprised us by bringing his ball and asking to play football, even though he’s not as sprightly as he was – he literally gave the ball a good kick. We had a little snifter on the patio with my parents and I finished making a beef, lentil and veggie lasagne using that cabbage I still had left. My mom didn’t seem convinced that cabbage went in a lasagne but it didn’t half bulk it out more, making 8 sufficient servings.

We wouldn’t get to eat it though as that evening we all met up for dinner at River House, one of my favourites. The meal and service did not disappoint and we all enjoyed our food. Here’s what we had;

Bread and dips (free)
Börek 100
Garlic mushrooms 100
3 bottles of water 150
Pide with salami 210
Pide with egg 210
Margarita pizza 240
Mushroom chicken 290
İskender kebab 345
King prawns 450
Onion steak 530
2 Singapore noodles 740
2 carafes white wine 1060

Total bill 4,425 lira (£124.65)

Based on the exchange rate at the time, this averaged at £13.50 per person which was great value. I was happy that our friends had all been impressed with their meals, especially Bich with the prawns and Howie with his Singapore noodles as they were both really missing Vietnamese food.
Captain Caveman and I were home just after 10pm and little Norman was sound asleep already.

Dalyan – 22nd November

Wednesday 22nd November turned out to be quite a good day, despite the rain. As I wasn’t at home, I couldn’t have a cheeky weigh so I just did my measurements; no change to my bust and 1cm off both waist and hips. I’d had 265 syns this week so it was a bit of a 50/50 chance as to whether that would show a loss on Carol’s scales at Fat Club. Most of the day was spent with Norman, Edna and Captain Caveman (who was playing Bridge on his phone). The selfie taking with the dogs was proving a challenge as Norman didn’t want to but Edna was taking it too far now. I made lentil soup in the slow cooker using Carol’s trusty recipe but without the chilli. It turned out quite thick but using Jamie’s stick blender was great. I definitely needed to get myself one as it makes such a difference to the soups. Fat Club went well with a loss of 0.4kg (0.9lb) so I was pleased about that.

In the evening we went to meet our next lot of Australians, who had come from Vietnam to visit Turkey during the winter season. Veronika, Ben, Bich and the 2 boys were in Dalyan for a short stay and had been in Capadoccia. Caroline had made it there but they unfortunately didn’t get to meet as, on day one, Caroline had a knee injury and had to fly back to Vietnam.
The Le Mitchell family, who we know from Phong Nha Farmstay and Victory Road Villas back in Phong Nha, were checked in to the Smyrna hotel and met us at the restaurant opposite, M-Eyhane, for dinner at 7pm. My parents also joined us as they hadn’t seen our friends for quite some time. We all ordered a mixture of starters and mains and, as is usual with a group of 9, Dad ordered the wrong thing and didn’t enjoy his main course. It didn’t help that there was a power cut and we had to eat by our phone torches but Dad has trouble seeing his food anyway. The white wine was very good and went down well as it was only 100 lira (£2.82) for a decent measure! It was great to see everyone and hear about how much they had been enjoying Turkey so far. After saying goodnight, my parents, Captain Caveman and I had a quick drink in Cafe Ivy. We had to get back for the dogs so I wasn’t up for a late one, however, my parents got talking to an English couple and didn’t leave until way past midnight. It had been 5 weeks since we had all arrived back in Dalyan and it was good to see my parents making the most of their holiday.

Dalyan – 20th & 21st November

On Monday 20th November I had no work, because I’d worked 16 hours instead of 8 when my hours were first reduced. It wasn’t ideal but was better than not getting paid for what I had worked. It was nice to have the week off work but with hardly any spare cash to spend it was a bit limited. I was very conscious that what money I did have I would need to ration.
I had bread with cheese spread, a cup of Tetley’s tea and a couple of tangerines for breakfast. Captain Caveman had gone Dogging today and my parents popped round to see me and the dogs for a cup of tea and a biscuit.
For lunch I had mushroom pasta and I made a chicken curry for dinner, which we had with a bottle of red wine – on a Monday!

