The ramblings and observations of a fortysomething lady of leisure
Author: joloyolo
Originally from Sheffield, England. Can be found mostly in Phong Nha, Vietnam, or Dalyan, Turkey. Likes travelling, eating and drinking. Lives with Captain Caveman.
I cycled over to Mark and Kate’s place on the morning of Thursday 16th November to feed the cats. There were usually 6 but last night only 4 had come for food. Today there were still only 4, one of the babies and Kylie were missing. I put the food out, gave them some attention and then took some photos of the scenery as it was still flooded but looked beautiful. Captain Caveman had gone Bumming when I returned home, so I had my breakfast of cheese spread on wholemeal toast and a cup of Yorkshire tea. For lunch I just had fruit as I was doing my best to have a low syn day today. Captain Caveman was doing dinner so I went a bit early to feed the cats, this time only 3 were there when I arrived; Bubble, Squeak and Kylie were missing. I left enough food out for when they returned which was handy as Squeak showed up as I was leaving. She was over at the other side of the flooded road but I coaxed her over and off she ran to get her dinner. We had a really nice chilled evening with sucuk (Turkish cured sausage) and vegetable pasta for dinner and an early night.
On Friday 17th November Jamie was off to England for 12 days so Captain Caveman and I were moving in to his villa to look after Norman and Edna. Before that, I had a bit of cat drama; Kate and her birthday entourage were heading back from Jiva Beach this afternoon so it was my last time of feeding her cats. When I arrived there was a bit of a surprise as the box that all the wet and dry food had been stored in, was on the garden. The cats had obviously worked together to feed themselves when I’d been 45 minutes late and had ransacked the stash. I took photos to send to Kate, who later replied to say it wouldn’t have been her cats who did it and maybe a stray dog did! One of the babies had a scratched nose and Casha was trying to tell me who was to blame! For breakfast I was a bit naughty and had wholemeal toast with kaymak and honey on which wasted 8 syns. I went over to Jamie’s where Norman and Edna were pleased to see me and were looking neatly groomed. The sun was shining so I was sat outside on the patio when Captain Caveman arrived from his Bridge club. I’d browned some sausages (Heck ones from the UK) so we had one in a wrap with onions, ketchup and mustard, more syns! Edna had bought me a couple of bottles of wine with the condition that she got a little bit of it so we had a drink before popping to the shops. Here’s what we bought with prices in lira;
Migros Supermarket Fat free yoghurt 22.50 Cherry juice 29.00 Hummus 40.75 15 eggs 41.75 Total spent 133.50 lira (£3.76)
Yaman Büfe 2 bottles of wine 270 lira (£7.61)
The exchange rate had increased yet again and was now 35.5 Turkish lira to 1 English pound. Fine for people with English money but a nightmare for Turks. For dinner I’d made a sausage casserole which we had with the rest of the wine and we stayed in watching TV until gone midnight, cuddling the dogs.
Caroline left Dalyan on the morning of Monday 13th November, with plans to return after seeing Gazientep and Capadoccia. She took all of her stuff, just in case there wasn’t enough time for her to fit that in. Captain Caveman and I said our goodbyes to our friend and, despite her no-plans go with the flow lifestyle, we would miss her. It had certainly been a lively 2 weeks but we were quietly looking forward to getting back to normal. I worked from 10am until 3.30pm while Captain Caveman went Dogging. When he got home he made us a chicken and vegetable pasta for lunch. That evening I made a samphire dish, a new first for me, and it turned out not too bad. I cooked it with garlic and peppers but I didn’t realise I had to take out all of the stalks, including the finer ones. It took some getting through but we ate it and it was quite good. Next time I’d have it more of a side dish and less at a time as its incredibly salty. Tomorrow we should have been joining a 3 day breakaway for Kate’s birthday but, due to work and a delayed pay day, we weren’t able to go. Lots of our friends and my parents were going on the 3 night all inclusive stay at Jiva Beach in Fethiye and it looked amazing. When my hours got cut we had thought we’d just go for 1 or 2 nights but I just couldn’t justify it. I had let Kate know we couldn’t make it and that we were gutted about it. She was quite happy as it now meant she had extra cover to feed her 6 cats.
It was finally pay day on Tuesday 14th November but it was all spoken for already. I’d done my working hours for this week by 2pm and had the rest of the week off. Even though we were missing out on the birthday celebrations for Kate I was determined not to dwell on it. It was a perfect opportunity for Captain Caveman and I to spend time together and eat some healthy meals at home. We went shopping for a few bits for dinner which Captain Caveman was making. Here’s what we bought and the prices;
Şok Supermarket Lavaş wraps 31.50 lira (93p)
Migros Supermarket 2 packs of Jasmine rice 63.00 1 pack of turkey 125.90 Total spent 188.90 lira (£5.56)
On the way back we picked oranges from our tree and had them as a snack in the afternoon. They were so sweet and juicy – of course they were free so tasted even better! Captain Caveman had to be reminded to stop playing bridge on his phone to do the dinner. He made turkey fajitas which were gorgeous. Before 10pm he was snoring away as we tried to watch something on Netflix. No alcohol was consumed, which was probably a good job as it was Fat Club and weigh day tomorrow. I’d not even counted my syns this week so it was not looking good.
On Wednesday 15th November I woke to news that Hoi An, where Caroline lives in Vietnam, was flooded. I took my weekly measurements and they were promising; Bust – no change, Waist -1cm, Hips -2cm. I was pleased with that and decided to pop a new recipe in the slow cooker for cabbage rolls. Caroline had never got round to cooking the cabbage, or sharing her recipe, so I had loads of it to use up. I just had fruit to eat for lunch so that I was syn free until weigh-in at 3pm. Carol’s scales showed that I had lost 0.4kg (0.9lb) which wasn’t bad considering the week I’d had. After Fat Club, Captain Caveman and I met Jamie in Waterfall and I had a couple of beers. It was getting a bit colder of an evening so Jamie offered to take me to Kate’s to feed her cats. Just before we got to the house the road had been flooded with water and it was a good job I had a lift or I would have got very wet feet and ankles. Jamie was coming to our place for dinner, he went back home so he could collect his dogs, Norman & Edna. To go with the cabbage rolls I made a chicken and leek bake, more in case the first dish wasn’t very good. Fortunately, both dishes were really tasty and we had a lovely evening. It turned in to a wine fuelled late night and it was about 1.30am when Jamie and the pooches left for home.
