Dalyan – 1st February

Wednesday 1st February marked the day where I aimed to make a few changes. I wanted to be more frugal, find a more suitable part-time job, get paid what I was already owed and lose some weight. I never make new year resolutions for January as I know I will fail, especially as it’s my birthday month. February was a shorter month and would be easier to put some goals in place. The first thing I did when I got up was to get weighed on the home scales and take my measurements. The home scales read heavier than Carol’s at Fat Club but, if they were correct, I had lost a little bit more – I would find out this afternoon at Fat Club.
All of my measurements had either decreased of remained the same so it was looking like a promising start.
I had cornflakes with skimmed milk and a cup of Yorkshire tea for breakfast then went to the bank and supermarkets, here’s what I bought:

Migros Supermarket
Bag of garlic 9.34
835g onions 10.77
M&Ms 10.90
140g plain Quark 14.95
1.7kg potatoes 15.26
Bin bags 18.50
2 pot noodles 19.80
400g Mushrooms 29.90
450g Spinach 34.90
Cream cheese 49.90
Total spent 189.32 lira (£8.30)

Şok Supermarket
Wine gums 6.95
2 packet of plain crisps 23.50
Rice 27.50
Total spent 57.95 lira (£2.54)

Mark and Kate were having a curry night at their’s later and Kate had invited me. I said I’d bring a Saag Aloo dish with me too. I hurried along to Fat Club, eager to find out my results. Remarkably, I had lost 0.9kg (almost 2lb) and had now exceeded a total loss of 3.6kg (7.9lb, over half a stone) which was a great start to the month. Spurred on by a good result, I decided not to have a cup of tea which is served with a biscuit and decided to order a large bottle of water. Back at home I set about making my dish for tonight and wolfed down a late lunch of chicken, sweetcorn and egg fried rice using the left over chicken shish from Kordon’s on my birthday, which I’d got out of the freezer earlier.
Once I’d made my potato and spinach dish I got a taxi over to Mark and Kate’s as I was running late and the pan was too big to carry. Fikri’s prices had increased by 20% to 60 lira (£2.63) for the 3.3km drive.
When I arrived, there was just Kate at home so I wasn’t actually late. Mark and the other guests were all still at Rehab bar after pool had finished. Kate had made a delightful meal of onion bhajis, chicken curry, rice, nan breads, and various salad, chutneys and dips. It was lovely and I really enjoyed it with my bottle of Tılsım red wine I’d allowed myself, using my syns. It was good to see that Mark and Kate now had a cat room where they all had an individual bed and a litter tray, this would make it so much easier to look after them in the winter.
I ended up staying over in the upstairs bedroom instead of getting a taxi back as I’d drank a whole bottle of wine to myself.

Dalyan – 28th & 29th January

On Saturday 28th January the day had come for me to say bye to Charlie. After 60 days with him we’d become very close and I was going to be sad to hand him over to Gill. Gill had finally managed to get to Turkey after a very turbulent flight via Greece and was going to be in at 4pm for me to drop Charlie at her place. Captain Caveman had gone back in to Son Doong and was due back on Tuesday but he’d managed to see Charlie in a video call. We both loved Charlie and I knew I would miss him as much as Captain Caveman already did.
I had extra snuggles with Charlie that morning, the weather was still awful but we did manage another jog round the block. This was my 4th consecutive day of actual jogging but today I made the mistake of forgetting to put my bra on. Unfortunately, the Turkish neighbour across from me saw me set off jogging and was spurring me on so I couldn’t turn back. I looked and felt like I was going to collapse when I got back and we’d only been to Poo Corner and around the block. I spent most of the day packing stuff and wondering how I’d managed to have so much stuff, there was even some clothes left of Captain Caveman’s and it was going to take me lots of trips – not ideal in the rain.
Around lunchtime I got a message from Jamie to say he and Drew would come over at 4pm to help me move all my stuff by car and they were happy to come with me to drop Charlie off at Gill’s too. I was so grateful and accepted the kind offer straight away. I’d already packed everything in easy to carry batches thinking I’d be taking it over manually so now I got on with stripping the bedding and washing the sheets and towels. By 1pm the sun was back out and Charlie was sunbathing in a chair on the roof terrace for the last time. Although it was market day, I didn’t bother, due to the fact it would be more to carry between houses and I had enough to do with cleaning Helen and Abi’s place.

At 4pm prompt, Jamie and Drew arrived and we decided to take Charlie with us and drop him off before going to mine. Jamie and Drew did most of the lifting and were super helpful. When we got to Gill’s, Charlie was excited to see Missy, Gill’s dog, and was off running around the garden like a mad thing. There was no time for tears as I gave Gill some of Charlie’s things, explained I needed to pop back tomorrow to put the rest of the washing out at Helen and Abi’s, then I would drop her the keys and Charlie’s toys which were being washed.
Charlie didn’t even come to say bye, he didn’t look at me and I felt like a mom dropping her kid off at school! We drove to mine and brought all of my stuff up in one go between the 3 of us.
I was just mentioning we should go for a beverage but, as they had the car we said we’d do it another time. I popped to Captainnet, the internet provider, to get my internet renewed as that was due to expire tomorrow but they don’t open on Sundays. It was now 200 lira (£8.82) per month for the package I was on and had increased by 14% this year. I called in to Bim supermarket on the way home to check for Dairy Milk chocolate but there was still none.
Back home, I took photos of the entrance to the apartments. The thorny rose bushes from B1 were now right across the path at head height and we had needed to duck under them. This was certainly a hazard in the dark and I don’t know why the people living in B4 had not cut or moved them, especially as they are bigger than me. I realised I’d not eaten much today and felt a bit peckish so I popped some chestnuts in the oven. I had a nice cup of Yorkshire tea while I waited for them to cook then took my cooked chestnuts in a bowl covered in foil over to Jamie’s. The dogs were on the sofa and were pleased to see me, as usual.
Drew dropped me back home around 10.30pm, after a chilled evening with the pooches, and I made a pizza from a wrap and snaffled it down.