On Tuesday 21st November Captain Caveman went to Bridge club, I had one of my favourite breakfasts; vegetable and egg fried rice. Of course, I was still using that bloody cabbage which Caroline had suggested I buy.
For lunch we had a feta cheese salad and then we went shopping to top up our provisions while we were at Jamie’s for another week. Here’s what we bought with prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Tomato purée 10.52
2 tins chopped tomatoes 44.84
Hot chilli sauce 49.90
Turkish salami 65.45
Mozzarella cheese 86.90
Cheddar cheese 86.90
1 whole chicken 101.50
Coffee 124.90
Minced beef 152.90
Total spent 723.71 lira (£20.39)

It was the most we had spent on a single shop in quite a while as we decided to buy cheese and beef. Both are expensive but I fancied making a lasagne later in the week as a bit of a treat. We also bought 2 more bottles of Rituel red wine while it was on offer and a lightbulb for our kitchen. Things weren’t so bad that I’d had to give up booze, just yet!

For dinner Captain Caveman made spaghetti carbonara and I refrained from having any alcohol as it was weigh day tomorrow and I wanted to keep the syns below 300 for the week. Edna provided the evening’s entertainment when she brought her teddy to play fetch with Captain Caveman. She was reluctant to bring it back at first but she soon got in to it and we all played for ages, while Norman refereed from the comfort of the sofa.

Edna playing fetch with her toy

Dalyan – 18th & 19th November

Norman, Edna and I were out in the garden by 7.30am on Saturday 18th November. I had a cup of tea before their walk and they came to snuggle or lick me. They are so cute but they were also a bit miffed that they had to sleep downstairs.
By 9.30am Captain Caveman and I were at the weekly Saturday market, getting our fresh fruit and vegetables. Here’s what we bought and the prices in lira:

Market stall 1
Green peppers & tomatoes 20

Market stall 2
Leeks & red peppers 35

Market stall 3
Potatoes & onions 63

Market stall 4
Pumpkin & mushrooms 70

Market stall 5
Bananas & grapes 72

Market stall 6
Tangerines 10

Total spent 270 lira (£7.61)

For breakfast we had a gözleme each; my cheese and mushroom was 60 lira, Captain Caveman’s 50 lira which was a total of £3.10 and definitely worth it as they are so lovely.
By 11.30am the pooches were having a snooze, which they absolutely love, while the 2 of us ate grapes and tangerines. By 2.30pm there was a bad storm that took us a bit by surprise, and it was game over for the rest of the day.
At 6pm the rain eased enough for us to have a short dog walk. For dinner we had a sausage pasta dish which was very tasty. The dogs love Captain Caveman and so they were all snuggled up and snoring before 10pm.

Captain Caveman had arranged a Dalyan walk on Sunday 19th November which was an easier one than last week. I decided I would join them for a bit of exercise. I had a banana and a cup of tea (Jamie has Tetley’s) for breakfast and we took the dogs out. Captain Caveman nipped home to get something so I met everyone at the Kaunos tea gardens. Captain Caveman was late so people were asking me why. He’s rarely on time, but pretends it’s me who makes him late because I’m slow. It was cold when we set off but towards the end it was shorts and T-shirt weather. I only did 11km of it as, ironically, I had to get back to take the dogs out, so I left with 2 others at a spot not too far from Jamie’s.

I had cheese on toast for lunch and, in the afternoon, Captain Caveman and I sat outside on the patio with the dogs as it was glorious weather. We enjoyed a nice rum (or 2) while sitting with Norman and Edna in the afternoon sun. For dinner I banged some ready made falafel in the oven and we had it with wraps, lettuce and some of that huge cabbage that was still going strong.
I was a bit naughty again as Captain Caveman was having kaymak on bread and I couldn’t resist a piece too. I was already on 235 syns for this week so I was going to have to really be careful for the next few days, if I didn’t want to put weight on.