When I woke up on Sunday 12th November it was to the sound of the heavy rain and I stayed in bed a bit longer than I should have. Caroline, being the spontaneous unplanning type, decided to book flights from Dalaman to Şanlıurfa, via Istanbul, for tomorrow morning! Oh bugger, we had already agreed to go over to Ben & Hilary’s and my parents this afternoon but Caroline was perhaps going to need us around. Surely, another last supper or celebratory drinking session would have to be be on the cards too. Caroline packed all her stuff, gave me two lovely winter scarfs, gave Captain Caveman a pair of socks from Sweden then went to meet Kaan in a quiet coffee shop.
The day continued to be full of surprises when we got a message from Ma saying the curry she was about to make us had chillies in. She’d decided to do us a beef stew instead which was very much appreciated. We haven’t been buying beef much recently as it is so much more expensive so I was looking forward to it. We even bought some wine to take with us and had a really lovely meal and evening.
While we were out, we had a message from Caroline to say to meet her at Tez bar, to have a drink before her flight tomorrow. It was raining still so Tez was closed, as were most places so Caroline said she was already at Tapa and to come there. All 4 of us got our coats on and headed down to Tapa bar. The night took a random turn where we ended up playing games, doing tequila shots, singing ‘Sweet Caroline’ (more than once), razzing around on a kid’s scooter and playing pool. Dad and I beat Mom and Ali, the owner, and we didn’t leave until gone 1.30am.
On Thursday 9th November Captain Caveman brought me a Yorkshire tea in bed and I had a rare lay in. He was off Bumming with the Riverbums until lunch time so I had a leisurely start to the day. As Caroline had stayed in a hotel last night and was leaving today, I stripped her bed, cleaned her room and bathroom. She had more or less packed her stuff so her departure looked imminent. I cleaned the rest of the house too, when Captain Caveman returned I was a hot sweaty mess, tired from cleaning, he pointed out that I had missed a bit. He then moaned that he had to clean the shower drain in the ensuite bathroom which I hadn’t done properly! In the afternoon, Caroline sent a message to see if Captain Caveman and I would like to meet her for a beer and join them for dinner tonight. We had a beer at the Yağmur hotel, which is really lovely and has great river views, while Caroline told us of her plans! She would be staying one more night at the hotel and then tomorrow she would leave for a road trip. She planned to send the barely used motorbike back and the company in Marmaris said they would come to collect it. She’d been here 10 days already and her idea to take in Turkey and all it’s famous sights kept getting delayed further. Caroline decided to mark the occasion of her decision making with a drink and asked us where we should go. I suggested we try Luz, a nearby Mexican place which we’d not been to yet. I’m so glad we went to Luz, it was fantastic. More expensive than other Dalyan places but classy. Caroline was paying but I tried not to take advantage too much; I ordered a hibiscus margarita which was so good and 290 lira (£8.53), Captain Caveman had a Bloody Maria at 270 lira (£7.94). They were easily the best drinks we had tasted in Dalyan and when Caroline insisted on another round we found it impossible to decline. She ordered a cheese fondu and some nachos as nibbles which were amazing. Of course, I ended up accidentally eating some chillies and felt unwell. The toilets at Luz are really nicely decorated and had nice toiletries.
In the evening, Caroline invited us to join them at Balıkçım, which was Caroline’s favourite place where her and Captain Caveman had eaten on the first night of her visit. I don’t tend to eat there as I don’t like fish but Captain Caveman loves it. Everyone shared octopus and fish, I had a bit of the shared mezes (the ones without fish or chillies) and plenty of bread. We had half a litre of rakı between us too, which went down rather well. Here’s the prices of what we had at Balıkçım; 5 meze dishes 450 Octopus 400 Fish with chips & salad 510 50cl rakı 800 2 bottles of water 60 Total cost 2220 lira (£65.29)
The evening wasn’t cheap and I did well on my diet, more because of not being able to eat most of the dishes than good choices. It had been a very pleasant afternoon and evening.
Friday 10th November started off with some bad news; I was meant to be getting paid today but my boss had let me know that, due to some banking changes, it would be delayed by 4 days. Not one to let having very little money worry me, I soldiered on! Caroline was up for afternoon drinking and I was quite glad of the distraction of her company. Captain Caveman was back from Bridge and the 3 of us cracked open the rosé wine from the fridge. The highlight of the afternoon was Caroline’s bang-on pouring out of the bottle between the 3 of us. I said I’d cook for Caroline, Kaan, Captain Caveman and I and made an enchiladas type of dinner from various left overs and some lavaş wraps. It was a good night and we were merry by 8pm.
Captain Caveman had took himself off on a bicycle ride to Gökbel on the morning of Saturday 11th November. He was keen to see how well the bike could do as he fancied doing more cycling while in Dalyan. Caroline was sorting the motorbike collection and was liaising with Tez for the guys from Marmaris to come to collect it. She was also talking of leaving after the weekend. I had the pleasure of doing the weekly shopping at the market and supermarket. With not getting paid on time it was going to be a bit tight but I would be as frugal as I could be. Here’s what I bought with the prices in lira.
