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.
It was weigh day again on Wednesday 18th March and I was slightly optimistic since my home scales said I had lost 0.5kg (1.1lb). My measurements did show that I had put on 1cm on my bust and waist, my hips had stayed the same. I was busy in the office again and too much time was spent on unnecessary stuff so that I had to mute my phone to get on with what I needed to. At Fat Club I was very disappointed to find I had put on a whopping 1.8kg (4lb)! I bought a water for 30 lira (51p) because I’d already overdone it on the Turkish tea this morning. I was out of Quark so I nipped to the shop after the group, here’s what I bought with prices in lira;
I got a notification from Facebook, based on the content I had written in Georgina Chapman’s training, that I was a conversation starter. The actual post had got over 3,000 views which I was pleased about as getting seen online is always an uphill slog. After work, I had leftover chicken chasseur for dinner, then had a bit of a treat while watching Netflix. I had some Haribo, a Dido bar and made myself a White Russian (or two). I even made my own popcorn and turned my phone off early.
Gratitude List 1. Thinking I’d lost weight 2. Treats 3. A relaxing evening watching Netflix.
It was a very busy day on Tuesday 17th March. It was also a very noisy day as I had 2 neighbours both grinding, sanding and drilling for most of the day. I decided to shove a chicken chasseur in the slow cooker too. I worked in the office all day and did quite a bit of author related stuff in an attempt to be ready for when, and if, I got the agreement for my books to be on shelves in book shops. I got paid and I was pleased to have my first pay day of 2026. I had spent £55 already this week, against my new weekly budget of £70 so I decided to have a low spend day today. I was trying not to spend my pay as soon as I got it and save for my 2026 travels. After making a sandwich for lunch, I noticed that spider season seemed to have started as there was one on the kitchen door. I got some photos and a message from my parents, who I had sent birthday/mother’s day gifts to. I had sent them 2 boxes of retro and liquorice sweets. They were due to be going to Scotland with my sister and I thought it would be nice for them to have sweets for the journey. They were really happy and I loved getting the photos as it cheered me up on a busy day. After work, I decided to get some fresh air and had to walk through a mess of iron shavings that had gone into the stairwell. The workmen had tidied the outside but had assumed the gate to our stairs was locked so didn’t clean up that bit. I walked by the river and to the bakers where I spent just 15 lira (25p) on a fresh loaf of bread. Back home I had the chicken chasseur, which was lovely, and I tried to relax.
Gratitude List 1. Getting further towards having my books in book shops 2. Pay Day at last! 3. Chicken Chasseur for dinner.
I was beside myself with excitement on Monday 16th March; Claire Clarke, my publishing consultant, was about to give me help to get my book(s) in to actual UK bookshops – on the shelves or to preorder! I needed to buy the ISBN numbers for the books. These were £93 for 3 or £175 for 10. I spoke to Captain Caveman who was super supportive and thought that it was a great idea to get more of my books out in to the world. I decided to buy the 10 ISBNs as it would mean I had the rest for all my other books – if I didn’t think of myself as a writer or author before, I needed to now!
Claire and I got on a Zoom call at 1pm and, while it was technical for me, we got through the necessary work to get it set up (I won’t bore you with the details but it wouldn’t have been easy to do on my own). At the end of the call, I had a few more things from Claire to do and she was going to do her tasks. We would reconvene once we got an answer from the publishing company, which would allow us to then be on the national database for all booksellers in the UK.
I was so giddy, as I’d been trying to get to a point where my book(s) could be found in bookshops rather than just on Amazon. If all went well, all those people who ‘didn’t do Amazon’ would be able to buy my books in a bookshop this summer! ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ was first in line, then we would add ‘You Can’t Shit Yourself’ on a Bicycle…’ before the next couple I was currently working on. There was a slight setback in that my next book, ‘You Can’t Eat a Whole Blancmange and Dance….and other handy travel tips’ would be delayed. It was a bit scary, but also very exciting.
I was so grateful for Claire being there to support me and if you’re reading this and want to get a planner or journal published you should definitely get in touch (link below).
I decided to celebrate in the evening; Vanessa was going back to the UK so we had arranged for me to join her and Matt for fish & chips at Cadde Balık. We’d had it planned for a while and Vanessa came to call for me at 5.30pm. Matt had decided not to come as he had eaten out at lunch time so wasn’t hungry.
As we were walking along the river, Vanessa said the reason we had picked fish and chips was because of Matt, and I’d been recently so we decided to change the venue so we could have a celebratory wine. We arrived at River House and the weather was nice enough to sit outside at 6pm. We decided to splash out with a full meal plus wine and it was amazing. Here’s what we had with prices in lira;
River House
1 soda water 50 1 Carafe white wine 590 1 Lahmacun 295 1 Chicken risotto 850 1 Liver & Onions 950 1 chocolate pancake 230 Total 2,965 lira (£50.25)
We also got free bread and mezzes so we had lots of food! Various stray cats and dogs waited to see if they would get any leftovers and one dog got a bit of liver from Vanessa. Obviously, we split the bill. It was the most I’d spent on a meal out in a while but I thought it was excellent. While we were there, a friend from the UK on holiday here, stopped by and she joined us. It was a lovely girl’s night and it felt nice to go out and treat myself while saying bye to one of my best friends. I would worry about the £70 weekly budget later!
