Dalyan – 4th December

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

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

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

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

Dalyan – 3rd December

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

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

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

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

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

Dalyan – 2nd December

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

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

Bakery
1 loaf of bread 10.00 lira (23p)

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

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

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

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

Dalyan – 1st December

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

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

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

Photo credit – some from the Sunday Walkers/Captain Caveman

Dalyan – 30th November

It was the last day of the month and I was surprised and relieved that I had managed to survive the month without losing it, to be quite honest. Saturday 30th November was a fairly busy day for me and it started when Captain Caveman’s alarm went off at 7.30am. The weather app said it was a mild 9°C, with a likelihood of 19°C later on, but rain was very much on the cards. After seeing to Norman and Edna, I updated my shopping list ready for a market visit and had my cup of tea.
Captain Caveman and I were at the market by 10am and here is what we bought, prices in lira;

Stall 1
Potatoes & onions 60 lira

Stall 2
Carrots 34 lira

Stall 3
Başlamak bread, pumpkin, spinach, spring onion, green beans and fresh mint 250 lira

Stall 4
Mushrooms 50 lira

Stall 5
Sweet potatoes 60 lira

Stall 6
Peppers 84 lira

Total spent at the market 538 lira (£12.17), which was a bit more than usual.

We didn’t take Norman and Edna and we decided to share a cheese and spinach gözleme (pancake) sat at the little stall in the market. They are quite big and cost 80 lira ($1.81) for the one we had and it was so fresh and delicious – not Slimming World friendly, either.
Back home, and after leaving Norman and Edna for the first time alone, we had soup for lunch and the water man delivered us more water for 70 lira (£1.58) and was super efficient. I decided to attempt to clean the kitchen a bit while Captain Caveman went over to Fire Opal to collect more stuff. I also put all the ingredients for a Bolognese in to the slow cooker and decided I would try out one of Jamie’s new ovens with a lasagne for dinner. We managed a dog walk while it was cooking but the rain came down in the afternoon and most of the evening. Norman and Edna didn’t mind one bit as it meant they got to be lazy and have sofa snuggles until they fell asleep.
I totted up how much we had spent in November so that I could compare it to October and plan for December. The 2 of us had lived off just over 20,000 lira and was about £455 in November – it was double that of October but I was very proud of myself for being able to manage it as it was less than the Turkish minimum wage for 2 people. Of course, we had no mortgage or rent to pay but that included bills, food, drink, transport and any hobbies etc. I doubted I could live off that for just myself back in the UK, let alone the 2 of us here in Dalyan.
Before bed Captain Caveman and I watched Undercover on Netlfix, which had not previously worked but was ok now so we got 2 episodes in. Tomorrow we would start December, Captain Caveman’s last month in Dalyan, with a walk.

Dalyan – 29th November

It was only 6°C at 7am on Friday 29th November when I woke up. I made myself a cup of tea and sorted the dogs out. Edna had been sleeping on the sofa cushion and Norman was up and about. After their breakfast, Norman wanted to go back to bobos with me. I had toast for breakfast and then Captain Caveman and I walked the dogs. We decided to spend some time at Fire Opal with the dogs – I would work there while Captain Caveman went to Bridge Club. I noticed that he still hadn’t mended the hole in the gate, which he had said he would, and cats were still coming in and spraying their scent on the staircase. I’d found him some netting and had put it next to the door ready to use. The sun streams in to Fire Opal making it warm indoors and the dogs could take off their jumpers and relax. They loved it at our place and they snoozed on the sofa for ages.
I made pizza wraps for lunch but asked Captain Caveman to make something for dinner so that I could carry on working. He also went out to do the shopping and here’s what he bought with prices in lira;

Hardware shop
100 zip ties 65.00 lira (£1.47)

Migros Supermarket
Milk 37.95
15 eggs 81.50
Fabric Softener 99.95
Total spent 219.40 lira (£4.96)

Balcı Pharmacy
1 pack Cerazette 329.18 lira (£7.45)

I had it in my diary to message a friend to meet up tomorrow but I decided I was not in any fit state to be out and about socialising. My back still hurt most of the time and I was going between the 2 houses. My friend kindly offered to come over to see me but I wasn’t sure which place I would be at and when for her to pop over. A close friend had messaged me about coming over to Dalyan for a visit in February and I was already really looking forward to that so much, as I missed my friends from back home.
We walked the dogs back over to Jamie’s for their dinner, Captain Caveman cooked pasta but he was not enjoying cooking in a different house. I washed up and by the time I came to sit down, Captain Caveman and the dogs were all asleep. I woke Captain Caveman up and we watched more of ‘Until I Kill You’, which was good and made my problems look insignificant.