The cabbage I bought at the market was huge but Caroline had said she had a great cabbage recipe that she would do for us. I thought I’d done really well in Migros and even got a 50 lira (£1.47) cash discount on my Migros card. I decided not to buy any meat unless it was on offer and we did have some in the freezer so I could wait until after pay day for the more expensive items. I bumped in to my parents in Migros who were also trying to stock up before the predicted rain came that afternoon. It looked like another couple of days/nights of staying home. While I’d be gone, Caroline had texted to see if she could join me at the market to help carry things, I’d not got WiFi so I didn’t see her message until I walked near Jik’s. I said I’d see her back home for some lunch with Captain Caveman. When I got back, she’d gone out for lunch at Çağrı so I put the shopping away and tidied up.
Captain Caveman returned and seemed in a good mood, he was concerned the weather was going to be too bad to go out and that I didn’t get everything on the shopping list. He’d also spotted some bargains that we needed to get while they had offers on. We went back to the shops and bought the following;
A101 Supermarket Mandarins 5.20 Wholemeal bread 14.00 Pears 14.65 Apples 32.00 Clotted cream 47.50 Cheese 55.50 Kitchen roll 149.90 Total spent 318.75 lira (£9.38)
Migros Supermarket 1kg red lentils 22.50 4 X 500g bags of dried pasta 30.00 1 jar peanut butter 45.90 Total spent 98.40 (£2.89)
We really didn’t need the kaymak (Turkish clotted cream) but Captain Caveman loves it. The kitchen roll had a sign on saying it was on offer but it wasn’t and it turned out to be scented. Still, it was only £4.40 for quite a few rolls so wasn’t too bad. Everything on our second Migros visit was on offer so I was happy with that. I messaged Caroline to say we were off to Kefal tea gardens, by the river, to meet our friend Adele and that she was welcome to join us. She didn’t respond or come to join us so she must’ve been busy. At the tea gardens we chatted with Adele and had food and drink. As it’s a council run cafe, the prices are really good, here’s what we paid; 1 Turkish tea 10.00 2 cheese toasties 90.00 2 Efes Malt beers 150.00 1 white wine 100.00 Total spent 350.00 lira (£10.29)
It was a cheap and cheerful lunch which we all enjoyed, especially as we saw a turtle in the river as we sat and chatted. It was too quick for me to get any photos though. By the time we got home the rain was here, Caroline’s plans for a Saturday night out were scuppered as I told her we were staying in tonight. Captain Caveman made pasta which is one of his go-to meals – simple but tasty.
I cracked on with work on Tuesday 7th November and had already done over an hour’s work by the time Captain Caveman left for Bridge. For lunch I had more left over veggie curry with egg fried rice. I decided, as I’d lost quite a bit of weight (just over a stone), I’d have a sort out of my clothes that were too big and either sell them or put them in the charity bag. As I my earnings had reduced, but with Captain Caveman here and friends visiting, I could do with some extra beer money to supplement my income. When Captain Caveman got home he went to fetch a water refill then made a sandwich. Just as we were deciding what to cook for dinner, Caroline messaged to say she was on her way back from Göcek and would meet us at Tez bar for sundowners and would like to go out for a meal tonight. We were up for that, as it was her treat and to say goodbye. I did say she would miss sunset but we agreed to meet at Tez bar. My parents love a Tez-pat sundowner so they were up for it and we then made our way over to Okyanus for dinner. We shared some amazing starters of samphire, halloumi, stuffed mushrooms, carrot dip, beetroot, bread and Dad had soup. For mains, Captain Caveman and Caroline both had stuffed veggie dishes, Dad ordered casserole, Mom a peppered steak and I had a chicken shish. We had a great meal and, as the portions were generous, we took quite a bit of it home. By the end of the night Caroline had found a stray cat to pet and we were all ready for bed. I was particularly tired and I wanted to be up early for work tomorrow, so that I’d be finished in time for Fat Club.
It was weigh day on Wednesday 8th November and I was not feeling optimistic at all. I love going to the Fat Club group as the members are very supportive, however, when you know you’ve not really made as much of an effort as you intended it can feel a bit like playing at it. I got on the scales at home and took my measurements to find I’d put on 0.5kg (1.1lb), I’d put 1cm on my bust and hips but my waist remained the same. I worked until 12.30pm then had finished for the week, Caroline was not at home and Captain Caveman had gone on his Sunday’s postponed walk. I don’t mind saying it was bliss to have no interruptions as I made myself beans on toast for brunch with a nice cup of Yorkshire tea. I went through our book stash to see which I could swap or lend Dad then I went through more clothes to donate or sell. I sorted out a few Slimming World recipes for future use, wondering what we might have for dinner tonight. Unfortunately, Fat Club was cancelled due to Carol being sick so Captain Caveman suggested a bit of a walk for some fresh air. That evening he decided he would make dinner and did airfryer quesadillas. He did set fire to an airfryer liner when he put it in the airfryer loose and to heat up. It was a good job I have a sensitive nose to smell the burning but, of course, he didn’t listen when I interfered. We were going to watch Netflix and chill but it was more like choose something to snore to. The weather was still good and looked to be for another couple of days at least – perfect weather for Caroline’s motorbiking trip, which had been postponed for a couple more days.
It wasn’t raining when we woke up on Sunday 5th November but the forecast was very bad. Captain Caveman had to postpone the Sunday walk this week and by 10.20am there were dark clouds forming. I’d invited my parents and Kaan to join Captain Caveman, Caroline and I for a Sunday dinner around 5pm that evening. Caroline had a banana for breakfast, Captain Caveman cooked himself a menemen style meal (tomato and eggs) and I had toast. It started to rain heavily and it looked like no one was going anywhere. I got on with the preparation for our Sunday roast, I cooked the whole chicken, roast potatoes, carrots, leeks and Yorkshire puddings. I messaged Mom to bring the gravy as I realised I had none in. Kaan brought a bottle of red wine and some rakı, my parents brought a bottle of white wine and some beers. Caroline had already started us on the gin with rather ample measures! The meal was nice but I didn’t take any photos, mainly as I was too busy being the hostess with the mostest. Conversation was mainly about Caroline’s forthcoming trip to see the archaeological ruins in the East of Turkey. Kaan stressed his concern of her riding all that way alone as a woman but she is a strong, independent woman. I went on to wine and tried to limit my booze, my parents were the first to leave and Captain Caveman was keeping up with Caroline on the gin. Kaan doesn’t drink much and was taking it easy on the rakı. It was a good job as once a litre of gin had been polished off Captain Caveman and Caroline were keen to move on to the rakı. I was taking it easy as I was scheduled to work tomorrow, talk of Caroline leaving around 10am was fleetingly mentioned but I doubted that would be a good idea. By the end of the evening, I had gone to bed after Captain Caveman started being argumentative (well, more than usual) and I couldn’t be bothered with it.