When I got home, things had progressed with the pay day chase up and we were getting paid tomorrow. I was certainly looking forward to the money being in our accounts!
Gratitude List
1. Progress on getting my books in to actual UK book shops!
It was an interesting day on Sunday 15th March; I’d already turned down an invite to a boat trip with a friend so that I could get on with tasks that I needed to do. I had something exciting brewing with regards to my books but I couldn’t say anything yet, mainly as I didn’t have all the information. It was Mother’s Day in the UK but they don’t celebrate it in Turkey. I messaged Mom to see when I could call as I didn’t know if she might be doing something with my sister. I tootled off to meet Nanny Kay, Jamie, Drew and Norman in Luvi, a cafe I’d not really taken any notice of before. It’s next door to Mimi’s and near Ozzy’s Bar in the square next to Migros. It took a short while to order a hot chocolate on account of the staff making the others’ 3 drinks but it was worth the wait and cost 140 lira (£2.37), it wasn’t much more for wine and the wine by the bottle was reasonable, I noted. The cafe was nice and Norman got some attention. I decided to call to see if there was any chicken on offer on the way back, and I had run out of oats. I was in luck and here’s what I bought with prices in lira;
I had a bit of a fiasco with trying to log in to my Amazon account, which was irritating because I needed access for the important meeting I had booked in for tomorrow. That was frustrating as I was sure I had the right details. In the afternoon I walked over to Vanessa’s, while eating a banana in place of breakfast or lunch, and had a cup of tea with her and Matt and picked up a bag of oranges. Vanessa and I decided to have a walk round town and called at the tea gardens, it was incredibly busy. We’d already seen Mark, Kate, Pamela and Glynn in Efe bar when Vanessa dropped a scarf off for someone who had left it. Next, we went to Public bar for a glass of wine. It’s one of the more expensive places at 180 lira (£3.05) for a white wine and we shared a soda. I was getting peckish and thought I might order food at Public but resisted and we called at the supermarket. Vanessa recommended some chicken pieces that were a bit like a KFC and I decided to buy those. A bag of them was only 189 lira (£3.20) so much cheaper than eating out and I had wraps at home already, so that was late lunch and early dinner sorted. In the evening I had a video call with my Mom to wish her Happy Mother’s Day.
Gratitude List 1. Cancelled plans 2. Catching up with Vanessa 3. Chicken wrap at home.
It was market day again on Saturday 14th March so I had arranged to go with Vanessa. I had already checked the remaining budget from my readjusted £40 for the week and today was the last day. There was no way I was going to be able to stick to it and I knew that the remaining £6.61 would get spent easily at the market today. I needed to better plan if I wanted to reach my saving goals. I called for Vanessa at 10am and we planned for a quick market shop then to go to the nice cafe for a cup of tea and a chat.
Here’s what I bought, prices in lira;
Stall 1 Lettuce 30 lira (51p)
Stall 2 Carrots, spring onions, radish 150 (£2.54)
This week’s reduced budget was blown already, mainly due to strawberries at 200 lira (£3.39), but I was not unduly worried as we headed to Mornings in Mavi, my new favourite cafe. I decided to throw caution to the wind and ordered a fancy tea for 120 lira (£2.03) and a toasted sandwich for 300 lira (5.08). It was fantastic and very filling so I wouldn’t need any lunch today. The owner of the cafe is from Eskişehir and seems very conscientious. After discussing my budgeting plans with Vanessa and realising I was being quite restrictive trying to live on less than £6 per day, I decided for future weeks I would reset and up the budget to £10 per day, so £70 per week. This way, when I didn’t spend it all, it would be more motivating but it would also not be such a burden if I did. I’d still not been paid but surely that would be due on Monday.
Back home, I put the shopping away and totted up that this week I had spent £49.32, which was pretty good to say I’d had 2 days where I had alcohol and only 1 zero spend day. I had a video call with Captain Caveman who had one week left until his trip to Vietnam. He was heading over to take part in the Saigon Children’s Charity bicycle ride for charity. Ordinarily, I would have been there for support but I had already committed my time to Norman, the dog, and his 15th birthday – I couldn’t miss that! Captain Caveman offered to send me money but he had enough on, with his trip to Vietnam and the apartment maintenance and repairs he needed to pay for, plus he was moving house, so I said I would manage by continuing my Money Minded March. I worked for the rest of the day, my post using the new skills from Georgina Chapman had got so many views that it was scary! I had a cheese salad sandwich and realised I should’ve gone halves on the lettuce this week – it was huge!!! Later, I decided to swing by Ren Garden to say bye to Lucy and Scott before they went for dinner and then the airport.
Gratitude List 1. Splurging at the market and in the cafe with Vanessa 2. Speaking to Captain Caveman 3. Seeing Lucy and Scott one last time.
