We both had a walk with Xena on Saturday 9th September, then had tortilla for breakfast, which Captain Caveman had made previously. We didn’t have any lunch and for dinner we decided to splash out €16 (£13.84) on a pizza from Roulas. The takeaway was really nice and we even had some left for tomorrow. I only took photos of the animals today for some reason.
Sunday 10th September was spent having a lovely day together and a bit of sightseeing on my day off. We walked Xena for about an hour, saw donkeys and the sunrise on our way. We stopped off at the bakery for croissants and Xena could hardly wait for Captain Caveman to come back from the counter while I held her outside. When we got home, the pets were fed, plants watered and a little snooze was had by Xena.
At 2pm Captain Caveman and I got the bus to Lindos, €1.80 (£1.56) each for the one way trip. I surprised Captain Caveman by getting off a stop earlier than the Lindos bus station so that we could walk through Lindos without walking down Cardiac Hill. We decided to call for a drink at Eklekton, where they have a lovely roof top bar and nice staff. We ended up having 2 ciders and 2 beers, served with tortilla chips for €18 (£15.58).
We had a walk through the winding streets of Lindos, which are not dissimilar to those of Santorini and bumped in to an English man who recommended Rainbird Bar. The bar has lovely views over Lindos beach below but our view got somewhat spoiled when a half-naked, old, fat Greek man sat right in front of us. We paid €9.50 (£8.23) for a large Alpha beer and a Miloklefti cider. Walking back, this time up Cardiac Hill, I had another funny episode where I could feel an asthma attack coming on so I had to walk really slowly while taking really slow, deep breaths. Once I was at the top of the hill I was fine and Captain Caveman reminded me I needed to go to the pharmacy to get an inhaler.
We got the bus back and decided to call for one in Yamas Bar on the way home. Dinner of chicken, salad and potatoes was done by Captain Caveman and it tasted very nice. We watched The Gray Man on Netflix but I think I may have fallen asleep or found it boring as I couldn’t tell you what it was about.
While Captain Caveman continued to be on dog walking and meal preparation tasks, I got on with work on Friday 8th September. I was only working in the morning with it being the weekend and I had almost finished my hours by 12.15pm when I stopped for lunch. Captain Caveman had made a halloumi cheese salad with onion which was very nice and diet friendly. It was too hot to take Xena for an afternoon walk, she would have burned her paws, so we had to let her out in the garden where she loved trying to play with the cats.
That evening, we got the bus to Flyers in Pefkos so there was no dinner to be cooked. At 5.30pm, after pet feeding, we walked to Yamas Bar for a cheeky drink while we waited for the bus. Captain Caveman had a beer, I had a Miloklefti cider and then the bus came and we had to make a run for it. The bus was €1.80 (£1.56) each for the one way trip and we planned to get a taxi back later. As luck would have it, it was happy hour at Dapapa Bar so we popped in to see Hannah and have a pre-dinner drink. Captain Caveman had an espresso martini and I had a pornstar martini for €11 (£9.54) in total. They were very nice and it was good to say hello and ‘Happy Birthday’ to Hannah, who was celebrating with a party later.
We arrived at Flyers just after 6.30pm where Steve and Michelle had kindly booked us in, and paid our deposit, for their famous Greek Night. We were given a choice of tables and we decided to go up to the top section. We ended up next to a big group from Sheffield and ordered a couple of beers. The meal on Greek Night is a set dinner, so we had pitta with a tzatziki dip and a Greek salad to start with. We ordered a carafe of red wine to go with it and got stuck in. The bread is my favourite so, once again, the diet was on hold. The main course was a huge plate of meat (chicken, pork and lamb) with a heap of french fries which tasted a bit like the ones at MacDonald’s. We were impressed at the portion sizes and couldn’t eat it all – I should have brought my Tupperware box with me.
The Rhodian Ballet, and a singer with musicians were the evening’s entertainment and they were fantastic. I even joined in on the group dancing, without injuring myself! Our bill came to €49 (£42.39) and we had a lovely evening.
We returned back to Dapapa’s for a nightcap of red wine, a very generous portion, and our bill for 4 glasses was just €16 (£13.84). We bumped in to Louise and Mark and had a really fun night before getting a lift back with Mark to Memories Bar in Lardos for a cheeky extra nightcap.
