Dalyan – 9th April

I was up super early on Thursday 9th April so that I could get work done, put the out of office on and get to meet The Aussies by 9am. We were off to eat Turkish breakfast at Mavi Yasemin, which is one of Amanda & Greg’s favourite places. It’s located over the other side of the river so we set off walking along the river path and got to the Deniz kızı ferry. It cost 25 lira (42p) one way as a foot passenger and took less than 5 minutes to get across. The Mavi Yasemin restaurant is located on the right-hand side a short walk after you pass Pirates and Skulls.

We got there early as I needed to be back for the Resort Experts team meeting and we all ordered the Turkish breakfast and a juice. The delicious and plentiful breakfast, which comes with as much Turkish tea as you can manage, cost 500 lira (£8.47) each. The fresh pomegranate juice is 130 lira (£2.20) and went down very well. The food was just so good and I think it is now my new favourite too. I often struggle to eat Turkish breakfasts but I did well with this one and wasn’t ill. What I didn’t realise is that they only take cash, so Amanda had to lend me the money. I managed to put the tip in but then forgot I needed the return ferry fare and Amanda paid that too! We had to rush back, although I could’ve stayed there all day!

After the Resort Experts team meeting I arranged to meet The Aussies at the bank at 2pm. I withdrew cash to pay Amanda back for the breakfast. So far this morning I had spent £12.46 then bought a bottle of red wine and some salt and vinegar crisps for 360 lira (£6.10) at the off licence. We had managed to be quite late for the 2pm start of Kate and Mark’s housewarming party as Amanda had ended up in a clothes shop buying a dress for Hannah’s engagement party. The shop had some gorgeous tailor-made outfits in for both male and female with various prices. The owner can do any alterations to make it fit and is pretty quick.
When we arrived at the party, Kate gave us a tour of her new house while Mark opened the red wine. Kate’s new bungalow was really lovely and I was really pleased for her. There were quite a few of the usual Dalyan Dwellers there, most of who I had not seen for months, and none of them so far this year. There were nibbles which I couldn’t resist and Kate had so many fruit trees that I was told to pick as many oranges as I liked, so I did. A small group of us remained after most people left and we had more drinks before heading back to our respective homes.
I was meant to be back for a video call with Vanessa but I missed that and had to reschedule. Instead, I attended my first online Neon Nookers meeting and we had quite a good ‘getting to know you’ type of session. It was a group for copy and tech help which I was pleased I’d joined and I really related to both Georgina and Holly. We even had a fun competition of who could get their pyjamas on fastest.

Gratitude List
1. Breakfast at Mavi Yasemin with The Aussies
2. Oranges from Kate
3. Spending time with friends.

Dalyan – 1st April

On Wednesday 1st April I woke up much earlier than I would’ve liked, now that I didn’t have to get up for Norman. April started off with me trying to decide if I could maintain the £10 per day budget for another month – I had proved it could be done but it wasn’t easy. I had friends here, I’d been invited to events and outings plus a boat trip booked in and a trip to the hairdresser’s. So, realistically, I really should try to keep my spending to a minimum even though Captain Caveman had offered to continue to support me, as needed. The minimum wage for a Turkish person was 33,000 lira (£550) per month and I was trying to ensure I lived below that. I didn’t have rent or electricity to pay out of that, though, so I didn’t know how the locals were managing to live. A 1 bedroom apartment in Dalyan was costing over 20,000 lira (£339) now.

I got weighed to find I had put on 0.6kg (1.3lb) using my home scales but my measurements were more favourable; no change to my bust or hips but 3cm off my waist. At Fat Club I did better on Carol’s scales but had still put on 0.35kg (0.8lb). I spent just 30 lira (51p) on water and resisted the very tempting cookies at Ren Garden. I called at Migros after the group meet up and bought the following, prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket

Green peppers 56.04
Red peppers 58.64
Olives 61.50
6 eggs 72.95
Cashew nuts 95.00
2 Quark 111.90
Cheese 166.90
Total spent 622.93 lira (£10.56)

After work I had arranged to meet The Aussies, Amanda and Greg, for the opening of Lukka bar. It’s one of the closest bar and restaurants to where I live and the owners, Mehmet and Katrina are friends of mine. In my honest opinion this place is not for cheap chasers as they tend to have higher prices than some of the popular places with expats, however, I like the location, the staff and the quality so it’s been on my favourites list for a number of years. We’d said 6pm and I got there on time and waited for my friends who are usually late, I met the new staff and spoke to Mehmet, the owner. Lukka bar had been decorated and it was much more red and black, which looked good. I ordered a soda water while I waited for my friends. I wasn’t planning on eating at Lukka as I had food out of the freezer but my friends wanted to. They ordered gin and tonic and whiskey sours so I ordered a glass of Angora red wine. Amanda ordered a satay chicken and Greg ordered another chicken dish with a sauce so I just ordered a starter of the garlic mushrooms. Incidentally, when we ordered our meals, we were asked if we had any allergies and Mehmet even checked if I could eat bread with my mushrooms and that I wasn’t gluten free. He let me know that this year they were going to be able to do gluten free meals and gluten free bread – this was good for my Coeliac sister who was visiting this summer.