It was the final day of The Signal on Friday 13th March and I felt like I’d really benefitted from Georgina Chapman’s free insights this week. I’d learned loads and I hoped to be able to put all the lessons to good use in my travel business as well as my books. I took myself off to the shop and, as I had only spent £20.25 of my £40 weekly budget with 2 days left to go, I decided to get some Friday treats that weren’t alcohol. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;
Şok Supermarket 1 Maxi Dido chocolate bar 24.90 2 500g pasta 27.50 1 Gold Dido bar 30.00 1 Nut Dido chocolate bar 35.00 1 Pot Noodle 40.00 Marshmallows 48.00 1 glass jar 50.00 Total spent 255.40 lira (£4.33)
I’d really splashed out on some unnecessary items today but I was happy with my glass jar which came with a lid and a spoon – ideal for overnight oats.
After a busy afternoon, I went to meet a friend at the new fish restaurant. I’d missed Matt’s birthday there on Wednesday but reports back were that it was excellent so I was really looking forward to it. I’d not realised that the owner of Cadde Balık Ekmek, Suat, was Suha’s Dad and he came over to say hello and introduce us. I know Suha from Bistro Blue and his family are very nice. The place was very clean and well organised, we sat inside and ordered the fish and chips with a small bottle of water. I wasn’t drinking as I had a customer call this evening, hence why we were dining early, but they don’t serve alcohol, anyway. I paid 500 lira (£8.47) for the fish and chips and 20 lira (34p) for the water. The meal came with lots of condiments and extras which I personally didn’t eat as I’m not one for sauces, my friend did though. I was a massive fan of the very light batter, the chips were reasonably good and made better by the proper vinegar! There was talk of adding mushy peas at some point, but I don’t like them and prefer my meal without. I really enjoyed my first visit – my friend and I were very impressed and would definitely be recommending and going again. I live very close but it was also good to know that they would be doing takeaway and delivery in addition to their dine in option. I hurried back home to deal with some work and then had an early night without any alcohol and happy that I was still under budget.
Gratitude List 1. The Signal & Georgina Chapman 2. Friday treats 3. Fish and Chips.
My weight on the home scales on Wednesday 11th March showed no change and I hoped that was because the battery was low on them. My measurements were much more favourable as I had lost 1cm from my bust and waist and 3cm from my hips. I just needed to lose 3cm more from my waist and hips to be back to target. After a couple of hours work, I did day 3 of The Signal, the free course which was really opening my eyes to how I write content and how I might want to improve it in the future. At 1pm I was on a zoom call with the publisher, Claire Clarke, and the Create, Publish, Grow group that I’m part of. We started to discuss advertising and getting our books in to actual bookshops which is what I really needed. I still wanted to do more book sales as I knew my handy travel tips and the handy travel planner could certainly help more people have better holidays. At Fat Club I had a bit of a surprise when I got on Carol’s scales – I had lost 1.9kg (3.8lb) so, naturally, I was pleased. The swimming pool and the garden area at Ren was looking good, ready for the tourists coming soon. It was colder than it looked out so I was regretting wearing shorts! I spent just 30 lira (51p) on a water, although I was meant to be on a zero spend day today. I rushed back home as I had more work commitments booked in which meant I couldn’t make it to Matt’s birthday meal at the new fish place in town. I’d decided I might meet them after for drinks but I didn’t go in the end. I’d not been paid yet and I was keen to wait until I knew what I was getting, before I spent money on going out or alcohol, plus I was absolutely knackered. Most of the people out had gone to Corner bar, some had gone home. I had an early night, ready for another busy day tomorrow.
Gratitude List 1. Free help with courses and zoom 2. Losing weight 3. A very low spend, zero alcohol day.
It was a busy day in Dalyan on Thursday 12th March. I did a couple of hours work while having tea and toast. At 10am I attended the 4th session of The Signal with Georgina Chapman. In the Resort Experts team meeting at 2pm there was no apology or mention of the late pay day so I asked the question (again). Luckily, we were reassured that it was being worked on as we spoke. It was likely we would get paid tomorrow but definitely by Friday! I was fine with that, I just wanted to know how much I was getting and when, so that I could make sure my money was in the Turkish bank account before the Bayram bank holidays. It was hot today so I sat outside and got sunburn through my black trousers. I ate left over curry for lunch, outside on the balcony.
At 6pm I decided to go for a walk and take some photos by the river, go to the bank and call for some wine. I bought 2 bottles for 560 lira (£9.49) and took them over to Jamie & Drew’s where I had been invited for dinner.
At Jamie’s I sat outside with a glass of red while chatting to Lucy (Drew’s sister-in-law) and getting to know Scott (her friend). They are really nice people and we had such a laugh. Nanny Kay arrived shortly after and more wine and more laughs were had before enjoying a delicious chicken dinner. It was late when I got home and I was a bit tipsy!
Gratitude List 1. My new phone and camera 2. A great night at Jamie & Drew’s. 3. Wine.