Captain Caveman and I had established roles by Thursday 7th September; I was in charge of cats, pet feeding, garden watering and working while Captain Caveman was responsible for laundry, dog walking and preparing lunch and dinner. Xena absolutely loves Captain Caveman and she was so much calmer under his watch, it was cute to see them together. I had a banana and a cup of tea for breakfast, he had some sausage/tomato and sourdough combo. For lunch we had Baba Ghanoush, hummus and pita bread. For dinner it was pasta again followed by peaches with yoghurt. I worked from 8am to 5.55pm with breaks in between. There was more after work shopping and here are the items we got, with prices in Euros:
ABC Supermarket Bag 0.15 Blue Cheese 1.80 Halloumi 3.32 Chicken 11.92 Total Spent €17.19 (£14.94)
The other supermarket Bag 0.12 Mushrooms 0.61 Potatoes 0.88 Peppers 1.53 Eggs 1.53 Pesto 3.68 Total Spent €8.35 (£7.25)
Because I got a bit peckish in between meals I ended up eating some biscuits from the cupboard which were not diet friendly but I did only consume 14 syns, making it a total of 31 syns so far this week.
On the morning of Wednesday 30th August I got weighed at home to find I had put on 0.25kg (half a pound). Although this was a bit of a step backwards, I was grateful it wasn’t more as I’d been eating and drinking my way round Dalyan without a care in the world – and there was still Carol’s official scales this afternoon at Fat Club. I’d also lost 3cm from my bust but put 1cm on my waist and 3cm on my hips. Captain Caveman and I popped to pay the council tax but the nice man in the office explained that it can’t be paid after the 28th of the month so we would have to come back on the 1st! He told us it would be 1219.35 lira (£35.75) for the year, which included a late payment fee – what a bargain. I popped to BC Spa Hotel to see Kelly who had booked in some more spa treatments to alleviate her ‘being stuck in Dalyan’ stresses – there was definitely worse places to be stuck! A cat there took a shine to my porter sandals so I had a lay on a sun lounger, in another one of my new dresses, by the pool. I left to walk over to Fat Club and the sun was shining so I was a bit warm and sweaty when I arrived. Amazingly I had only put on 0.1kg on Carol’s scales! It was Janice’s 70th birthday so we celebrated after Fat Club with a trip to Kefal tea gardens where I’m advised they sell a decent measure of gin for a reasonable price. I had a burger and a glass of wine to help celebrate with Janice, Tina and Brigette – they had G&Ts and shared some nuts as they were being good. After, I walked up to Rehab bar where all the pool players but Mark and Tayfur had already left. Captain Caveman, Kelly and Linda joined and Kelly ordered a few different dishes from Sosyete next door including salad items in sauce I didn’t recognise, a wrap and some onion rings. They went well with one of Tay’s cocktails too. I’d had the sense to sling a Mediterranean chicken in the slow cooker for our late dinner when we got home. It was diet friendly and very tasty.
Thursday 31st August was Kelly’s actual last day, seeing as her original return flight had been cancelled. While she had a morning of relaxing and packing, Captain Caveman and I had a morning appointment booked to go with Sonuç and Hüseyin, the translator, to the notary in Ortaca. We were officially changing my address and I was ‘moving in’ with Captain Caveman on a rental agreement. The process was straight forward but costly; Hüseyin’s fee 2,000 lira (£58.84) Sonuç’s fee 1,000 lira (£29.42) Notary fee 400 lira (£11.77) I paid the total of 3,400 lira (£100) out and asked Sonuç if it would be a good idea, while we were in Ortaca, to get the electric bill put in to my name. I’d heard from a few friends, who were doing residency renewals recently, and had been asked for this so I didn’t want to risk me being declined my renewal. I was conscious that we only had 1 more working day with Captain Caveman being in Turkey for signing anything so it might be a good idea. Sonuç firmly told me that we did not need to do that, I had a rental agreement now, Captain Caveman was my official landlord and therefore the bills should (quite rightly) remain in his name. Captain Caveman was happy with this too, I was still dubious, so we left it and returned back to Dalyan. When we got home, I was hungry so we had the leftover Mediterranean Chicken for lunch then I sat out on the balcony. In the late afternoon, we decided to call for a drink at Tez bar and I wore my new red dress and had my hair down. When I went round the corner, I saw a waiter I knew at Taste of Heaven bar. He’d been drinking and came out to give me a hug and invited me to join him for a drink. I said no and waved over to where Captain Caveman was sat to say I was meeting my husband. We sat with Penny & Phil and a few others but then the drunk guy sent over a red rose with Ismail, the flower seller. As we were leaving Tez bar, I gave my rose to Kelly and the guy shouted me back to say he had bought it for me, not her. It was all a bit odd. We decided to eat at Eylül restaurant which always gets good reviews. We arrived early as we were thinking Kelly might be better to eat dinner then get a bit of sleep before her 2.15am departure tomorrow. I ordered a glass of white wine, Captain Caveman had a beer and Kelly had a beer and a Sprite to make a shandy. We shared a mixed meze and lavaş (balloon bread) starter which was really nice. For mains, Captain Caveman and I ordered traditional Turkish dishes while Kelly surprised us by ordering Bombay Chicken. My ottoman kebab was a large portion so I took half home but Kelly’s was a dish I’d never heard of or tasted before – it had banana in and looked awful. Captain Caveman ate most of his Hünkar Beğendi (a beef and aubergine dish) but Kelly couldn’t manage much of her’s. It wasn’t as cheap as I thought it would be either.