The food was excellent and was still the old menu while the new chef and staff got up to speed. The service was good too and not intrusive. Although Lukka is certainly not the cheapest place in town, I didn’t think it extortionate by any means. Here’s what I paid for what I had;

1 Soda water 70 lira (£1.19)
1 glass Angora red wine 250 lira (£4.24)
1 Garlic mushrooms 300 lira (£5.08)
Tip 100 (£1.69)
Total spent 720 lira (£12.20)

It was a really good evening, despite the torrential rain by the time we were leaving. The Aussies went off to meet friends at Corner bar but I was good and went home for an early night. As I climbed in to bed, Captain Caveman was leaving Saigon to fly back to Heathrow. He would land at 3pm tomorrow and be back at work on Friday.

Gratitude List

1. The Fat Club group
2. Meeting up with The Aussies
3. A great night out at Lukka bar.

Dalyan – 31st March

It was my last day with Norman on Tuesday 31st March and he was eager to get his breakfast rather than featuring in a video for Little Daddy. Jamie was due to land at 7pm so I had all day to tidy, clean, nip to the shops and do work. Norman was aware of what was going on because he was doing a security check and seemed a bit sad.

In the morning I worked on helping potential customers with hand luggage only packing tips and quotes for the Costa Del Sol in Spain. Since the war against Iran had started, I’d noticed that some of my customers were choosing to holiday nearer to home this summer. Of course, I had managed to have booked in even more travel bargains for myself. For 2026 I now had 8 holidays booked, 4 with Captain Caveman. This made a good change compared to last year and I was certainly taking advantage of the cheap deals. This didn’t include being lucky enough to also be visiting the UK 3 times this year, as well as having the holiday town of Dalyan as my home for the rest of the time. Already, I had booked several friends their holidays to come to Dalyan too, so I was looking forward to this year.

After some work, I cleaned the house. In between all that, I used up some browning bananas and an egg to make an oatcake (as you do)! As it was Sabotage Tuesday I didn’t want to be tempted to eat things I shouldn’t because I had been quite good since Norman’s birthday celebrations.
I found a lovely deal in Corfu at one of the fancy Grecotel chain hotels and sent it to 3 people who had asked about Corfu and Greek holidays. In the afternoon, I nipped to the bank to take out my ‘spare’ money for March, in readiness for doing the same during April (tomorrow). I popped to the shop to top back up anything I had used at Jamie’s, and spent just 111.85 lira (£1.89) on those essentials.
Norman snored away while I worked and seemed quite happy on the sofa. I spoke to Captain Caveman who was getting a train in Vietnam and heading back to Ho Chi Minh before his flight back to the UK tomorrow. Once I knew Jamie was on his way, I was able to pop back home and relax. It was my dad’s birthday so I managed to get a video call in and sing Happy Birthday to him before eating and then having an early night.
I bravely checked the March spending for the whole month. This last 3 days I’d spent £17.88 which meant that for the last 10 days I had spent only £46.52 against a budget of £100 (£10 per day). The monthly budget ended up being £270 for March, after I upped it from £221 (£5 per day) 2 weeks in to the month. I actually spent a grand total of £228.73 in March which meant I was £41.27 under budget and only £7.30 over the original budget. Adjusting it mid month had helped me claw some of it back and I was pleased to have done it. This had meant that the money I had saved was used for some of my 2026 holidays. I’d enjoyed the challenge of Money Minded March and was pleased to see that I’d spent half the amount of the previous month. Unfortunately, my weight loss had not gone as well in March and I was slightly heavier at the end of the month than I was at the beginning.
More shenanigans were coming up for April; more outings, some celebrations and The Aussies were back in town!

Gratitude List
1. Norman
2. Managing to be under the (revised) budget for March
3. Video calls with Captain Caveman and Dad.

Dalyan – 30th March

Norman was rather huffy and dishevelled on Monday 30th March, he also had a bit of a runny nose and was slow to move. He was 15 years and 5 days old, though, so I helped him down off the sofa and got on with work. I’d had strange dreams about a cat and the hallway smelled of cat pee which was weird. There were no signs of a cat or any pee anywhere. I had been up since 6am so was getting lots done before 9am. It had been a busy weekend so I was catching up on admin today. Our new Resort Experts system, The Zone, was taking shape and I now had it set up with tasks, enquiries and automations which was time saving.
I left Norman napping and went to check on the leaking bathroom roof which we were waiting for a dry day to get fixed.
The Aussies, Amanda & Greg, were on their way from Sydney to Dalaman on a 50 hour journey for 2 weeks at their villa in Dalyan, so I was looking forward to seeing them in April.
Today would’ve been a zero spend day but I had to get a replacement water, which was 100 lira (£1.69). The afternoon was busy too and I booked my flight back to Dalyan in June, ready for a friend’s 60th birthday boat trip and and Sausage Dick arriving for just over a week in Dalyan.
Norman decided he wanted his dinner early and was pacing about, he had complaints when I made him wait.
I spoke to Captain Caveman who was now in Nha Trang with our friend Trang and her dog, Zacky. He was tired from the charity cycle event but over the moon with everyone who had supported and donated – he looked so proud!
It was 8.30pm by the time I got my dinner so I just popped a frozen pizza in the oven.