On the morning of Sunday 29th January I was up early, having been so used to getting up to let at least one dog out. It was a bit sad not having Charlie with me but I was happy he was living in a big house with a gorgeous garden and a playmate. I was also looking forward to not having to worry about looking after a dog and getting back to earning some cash and doing some more work, hopefully very soon.
I went over to Helen and Abi’s to hang out the rest of the washing and collect Charlie’s stuff that I’d not yet brought to Gill’s house. After dropping bags back off at mine, I was in a rush to meet Nanny Kay who was picking me up outside Lukka bar at 1pm for a quick drive to Ortaca.
Nanny Kay dropped me back in Dalyan, somewhere in Gülpınar but I didn’t recognise where I was in relation to my next appointment. So I ended up walking past my parents’ and back round to Vanessa’s. Her kettle was broken so we had no option but to have a wine and soda (or 2) and we prattled on while Matt was trying to fix a printer and Brad, their son, was resting up from a knee op and playing video games. To give Matt and Brad’s ears a rest, Vanessa came with me when I went to take Charlie’s stuff to Gill’s, calling at mine on the way to pick it up. Gill invited us in and we had a nice cup of tea while Charlie came for some fuss. He looked well and I could tell he seemed happy to be at Gill’s with Missy. I handed the keys over and asked if Gill would mind bringing in the bedding once it had dried. She was also going to go over there and turn off the electric and empty the fridge freezer as there was still a fair bit of food in there that I’d not managed to eat.
The sun had been shining but, as Vanessa and I walked back in to town, planning on calling for a drink somewhere, it was getting quite chilly. Instead, we went to mine where we had half a bottle of white wine in the fridge and a soda water. It was gone 7pm when Vanessa left to go home but we’d had a good catch up. That evening I made another one of the pizzas on a wrap and had an early night. The smell of cat pee in the stair well was very strong so I was very glad of my reed diffuser gift from Ghislaine which was scented with Jasmine. It was nice to be back home, though.

Dalyan – 9th January

It was the start of my birthday week on Monday 9th January and the plans were coming along nicely. After breakfast I took the dogs out as usual but this time Charlie wanted to check on Milo, the dumped dog, who we had now found out was called Cookie. Apparently the owner of the off-licence, Yaman Bufet, had said he would take it if we could take it to the shop. I was struggling enough to handle the 3 dogs I did have on the lead so I sent the location to people who could help.

While Captain Caveman was on his way back from Son Doong, I was on my way for my first treat of the week. Kate was meeting me at Egehan restaurant, where her birthday gift to me was lunch and drinks. We had a lovely table outside by the pool in glorious sunshine and we were the only lunchtime guests. We had beers and a couple of beef dishes which were absolutely stunning. My meatballs were so tasty and Kate enjoyed her meal too. I was wearing winter clothes and was too hot, even the pool wasn’t that cold.

Next we went to Tez bar where we were later joined by Mark and we were discussing plans for my birthday.
On my way back to Jamie’s villa, around 5.30pm, I called at the shop for some essentials, a little bit tipsy. Louisa was arriving tomorrow so I’d asked her what she might want so I could get it in, and I also took some vodka from home as she doesn’t like wine or beer. Here’s what I bought;

Migros Supermarket
1 Twix 13.95
Skimmed milk 15.50
Carrots 16.25
Toastie loaf 17.50
Crisps 18.45
Apple juice 22.00
1 tin of tomatoes 24.90

Total spent 128.55 lira (£5.66)

After shopping and walking Norman and Edna, it was time to take Charlie for his walk. This time we went a different route and ended up in Waterfall where I met up again with Mark and Kate. After a couple of drinks I went back home and sent the Bistro Blue menus out to the potential birthday party attendees so they could preorder. On the whole, prices had an average increase of 20%, which was normal but I expected some cancellations because of it. As my diet was on hold until after the celebrations I treated myself to a couple of pieces of the white Terry’s Chocolate Orange which Josh had brought me over from England.