Dalyan – 28th November

Of course there was no apology from Captain Caveman on Thursday 28th November, not that I had expected one, but I had hoped. He said that he would just play Bridge on the days when I was busy working, he said he was annoyed that I had all these things to do but I didn’t finish them because I did other things instead. I explained that when I asked him to do them, he didn’t because he was playing Bridge and then I would end up doing the things myself anyway. He only did the jobs that he wanted to do and played Bridge the rest of the time, he still didn’t see my point of view and, as I looked over, he was playing Bridge while having this conversation!!!
I fed the dogs their breakfast and while Captain Caveman went off to Bumming, I stupidly googled Bridge addiction (instead of doing my to-do list) and found that it was really quite serious. All the advice on the internet said to leave and get out of a relationship with a Bridge player as they will never stop. There was no plan to change as far as I could see and I was not the person he would ever listen to enough to change, not that he wanted to. I already knew if he had to choose Bridge or me (or anything else, for that matter) he would always choose Bridge.
I went to get a cup of tea and some breakfast and saw that Captain Caveman had made a point of leaving the kitchen a mess with his breakfast pots, as he wasn’t doing the washing up.
I decided the only thing I could do was to concentrate on my own goals and surviving the rest of this year – I had certainly made it through worse. I would avoid anything and everyone that didn’t have anything to do with work, the dogs, Fat Club, Turkish class, blogging or content for my books. Once all those were sorted I could look at other stuff.
I ate a samosa and a cheese roll and, when Captain Caveman got back, I warmed us up some soup and we pretty much ate in silence, while he watched tv.

We walked the dogs who looked so cosy in their jackets and called in to Fire Opal to pick up some food. For dinner, I made jacket potatoes with leftover chicken chasseur and did all the washing up today. That evening, feeling knackered from no sleep last night, Captain Caveman and I watched a drama called ‘Until I Kill You’ which was pretty harrowing and just the ticket to cheer me up!

Photo Credit – some photos from the Riverbums

Dalyan – 27th November

Wednesday 27th November was weigh day so Captain Caveman and I got weighed at Fire Opal. We had our breakfast while the dogs watched and generally kept out of the way of the painters at Jamie’s for the day.
On our home scales I had lost 0.8kg (1.8lb) but Captain Caveman had done even better and had lost 1.1kg (2.4lb). My measurements were really good this week too and, although I had stayed the same on my bust, I had lost 3cm from my waist and 4cm from my hips. This meant I was 2cm under my target measurements for each. I still needed to lose 1.1kg (2.4lb) to hit my weight target. Captain Caveman decided to also set himself a target and chose 75kg, which meant he wanted to lose another 3.6kg (8lb).
At 11.30am I had Turkish class and I still hadn’t done my homework, so I quickly did that just beforehand. Turkish class this week was at Ela’s Kitchen which I do prefer and I ordered a Yorkshire tea for my drink. It was 80 lira (£1.82) and very nice. I walked back through the square where Wonky’s was and via the bakery which now had a tent front being added to their cafe area.