I was so busy on Tuesday 10th March, the day started with the banana cake and tea and then I was in the office until 3pm. I bought Captain Caveman’s annual Earthquake Insurance for 1,797 lira (£30) as well as the annual home insurance for 10,723 lira (£182). I now use Aytaç Burçak of Saraymine Sigorta for all our insurances as he knows what he’s doing and is easy to do business with. I needed some essentials and some lunch so, at 3.30pm I took a break and went to the shops. Here’s what I got with prices in lira;
Parlak Bakery 1 Bread 15 1 simit 15 Total spent 30 lira (51p)
Migros Supermarket Bin Liners 29.95 4 Quark 180.00 Total spent 209.95 lira (£3.56)
I got as many Quark as I could because they were on offer. Back home I ate the simit with cheese, olives and gherkins for a very late lunch, before getting back to my desk. There was still no email or sign of pay from Resort Experts but I was reliably informed it could sometimes be as late as the 14th so I waited patiently. I arranged for some quotes for home repairs to be done by Leanne at King Emlak and then I finished a busy day around 6.30pm.
I went to meet friends who were back from the UK and had brought me butter back. When I got to Corner Bar, I ordered a red wine, and found out my friends had forgotten the butter! Still, it was nice to see them as I don’t get out an awful lot these days and they always make an effort to check on me, which is nice. I paid 170 lira (£2.88) for a glass of wine, but limited it as I had Fat Club tomorrow! Jamie walked past and was with Norman, the dog, Drew and his sister-in-law and her friend so we all did the usual hellos and Norman got a stroke. Back home I had curry for dinner and then did some writing. I hoped I’d done enough this week to lose some weight at Fat Club tomorrow.
I arranged to meet a friend on Sunday 8th March, at Kaunos tea Gardens. I couldn’t take the whole day off so we decided to meet at 9.30am with the intention of having a bit of a walk too. As I walked past the River House I noticed they had sea bream and bass on special for £10. We ended up sitting inside as it was still quite chilly. I had 2 large Turkish teas and a cheese toastie for 195 lira (£3.30). We had a good catch up and then a walk along the river, stopping to speak to the owner of the new fish and chip place between the Zabıta office and China Town. It looked really good so my friend and I added it to our places to try out soon. I went back home with the intention of getting on with my next handy travel tips book, which I needed to start again as the document had disappeared. That didn’t happen as I had emails to reply to and I ended up working until gone 5pm. I had bacon and asparagus for dinner, with parmesan on. It was so good and rather extravagant. For afters I made strawberries with quark and mini meringues. I was going to bed when I got a message from Vanessa inviting me to Matt’s birthday at the new fish and chip place on Wednesday at 5pm.
Gratitude List 1. Fresh air and a walk 2. Catching up with a friend 3. Asparagus.
I had some overripe bananas that needed eating up on Monday 9th March so I made a flourless cake. Moshed bananas, oats, egg and blueberries in the air fryer (or oven) for 20 minutes – and Slimming World friendly too. I worked all day and was impatiently waiting for the pay day email to come through to show what I was getting paid. Usually we get a statement which shows the top line amount then less any fees and charges. It is broken down by customer name and I cross reference it with my spreadsheet. I was particularly looking forward to this pay day as it was my first one from Resort Experts in 2026, my last pay day had been in December. Because I have more bookings in for spring & summer it means my first pay was due now. I started The Signal, a course about writing, with Georgina Chapman at 10am and it took my mind off it for an hour. I had plenty of tea and wrote my content for the rest of the week. At 6.30pm I made myself a Slimming World style pizza and did some blog writing in the evening. It was a zero spend and a zero alcohol day.
Gratitude List 1. Something different for breakfast 2. The Signal, a free course I’d signed up for 3. Eating healthy.
On Friday 6th March I only broke off from my laptop for a cup of tea or a couple of chicken fajita wraps. I wanted to finish as much as possible so that I could take tomorrow morning off. I had planned to go to the market with Vanessa and then grab a drink in a cafe somewhere. I didn’t take any photos, I didn’t leave the house, I didn’t spend any money and I didn’t drink any alcohol. While sitting down to post my blog, though, I saw a post which made me cry. A friend who I met 26.5 years ago on our first day of our new job at Norwich Union (now Aviva) had a date for her surgery to remove a brain tumour. About 15 years ago she met her now husband and later moved to the States to be with him. I remember this as it was around the same time I met Captain Caveman and we would both end up moving abroad ‘for love’. I’m older than her and have probably abused my body and made worse lifestyle choices than she has, so there’s something that happened to put so much in to perspective today. I didn’t even need a Gratitude List today, as it would just read ‘everything’. Over the years we’d not kept in touch as much and I’d never met her American hubby. I messaged her and we had a conversation about how she was feeling, she was being brave and was understandably shitting herself. I shared her go fund me page on my Facebook and I got a message from another friend to ask if I’d been hacked. I imagine, like me she also thought it might be too unbelievable to be true. It wasn’t! If you’re reading this and are able to donate towards Angela’s medical costs, it would be much appreciated. Here’s a link and her photo of what the tumor looks like.