Dalyan – 13th December

It was my last cat feeding session on Tuesday 13th December at Mark and Kate’s as, hopefully, they would be on the flight back from Gatwick this morning. I wasn’t sure if there definitely would be a flight due to the adverse weather conditions in England so I kept the house key when I left that morning. It was rainy and muddy on my way back. Both Captain Caveman and Charlie were still asleep and the house was quite messy. It was clear that Captain Caveman had forgotten I was due ‘home’ or he wasn’t excited to have me back. I had a shower and put some washing in while Captain Caveman got ready to go to Bridge and walked Charlie. At 11.10am, Turkish time, Mark and Kate’s flight had gone ahead and I was pleased they were coming back. I tidied and cleaned a bit then I walked Charlie before going to singing group. He had been restless, pleased to have me back but kept trying to keep me from typing.
I managed to not be called fat or pregnant at Singing group this week (always a bonus) and we sang a few Christmas carols, which was good and took me back to school assembly. There was a new couple there, which was nice, and the chap had ordered a beer, I’d not realised they had beer so I also ordered one. Kate and Vanessa had not made it but my mom had and we knew most of the Christmas songs between us.
Back at Charlie’s, Captain Caveman and I had beef stew for dinner with the jacket potatoes I’d done in the oven but the spuds didn’t turn out too good. It was nice to be back ‘home’ but it was clear that Captain Caveman wasn’t as pleased that I was. Thankfully, Charlie seemed very happy to see me so at least I was made welcome by one of them.

Dalyan – 11th & 12th December

At 5.25am on Sunday 11th December it was only 17°C and I was wide awake and a bit nippy. I decided, as today was likely to be a bit of a right-off, weather-wise, I would start my tasks early. The cats were fed at 7am and the rain was on its way so we were going nowhere. I had a cup of Yorkshire tea and one of Michele’s gorgeously sweet pink grapefruits for breakfast. By 9.30am it was throwing it down. I spent most of the day on my laptop until Casha finally came in for a cuddle. Later on it became quite stormy and the internet went off but the electric was still on. I even got a text from Captain Net to say that there had been an outage and they were trying to fix it. Captain Caveman gave me a call to check on me, as the power was out at Charlie’s with the storm getting worse around bed time. The storm was loud and pretty relentless and I hoped all was ok at our own home.

On Monday 12th December all the cats were fed and accounted for by 7.50am but it looked like JC had some swelling on her face. She wouldn’t let me look or touch it and I thought it might have been a bee or wasp sting. I let Kate know in case a vet visit might be needed and we decided to see how she was throughout the day. Casha was fed up of being bothered by Bebek and decided she would sleep in the box of crisps. It was raining so all the cats stayed indoors all morning, except for Kylie. When the sun came out later that morning I decided all the cats but Casha, who was now sleeping on Kate’s handbag, could go out as I had an important appointment at noon. I had to walk to Charlie’s as I had no money on me, Captain Caveman had gone on a long walk with Cath and Keith but not taken Charlie on this one as it might be too difficult for him. He had remembered to leave me some cash which I needed as I’d arranged to meet author, Rosie O’Hara, at the Kaunos tea gardens to purchase her new book and have a quick catch up before she went to cookery class.

Captain Caveman sent me photos of his walk around Dalyan with his new walking buddies.

My wellies were falling apart but were necessary to get through all the puddles and mud from Mark and Kate’s place. I ordered a tea and Rosie gave me a yarn bag for Kate, a marvellous invention of which I’d never seen or heard of before. Rosie has written more than one book and, as I was buying her latest work, she very kindly gave me her previous book and even wrote a dedication and signed both books for me. I was also gifted some cards to experiment with and I was looking forward to seeing what effect they may have. Now I just needed to make some time to read them, I still hadn’t finished Mike Tyson’s autobiography which is really good. Rosie also recommended I get some Centaurium drops to help with my allergies/stomach reactions which now seemed to have transferred from stomach issues in to face and neck eczema. We had a short catch up before I walked back to Charlie’s in my broken wellies. If I had not lost weight at Fat Club this week I would be disappointed as I was walking for about an hour per day, minimum.

As Captain Caveman was out, I took Charlie for a walk then I took more Bolognese and some clean clothes from that house back to Mark and Kate’s around sunset. Kate had messaged to say that flights from the UK today had been cancelled due to snow and that their flight tomorrow might also get cancelled – I might need to stay longer. JC definitely had a poorly cheek and, although she still wouldn’t let me touch it, she did let me give her a cuddle.
I got most of my stuff together and did a few tasks in the evening so that I wouldn’t have to do as much tomorrow. Captain Caveman and my parents were both leaving in 2 weeks and I’d not really been out with them much. I was very tired, it’s surprising how the relaxing week at Mark and Kate’s had not really ended up as that and I was starting to miss being in my own home with all my own things.