I did the right thing by moving my working day from Monday 6th November to split it between Tuesday and Wednesday. Captain Caveman had gone dogging so I spent time with Caroline. She had decided she would postpone her motorbike adventure to Wednesday but she was going to go on a couple of outings in the meantime. She said she doesn’t like to plan too much and would rather go with the flow. I had a couple of Slimming World muffins, strawberries and some cherry juice for brunch then managed a bit of blogging while Caroline got ready to go out for the afternoon. Captain Caveman arrived back home from the dog shelter, showered, then went to the shop for essentials. Here’s the info:
That night Captain Caveman and I had an impromptu night in on our own as Caroline had been asked out on a date. We watched a bit of Netflix and had leftover veggie curry with steamed rice for dinner.
On Saturday 4th November Caroline was deliberating driving somewhere on the motorbike so she just took it around town and back. Captain Caveman and I needed to go to the weekly Dalyan market. As it looked to be a rainy weekend we thought we’d stock up, ready for lots of home cooking after Caroline’s imminent departure. Caroline got changed and we all went to the market where we bought the following, with prices in lira:
Stall 1 Potatoes, onions & garlic 59
Stall 2 Peppers, aubergines & pumpkin 57
Stall 3 Samphire 20
Stall 4 Tangerines 10
Stall 5 Tomatoes 35
Stall 6 Bananas 25
Stall 7 Apples & Strawberries 50
Stall 8 3 Gözleme (pancakes) 170
Total spent at the market today was 376 lira (£11.06).
Our next stop was for a quick shop for essentials as Captain Caveman needed proper coffee, Caroline wanted Sanpellegrino soda water and I needed a whole chicken for our Sunday lunch tomorrow. Here’s what I bought and the prices in lira:
Migros Supermarket Chickpeas 39.92 Soda water 65.00 Coffee 76.90 Chicken 122.72 Total spent 304.54 lira (£8.96)
After dropping off the shopping, Caroline rode her bike to the beach and we caught the 2pm bus to meet her there. I didn’t bother taking my swimmers but both Captain Caveman and Caroline went in the sea for a dip. It was very windy so the sand was blowing about quite a bit and I’m not too keen on sand. We took some photos then headed back, calling for a drink in Waterfall. Recep was impressed with Caroline and her motorbike as she told him about her plans to ride to Şanlıurfa tomorrow. He, like Kaan, advised her it was risky to go alone especially as there was a storm coming tomorrow but she explained she was a strong independent woman who had driven a motorbike with Vee (her dog) all over Vietnam.
After a couple in the Waterfall, on Caroline, she thought it would be a great idea to pop to the shop next door to stock up on booze and snack essentials. She got a load of wine and I also bought wine and the mixer drinks to go with the gin we had back home. I have no idea how much she spent in Muhtaroğlu Market but the total I spent was 1,824.80 lira (£53.65)! Hopefully that would last us a few days though and meant we wouldn’t be spending it going out drinking and eating!
Of course, it being Dalyan, that didn’t happen and we were in Tez bar with my parents by the time it went dark. Caroline ordered french fries and beers for dinner, despite the amount of alcohol we had at home. While sat at Tex, the man on the next table to us proposed to his girlfriend and she said yes! I eventually managed to get Captain Caveman and Caroline back to the apartment where they carried on drinking but I just had the one wine. Tomorrow, rain was forecast and I had a house full for Sunday dinner. Due to the weather prediction, Caroline had, sensibly, decided to stay until Monday.
In my head I had planned to have an easy going, low-cost day on Friday 3rd November. Captain Caveman had gone to play Bridge and Caroline had taken 2 buses to Ortaca then Marmaris. She had decided she was going to collect her rented motorbike from Marmaris so that she could have a practice drive back to get used to the roads. I had some berry ‘muffins’ for lunch as was trying to stick to the Slimming World plan. When Caroline returned she insisted that, as it was Friday night, we were going out for dinner and drinks, it was her treat for letting her stay with us as she would be off on her road trip soon. Captain Caveman pointed out that some bad weather was expected, possibly stormy on Sunday and that she might want to hold off until that had passed. For dinner, the three of us ate at Çağrı where we ordered some random dishes and a beer each; 2 pides, green beans, baked beans, salad, yoghurt, chillies, bread and beers which came to a total of 980 lira (£28.82) for the 3 of us and Caroline paid.
The night did not end there as Caroline was in hot pursuit of the best frozen margarita in Dalyan. We decided to join Mark, Kate, Linda and a few of their friends at Aşkın’s where I was certain they would know how to make a frozen margarita. Unfortunately, we ended up with a mix of strawberry daiquiri and margarita minus a salty rim which İpek insisted was just what we had asked for. We soldiered through it but it took me quite a while to drink the strange cocktail. Our next stop was at Tequila bar where one of the Toprak brothers was manning the bar, surely he would know how to make a frozen margarita. This one came without the ice and we couldn’t seem to make him or Kaan understand that we wanted a margarita which was made with crushed ice. Another street dog joined us so we soon forgot about the frozen margarita and gave it some attention. On the way home we stopped at Sofra bar where the frozen margarita came just as requested. It was about 1.30am when we got home, Caroline had decided that she wouldn’t leave for her motorbike adventure tomorrow as she’d drank far too much, she would plan to go on Sunday.