Here’s what we paid at Eylül: 1 Efes Malt 100 1 Efes normal 100 1 white wine 100 1 Sprite 50 1 Shared meze plate with lavaş 220 1 Bombay Chicken 240 1 Hünkar Beğendi 350 1 Ottoman Kebab 350 Total spent 1510 lira (£44.23)
By 8.15pm we were in Bistro Blue having our last night drinks for Kelly, with me trying to get Captain Caveman to put his phone down, join in the conversation and have a photo. Our goodbye was emotional, it had been so lovely having the girls over to Dalyan but it had definitely made me miss them, and my other friends back in England, more.
On Thursday 24th August Clare was on her way to Dalyan and would be joining Kelly at the BC Spa Hotel in the afternoon. I had fresh figs, strawberries and quark for breakfast and then popped to the bank to transfer money from my US Dollar account to my Turkish account. I had a feeling it would be a bit more of an expensive week with having my friends here and I needed to have some funds available. At the bank, the resident cat decided she’d quite like a bit of attention and came for a cuddle while I waited for the cashier. By 1pm I was with Kelly by the pool at BC Spa and we decided to have some lunch there. I had a chicken wrap which came with a few chips and Kelly had a salad. It wasn’t expensive and I really enjoyed the very filling wrap. Clare arrived at the hotel just after 3pm and I was so glad to get a big hug from her, again it had been far too long! While Clare got settled in, I had an important meeting with Sonuç who I was paying to do my residency renewal stuff for me. We met by the river at BC Spa and I bought us a hot drink while we discussed the requirements and timeline. Unfortunately, Sonuç told me I would not be able to go for a 2 year renewal unless I had £10,000 in my Turkish Bank account which would be a bit tricky! When I got back to the girls, they were sat in the outdoor dining area of the hotel and had ordered some food; a yoghurt dish, stuffed mushrooms and some breaded chicken pieces. I joined them for a glass of rosé wine which was very nice. The girls and I already had pre-booked the classic spa packages in for tomorrow and they mentioned they might book some more treatments in to.
That evening, we shared a bottle of Angora white wine at Tapa bar on our way in to town for dinner. I’d been keen to eat at River House for a while as I’d not been in a long time. We were given complimentary lavaş (balloon bread) with dips and we ordered main meals to share, Kelly had a salad while Clare and I shared a pide. We had a bottle of white wine and enjoyed a lovely reasonably priced evening, they have also made some improvements to the restaurant toilets since I was last there. I really enjoyed the meal at River House and definitely needed to visit again. On our way home, we stopped off for a last drink at Bistro Blue and for the girls to say hello to Annie and Selahı. They had a new cocktail called the English garden at 330 lira (£9.85), with cucumber in it. It was a bit out of my budget so I stuck to wine but the girls said it was fantastic, really refreshing. It had been a cracking first full day with my friends and the next 4 days were going to go too fast!