I woke up early on Saturday 7th March and read some awful news on Facebook. A bloke I used to work with at Norwich Union (now Aviva) had died. He’d been one of the most entertaining people I’d known and was just so lovely. He was only about 10 years older than me so it was quite a shock. He had a huge family and was so well loved by everyone who knew him. I’d had the pleasure of being his manager for a few years and the customers just loved him too. I felt sad and searched out a photo from that period – we were a motley crew back then but had some great memories.
I was involved in a customer enquiry over the phone and I was meant to go to Vanessa’s on the way to the market but she ended up coming to mine. I checked the weekly budget and I had less than £9 left for this week, which was not impossible but unlikely, given that I needed to buy quite a bit today. We both needed the bank so that worked out better and I withdrew just 1,000 lira (£16.95) at the ATM. Before we even got to the market we noticed the new florists in town and went in for a nosey. It is brilliant and has plants, flowers and gifts – just what Dalyan needs.
Here’s what I bought at the market, prices in lira: Potatoes 30 Mushrooms 47 Cabbage (half of) 25 Satsumas 110 Asparagus 120 Strawberries 200 Total spent 532 lira (£9.02)
We went halves on a cabbage as they are huge and we even asked the stall holder to cut it in half for us. If I had gone home then, I would have been on budget for the week, but I didn’t. Vanessa had a soirée that she had been invited to tomorrow at Adam and Kath’s, so she wanted to buy some treats at the supermarket. Unfortunately, I couldn’t resist and I also got a few treats for myself:
Şevikoğlu Supermarket, now with a new name
Bread 15.00 Chocolate wafers 34.90 Biscuits 36.00 Mini meringues 66.90 Dark chocolate 67.00 Turkish black tea 184.90 Total spent 404. 70 lira (£6.86)
I had run out of conditioner and was down to the bottom of my shampoo so I had to get a bottle of each, luckily it was on offer and is my favourite.
Our bags were heavy so we decided to go to a lovely cafe next door to the computer shop. Here’s what I had:
Mornings in Mavi
2 large teas 100 1 Granola bowl 300 Total spent 400 lira (£6.78)
That granola bowl was so good and I really enjoyed it. Today I had spent a lot more than I should’ve, despite it being my 5th zero alcohol day this week. I had gone over my £50 weekly budget by £17.44. I decided to reduce the next 2 week’s budgets to £40 to compensate. It was going to be tight but it was doable if I put my mind to it and didn’t get tempted by alcohol or treats (easier said than done). Today was pay day from Resort Experts which would probably be in the bank on Monday, with it being a weekend. This was going straight into my emergency/holiday fund. It was almost 3pm by the time I got home so I ended up working until gone 8pm.
Gratitude List 1. Out and about in the fresh air 2. My first Granola bowl in Dalyan 3. Seeing Vanessa.
I was in my office by 8am on Thursday 5th March, writing Resort Experts content and catching up on more free training and courses. Today marked 10 years since I had done the trip to the biggest cave in the world, Hang Son Doong, in Vietnam. I bet I couldn’t do it now! I noticed a woman I had been following on Facebook for a while, was doing a free challenge next week; 5 days of using your voice in a market that’s stopped listening. It peaked my interest and I decided to sign up, I even decided to share it with lots of other Facebook friends who worked for themselves or had side hustles. There was a prize to be won if we got chosen, for sharing the link so I asked everyone I could think of, including my Resort Experts colleagues. I had a quick walk round the block and to check if my parents’ trees had started to grow back after a rather over zealous winter prune – they weren’t but it had been a pretty cold and wet winter, here. I let my mom know and tried to reassure her they would be in full bloom by the time they arrived. At 2pm I attended the team meeting where more talk about new improved systems were coming our way and things were business as usual, despite the Middle East conflict.
After a busy day I decided I would have chicken fajitas for dinner, only to realise at gone 6pm that I didn’t have any peppers or onions. I took it as an opportunity to leave the house for some fresh air to go get some and have a walk by the river with my new phone. It was also a good opportunity to get a selfie of me wearing a music related t-shirt in memory of an old Aviva friend who had died 1 year ago today.
I tried doing sunset photos and videos to have a practice with my new phone too, appreciating the beauty around me. It was quite a warm evening until it got dark.
Here’s what I bought at the shop, prices in lira:
Migros Supermarket 2 Onions 4.27 2 Green peppers 24.79 2 Red peppers 25.89 8 Satsumas 26.63 Total spent 81.58 lira (£1.38)
Seasonal fruit and vegetables are still quite cheap here in Dalyan but I’m always careful not to buy out of season produce. I was tempted to pick up a bottle of wine but decided to enjoy a 3rd day this week without any alcohol. I also thought I might try to avoid alcohol for the rest of this week.