Photo credit – some from the Riverbumsand Caroline
I was surprised to learn it was Caroline’s birthday on Wednesday 1st November. Not only had she arrived a week earlier than we thought she would, but I would not get paid for 10 days and even then it was only half the pay I had planned for. Ironically, we had a very full fridge, freezer and cupboards at home as I was expecting not to be going out too much in the lead up to our friend’s visit. I didn’t hear from Captain Caveman or Caroline first thing as I let the dogs out then fed them and made a cup of tea. Norman was cute when I got my cuppa as he wanted to go upstairs ‘back to bobos’. We sat on the sofa for a bit of an extra sleep until it was time to go for a walk. I did my measurements to find my bust was the same but I’d lost 4cm from my waist and 3cm from my hips. This looked promising for Carol’s scales at Fat Club later. I worked in the morning and then I made my taster session food for Fat Club. I made the flour-less syn free muffins which look terrible but taste quite nice. Captain Caveman popped round and he’d been out with Caroline last night for drinks then food. Captain Caveman was very hung over and there was still no word from Caroline. I suggested we go to one of our favourite restaurants tonight for Caroline’s birthday and invited my parents too. It turns out that Captain Caveman and Caroline had been drinking at Bistro Blue last night but we would still go again tonight for an impromptu birthday meal. I left Jamie’s place and the pooches to go to Fat Club. I was disappointed to only have lost 0.1kg (0.2lb) but a loss is a loss, as they say at Fat Club. I couldn’t share the lentil soup that Carol made or the fritters by Janice, as they had chillies in but I did get the recipes to make my own without the heat. I couldn’t eat the fishy offering either but I did try and I enjoyed the mushroom paté as well as the hummus. My berry and banana ‘muffins’ were tried and people agreed they weren’t quite as terrible as they sounded or looked. Jamie was back by tea time and he’d unfortunately inherited a street dog on his complex who some holiday makers had brought home. He asked me to take the dog back to bar street as they aren’t allowed to have them wandering around the complex. I did, and the dog seemed genuinely happy to get back to his fellow pooches for the night. That evening, Captain Caveman had said he would pay for our meal so I didn’t even take my purse to Bistro Blue or Tez bar, where we started the birthday celebrations. My parents danced with some of the other Tez-pats to ‘Sweet Caroline’ as a thoughtful birthday treat for our friend. Caroline was happy to meet Tez who was going to help her organise a motorbike for her adventure tours to Şanlıurfa and Cappadocia next week. We had some amazing food at Bistro Blue although I noticed Caroline didn’t eat all of her’s. She said she felt unwell so she left before we had finished our drinks. When we came to pay Captain Caveman didn’t have enough on his card and I hadn’t brought any way of paying with me so we had to borrow the money from my parents. It was 1,740 lira including wine, which was just over £50 and not an expense I had budgeted for this week. The food and service had been great and I’d really enjoyed it but we now needed to make sure we stayed in to eat what we had at home.
While Captain Caveman went Bumming on Thursday 2nd November, Caroline had a lay in. I popped to the shops for sanitary towels and milk which cost a total of 36.75 lira (£1.08). Surprisingly, milk was more expensive than sanitary towels in Dalyan and it’s not usual or easy to find tampons in Dalyan supermarkets – they can be purchased at the pharmacy. When Caroline got up she had a banana for breakfast as she doesn’t eat breakfast and then went to ask Tez about hiring the motorbike. She was heading over to see the famous archaeological sights at Göbeklitepe, Şanlıurfa, and wanted to do it on a big motorbike. Both Captain Caveman and I do like to plan things but Caroline had said she was much more of a non-planning type of traveller. Her mission on this trip was to ‘search for people’s truth’ which I was sure that I fully understood. Captain Caveman and I had a walk to the water company to get his deposit back from when he had the water in his name, unfortunately they didn’t understand our English or my Google translated Turkish, which was convenient for them! At 2.30pm Captain Caveman and I met up with Caroline at Kaunos tea gardens where I had a double çay and a chicken döner, Caroline a juice and a chicken döner and Captain Caveman had an Efes beer and a mixed toasted sandwich. I paid the 305 lira (£8.97) but I did say we would be eating in tonight as we were on a budget and I was meant to be on a diet! My words fell on deaf ears as we bumped in to Kaan at Tequila Bar and joined him for a drink, sat in the sun. Captain Caveman and I just had beer but Caroline, who was on her holidays, had a couple of Aperol Spritzes. Another stray dog or two joined us, one was particularly cute but a bit smelly. When the sun went in, Caroline decided she needed some white tops ready for her motorbiking adventure. We popped to the shop where she picked up a couple of t-shirts/sweatshirts. On the way home we stopped at Tez bar to finalise the bike arrangements for tomorrow and for Captain Caveman and Caroline to have a beer.
We had a nice relaxing day on Sunday 29th October. Captain Caveman got his bicycle wheel fixed for 135 lira (£3.96) which he was pleased about. We shared a sausage roll and a cheese & onion roll each for breakfast and both agreed they were lovely. For lunch I had cheese spread and bread but I decided to make a vegetable curry in the slow cooker for dinner. While I was chopping the veg, Captain Caveman got a call from our friend Caroline. We know her from Phong Nha, in Vietnam, she lives in Hoi An now and is Australian but had been in Greece for the last month. Caroline had made loose plans to see us in Rhodes but they never materialised so she would like to come and visit us in Dalyan…. tomorrow! Her flight would land in Dalaman airport at 3pm so it was all systems go to make up the spare bed and get the house clean for our friend’s arrival. We had the veggie curry with steamed rice which was delicious and, of course, we had some spare. We had a few grapes after and wondered how long a visit to Dalyan Caroline was planning.