Back home, where Captain Caveman had been left in charge of Norman & Edna and making our lunch, I had a small but good salad. We then took the dogs on a walk along the river, bumping in to a couple of friends who were drinking wine at Okyanus in the lovely sunshine. They asked why they hadn’t seen us out at all and I explained about being on a health kick and neither of us having any work until recently. They said I was looking very well and could tell I had lost a lot of weight, and it was nice to have their support and encouragement.
At Fat Club, I was in charge while Carol was away. There were 6 attendees plus me and I really love our little group as it is so supportive. To my surprise I had lost the same as on my home scales, although weighed 0.2kg (0.4lb) heavier on Carol’s scales. There was a mixture of results; 3 ladies had put a little weight on but could understand why, 1 had stayed the same and 3 had lost. I’m glad I had lost as I wanted to try to lead by example as I know it’s really hard to support others if I’m not showing it can be done.
Back at Fire Opal, I noticed we hadn’t finished off the Yorkshire pudding mixture so I made myself a couple of pancakes with a drizzle of honey and then ate an orange which I had taken from a tree.
For dinner, Captain Caveman made a chicken and vegetable pasta which was topped with cheese and very tasty. We stayed at Fire Opal until 7pm to give the painted doors a chance to dry and then we walked back with our bags and the dogs. They were a bit disgruntled that it was past their dinner time and were eager for food.
I fed the dogs and put stuff in cupboards before getting ready for the Resort Experts weekly team meeting at 8pm. Luckily for Jamie, he was about to get his learning from actually being on a cruise!
After the team meeting, something had gotten Captain Caveman upset as he was being a bit off with me. I explained that I was getting quite annoyed that I was trying my best to hold things together but his Bridge addiction was getting me down and I wanted him to do something about it. He turned the situation around to say that the only reason he was playing Bridge so much was because I was working and he was ‘allowing me the time to do my stuff but was getting annoyed that I wasn’t getting on with my list of stuff’. He also said that he was annoyed that he always did the washing up. I was so annoyed because I didn’t agree and I would love nothing more than to get on with my to-do list! As he decided to take himself off to the bedroom, I sat and cried out of complete frustration. I stayed downstairs with the dogs and got on with some of my to-do list, but by 4am it was too cold to stay downstairs. I needed a human version of the dog jumper to keep me warm.

Dalyan – 26th November

I had so many plans for Tuesday 26th November but it didn’t go quite as I had hoped. Captain Caveman had gone to Bridge Club and I finished doing a bit of work and blog writing. I’d had tea and cornflakes for breakfast and I had the good sense to take a photo of the contents of the fridge then made some more samosas and some cheese rolls. Today we were going to be looking after 2 of our favourite dogs, Norman and Edna, until Christmas Eve while their owner went on holiday.
Jamie and I said our goodbyes, after weighing the cases which were bang on the allowance, and I knew that Jamie was going to miss Norman and Edna so much. Luckily, little Norman was like a new dog compared to last year and was doing so well. As I spend a lot of time with Norman and Edna, I knew they would be fine and I planned to keep them entertained as much as possible. The building noise was fairly loud and the dogs kept barking at the workmen so I decided to take them upstairs to the front bedroom. It was lovely and sunny outside but pretty cold in the house.
Captain Caveman arrived at Jamie’s expecting lunch and I was running a cloth round trying to get rid of some of the builder’s dust that had settled.

Captain Caveman went back to Fire Opal while I sat out on the bedroom balcony with Norman. He had gone to get some lunch and was going to make chicken sandwiches and bring the samosas and cheese rolls over. Norman was quite cold and shivery as the painters had all the doors and windows open but, luckily, the suntrap of the balcony was much better for him. All 4 of us sat out there while we ate the lunch which Captain Caveman had brought us and the dogs were disappointed not to get a snaffle. After lunch, Captain Caveman played Bridge on his phone while layed on the bed with Edna, he was cold so kept his coat and hat on. I decided I would put the dogs their new winter coats on and they did look cute. I fed the dogs, observing the correct instructions of quantity and medication.

After a dinner of warmed up curry and everyone settling down, I was going to do some work. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen as Captain Caveman thought he would be helpful by trying to get the water machine working and one of the buttons got stuck. I got involved when a few litres of water were all over the kitchen floor and no mop or towel had been reached for! The mop was less than a metre from the spillage and I got that plus a dog towel to clean it up, while Captain Caveman was happy to paddle about in it saying ‘it’s only a bit of water!’
It was already going to feel like a long month but then, mid-mopping, I did my back in and was in a bit of pain. I was also annoyed with Captain Caveman for messing about with the water machine despite me telling him we were to wait until it got wired in – of course, he didn’t listen or care about that. I didn’t sleep well that evening and I knew I had a very busy day tomorrow. I had consumed 245 syns this week and I was still hoping for a loss at Fat Club this week.