Dalyan – 10th December

My plan on Saturday 10th December had been to get up early, feed the cats, do a couple of hours work and then walk to Charlie’s or the market to meet Captain Caveman. We’d been looking after Charlie for 10 days now and he really was such a lovely dog. The problem with being in 2 separate houses but trying to maintain a budget is that the food needs to be cooked together then split between the homes. I messaged Captain Caveman but he didn’t answer so I assumed he’d been on his Bridge app until late and was having a lay in. I’d fed all the cats on time and finished the tasks I had for the morning. On the way from Mark and Kate’s place I saw that the nearby building work included putting pipes in to the canals and ditches, it looked a mess and would be awful to walk through in the rain. The 30 minute walk did me good as I didn’t feel as tired once I got there. Captain Caveman was in bed playing Bridge on his phone, Charlie was also snoozing, so there was no trip to the market. I took Charlie out for a short walk round the block to Poo corner then came back for a shower. I could barely get any chat out of Captain Caveman apart from that he was in agreement that we would go to Altın Tava restaurant with my parents for lunch. We’d arranged to meet them at 1.30pm but we were late as Captain Caveman was getting obsessed with playing Bridge on his phone.
When we got near to the restaurant my Mom was stood in the street and Dad was walking about a bit further up. Alton Towers, as they call it, was closed despite my mom having checked with them yesterday. My parents didn’t look too pleased as we had been wanting to go to this place for a while but hadn’t managed it. Instead we made the decision that we would go to Bistro Blue for lunch and we headed off there. We sat inside, as we had left Charlie in the apartment, and we were the only ones there. This was only the second day of them being open for winter and there was no menu yet so Ömer, the waiter, took my Mom and Captain Caveman to the chiller to tell them what they had available to eat. My Dad is not a fan of not having a written menu so he didn’t go over and I had already decided I would try to be healthy. My parents ordered steaks, Captain Caveman chose a burger and I stuck with a chicken shish. The food was very good and I would definitely have the chicken shish again. All the food was nice and my parents said their steaks were delicious. We had drinks but I was conscious I wasn’t going to go too mad as I had more work to start tomorrow and I had to walk back to Mark and Kate’s later.

It started raining so I decided to get my wellies from Charlie’s and pick up some Bolognese before going to feed the cats. I noticed Captain Caveman had decided to open one of our Datça Vineyard wines to put in a slow cooker Bolognese and I was a bit disappointed because I’d hoped we would drink that on a special occasion, or at least together. We did have other red wine in when I left but he’d drank it. I took some food with me to tide me over so that I didn’t have to keep coming all this way to get some meals. The rain was about to come, the forecast wasn’t looking good for tomorrow so it was likely we wouldn’t leave our respective house sitting properties.
I got back to Mark and Kate’s just as the rain was about to lash it down, I had a glass of wine and then later warmed up my Bolognese for dinner.

Dalyan – 8th & 9th December

I had another gift from Bebek at 7.30am on Thursday 8th December, this time it was alive. I asked Kylie to take care of it again and this time she took it in to the garden, killed it and ate it. She then came back in and ate her breakfast while I felt too queasy to eat mine. Captain Caveman joined the Riverbums on his weekly bumming and found some shocking areas of litter, no which is disappointing. As he was out until 2pm it was up to me to put my laptop away and walk to Charlie’s place to keep him company and take him out. When I got there, Charlie was pleased to see me but was very tired from his massive walk yesterday and just wanted belly rubs.

Video of Kylie taking a live rodent away

When Captain Caveman got back we had the BBQ chicken from Tuesday but it was a tad dry. I made extra rice to take to Kate’s with me as we now had my rice cooker in the kitchen at this house. Captain Caveman and I had a walk with Charlie but it looked like rain, when we checked the forecast, 9 wet days were predicted.
Back at Mark and Kate’s I did a meal plan to try to help with the not being able to get proper diet friendly meals because of being so ill prepared. After feeding the cats they decided to play on the stairs and Casha appointed herself as the gatekeeper of who could pass.

There were some planned power outages on Friday 9th December but I wasn’t too sure which areas either of the houses I was at, fell in to. I forgot to set an alarm so all the cats were waiting for breakfast at 7.40am when I finally woke up. I had Yorkshire tea and toast for breakfast then I decided to take my laptop and walk over to Charlie’s as Captain Caveman was out. My 8GB of data I’d bought on 21st November had already run out and the WiFi at Mark and Kate’s only works for me when sat in the living room on the sofa. I prefer to type at a desk where I can have all my materials beside me and no cats helping me. When I arrived at Charlie’s, he was pleased to see me but the power was off. I decided to cut up an apple in to wedges and send a top tip to the Fat Club group on substitute snacks when there’s no electricity. Instead of potato wedges I had apple wedges, without the BBQ sauce I may have had, and that was my lunch. At 12.30 I walked Charlie over to Lukka, where Captain Caveman had been playing bridge. I dropped the pooch off while I nipped home to get my hair conditioner, moisturiser and get weighed. I found my scales said that I’m heavier than the ones at Fat Club and my weekly measurements showed the following;
Bust stayed the same,
Waist -3cm,
Hips -5cm,
Right thigh +1cm,
Right calf stayed the same,
Left thigh -0.5cm,
Left calf -2cm.
At 2pm I went to my last Turkish class of the year where we talked about what our plans for Christmas were, as part of the lesson. It was actually quite reassuring that a lot of the people in the class don’t celebrate it and would just be having a usual day, but I’m sure the teacher must have thought we were a set of miserable buggers.

When I finished class I walked over to Bistro Blue which had now opened on certain days during the winter months. It’s one of our favourites in Dalyan so it was good news and my parents were very happy about it too. Captain Caveman, Charlie and my parents were already there and I was surprised to see my Dad drinking strawberry cider. As they had just opened, we got a bit of a deal on the beers and wine which were only 50 lira each (£2.17) – the cider was 70 lira (£3). The owners Selahı and Annie had the place looking good and it had an awning up and heaters inside. We didn’t go inside because we had Charlie who was loving being able to nosey around. It was quite pleasant being sat outside and it meant that Charlie could say hello to some street dogs. As we were leaving, Annie and Selahı treated us all to a free shot of either amaretto or a minty concoction to celebrate their first day of winter opening.