I took full advantage of not having to work on Monday 21st August. Molly, the cat, was not a fan of joining me for a selfie but she didn’t mind posing for a solo photo. By 9am she was snoozy and I was admiring the view. Back home I had quark, fruit and black tea which was not alleviating my eczema one bit. For lunch I had more of the chicken and carrot (with chickpeas) curry which I had with egg fried rice.
In the evening I attended a ladies only (plus Jamie) boat trip which Adele and I had organised. Onboard were the following people: Viv, Nanny Kay, Jamie, Angela & Lynda (from Dalaman), Janice (aka Lily Fish), Ann, Monique, Rach, Adele and, of course, me. Captain Fuat and his boat were more traditional which is just what we wanted for our moonlight boat trip. It was the first time I’d met him and I was pleased with Adele’s choice. We decided that we would head out in the afternoon to Köyceğiz so that any last minute shopping could be enjoyed. Jamie, Ann and I enjoyed a bottle of wine near the harbour at a bar where they had to call the manager to bring the wine fridge keys.
Back on board the boat, Fuat sailed to a quiet spot so we could have a sunset swim. He had bought us a couple of bottles of nice fizz and had cooked a traditional Turkish dinner for our evening meal. The soup starter was homemade and delicious and the casserole for main was exceptional. Captain Fuat served fruit, including fresh figs from his own garden too. We got back at gone 11pm, having had a lovely evening. I’d spent 1250 lira (£36.72); which included the boat and 5 wines so I was very merry and had thoroughly enjoyed myself.
It was Dalyan market day on Saturday 19th August so I was up early. I sorted out some allergy/meal requirements for an upcoming event then went to check on Molly, the cat. Unfortunately, she (or another cat) had done a poo on the floor in both the bedroom and the lounge and also on the sofa, where she sleeps! I was a bit shocked as she uses the cat litter but I got to cleaning it straight away. Maybe she was stressed from me leaving her yesterday or maybe she had been worried by another cat, the one Tez mentioned. I gave her some cuddles so that she knew it was ok, then popped on the AC and closed the doors and windows so that, if it was another cat, she could feel safer. I went to the market, taking some photos along the way and I bought the following:
Market stall 1 Red peppers, Cauliflower and a lemon Spent 40 lira (£1.17)
Market stall 2 Figs Spent 50 lira (£1.46)
Market stall 3 Potatoes and onions Spent 40 lira (£1.17)
Total spent at the market 310 lira (£9.08). This was a lot for me but I was fully stocked for a healthy week, or more!
A lady who collects clothes and spare items for charities, which include women refuges in Fethiye, called to pick up my donations. We had a chat, she’s a lovely lady who’s doing so much for desperately poor people in the wider Muğla area so I was glad I’d had a bit of a sort out, ready For Captain Caveman coming back. For breakfast I ate 2 fresh figs with quark, peach and strawberries then went back to see Molly. She was snoozing and was fine – no more accidents. I decided to make a Slimming World chicken and carrot curry for dinner in the slow cooker, for lunch I had chicken and beetroot salad. In the afternoon I had a little walk around the block, checked out prices of fizz in the off licence, bought some cat litter for 51 lira (£1.49) and took the money from Rob’s pot. I bought a homemade croissant from La Sorrella, round the corner, and spent time with Molly. She seemed happy and was well behaved. When I went back home the gate was blocked, by an inconsiderate parker who had been there all day, so I put a note in Turkish on his windscreen, asking them to be more considerate. I had the slow cooker meal which was great and I even had 4 portions left, 2 for fridge and 2 for freezing. I was pleased with myself for keeping my plans to avoid going out, therefore not drinking any alcohol. I was going to try for another alcohol free day tomorrow, too!
On Sunday 20th August I was with Molly before 8am, the views from Rob and Tracy’s were lovely and I could see why they lived there. Molly was happy and no bother, today was my last day with her as a friend was taking over tomorrow. I had another croissant from La Sorrella, they are 70 lira (£2) but are massive and so good! I also had 2 fresh figs, strawberries and quark washed down with Linden tea. I met Linda at Lukka bar for a cup of tea, now 25 lira (73p) for Turkish tea, and we discussed the hand over of Molly, the cat, which would happen tomorrow. I made a mushroom and leek soup in the slow cooker and had beans on wholemeal toast for lunch before checking and feeding Molly. I added more veg and some cooked chicken to the slow cooker soup and had a portion as a snack. For dinner I had more of it with noodles, followed by blue cheese, crackers and figs. Another no booze day under my belt and I was on 169 syns for the week so far, 100 less than this time last week. I stayed up until midnight because I had no work this coming week!