Dalyan – 25th November

Captain Caveman went Dogging on the morning of Monday 25th November but I had arranged to meet him at the Fenerbahçe villa at 1pm for something a bit different on a Monday afternoon. While I was having my second cup of tea of the day and my cornflakes for a late breakfast, I read ‘Lily’s Not so Secret Diary of Dalyan Doings’. It’s a Facebook blog written by a friend and ex Dalyan Dweller and I found it very interesting to read, especially as she had promised to share all about her recent departure from Dalyan to go back to the UK to live. It wasn’t nearly as ‘name and shame’ as I thought it might get but she did mention about being palled out by her so-called friends and that it had upset her. It left me thinking I was not the only one this had happened to recently but at least it hadn’t upset me as much as it had her. It was a good read of why, after 5 years of living in Dalyan, that her and her husband had decided to move back to England. Here’s the link if you want to have a read of her Facebook post;
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AmTNPUaaR/

I worked in the morning and then got a bit lost on my way to meet Captain Caveman. Our friend Debbie (walking group, not Fat Club Debbie or my parents’ neighbour Debbie) had kindly offered to drive the 3 of us to the Sultaniye mud baths after I had mentioned how much Captain Caveman and I liked going there and she had not yet been.
We drove to the Denizkizi ferry and paid to cross which was 100 lira (£2.30) and quite a bargain for 3 people and a car, I would say. It’s then a short drive to the Sultaniye mudbaths once you get past Pirates & Skulls and Mavi Yasemin café at the other side of the river. When we got parked it was good to see we had certainly chosen a quiet time to visit and I paid the 30 lira (69p) each entrance fee, which incidentally has no time limit on it. This allows you access to the mud pool, a sulphur hot bath and 2 separate hot pools which are usually inside a dome structure but they were being repaired and currently in use as an open air hot pool. The lake was also there to swim in, there was a hose pipe type of shower, changing rooms, toilets, a café and a bar. If you’ve not been before it is advisable to remove silver jewellery as the sulphur will tarnish it and I’d recommend taking old swimmers as they will get smelly. It was so lovely to get in the red hot sulphur pool which only had Turkish customers there today. We stayed in a while then went in to the open air hot pool, Captain Caveman had a lake swim along the way but that was too cold and choppy for me to indulge in without my glasses on! At the café Captain Caveman fancied a snack and a beer so I ordered in Turkish a mixed toastie, a beer and a tea. The woman told me to take a beer from the fridge, that the toastie would be brought to our table and that I had to wait for the tea to brew. I ended up asking for the tea again and she said she was still waiting for the machine but we saw others drinking and I never got mine. I wasn’t about to ask for a 20 lira (46p) refund as I paid on card but I never got my hot tea. Debbie, Captain Caveman and I loved the Sultaniye mud baths experience and it is easily the cheapest spa/pamper afternoon I’ve had. It’s a shame it is just a bit too far to walk and a taxi would cost more than the visit. Here’s a breakdown of what we spent there, in lira;

Sultaniye mud baths
3 x entrance fee 90.00 lira (£2.07)

Café
1 Turkish tea 20.00 (not received)
1 mixed toastie 100.00
1 Efes Malt 120.00
Total spent 240.00 lira (£5.52)

Car ferry 100.00 lira (£2.30)

Total spent 430.00 lira (£9.89)

We got the ferry back and decided it would be nice to have a walk along the river, rather than going to Debbie’s and walking back home from there. As the sun was going in, it had turned quite cold and we were all togged up in our winter coats. It was just before 5pm when we got home so, after hot showers and getting all our sulphur smelling clothes in the wash, it was time to make the Yorkshire puddings I had promised. We had a roast chicken with cabbage, carrots, onion, garlic and potatoes with the Yorkshire puddings and of course I just had to have 4!!! It wasn’t looking good for a weight loss this week.

Dalyan – 24th November

While Captain Caveman had organised another Sunday Walk on Sunday 24th November, I decided to give it a miss. I had so many things on my to-do list that it was getting a bit out of hand. It was only 7°C when Captain Caveman brought me a cup of tea in bed at 7.45am and I didn’t see the sun rise over the mountains until 8.30am.

Captain Caveman was back for lunch and, of course, we had soup with some başlamak bread. I’d been busy cleaning, putting stuff away and making a chicken chasseur in the slow cooker to go with lots of vegetables for a fairly healthy Sunday dinner. The meal was very nice but Captain Caveman was a bit disappointed that I hadn’t had time to make any Yorkshire puddings. I was astounded to find out that Captain Caveman had lived in Yorkshire for years but had never made his own Yorkshire puddings and said he didn’t know how!!! I’d also been preparing social media posts for the coming week as I knew that I was taking tomorrow afternoon off for a bit of a treat and had promised to do Yorkshire puddings tomorrow. I was already on 194 syns so I would try to resist having them but I knew that would be tough.