Instead of going straight back to Mark and Kate’s while it was still sunny, I decided to join Captain Caveman and Charlie for a glass of wine at Waterfall bar on the way to get my laptop and rucksack. Mehmet, at Waterfall, gave everyone jacket potatoes which were delicious. While I went to pick up my bag and order a taxi to go back in time for cat feeding, Charlie was given jacket potato skin which he loved. When I got in, it was a little later than usual but the cats seemed fine with it and settled down indoors after eating. I had broccoli soup which I put pasta in, to be more filling, for my dinner. I was looking forward to a quiet weekend when I got another online project with a deadline of a week so it meant I would be busy this weekend.

Photo credit – use of photos from the Riverbums

Dalyan – 7th December

It was still dark at 7am on Wednesday 7th December when I fed 5 out of 6 cats at Mark and Kate’s house. It was very cold outside so I took a cup of tea back to bed with me. Kylie didn’t turn up until 8.30am but did stay indoors after her breakfast.
Captain Caveman had decided to go on a big walk over the other side of the river and had chosen to take Charlie with him. He even sent me a photo from the top of a mountain and I hoped Charlie’s little legs were ok.
By noon I had my lunch break spoiled by Bebek, the youngest cat, bringing me a gift. It was a mouse, or a rat, and I had to get Kylie to take it away, which she impressively did. My diet had really gone a bit off track because I hadn’t brought much of my food over from any of the other houses. I ended up having half a chicken and mushroom pie from the fridge, before setting off to walk to Fat Club. Unsurprisingly, I had put on 0.3kg this week, which is less than 1lb, so I wasn’t unduly worried. After the group, I walked to Tez bar to see my parents, Captain Caveman and Charlie. The walkers had not yet gone home but it looked like they had really bonded. Charlie had been very well behaved and had been on a rowing boat, a ferry and walked quite a long trek without any issues. I had planned to go back to Charlie’s with Captain Caveman for dinner but it was getting dark so I left everyone there and walked back to feed the cats. As my dinner plans had once again fell through I had more pide, courtesy of Mark and Kate, then went to bed fairly early.

Video of Bebek bringing me a present

Video of Kylie taking the present away

Dalyan – 6th December

Tuesday 6th December turned out to be busier (and more stressful) than I had hoped! I walked Charlie, had tea and toast for breakfast, put a BBQ style chicken in the slow cooker and tried to finish something on my laptop. Unfortunately that didn’t happen, due to interruptions, and by late morning, I was on my way to Mark and Kate’s house with my rucksack and a portion of sausage casserole. They were both going back to the UK and I had already booked in the pet sitting for the kitties, before Charlie had come along. Because Captain Caveman is allergic to cats, he would stay with Charlie, while I went to Mark and Kate’s to look after their 6 cats for a week – it sounded so simple at the time!
When I arrived, they were almost ready to go and Kate pointed out her Christmas trimmings, including a tree on the wall which was a great idea with cats. Kate had left me some things in the fridge to eat, including pide, and there was red wine for me too. My bedroom was nice and tidy and I moved my stuff in before getting ready for singing group at 2pm. I was pushing it for time so I’d asked if I could borrow Kate’s electric bike. On the way there the bike felt very loose on the steering, it didn’t have much charge and the front tyre looked to be going down. I didn’t even get as far as Rehab bar before I had to get off and push the bike as the back tyre was going down as well. I messaged Captain Caveman and Mark for advice on what to do with the bike, locked it and left it at Rehab, then set off walking to Charlie’s. When I got there the downstairs door was locked, for the first time since I’d been there and I didn’t have that key, Captain Caveman did and when I called him to let me in he didn’t answer. I was late for Singing group, which started off well when one of the members of the group requested we have some more cheerful songs this week and Nanny Kay took over shouting out the next song to save it being repeated several times. At the end of singing I had a bit of a to do with Madge who asked my Mom if I was pregnant (again)! I was not in the mood for this and told her she needs to stop saying things like that, I tried to be diplomatic and say that there are women who would be more offended than me for being called fat! Crikey, maybe my diet wasn’t going so well, after all.

After Singing group I walked back to Charlie’s where I had hoped to have dinner with Captain Caveman but, because I needed to get the bike back to Mark and Kate’s before it got dark, I left straight away. Captain Caveman came with me to pump the tyres up a bit and said it would just about get me back. I ended up pushing it some of the way but got back in time.
I was hoping to get some stuff done today but had failed and I definitely wasn’t prepared for the next fiasco. As I was feeding most of the cats, I could hear one of the cats sounding like it was coming from the front bedroom, which was locked. Squeak, the cat, had accidentally got locked in there and I had no way of knowing how to get her out. Mark and Kate were on the flight so I had to wait until they had landed to get a response. They were delayed and it was late by the time their friends, Michele and Nick, came to Squeak’s rescue and had to break in through a window. It wasn’t easy and I was so glad to have had their help. I finally had some warmed up sausage casserole, a glass of wine then went to bed. It was cold so I was glad of an extra blanket to keep me snug and it certainly did the trick.