I walked the long way round to take a photo of a couple of local hotels which I was recommending to friends who were coming later in the year. They were closed for the winter at the moment but would open next month. I made sure to say hello to my regular doggy friends, the usual white two were excited to see me and came over for belly rubs. Back home I made fajitas which were really tasty and I got ready for a busy day at my desk tomorrow.
Gratitude List 1. Being busy from getting out of bed to getting back in it. 2. Appreciating a walk while using my new phone 3. Good food.
I had a slight fuzzy head when I got up on Tuesday 3rd March and I had quite a few things to do. I’d started to get queries from people who hadn’t booked holidays with me (who had booked directly or online), they were worried about their holiday due to what was going on in the Middle East. Unfortunately, I could only help my own customers as I had no idea of the cancellation or amendment terms that these bookings would have been made with and I advised them to call who they had booked with or read their terms and conditions. Meanwhile, at the moment all the holidays I had booked for my customers were safe and going ahead as planned. I broke off for lunch of homemade lentil and tomato soup with rye bread and butter. I’ve been eating a lot more lentils since I’ve been in Turkey and they are so good for bulking out meals cheaply.
I nipped to the shops again around 6pm to try to finish off the shop I half did yesterday and hoped I wouldn’t be too late to get some decent meat. Here’s what I got with prices in lira:
Migros Supermarket Pasta 15.25 Dido chocolate bar 34.95 2 tins of tomatoes 99.90 900g chicken breast 180.35 940g chicken thighs 235.95 Total spent 566.40 lira (£9.60)
Dried pasta is so cheap here, especially as I buy the supermarket own brands. I couldn’t resist the new Dido bar which tastes like a Ferrero Rocher in a chunky KitKat – highly addictive. Of course, I didn’t need the tomatoes but felt compelled to buy while they had some in stock and I was chuffed to be able to get chicken. It always amuses me that here thighs are more expensive than breast because the Turks prefer to cook thigh as it has better flavour. I had leftover pasta for dinner then spent the evening catching up on my blog and a much needed zero alcohol day.
Gratitude List 1. Customer holidays being unaffected 2. Getting chicken 3. Dido chocolate bar for a treat.
I already knew that weigh in results on Wednesday 4th March were not going to be favourable, given that the Slimming World plan had gone out of the window. I’d eaten out and consumed lots of alcohol in the last week so it was only right that I had put on 0.8kg (1.8lb) on the home scales this week. My measurements were -1cm from my bust, no change to my waist and a whopping 4cm on my hips! I chucked the ingredients for a chicken casserole in the slow cooker and cracked on with my to do list. At lunch time I looked at flights for the girls trip to Spain where I wanted to be on the same flight as the rest of the group from Gatwick. I had a wander to Jamie’s to pick up my new phone case, he was laying on a sun lounger by the pool. I still had jeans and a hoodie on but he and his friend were sunbathing in their shorts and a bikini! Norman was indoors having a nap. At 3pm I was facing Carol’s scales at Fat Club to find I’d actually put even more on; 0.95kg (2lb) and I was blaming Captain Caveman for that! I couldn’t blame him for what happened next though. I stayed at Ren Garden after the group had left and ordered a hot chocolate while waiting for Vanessa to join me. She arrived a bit flustered and late then ordered a wine and soda. We had a good catch up for the next couple of hours and, as I had not eaten lunch, I gave in to temptation and had one of the fresh homemade cookies. They are so good! We had another drink each and this time I joined Vanessa with a wine. Here’s what I had with prices in lira;
Mine 1 hot chocolate 170 1 cookie 120 1 red wine 170 Total spent 440 lira (£7.46)
We said our farewells and I went home to see if my casserole was cooked yet. It needed another half an hour so I decided to take my new phone out for a walk and practice using the camera. On the walk along the river I bumped in to one of the Dalyan Dwellers (quite literally) who had stumbled out of Tapa bar and was zigzagging his way to Corner bar. My camera on the new phone was super snazzy and I was so happy with it. The video took some getting used to though.
I was back home before 7pm ready for my dinner which I made some mini roast potatoes to go with. It was delicious and there were more portions leftover. It had been a good day, but not a zero spend or zero alcohol day, I would try to get at least 1 more each of those in this week.
Gratitude List 1. Meeting Vanessa 2. Great food and treats 3. My new phone and it’s fab camera.
Over my morning tea and toast on Sunday 1st March, I checked my blog stats. I had just 1% more views in February than January. Interestingly, I had viewers from a country which wasn’t previously on my viewers list, let alone at number 4: 1. UK 2. USA 3. Türkiye 4. Israel 5. Australia 6. Vietnam 7. Hong Kong 8. Ireland 9. Canada 10. Sweden
Because I had taken Friday and Saturday off to accommodate Captain Caveman being here and the postponed boat trip, today was spent in the spare room/office catching up and drinking tea which I made with my new kettle! I loved the new kettle but I did think I might need to be careful about increasing the amount of caffeine I consumed. I consciously made sure today was a zero spend and zero alcohol day but tomorrow I did need to go food shopping as I didn’t have much in, especially as I had missed the Saturday market yesterday. I decided to set my budget for the first week of the new month at just £50, although strictly speaking I could have put it at £140 – I chose not to so that £90 could go in to my emergency/travel fund. Captain Caveman got back fine and I had my first proper meal of the day at 8.20pm, just a pasta dish that I knocked up. I’d not even left the house today.