I was up and about early on Friday 18th August, ready for a boat trip. It was the first one this month – the last one I went on was 3 weeks ago. I checked on, played with and fed Molly, the cat, and I gave her some extra treats, seeing as I wouldn’t be back at lunch time. Back home, I ate overnight oats with peach and quark for breakfast before getting ready to meet friends, Penny and Phil. They had invited me on a boat trip with them, their family and a friend, so I’d made sure I wasn’t working today. We were going on Kingfisher boat which was costing 750 lira (£22.22) each and included lunch. The boat was nice, although quite full so I could see why it was slightly cheaper than a usual trip, due to the amount of people joining. We had a biscuit and a cup of tea then sailed towards Ekincik with a few other boats near to us. Today the sea was very choppy and I had to take a sea sickness tablet. I didn’t think that the first stop looked calm enough for swimming so I stayed on the boat but some of the kids were already jumping off the top deck. A couple of the mothers of the children didn’t seem to care or notice until the captain called everyone back in and we moved on. As there were 3 kids in our party I decided not to drink alcohol until later, it was a family trip not a booze up. The lunch was plentiful, although not the best I’ve had on a boat trip but then I’ve been spoiled with the ones we choose. When I did have a wine I decided to have white with soda water. Our last swim stop was very calm and the water was so clear. We all bobbed about chatting and having a good laugh. On our return back to Dalyan I had another white wine and soda, which I sipped, as I was trying to be good. I got rather a shock when I got the bill as the small Harman wines were 120 lira (£3.54) each and the soda water was 40 lira (£1.18)each. 160 lira (£4.72) is the most I’ve paid in Dalyan for a wine and soda water. A small beer was 80 lira (£2.36) which I’d have been better having but I didn’t think. I did query it with the waitress and the captain’s wife but they do charge the same for a soda water as a soft drink. We were back in Dalyan dead on 5pm too, which was a bit early but it did mean I could be with Molly, the cat, earlier than I anticipated. I fed Molly and spent a bit of time with her, she was pleased to see me but Tez said she’d been galavanting with a boyfriend! By 7pm I was having an airfryer quesadilla as I was peckish. I even had cheesespread on wholemeal toast before bed. Tomorrow I promised myself a healthy relaxing day and had already decided I would have an alcohol free day.
This was probably the most that I’ve ever spent in the supermarket this year in one shop and I struggled to carry it home. I called in to a couple of other shops along the way back where I bought Airfryer liners and bun cases for 95 lira (£2.78), coconut milk for 60 lira (£1.76) and a water refill for 50 lira (£1.47).
I had fruit and quark for breakfast and I was trying hard not to fall off the Slimming World plan. I went back to check on, play with and feed Molly, she was pleased to see I’d got her more food. I took 112 lira out of the pot for the Whiskas too which had 8 pouches in. For lunch I had some of the airfried chicken in a salad with beetroot and 2 cups of green tea. At 5.30pm I met Ann at Kefal tea gardens for a çay and a chat. I checked on Molly again and let her know I would only be there twice tomorrow as I had plans. For dinner I made a chicken chow mein with mushrooms and broccoli in and it was delicious. In the evening I had an apple and some cherries but resisted alcohol, this meant my syns for the day were only 10.
Fat Club had been moved to a day earlier due to the women’s football, so I got weighed at home on Tuesday 15th August to find I was 0.5kg lighter than last week. As always, Carol’s scales were what mattered so my real result would be this afternoon. I did my measurements to find I’d lost 1cm from my bust, my hips were the same but I’d put 1cm on my waist. I’d only drank alcohol 3 times in the last week, which was helping keep on track. I went to Rob and Tracy’s to feed and play with Molly, the cat, and had just cherries for breakfast. On my way back home, I noticed that the gardening company had done a bit of pruning around the complex but it still wasn’t looking great. I popped back to Molly at lunch time and fed her some treats then it was time to get ready for Fat Club. I was disappointed to find I had stayed the same as last week on Carol’s scales. I was a bit naughty when I went shopping, I got myself some treats. Here’s what I got at the shop and the prices in lira:
Şevikoğlu Supermarket
2 chocolate orange bars 6.50 Black tea 18.90 Greaseproof paper 23.90 Tortilla wraps 29.90 Gherkins 36.90
Total spent 116.10 lira (£3.41)
Seeing as I had no Yorkshire tea left, I’d had to resort to Turkish black tea, which I had with a couple of chocolate orange bars. The tea is meant to be good for eczema, which was not getting any better. I fed and played with Molly again in the early evening before going home for dinner. I had a tandoori style chicken with a wrap and some quark. Then had another treat of popcorn and crisps while watching Netflix.