I worked from 8am until 5pm on Monday 30th October and this would be my last week of working 16 hours. I’d already done some extra from last week so it meant I’d definitely be finished by Tuesday. I had Yorkshire tea and buttered wholemeal toast for breakfast. Captain Caveman went dogging, he likes to walk the dogs at the dog shelter so sometimes he goes up there to help out. He was back for lunch so we had leftover cauliflower mac and cheese. As we knew Caroline was arriving this afternoon, we asked the taxi to take her to Lukka bar, where Captain Caveman would go to meet her. I would finish working and then join them. As I was getting changed to go meet Caroline and Captain Caveman, I saw a post on Facebook reporting a dog that had turned up at someone’s house in Dalyan. It looked similar to Debbie (Darling)’s Brinny but had a different collar on. I messaged Debbie (Darling) who said it was Brinny’s sister, owned by a Turkish man. I also had a message from Kelly, back in the UK, the girls were hoping to be able to book their holiday to Rhodes for next September and had a few questions. It was a long way off but I hoped I’d be able to join them for a holiday. I met Caroline and Captain Caveman at Lukka bar, she looked well and was dressed for winter despite the warm weather in Dalyan. We had a beer together and she told us a bit about her trip to Greece and Sweden. We couldn’t sit about as we had a night out to get to so it was back home for curry before heading out to Sofra bar. The Bengisu Boys were playing a gig and they are great musicians so it turned in to a good night. By 10pm both Captain Caveman and I were on the Sofra ‘dancefloor’ giving it what-for! Caroline was too cool for dancing with the ‘olds’ but was testing out the drink menu and being acquainted with our friends. VLS arrived and I did a karaoke song with her. It was awful and I could see that Şükrü would never let me put in another request! By 11.30pm Brinny’s sister, the escaped dog, had found us and was keeping us company. The walk home, at just gone midnight, involved several stray dogs escorting us home and Caroline tried not to get attached, as she loves dogs.
On Tuesday 31st October Captain Caveman went off to Bridge so that I could work in peace, leaving Caroline with me. I had plans at lunch time to go over to Jamie’s as I was looking after his cute little dogs, Norman and Edna, for a few days. It turned out I’d got confused about the amount of hours I needed to work this week as my boss only wanted me to do 8 per week with immediate affect as from last week, so I’d already worked them. It was going to be incredibly tight for money for the next couple of months so it’s a good job we don’t do Christmas presents or celebrate Christmas out here, in Turkey. I left Caroline to her own devices following a discussion about the use of psilocybin mushrooms for trauma. I packed a bag and headed over to Jamie’s, taking my lunch with me. Around 1.15pm I was just getting a nice feta cheese salad ready to eat when Captain Caveman arrived at Jamie’s. He was meant to have been going back home to see Caroline for lunch but shared my salad. I sent him over to look after our guest with instructions to keep in touch while I looked after Norman and Edna. I didn’t see or hear from Captain Caveman or Caroline again that evening so I had a lovely quiet one with a leftover chicken and veggie curry. I obviously stayed over at Jamie’s and the pooches wanted to come upstairs to bed with me. I told them they had to sleep in their own bed downstairs and gave them a kiss. I didn’t have any alcohol, it was Fat Club tomorrow and I was only on 273 syns for the week. The Fat Club meeting tomorrow had a taster session that we all had to take something for so I’d brought over my ingredients to make something in the morning.
On Friday 27th October I had a fruit salad for breakfast and Captain Caveman had gone to Bridge when I got logged on to the laptop. I’d already done my hours for this week but my boss wanted a video call. Steve explained that he only needed me to work half as much up until the end of the year. I was also going to have to finish work after the week commencing 18th December to have Christmas and New Year off. We agreed I’d work my usual hours until the end of this month and then half the hours for the next 6 weeks after that. Obviously, I was a bit disappointed, especially as I need to earn a certain amount to maintain my residency that I’d recently paid so much to get. When Captain Caveman got back we both went food shopping and here’s what we bought:
A101 Supermarket 1l cherry juice 32.00 lira (£0.94)
Migros Supermarket 1 bag of porridge oats 4.25 Cheese biscuits 9.00 Peanut butter 65.90 Total spent 79.15 lira (£2.33)
I just had wholemeal toast for lunch as I wasn’t hungry and it would soon be dinner time. We were also hosting a small cheese and wine evening at our apartment for my parents, Jamie, and Drew. Today was pay day and we’d been invited to a party at Rehab bar to say bye to a bloke who neither of us knew who looks after cats. Kate was hosting and wanted us to attend but with reduced work afoot, it was time to decline non-essential outings and frivolities – I needed to save the pennies! For dinner we had chicken köfte with potato wedges and vegetables before getting ready to entertain our guests. My parents arrived first and we got chatting, then Jamie and Drew arrived with Börek (Turkish pastries with cheese in) – the diet was out of the window once again! We had a good night with plenty of wine and lots of laughs, where we all enjoyed ourselves.
It was market day on Saturday 28th October so, after a cup of Yorkshire tea in bed, we got ready for a shopping trip. We didn’t need too much this week but here’s what we bought:
Stall 1 Lettuce, pumpkin, red peppers and tomatoes 70 lira (£2.06)
Stall 2 Grapes 20 lira (£0.59)
Stall 3 5 bananas 45 lira (£1.32)
Total market spend 135 lira (£3.97).
When we got back, I had grapes for breakfast as Kate was on her way over. She had bought some cat food from an online company but when it came, it was not correct and she needed to send it back and complain. That took longer than expected and still couldn’t be submitted so she went home a bit stressed. In the afternoon I went over to Vanessa’s where she’d just made sausage rolls and cheese and onion rolls. We ate some and drank white wine & soda while catching up on all the comings and goings of life. Later, we encouraged Kate to join us and she cycled over. It was a lovely afternoon and I didn’t get in until pretty late, with spare sausage rolls to take home too. I left Vanessa getting on the back of her friend’s mobility scooter and heading for a night in Rodrigo’s. I made a Slimming World friendly cauliflower mac and cheese for dinner using pasta, cauliflower, pumpkin, bacon, garlic, yoghurt, eggs, paprika and thyme. It was surprisingly good and we both enjoyed it.