The Pros and Cons of living in other people’s homes when pet sitting

Advantages
•You get free pets to look after
•You don’t pay any bills for electric or internet
•You have a new local pub and can meet new people
•There may be better facilities/bigger accommodation
•Some owners leave you food, beer and/or wine
•Some have a cleaner
•Prevents me from going out or drinking as much as usual
•I spend less because I’m not as near to shops or bars
•Quieter environment (no Jazz Bar)!
•Getting more fresh air and exercise

Disadvantages
•Living out of a bag or suitcase
•Not having your usual things (e.g. kitchen equipment)
•Being further away from home/town
•Having to be super organised with belongings
•Not having enough fridge/freezer/cupboard/wardrobe space
•Other people’s washing machines don’t always have the same settings (no quick wash)
•When there are no cleaners you have to do it yourself, despite having a cleaner at home
•Lack of lighting and plug sockets in the right places
•Still having to go back and forth between own house for stuff
•You are still paying electric and internet on your existing home
•You are used to your own shower and other people’s are often not as good or easy to use
•Feeling like you can’t properly relax as you’re in someone else’s house
•Having to get taxis home if you go out of an evening so that you’re not walking home in the dark after drinking
•I have less time to spend with family and friends
•Missing my own comfy sofa/bed/pillows
•Having to double up on things you buy which are at the other house (shower gel, washing up liquid, washing powder, drinking water)
•When friends come to stay they are in the original house so more arranging needs to be done for meeting up
•Not having a desk
•Only having 1 set of keys between the 2 of us, when Captain Caveman joins me.
•Having more power cuts and slower WiFi than at home

Dalyan – 29th November

While Captain Caveman was on his way back from London to Dalyan, on Tuesday 29th November, I was doing my best to finish as much stuff as possible so that we could go out and play later. I’d spent the last 2 days at home, had zero alcohol and had not spent anything. I had cereal for breakfast and the remaining pasta for lunch before I headed off for an appointment. Unfortunately, this meant I had to miss singing group in the afternoon and instead I went to see some friends about a house and dog sitting arrangement. My Mom and Vanessa still went to singing group so at least they had each other to get into trouble with. Charlie, the dog, recognised me from before and was very friendly so I knew we would get on fine. Captain Caveman and I would be moving in to his apartment tomorrow and would look after Charlie for a bit. While I was there I got a message from Captain Caveman to say he was home and I headed back to meet him. When I got there, having past a bicycle on a gate and a big black cockerel, the kitchen table had lots of goodies on it and the freezer was being stocked with even more. Captain Caveman had brought back grub screws, cheese, bacon, crumpets, muffins, sausages, a proper Yorkshire pudding tin, freezer bags, a fish slice, silicone pan lids, hoops for poaching eggs in (apparently called poachettes), chopping boards and, best of all, 210 Yorkshire Tea teabags!
I was very interested to see how the prices were in the UK as I hadn’t been back for almost a year so I took Captain Caveman’s receipts to check out the details. Here’s a list of what Captain Caveman bought in England and the prices in pounds;

Ikea
2 bathroom pots £1.80
Ziplock bags £3.00
3 saucepan lids £12.00
Total Spent £16.80

3 Phone Store
10GB SIM and phone package £10

Wilko
Yorkshire Pudding tray £1.50
Fish Slice utensil £1.50
Poachette rings £4.00
Chopping boards £6.00
Total Spent £13.00

Lidl Supermarket
Ginger nut biscuits £0.49
Muffins £0.65
2 Malt Load £1.44
1 Unsmoked bacon £1.55
Vegetable stock cubes £1.65
2 Crumpets £1.78
Gorgonzola cheese £2.19
Red Leicester cheese £2.69
2 Oxo cubes £3.78
2 Cheddar cheese slices £3.98
Yorkshire tea teabags £4.49
2 Richmond sausages £4.78
1 Christmas cake £4.99
3 Smoked Streaky bacon £6.57
Total Spent £41.03

He also bought some meat, galangal and lemongrass back for Kate, as you can never have enough.
We really didn’t need those lids from IKEA for £12, nor the new chopping boards when we already had some. I wouldn’t use the rings for poaching eggs either so they would be redundant until at least September 2023. It was amazing how he got all this and his clothes in his hand luggage, but I was very happy that he had.

Seeing the teabags made me actually cry tears of joy and Captain Caveman couldn’t stop laughing at me! To cheer me up even further he suggested drinks with Ma & Pa at Tez bar so I texted Ma to see if they were available. She didn’t answer so we decided to go there anyway and, when we arrived, my parents were already there, sat with some of the usual frequenters. They had taken to having an early bar recently so I should have known they would be there. After a couple of drinks we decided to go to Duble for dinner to celebrate Captain Caveman’s return. I tried to order sensibly to help the diet I was meant to be on, so I had lentil soup and a chicken shish. Of course the main dish comes with chips, rice, salad and flat bread, with oil and butter used in the cooking, but it was better than some of the dishes I could have had. Dad and Captain Caveman had some delicious looking potato croquettes and we had wine with our meal. We had a complimentary hot beverage to finish off our meal and were home before 10.30pm having had a lovely night. Tomorrow we would be taking on another canine responsibility that was just so cute!