Wednesday 16th August was pay day for me and I’d been invited to go up to Rehab bar in the afternoon. I have no interest in watching football, women’s or otherwise, so I decided on a nice relaxing day at home. I had a green tea and some beans on wholemeal toast for breakfast. I made a pizza wrap in the airfryer for lunch then had a healthy feta and beetroot salad for dinner. I also cooked the whole chicken in the airfryer so that I had meat for the rest of the week’s meals. I took my cat sitting duties seriously and went to look after Molly 3 times, she really was a sweet cat. That evening, I finished off the bottle of rosé wine at home and watched Netflix.
By 8am on Monday 14th August I was in Rob and Tracy’s apartment feeding Molly, the cat. While I was there, I took some photos, played with Molly and spoke to Captain Caveman who was at a party with some porters. We discussed me meeting him in Naples at the beginning of October but the flights went via London which was a bit of a faff and they weren’t particularly cheap. Before work, I had cheese on toast for breakfast, but no Yorkshire tea as I had ran out. I messaged our gardening company, to let them know they needed to tidy the grounds of our complex and they replied to say they would come today – they didn’t. I went back to check the cat at lunch time and, as the owners had not left enough food or cat litter in for Molly, I located the spare cash as instructed by Rob. I would check the price when I next went to the supermarket as I had no idea how much cat food was, these days. I played with Molly for a bit, she’s a lovely cat but a bit on the chunky side. I took more photos and admired the river view. Back at home, I had mantı (Turkish pasta) for lunch then got back to work. I went to meet Kate, Mark and Jamie at Sofra bar at 7pm Kate explained she’d been unable to bring me a 2024 diary back from England and she’d forgotten about the Yorkshire tea. I was back to being on a constant look out for a diary as I was getting quite booked up for 2024 already. I messaged Captain Caveman and he said he would try to get me some Yorkshire tea and a diary when he came back from Vietnam in 2 weeks. I finished my drink, kept hold of Teddy, the AWOL dog, until Ghislaine came to collect him again then I went back to feed Molly. I called at the shops for some provisions and got the following items:
It was late by the time I was going home and I’d forgotten to get anything out for dinner. I decided to have a Hatay kebab which tasted great at the time but I’m sure I’d come to regret it at Fat Club on Wednesday.
On Friday 11th August I had to work because I’d moved my days to accommodate Mark and Kate’s cat and house sitting dates. I worked from 9am to 5pm with a break for lunch. I was also back to eating nice food at home; beans on toast for breakfast, feta and beetroot salad for lunch, then a tandoori style chicken and rice dish for dinner. I even opened a bottle of rosé wine when I finished work and sat on the balcony in my lounge chair. I thought I was going to have a relaxed early night at home but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Kate messaged to ask if I wanted to meet her and Mark at Tez bar so I said yes. After more wine there, it ended up being a rather messy, drunken evening in Dalyan Lounge and then Sofra. Kate fell asleep in Dalyan Lounge so Mark and I left with her on the puff truck to make sure she got home. We had a can of beer and a hip flask to come back in to town with to rejoin Jo, Steve, John, Andrea, Jade and her husband who’s birthday it was. We bumped in to Bakı and we had rather a lot more drinks. Obviously, Mark and I were the last 2 standing in Sofra at about 4am – tomorrow was going to hurt!