I pride myself on not throwing food away and always using all the food that we buy. Friday 20th October was a classic example of this as I served us yet another portion each of the chicken casserole, this time jazzed up with broccoli done in the airfryer with pepper and garlic powder. We treated ourselves to a couple of slices of fresh bread which I had to syn. The meal was still very tasty and neither of us had got bored of eating the syn free casserole. In the afternoon I needed to provide Captain Caveman with wardrobe and drawer space in our bedroom so I had to rationalise my clothes, popping some in an empty suitcase. I had a good declutter of my 4 drawers, down to 3. For dinner we had something I’d not had in a while – a wrap pizza! Although I had to use syns again for this it was still much healthier and cheaper than a normal pizza.
On Saturday 21st October we went to the weekly market in the morning. Here’s what we bought and the prices:
Stall 1 Peppers, red cabbage, cucumbers, leeks garlic and aubergine Cost 82 lira (£2.41)
Stall 2 Potatoes and onions Cost 55 lira (£1.62)
Stall 3 Radishes, mushrooms and apples Cost 52 lira (£1.53)
Our total shopping came to 384 lira (£11.29) and we had quite a fridge full of fresh fruit and veg. We also bought a 19 litre water refill which was now 60 lira (£1.76) from the corner shop. For breakfast I had grapes but for lunch I made a chicken and vegetable soup which I chucked some egg noodles in to, a Slimming World version of a pot noodle. At 1.30pm Vanessa came over for a cup of tea and a chat while Captain Caveman was busy unpacking his stuff and getting his bicycle out from underneath the spare bed. For dinner we had sausage casserole and had my debut airfryer Yorkshire puddings. I had to fashion some foil tins to keep them from blowing about and the puddings seemed quite dense. They still tasted ok but I needed more practice and some containers which fit in the airfryer. In the evening we invited Ma & Pa over for drinks, as we’d not seen much of them since our Rhodes holiday. They didn’t stay late though as Dad wanted to get home to watch some football on TV. I ended up drinking the equivalent of a bottle of wine to myself so my syns for the day were too high at 47! I’d now had 197 for the week, which wasn’t great.
Captain Caveman had decided he was going to organise a walk on Sunday 22nd October in an attempt to keep active. He also planned to continue it every Sunday, while ever the weather was good. So, without any breakfast and wearing my porter sandals, I found myself waiting in Migros Square for a few stragglers. It was a lovely sunny day, shorts weather, and it was a pleasant walk. I’d took no notice of the proposed route so was quite surprised when I managed 12.5km in porter sandals without socks. Ma & Pa also managed it and took themselves off to the tea gardens after, for lunch. Captain Caveman was off to watch Dalyan Spor play football in the afternoon so we had lunch at home – a cheese sandwich and some fruit. For dinner we had leftover sausage casserole with potatoes with another round of airfryer Yorkshire puddings and a couple of glasses of wine.
I’d previously been invited, but declined, an invite from Kate to go on a 12 island boat trip from Fethiye on Thursday 19th October. At the time of asking I’d not known when my residency renewal appointment or me having to leave Turkey date would be so we couldn’t commit. My parents, on the other hand, didn’t have these problems and had said they were going and were being picked up from Lukka bar at 10am. More recently, Jamie had invited Captain Caveman and I on Drew’s private boat trip for his brother’s birthday and we had agreed. This one was with Ünal, Sioned’s husband, on Duran Duran boat. My diet started badly with a homemade (by Sioned) Welsh cake and a cup of tea as we set sail and got introduced to everyone. There was Jamie, Drew, Robert, Lucie, their 2 (well behaved) teenage children, Ann, Sharon, Ali and us two. Drew’s family were lovely and we all had an absolutely fantastic day out with excellent company and amazing food. I ate fresh bread, courgette fritters, şakşuka, spinach, pasta, green beans, carrots, chicken, meatballs, chips, red cabbage, couscous and more bread! I pushed the boat out a bit and had a beer (just the one) too.
We all went swimming, walked on the beach and generally had a really good laugh. There was numerous stops (beach and the lake), there was crab fishing, which I didn’t do but all the crabs caught were females so they had to be put back in to the sea. Ünal really spoiled us in the afternoon with fruit platters and a delicious cake. We sang Happy Birthday to Robert and I probably should have said no to finishing off Captain Caveman’s piece of cake too.
When we left the boat, everyone went back home but we reconvened at Lukka bar, where there was another surprise singing of Happy Birthday. An impressive chocolate cake was shared out and I managed a slice. Norman and Edna had joined us and wondered why they didn’t have such treats. I didn’t need any dinner that night and we were quite sensible with an early night. My parents, on the other hand, were still giving the ball a right kick!
On Monday 16th October it was business as usual in Dalyan. I needed to get back in to healthy eating, cutting down on the alcohol and, if I wanted to hit my weight target by the end of the year, do it seriously. Captain Caveman and I were now both in Dalyan for the rest of the year and I was really looking forward to us spending 11 weeks together. My parents were also going to be in Dalyan for the rest of the year which was great but I hoped they wouldn’t get bored in the winter. We also needed to save some money as we had some scheduled visits from friends in the coming weeks. We’d had a great holiday but now it was back to work. My first job was to get weighed so that I knew how much damage I’d done and what I needed to lose still. Amazingly, I was the same weight as I was 12 days ago and 1kg lighter than on Steve and Michelle’s scales 5 days ago – I wasn’t as concerned about facing Carol’s scales on Wednesday now. The next job was to go to the bank and check the finances, they had taken quite a bruising and it was time to cut back for a few weeks now. While I cracked on with a day’s work, Captain Caveman was also getting back in to his routine and took himself off dogging followed by a bridge session with John. For dinner, Captain Caveman made a simple, diet friendly and tasty chicken and veg pasta. It was another alcohol free night for me as I wanted to be healthier and didn’t want to put any weight back on before Wednesday’s Fat Club.