Dalyan – 10th & 11th November

I treated myself to buttered toast and a Yorkshire tea with milk on Thursday 10th November. Captain Caveman went Bumming and I went to the supermarket to get some essentials. Captain Caveman was going back to the UK this weekend so I bought some items that I would need for my diet friendly recipes. Here’s what I got:

Migros Supermarket

Onions 2.77
Pumpkin 19.60
1 Pomegranate juice 26.00
2 plain Quark 27.90
2 tins of tomatoes 45.80

Total spent 122.07 lira (£5.68)

Şok supermarket

1 bag of red lentils 22.50 lira (£1.05)

I got the slow cooker on to make a curry for dinner that night and then decided to have a super healthy lunch of a beetroot salad. Captain Caveman was back later than expected from an arduous morning of bumming and wasn’t too pleased when I said we were off out. I’d arranged to meet my parents at Kaunos tea gardens but Captain Caveman didn’t have time as he needed to have lunch and go for a shave and a haircut. I went anyway and my good intentions of having a Turkish tea without sugar were successful. But then, the sun was shining, my parents ordered another beer and a cleanly shaven Captain Caveman arrived and ordered a beer. I succumbed and ordered a beer, we saw Kaan and Selahi there with friends and it stayed sunny for quite a while as we enjoyed another beer. On the way home we saw Mark at Tez bar so I gave him back Kate’s house key and took a photo as proof, seeing as he’d had a few and might forget he’d seen us.
Back home we had the curry I’d made and it was very enjoyable, there was some left for another day too. Captain Caveman opened a bottle of wine to have with his dinner and I couldn’t resist a small drop.

On Friday 11th November I remembered to take my measurements. I had lost 1.1kg on my home scales but had put centimetres on in most places. Captain Caveman made me a diet version of a sausage butty by using sausages that were skinny in a wrap with peppers and onions. I had orange juice too and really enjoyed my breakfast. Captain Caveman went off to Lukka bar to play Bridge and I worked on a presentation for the delayed training session I was involved in later in the month. When Captain Caveman got home we had leftover curry for lunch. I absolutely love having my rice steamer here in Dalyan as the rice takes only about 10 minutes and is perfect every time – I won’t do without one now.
In the afternoon I’d arranged to have a walk over to Mark and Kate’s with Captain Caveman and my parents. Kate was still recovering and so she wasn’t yet able to be out and about. The boys had some beers, I stuck to water and Kate celebrated with a splash of prosecco – it had been a week since she’d been in hospital. Bebek the cat took a shine to Captain Caveman while he was sat on the sex swing. My parents and I left him there while we had a lovely stroll back in to town. It would have been rude to go past Rehab bar without calling in for a draft Efes and to say hello to Tay. Captain Caveman joined us later when Mark dropped him off on his mobility scooter.
That evening my parents had invited us round for dinner which we were really looking forward to. Mom was doing one of our favourite dinners too, Spaghetti Bolognese. I did succumb to some crisps and 3 glasses of red wine with my large portion of spag bol, which was delicious. For afters we had taken some cheese so we had a cheese board with grapes and some of Kate’s membrillo and plum chutney. I purposely had a break before I ate the cheese so that I would eat less of it.
It was a great night and, as it was Captain Caveman’s last night in Dalyan for a couple of weeks, a good way to have a bit of a send off.

Photo credit – Dalyan Riverbums

Dalyan – 6th November

During the night there had been heavy rain but it looked like it was easing off when we woke up on Sunday 6th November. Rob had already been up early for his morning run, where a street dog had accompanied him. He got back to the apartment just as the rain had begun again. Captain Caveman was still in bed rejigging today’s plans. The idea had been for Captain Caveman and Rob to walk it to Iztuzu beach over the hills. They would get the 10am bus part way along and walk the rest. My parents and I would get the bus at noon and see them there. Instead, we ate Turkish breakfast pastries at home with a hot beverage before our afternoon trip out. Just before 10am we thought the whole of Plan A would be stopped due to the heavy rain but, by 10.15am, the rain had stopped and the sun was trying to come out. All 5 of us got the 12 o’clock bus, Captain Caveman was a bit cheesed off as the 10am bus had been moved to 10.30am so they could have still done plan A if they had known. At the beach it was fairly cold, breezy, but the sun was warming things up a bit. I thought it was too cold to swim and didn’t take my swimmers. Our first stop of the day was to see the amazing work that is being done at the turtle hospital, one of my favourite turtles today was Nessie and she might even be getting released soon.

By 1pm we were on the sand watching Captain Caveman get in to the sea like a modern day Reginald Perrin. Rob wasn’t far behind but my parents and I thought it was a bit too bracing for that kind of madness. We had lunch at the beach cafe where a chicken döner sandwich was 40 lira and chips only 25 lira. Captain Caveman’s and my lunch came to a bargain 105 lira (£5) and was tasty and filling.

We got the 3pm bus back and decided on a drink at Tez bar, where there was a bit of DIY going on. Tez was making new indoor seating arrangements, now that it was getting colder at night. Rob is a cat lover and the new kittens were really sweet, we were joined by Penny and Phil who had a dog treat for Cani, the Tez dog. Jamie and Drew had been for Sunday lunch so they stopped by for a drink on their way home too. Tez had some spare Efes glasses, we don’t have any at home so he gave us some for free which we really appreciated. After a couple of drinks we decided to go for dinner at Kebapçı Yusuf. We had a lovely meal, of which I took no photos whatsoever, we had all enjoyed a great day together and I was glad to be back in my own bed.