I had no idea how I was going to get through all my plans on Saturday 12th August! I postponed my meet up at Goodeer Cafe with Jamie and went back to bed. I couldn’t face going to the market so I slept until about 1pm then went to meet Jamie. I had a lime slushy which made my hangover headache even worse. Jamie had also ended up drinking until 4am this morning with his neighbours so we were both in the same pathetic state, still. Neither of us quite knew how we were going to muster up the oomph to be able to attend Nanny Kay’s birthday celebrations tonight. As I entered the complex back at our apartment I noticed that the garden was overgrown again and was looking a bit dishevelled so I needed to remind the maintenance company to give it a bit of attention. Jamie, Ann and I met at Sofra bar for a livener before the main birthday event. I took more than 30 minutes to get half a draft lager down me and felt absolutely terrible. We went to Meet Meat restaurant where there was about 20 of us for the birthday meal. The free mushroom and bread starters were amazing and I ordered a steak with rice, chips and salad which was very nice. I made a glass of red wine last all night and I was absolutely begging for mercy. My 200g steak meal came to 448 lira (£13.27), which was very reasonable, the wine was 100 lira (£2.96) for a decent glass and a large water was 30 lira (89p). We’d had a reasonably priced night out with excellent food and service. Unfortunately, there was an after-party, back at Sofra where it turned in to another one of those nights! Jamie, Ghislaine and I got in at gone 4am after Teddy, the dog, had gone AWOL meaning Ghislaine was forced to come and collect him from us at Sofra Bar.
It wouldn’t take a genius to work out that I had an easy day on Sunday 13th August. On a positive note, staying out until after the Jazz bar had closed meant I was getting better sleep. I had bread, feta cheese and olives for breakfast, a hot dog for lunch then tandoori chicken with egg fried rice for dinner. I had an early night because tomorrow I had another week of cat sitting.
After I’d fed the cats their breakfast on Wednesday 9th August, Casha went back to bed in the spare room. I met a gecko outside on the meter box too. I took the puff truck over to our apartment, where I made myself pancakes with fruit for a late breakfast. I got weighed and was hopeful for a good result at Fat Club later as I had lost a bit since last week and my measurements were good; no change to bust or hips but -4cm off my waist! I noticed that our complex was looking a bit dishevelled and the gardener and pool man hadn’t been in a while. I worked all morning then went to Fat Club where Carol’s scales said I had lost 1.3kg (almost 3lb). On the way home I went to the supermarket and bought the following;
I had beans on toast with hot dog sausage in plus a hot dog before I took the puff truck back to Mark and Kate’s for my cat feeding action. I was in bed by 11pm, having had another alcohol free day. I was pleased it was my last night staying away and I was looking forward to getting home!
Mark and Kate were due back at 8.20pm on Thursday 10th August and I was eager to get back to normal. I fed the cats, watered the plants, stripped the bed and washed all the bedding and towels. I had strawberries for breakfast then packed up all my stuff ready to leave. I had a last swim before a lunch of lentil soup and a turkey salad wrap. I took all my stuff home in the afternoon, it was very hot. I had a hot dog at home before taking the puff truck back to Mark and Kate’s for one last cat feed. I made sure the house was tidy, that I’d taken anything I’d left in the fridge and that the cats were all happy. I put the keys for the puff truck back where they belonged, it still didn’t need charging and I’d not used any of the electric bikes. I walked home, it had cooled down a little by about 8pm but it was still quite warm. When I got home I had a beer and a Bounty as a bit of a treat. I was so looking forward to my own bed and not having to get up too early to tend to any animals.
I didn’t get out of bed to feed the cats until 7.15am on Sunday 6th August. I was feeling tired. After feeding the cats and watering the plants I did a bit of blogging. I was quite behind and really needed to catch up. I’d mistakenly thought I’d be able to do that while I was house and pet sitting but the internet wasn’t up to much. It also meant that I probably wouldn’t be able to work online from this house tomorrow and I decided to rearrange my work schedule. I had beans on toast for lunch and lots of fresh fruit. Kate suggested I turn her home grown tomatoes in to sun-dried ones but, instead, I made a fresh tomato sauce to go with some pasta and ate it for dinner. I got messages from Kelly and Clare, who were looking forward to arriving in Dalyan later in the month and I was getting excited for their visit. Captain Caveman would also be back on their last day so we could all do something together. I was in bed before 10pm, picking out recipes from Carol’s Slimming World book.