Dalyan – 23rd November

Captain Caveman had invited a couple of friends round for breakfast at our place on Saturday 23rd November at 10am. I was hungover and Captain Caveman had promised I would make them Pho Ga, chicken noodle soup. Christine, who is a friend from Fat Club too doesn’t even like it that much but she had agreed to come out of politeness and I was absolutely not with it. Usually I would use cooked chicken but it had all gone in to last night’s curry so I had to roast some chicken in the oven while I messed about doing the soup.
Luckily, Captain Caveman had got up and cleaned the house after last night’s drinks with Jamie, but we were only just ready when our guests, Christine and Jez, arrived. They very kindly brought us limes, kefir limes, fresh mint and coriander and we drank green tea or Vietnamese coffee with the breakfast. It was not as good as my usual efforts and I think the chillies might have been a bit lively. Regardless of my hangover and me having to polish off pink grapefruit pop to feel a bit better, it was really nice catching up with Jez & Christine. They even gave us a lift to the market after as it did look like rain and I definitely needed to go there this week. Here’s what we bought and the prices in lira;

Stall 1
Bananas 85 lira

Stall 2
Potatoes & onions 60 lira

Stall 3
Apples, peppers, tomatoes & garlic 200 lira

Total spent at the market this week was only 345.00 lira (£7.97) and I felt like it seemed more expensive than usual for what we bought at stall 3. It was still relatively cheap but I would keep my eye on it over the coming weeks. The new market roof was being built but not ready for the stall holders just yet.
We were back home by 1pm and the skies on the walk back were looking very dark – rain was certainly coming. By 2.45pm it was raining quite heavily again so I got on with some work stuff while Captain Caveman played Bridge on his phone. For dinner we had more of what we had last night and it tasted even better the day after, as curries often do.

Dalyan – 22nd November

On Friday 22nd November it looked like the rain and storms were over and we had a glimpse of some sunshine. As I had my cup of tea and some cornflakes, I read a little about an alternative destination in Lapland, called Oulu. Usually visitors at Christmas flock to Rovaniemi but it can be busy and pricey so Oulu was looking like a good option for anyone wanting to go to Finland at Christmas. I’d always fancied it although I thought it would be for kids but this city looked like it had lots to do. It was on my list for the future!
Unfortunately, Captain Caveman’s Bridge Club was cancelled so he wasn’t too happy but I managed to find something to keep him from despair! Someone we knew well, wanted us to go and look at a property that was for sale and I needed Captain Caveman to help me find it. I had my reservations as to whether it had been advertised correctly so we decided to go and look without the agent to get an idea of location and condition, just from the outside. It turned out to be very similar to one we had looked at before Captain Caveman had bought Fire Opal. We thought it would be too small for the potential buyers and that it might be overpriced.

It started to rain while we were out but not nearly as bad as it had been yesterday so we persevered and called at the shops. Here’s what we bought and the prices in lira;

Yaman Büfe 2
1 Idol white wine 215.00
1 Idol red wine 215.00
Total spent 430.00 lira (£9.93)

A101 Supermarket
2 packs mini wraps 30.00 lira (69p)

Migros Supermarket
1 pack spaghetti 11.75
2 packs pasta 23.50
1 pack broken rice 24.95
580g Chicken thighs 91.35
1.6kg whole chicken 108.98
1kg Chicken breasts 196.03
Parmesan cheese 199.90
Total spent 656.46 lira (£15.16)

As we passed the bus station, Captain Caveman took a photo of the new timetable for the bus to the beach. There was only the one winter service now, going at 12 noon and returning at 5pm. We bought the usual fresh bread from the bakery across from the bus station and fresh bread is still so cheap in Turkey. We paid just 10 lira (23p) and the bread is very good.
As Captain Caveman had free time on his hands, he made us a chicken salad sandwich with sweet potatoes done in the air fryer, for lunch.
We messaged back to the UK with photos and videos to the potential property buyers and I asked if they fancied a video call to discuss – they didn’t as they were busy and had also had snow where they were in England.