I worked from 9.30am to 5.45pm on Tuesday 17th October and, although I’d done my hours for this week I decided i would make up for having a shorter week last week. I was still trying hard to get back in to a healthier lifestyle and eating plan so I had made a chicken casserole in the slow cooker which I did with airfryer potatoes for dinner. I’d not been writing down my syns but I decided that I would get back in to that habit tomorrow after my Fat Club weigh-in. We opened a bottle of rosé wine from the fridge and shared that with our very tasty and syn free dinner.
On Wednesday 18th October I was definitely getting back in to my Slimming World regime. I started the day with a breakfast of overnight oats, made with quark and frozen raspberries, and a cup of Yorkshire tea. I got weighed on the home scales and had lost 0.95kg (2lb) since Monday! My measurements showed I’d lost 1cm from my bust but put 3cm on my waist and hips. I was now at the target measurement for my bust but I still needed to lose 7cm from my waist and 6cm from my hips. I was hoping to get that done before the end of the year if I could stay motivated and stick to my goals. I had a light lunch of random stuff from the fridge; turkey, sun-dried tomato, olives, gherkins, blue cheese, and salami in a wrap and we would be having the same as yesterday for dinner. As I was working a bit extra this week, I only had time to nip in to the Fat Club meeting and get weighed. I was so pleased to have lost 0.4kg (0.9lb) on Carol’s scales, as I really wasn’t expecting it to be a good result. On the way home from getting weighed, I called in to Migros supermarket where I picked up potatoes and fat free yogurt for 30.10 lira (89p). Back at home, I worked for another couple of hours before having our leftover chicken casserole with airfryer potatoes for dinner. There was heavy rain forecast, despite it being a decent temperature, so I decided to bring the lounging chair and foot stool from the balcony in to the living room. Captain Caveman was straight in it and I thought I might live to regret this decision as he now had a handy place to sit and play bridge all day on his phone! With dinner we opened a bottle of red wine which we had in the wine rack for just over a year. We had brought it back from Datça Vineyard when we went last year for my parents’ anniversary. I’m not sure which of us was the most impressed that I’d not drunk it. We watched a bit of Netflix and treated ourselves to cheese and crackers so my syns for today were 34, more than double my daily allowance. This was not the best of starts and tomorrow was likely to prove somewhat difficult as we had an exciting day planned.
On Sunday 15th October I woke up without a hangover, which was quite a surprise. We sorted out the remainder of our laundry, which had been hung out to dry, and Captain Caveman went to get some much needed water as we had none in the house. We decided to pack all our stuff and leave the traditional Greek house earlier to go for a hot drink/breakfast rather than go to come back again. Our ferry from Rhodes to Fethiye wasn’t until 4pm but we needed to be there for 3pm to get our tickets. I got a message from Steve at 10.40am to say he would send us our ferry tickets shortly. We left the house just after 11am and went to the bakery and Cuckoo’s Nest for everyone (except me) to get pastries and coffee. Even though I no longer have gluten intolerances, I still avoid pastries before travelling as I always get a dodgy tum. I did buy a sandwich to take with me for when we got to Rhodes Town though. Steve and Michelle joined us for a coffee and to say their goodbyes, not knowing exactly when we would see them again but the ferries were going to be running in the winter months. Taxis in Rhodes are extremely expensive and would not have comfortably fitted 4 adults and all our luggage in so we had opted for the pretty reliable public transport option. The bus cost us €5.60 (£4.71) each to get to Rhodes Town and was meant to take 2 hours. We got in to town before 2pm and decided to go straight to the port rather than messing around. It was a bit of a walk but we took it steady as the weather was nice and we were in no rush. At the port, it was the busiest I’d ever seen it and there was no available seating. Eventually we got a seat, I got the tickets and I managed to eat my sandwich around 3pm. It was a long trip back to Dalyan, especially as we took the decision to go all the way by public transport after our usual taxi guy, failed to respond to messages. The ferry crossing was fine and quite relaxing, we took a short but speedy taxi ride to the bus station only to find that a bus to Ortaca was already in. Captain Caveman ran ahead to get on with us rushing to keep up with him. We got on and paid the less than £2.50 fare each to get to Ortaca, about an hour away. The bus ride wasn’t too pleasant, it was rather cold with the windows open plus I soon needed the loo. When we got to Ortaca the bus to Dalyan was in so Captain Caveman was keen to hurry to get it but we had a falling out when I said I didn’t care if we missed it. Even after a pitstop for Mom and I to go for a pee, we still managed to catch the Dalyan bus that was waiting but I had to squidge on to the back seat with a nice Turkish family. It was cold and rain was coming in the open window so we were all glad to finally get off at Dalyan where Captain Caveman had a cunning plan. He needed to redeem himself for us all being so hungry and thirsty but yet being in Dalyan with all our luggage at gone 8.30pm. Since leaving Lardos at 12 we had not stopped and my parents hadn’t eaten since that pasty for breakfast at 11.30am. Captain Caveman would take our bags home while my parents, their bags and I would go to Duble restaurant and order some food. I think my dad was a bit too tired because he couldn’t decide what to have and said there was nothing he liked despite going to Duble a few times and enjoying it. By the time Captain Caveman got back we still hadn’t ordered either. Mom chose chicken and mushroom pasta, Dad went for a chicken shish he didn’t really fancy and Captain Caveman and I both ordered the same; lentil soup and liver starters as a main. Dad and Captain Caveman ordered alcoholic beverages but Mom and I could not face booze after last night. The food was excellent and Ma insisted that she paid for the meal which was very good of them. It was easily after 10pm as we headed home, Captain Caveman took my parents case to their’s for them so there was no chance of either of them struggling with it on the stairs.
joloyolo 