Monday 7th August followed a similar pattern to the previous day; cat feeding, plant watering, blog editing. I’d decided to work from home once back at home so I had a little swim. Unfortunately, my eczema seemed to be getting worse, possibly from the chemicals in the pool. The cats were more playful today, especially as I tried to drink my tea from a Yorkshire tea mug. I had mantı (Turkish pasta) for lunch and popped to Migros and Rehab bar on the puff truck in the late afternoon. I needed to pay my bar bill which was 240 lira (£7.22) for the 3 pints I had on Saturday. At Migros I bought soup, cooked meats and some aloe vera gel (for my eczema) for a total of 114.26 lira (£3.44). Back at Mark and Kate’s, there was more cat feeding then I had a turkey and lettuce wrap for dinner. Another early night was had but I decided that tomorrow I would go back to our apartment to work from there in the day time.
When I woke up on Tuesday 8th August the power was off but I didn’t know if it was a widespread power cut or not. I fed the cats then I took the puff truck back to my place where the power was on and I messaged people who live in the same area as Mark and Kate to check if they had power. It turned out to be everyone in the area. I made Slimming World friendly pancakes from egg and banana for breakfast and did a bit of work. I had 2 Yorkshire teas as a nice treat before getting the laptop out. I had an airfryer jacket potato with cheese and a Linden tea for lunch, which was lovely. I spoke to Captain Caveman for the first time in a while (he’s not one for keeping in touch or asking how I’m doing) and we came up with a holiday plan. Once he was over in Turkey, he could only spend 90 days here so he intended to go to England and Europe for about 40 days. He did ask if I wanted to go too but I just couldn’t afford it, so I said no. We did think I could possibly meet him in Naples or Rome though, as the flights between Italy and Rhodes were so cheap. I said I’d consider that and went back to work until 5.15pm. Back at Mark and Kate’s I fed the cats and watered the plants, while our own garden seemed to be neglected in comparison and we have a maintenance company there. That evening, I spoke to Ma and Pa and suggested meeting in Italy as per Captain Caveman’s idea. They were also open to this plan and we said we would factor it in to our October holiday. It was almost midnight when I went to bed, tomorrow I had a busier day planned.
I was meant to be going swimming with Adele before cat feeding on Saturday 5th August but I felt I had not left myself enough time in the day to do everything I’d planned to. I fed the cats; Baby stuck her tongue out at me and she didn’t eat all the food. I watered the plants and felt grateful that I don’t even own a plant as it is such a time consuming job. Adele picked me up on her motorbike and we drove the short journey to Yalıçapkını (aka Kingfisher) for breakfast with friends. I had booked a table for 8 of us but, when we arrived it was clear I had made a mistake. Joining Adele and I were Ann, Jamie, Drew, Nanny Kay, and Viv, however there were 2 people who I had not met before. Nanny Kay introduced me to her friend, Lynne, and I said hello. I looked towards the lady sat next to Viv, who introduced herself as Lynne, too. I had not realised that when Viv had messaged to ask if I’d included Lynne that she had been talking of her Lynne, not Nanny Kay’s Lynne. I took the end of the table and requested a new place be added. Six of us had the Turkish breakfast, Nanny Kay and the first Lynne had menemen, Drew had a toastie. I loved the food, despite avoiding the chips and trying not to be too naughty. The total bill came to 2,290lira (£69) working out less than £8 per person. After eating, the conversation topic of the Barbie film cropped up. Lynne number 2 and Drew helped us all download an app where you can make your own photo in to a Barbie – hours of fun could have been on the cards but it was time to leave. There was no lolling by the pool to be had that afternoon as I decided to take the puff truck to the market to stock up on fruit and veg. The mobility wagon was brilliant, I managed to get 27 km/h out of it and work out where the gears were. I decided to call in to Rehab bar to meet up with the pool gang and had a nice pint (or 2) with Carol, Adam & Kath, Julie & Gareth. Of course, without Mark and Kate there we finished earlier than we would normally and I was able to whizz back on the puff truck for a river swim with Adele. I quickly fed the cats and was watering the garden again when Adele arrived with a bottle of wine for us to share later. The swim off the jetty was refreshing and enjoyable as we went past a small inlet near to Mark and Kate’s. We felt what we would later find out were thermoclines which are cold pockets of water staying separate to the top layer of warm water as the sea and river met. It was getting dark, no one knew we were swimming in the river and I had been drinking – probably not the smartest idea! The mosquitos were out in abundance as we climbed out on to the jetty. We went inside, drank Adele’s wine and chatted until gone midnight having had a lovely day.
joloyolo 