Dalyan – 5th November

I was up early, feeding the cats, on Saturday 5th November. Mark, Kate, Vanessa and Matt were due back this afternoon so I packed up my stuff and cycled, with my full rucksack, in to town. I’d booked a table for 5 of us at 10.30am at Saklı Bahçe for breakfast with Captain Caveman, Rob and my parents. Although I was supposed to be on a diet I decided to partake in the Turkish breakfast, leaving out the fried egg. The breakfast there is of the best in Dalyan, it’s always busy and the service is quick and professional. The food was amazing but I really tried to limit myself from being greedy with the cheese. Captain Caveman must have been feeling a bit peaky because I have never seen him eat so little of any meal! Luckily, I had some Tupperware with me and had no shame in taking some cheese and olives with me for later. While a fragile looking Captain Caveman took Rob to see the delights of Kaunos and then to watch Dalyan Spor play a home football match, I went back home to unpack, have a shower and put some washing on. While in the shower a massive wasp like creature was in the ensuite bathroom with me and it looked like it could do some harm! I set it free from the bedroom window unscathed and then tried to book us a table at M-Eyhane for dinner. This is a relatively new place, which used to be M-hotel opposite Retro bar and is owned by the same people as M-Eatery. I didn’t get an answer so we decided to walk down to M-Eyhane without a booking. They accommodated our table of 5 easily but did warn us it would get busy later when the Turkish football was on. The waiter spoke great English and asked about allergies and took the drinks orders. I already knew about the specials as they had been posted on Facebook and looked good. Dad is never too keen on having to go to a counter to choose mezes so he was a bit disgruntled about that part of the procedure. Rob, on the other hand, was most excited about the vast choice and had trouble narrowing it down to 3 starters. Captain Caveman went against his usual habits and agreed to share starters with me and then had some of everyone else’s too. The Baba Ganoush, Şakşuka and Fava bean purée which I tried were excellent. For main dishes I had the Chicken Shashlik, Captain Caveman had lamb, Mom had fish, Dad had chicken, Rob had a main and then an extra bowl of soup. All the food was good although my chicken had definitely been cooked on the same grill as fish as I could taste it. I don’t like fishy fish but I’m only allergic to molluscs so I wasn’t too bothered, but this could be an issue for people who are allergic. I took half of my dinner home as I had eaten enough and was trying to be good. 3 out of 5 of our group had the set menu which was meant to come with a fruit plate for dessert but, probably because of it being so busy by then, it got overlooked. Everyone enjoyed the night but I did get a bit bored when the men joined in watching the football and I couldn’t just drink as much as I would have normally!

Dalyan – 4th November

By 7.25am on Friday 4th November all cats at Mark and Kate’s were fed. I was tempted to go back to bed but didn’t and I spent some time on my Turkish. I cycled back to see Captain Caveman who was looking forward to Rob’s arrival this afternoon. He made the spare bed and had a tidy round a bit, while I cooked lunch he went to the supermarket. He bought 3 cartons of cherry juice (for his gout), a carton of orange juice and a toastie loaf for a total of 88 lira (£4.20). He also bought a lightbulb for the cooker hood for 13 lira, a shower head for 35 lira and some coffee for 65 lira, just over £5 for those 3 items.
We ate Slimming World friendly potatoes with peppers and onion, then I added tiny bits of sucuk (Turkish salami) and cheese. It wasn’t bad but not amazing though that didn’t matter as I had organised a night out later. I went back to Mark and Kate’s to check on the kitties then feed them.

Captain Caveman met Rob for a drink at Lukka bar then I walked in to town to meet them at Aşkın’s for a pre-dinner drink. Jamie and Drew were already there with Captain Caveman and Rob, I joined Jamie in a Mr G to remember his late husband Graeme. The Mr G drink is named after Graeme and is very moreish, it was also Aşkın’s last weekend of opening as they would be closing for the winter. The evenings were getting a little cooler now so I had a fleece on as we walked through town to meet everyone at Bistro Blue. It was also their last night so l had reserved a table for 10 of us; Ma & Pa, Jamie & Drew, Viv & Paul, Nanny Kay, Rob, Captain Caveman and me.
We sat down but Captain Caveman decided he would take Dad’s seat so Dad had to go back to sitting opposite Mom so that Captain Caveman could sit opposite Rob. I sat between Paul and Drew, opposite Nanny Kay.
I’d already decided I was having a steak before I’d even looked at the menu, Captain Caveman and I decided to treat ourselves to the large one for a little extra. Drew had a mixed grill and it was massive, I really enjoyed my steak and it took me ages to eat it. After a gorgeous meal most of us wandered over to Sofra bar where there was a band on so we caught the second half. Luckily a few from Fat Club were there so I joined them on the dance floor. I loved Psycho Killer and it was the singer’s birthday so it was a great way to end the night. We met up with our neighbours and some friends and had a great night with more wine – the diet was going really well! When it was time to go home, I needed a taxi back to Mark and Kate’s but I didn’t have their address to hand. I went to the taxi rank and asked for a ‘taxi to Mark and Kate’s house please’ and the driver said he knew the way. It was pretty late and I’m not sure why I didn’t call Fikri but I got back ok and went to bed having had a lovely time.