Gratitude List 1. Catching up on stuff after 2 days off 2. Having good blog stats 3. A zero spend day to get me back on track.
After tea, toast and a couple of hours of work on Monday 2nd March, I decided to pop to the shops to stock back up. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira:
I’ve been buying my milk in small cartons to reduce waste. If I buy a normal sized carton, there’s a chance I don’t use it all before it goes off and I don’t like to waste it. I had tried putting it in to ice cube trays but I’m not convinced it’s as good with my Yorkshire tea. There was also a shortage of meat on the shelves so I would have to try again later or tomorrow. While I was looking at my copy of ‘The Handy Travel Planner’, which I’m using a lot, I noticed I’d already added Israel and Iran to countries I wouldn’t visit, before any war started. The planner was proving to be better than I thought for mult-trip planning. I had a check of flights to the UK to see Captain Caveman when he returned from Vietnam at Easter. I could get a one way without luggage for £30 and I almost booked it. It’s a good job I didn’t as Captain Caveman said not to bother as he was down to work on site over the Easter weekend. We toyed with the idea of me going back at the end of April/beginning of May but the flight prices were higher, my parents were arriving in Dalyan around then and I was looking forward to seeing them. I didn’t book anything and decided to see how things went. That evening I had been invited round to dinner with Jamie, Drew and Nanny Kay so I called at the Yaman Büfe 2, off licence, and picked up a bottle of wine for 300 lira (£5.08). When I got there Jamie ordered me a phone case from Trendyol as he’s got an account and I gave him the 400 lira (£6.78) cash for it. I had no idea if this was a good deal but to me it felt like an absolute bargain to not have a broken phone if I should drop it. Norman was pleased to have visitors and he was keen to get a snaffle of something, as usual. We discussed requirements for his 15th birthday and Nanny Kay very kindly agreed to make a carrot cake for the occasion. We had a lovely homemade meal of shepherd’s pie and plenty of wine. It was pretty late when I got home having had a good day where I’d spent a total of £22.78, mainly as I had only done half a good shop.
Gratitude List 1. Allocating more budget in March 2. A walk and a shop for fresh air 3. Dinner & wine with friends
I didn’t feel too bad when I woke up in bed, fully clothed, thinking I had overlaid for the boat trip, on Saturday 28th February. Because I don’t drink alcohol that much any more and am going through the menopause, I get drunk very easily and the hangovers are usually horrendous. We needed to get up as the boat was leaving at 9.30am but I still had to undress from last night’s outfit and get ready. Time was ticking on and we didn’t have time for breakfast. That wouldn’t have mattered ordinarily, as the boat trip we were going on had breakfast included but I’m always a bit wary of how the Turkish breakfast affects my stomach.
Captain Caveman and I arrived separately to the boat, me first this time and I paid our £30 each for the trip. I was very well wrapped up and had my big coat, a scarf, gloves and a woolly hat on. Captain Caveman turned up in thin trousers, a t-shirt and a jumper (no coat) and a towel for a very optimistic swim! The boat was Captain Fuat’s (of Dalyan Dreams) new smaller boat which was going on its maiden voyage with us today. Water levels had gone down and we set off towards Köyceğiz lake. On the boat there were 13 of us as a private trip of friends, which was lovely. Captain Caveman had his transfer booked for tonight at 7pm as he was flying back to Manchester. The boat was smaller than his main one but it still had a toilet on board and we all got a tea or coffee as we set off. The scenery was great and although a little cold, the Captain had his plastic flaps down to shield us from the wind. There was a lot of wildlife to see, the keen photographers amongst us were on the look out for the kingfishers and we saw loads. Because I didn’t yet have a case for my new phone, I had left it at home and my old one was playing up still. This meant I didn’t get as many good photos as I wanted to. For breakfast we had lentil soup, by which time I was feeling a bit fragile so I only managed half of it. Because I don’t eat eggs, tomato or spicy peppers, I just had bread cheese and olives (from the Captain’s garden) to eat and it’s probably a good job as I started to feel a little hungover. We played a great game of Who am I? It was absolutely hilarious as our organiser had chosen suitable people based on our individual personalities and interests. We got to Jimmy’s Island and the sun was quite warm by this point, a few of us had a walk while Nanny Kay and I did a shorter walk then back on to the boat. The recent storms had badly damaged Jimmy’s Island, the boardwalk had collapsed. On the way back, my work phone was unusually active so I checked it; I was shocked to find out that the USA and Israel had started a war with Iran – it didn’t look good! I mentioned it to Captain Caveman and both of us were on our phones checking for more information. I didn’t want to spoil anyone’s day out so I decided not to mention it. I’d got a couple of messages about whether upcoming holiday travel would be affected and it all looked rather worrying. The Captain served his usual cake for everyone but Captain Caveman and I didn’t have any – he doesn’t eat sweet stuff and I had a bit of a belly ache so was avoiding it on