I carried on with work while Captain Caveman played Bridge on his phone. Tonight our team meeting had been moved from Wednesday so I had invited Jamie round so that we could do it together. Our boss had given strict instructions that, as we were at a team meeting on a Friday night, we should bring a bottle of wine from the country we were in. Jamie and I had no problem with that and he had a bottle of Rituel and I had chosen Idol, both red. Norman and Edna came too and they had cuddles with Captain Caveman while we tried not to get too merry for the team meeting. I’d done a curry in the slow cooker and I’d also made some curried sweet potato samosas to have as a starter with a cucumber, mint, lemon juice and quark dip. Jamie was on a health kick too so I’d made everything Slimming World friendly. We had the samosas before the meeting as Captain Caveman couldn’t wait and I was getting peckish.
The meeting went well and we had an update from the bosses about a new website for villas which anyone with luxury holiday villas, in any part of the world, could add on to the site, as a host, to attract customers through Resort Experts.
After the meeting we snaffled down the chicken, sweet potato, chickpea and spinach curry with steamed rice and başlamak bread, then finished off the wine. It turned in to quite a night – Jamie, Norman and Edna didn’t leave until gone midnight!

Dalyan – 21st November

Bumming on Thursday 21st November was cancelled due to the awful rain. Captain Caveman didn’t have a morning activity so it was a quiet day at home. Jamie came over to collect Norman and Edna and he had to put the dog bed in a bin liner to keep it dry just going to the car. Captain Caveman and I reassured Jamie that Norman and Edna had been more than happy at our place so they would be fine to stay with us while he went on his next holiday in a few day’s time. The rain kept coming as we warmed up last night’s leftovers for lunch. I made a meal plan and looked at our budget for the rest of the month and things were very tight. It didn’t stop me from looking up holidays that I would like to go on, though! I worked, I blogged, I made a list of all what we needed to pay for between now and the end of the year – depressing, but necessary. It was now over 3 months since I had a wage coming in and almost 2 months since Captain Caveman had got paid. Luckily, we don’t celebrate Christmas but if we did, it would certainly have been cancelled. I felt lucky to be in Turkey where we didn’t need to celebrate the festivities as I know most people in the UK do.
When the rain got even heavier, I went upstairs to check the bathroom and found we had some very small leaks in both bathrooms and a damp patch in the spare room. I mopped up and cleaned the floors then put dry towels down to catch any more leaks. I put the winter quilt on our bed and did some more cleaning in our bedroom.
Captain Caveman made pasta for dinner and we had a dog-walk free evening, even though we were both missing the dogs already.

Dalyan – 20th November

Captain Caveman took the dogs out early on Wednesday 20th November and then we both got weighed. Even though Captain Caveman wasn’t actually on a diet, he had agreed to support me on my healthier lifestyle by eating the same as me, if not just a little bit more than me in terms of portion size. I had stayed the same weight as last week on the home scales, my bust and waist measurements also remained the same but I had put on 2cm on my hips. Captain Caveman had lost 1.15kg (2.5lb) and was now under the 80kg mark.
As his schedule is free on Wednesdays, Captain Caveman had previously said he would look after Norman and Edna while I went out to Turkish class, which I ended up being late to. Today it was held at The Pier which is a lovely new restaurant. I had already been warned that a coffee could cost up to 200 lira (£4.59) there so I had decided I wouldn’t buy a drink. An hour’s Turkish lesson is less than that and buying unnecessary drinks soon adds up. The Pier was very lovely, though, and I thought it looked like a great venue to bring family and friends when they come to visit.

On the way back home, I spotted a dead snake on the pavement and took a photo to try to identify it later, but it was upside down. At Fire Opal it was evident that the painting was finished but the cleaning up after, wasn’t included in their work! Once again it was soup for lunch, a dog walk with both of us and then I was off to Fat Club.

Miraculously, I had lost 0.2kg (0.4lb) and meant I only had just over 2kg (4.4lb) left to lose to hit my target. The app we were using was still showing I had the body of a 58 year old though, down from 61 at least. Carol was off to the UK for 3 weeks so she had asked me to hold the fort for her. I was honoured and hoped it might be a bit of motivation to actually keep on track and not lapse while she was gone. Carol dropped me off at mine with the precious scales and all the books. For dinner we had a Slimming World friendly chicken and leek bake with pasta and it was so tasty, washed down with a bottle of white wine between us. We went to bed that night, having walked the dogs and told them Little Daddy, Jamie, was on his way home right now. Tomorrow he would be picking them both up and we would be responsibility free once again.