purpose. On the way back, it was pretty cold and I had to huddle together with Captain Caveman who was wearing the towel as a blanket as he was shivering a lot. It was a long day, after our late night last night, and we got back after 4pm, both with hangovers and shivering. Back home, we got straight in to bed with our clothes on to try to warm up. Sadly, we had no time to eat even though I was peckish and Captain Caveman didn’t make himself any wraps for the airport as he’d planned to. We said our farewells not knowing when would be the next time before July, that we would see each other. I wished him a safe trip to Vietnam in March, sad that I wouldn’t be joining him. I had already commited to helping Norman, the dog, have a great 15th birthday. I was in my lounge wear on the sofa drinking tea and eating crisps before Captain Caveman had even got to the airport. I was ready for bed but I stayed awake long enough to know Captain Caveman had taken off. I did a check of the finances with it being the end of (not so) Frugal February. In this week alone Captain Caveman and I had spent over 21,000 lira (£500)!!! Obviously, in this last week of February we had drank alcohol, dined out quite a bit, paid the council tax and even spent the day on a boat! The total spend for February was £632 and I was glad I had attempted to keep more frugal in the first 3 weeks so we could splash out in the 4th week. Unfortunately, the money going in to my account was less than I spent so I was ending the month on -£86, however, Captain Caveman had left me £120 in sterling. I intended to keep that as cash to use for boat trips and airport transfers in future months. Incidentally, the minimum wage in Turkey for 2026 is just 33,030 lira (£560) per month and locals who earn that still have to pay all their rent and bills from that. It’s much tougher for those people and I empathised. I decided for March I would set my monthly budget at £560 to see how that worked out. Could I live like a local on minimum wage?
Gratitude List 1. One last day with Captain Caveman 2. A boat trip with Captain Fuat and friends 3. Having a really good week with Captain Caveman.
It was Captain Caveman’s last full day and night in Dalyan on Friday 27th February. He decided it would be nice to go out for breakfast and we chose Ela’s Kitchen, another favourite of ours. Unfortunately, it meant I had to cancel a call with a friend that we had booked in, but she understood and said to enjoy my time with Captain Caveman. We called at the bank to put in English money to cover the council tax expense and in readiness for our last couple of days. The breakfast was so good and my massive sandwich came with chips and salad. Here’s what we had with prices in lira:
My next mission was to leave Captain Caveman to get on with work and for me to go find a phone case, and a kettle in Ortaca. I was also booked in to have my hair done at my favourite hairdressers. The bus takes about 30 minutes and is just over a £1 each way but it can get busy. Once in Ortaca I spent over an hour traipsing between phone shops and electrical stores. Interestingly, 2 shops sold the same make and model of phone that I had in my hand but none of them sold cases for them. There was no way I could have a phone without a case so I was a bit disappointed and would have to see if I could get one online. I couldn’t even find a suitable kettle so I decided to give up and go early to the hairdresser’s. I took some Turkish delight which cost 150 lira (£2.54) and was from the lovely shop I bought gifts from last time. I’d completely forgotten it was Ramadan but, luckily, most of the staff weren’t observing and we shared the sweet treats. I love going to Emrah to have my hair done as he always does such a good job. I know I can get it cheaper in Dalyan but it’s one of the things I really value and trust – a good hairdresser. The cost of a colour, cut, blow-dry and curling cost me 2,300 lira plus I gave a tip of 200 lira, so I spent 2,500 lira (£42.37) and I felt human again – and my hair looked pretty good too! On the way home I popped in to Migros to buy that Turkish kettle I’d seen for 799.95 lira (£13.56) and a packet of wraps for 120 lira (£2.03). The cashier told me to go home and check that the kettle worked and to bring it straight back if it didn’t. I didn’t need telling twice, the kettle was out of the box in no time as Captain Caveman was giddy to see how it worked too. For the price I paid, I was happy with the kettle with the tea pot on the top.
After finishing work, Captain Caveman and I met Jamie and Geoff in Sofra bar and had a few Friday night beverages. I’d not eaten since breakfast so the wine went straight to my head and I jumped at the suggestion of food, by which time it was almost 10pm so finding a venue may have proved tricky. Jamie was on it and got us booked in to Ela’s Kitchen, for the 2nd time today. Here’s what Captain Caveman and I had, prices in lira on our last night together;
Ela’s Kitchen Walnut pesto pasta 550 İskender kebab 700 Drinks 975 Total spent 2,225 lira (£37.72)
We had a great time but I was drunk and couldn’t remember finishing the İskender kebab or getting home. I didn’t realise at the time that we had spent more than £120 in a day – that would usually last me almost a month! We got home and I don’t recall getting undressed or setting the alarm for tomorrow’s boat trip.
Gratitude List 1. Food at Ela’s Kitchen (twice in a day) 2. Getting my hair done and the new kettle 3. Having a night out with Captain Caveman, Jamie and Geoff.
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