Gratitude List
1. Norman
2. Summer plans
3. Speaking to Captain Caveman.

Captain Caveman’s charity event link, if you missed it and still want to donate:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/adam-spillane-1?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

Dalyan – 29th March

My first job of the day on Sunday 29th March was to check the expenditure for the last week. I’d spent only £28.64 this week and had 4 zero spend days and 5 zero alcohol days. Things were back on track. I did still have 3 days left in March and I needed to buy some things so I would see if I could keep this up through to the next month.
The sun was back out after a very wet and stormy day yesterday so I took Norman out for a walk and Nanny Kay popped round. I also did some writing, ate my Sunday dinner for lunch at 4pm and worked until gone 6pm.
Over in a very hot and sticky Southern Vietnam, Captain Caveman had completed the 300km of his charity cycling event and was almost broken. He was very pleased to have raised a great amount of money for Saigon Children’s Charity and said he was going to do it again next year, too. We discussed me coming over to Vietnam and decided we would both go together next year as I had missed being there to support him.
At 7.30pm I took myself off to the shops and decided to treat myself, here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

A101 Supermarket
Popcorn 40.00
Cheese spread 50.00
Chicken pieces 189.00
Frozen pizzas 265.00
Total spent 544.00 lira (£9.22)

Yaman Büfe 2
1 bottle of red wine 300 lira (5.08)

I put Netflix on, opened the wine and popcorn and tried to watch something. I fell asleep!

Gratitude List
1. Norman
2. Doing better against the budget this week
3. Treats.

Captain Caveman’s charity link here if you missed donating and want to:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/adam-spillane-1?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

Dalyan – 28th March

Saturday 28th March was very wet and windy so Norman wasn’t impressed when he went out in the morning. I decided it was too wet and wild out there to bother with the Dalyan weekly market. I had to nip home to swap my footwear – from sandals to wellies again. It was very cold and I’d stressed myself out trying to fully switch to my new phone. At 11.30am I did have to venture out in the bad weather to pick up bread. I had arranged to buy sourdough from Mesude who is a local Turkish lady and is brilliant at making various types of sourdough, including gluten free. I bought 2 different types to try at a total cost of 400 lira (£6.78). When I got back I divided it up and sliced some for the freezer and some for the forthcoming days.

I spoke to Captain Caveman after he had finished day 2 of the charity cycling event. He was still smiling and it’s a good job he had borrowed some suncream!
He put me right that today’s circuit was a circular route in Quy Nhon and he wouldn’t actually be arriving in Tuy Hoa until the end of tomorrow’s final day. He did go on about the elevation and how hard day 1 was when I said it looked like the easier day – I was wrong!
In the afternoon there were weather warnings and the rain was so bad that Norman couldn’t do his usual walk.

Gratitude List
1. Norman
2. Wellies being back on
3. Speaking to Captain Caveman after day 2 of his charity cycling event.

If you didn’t get chance to donate to Saigon Children’s Charity for Captain Caveman’s event and want to – it’s still available and even a small amount can make a big difference in Vietnam. Here’s the link: https://www.justgiving.com/page/adam-spillane-1?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

Dalyan – 27th March

On the morning of Friday 27th March I wasn’t too happy at my early alarm. I let Norman out and then we both got on the sofa for an extra sleep. It was cold and rainy so it was nice to get under a blanket and try to get rid of my hangover. I’d consumed far too much alcohol yesterday and was feeling extremely delicate. No breakfast or lunch was eaten and I barely moved from the dining table/desk once I was functioning. Jet2 had yet another sale on so I had a few enquiries to deal with. It was pay day weekend for a lot of people and I was working all weekend after being a bit part time these last couple of days for Norman’s birthday.

Norman was well and truly done with celebrations and had requested an embargo on them for a while. After having his breakfast, he had gone back to sleep and not woken up until after 1pm! He insisted he was having a Doggy Day, like Debbie (Darling) has her Debbie day – both of whom were going nowhere today.

Meanwhile Captain Caveman was busting his chops in lycra in a very hot Vietnam, raising money for Saigon Children’s Charity. I had misunderstood the elevation of the route and thought Day 1 of the route ‘looked easy’. It was not, and I think Captain Caveman was regretting not having had any exercise, let alone been on a bicycle, in about a year! I was very proud of him as I could not have attempted what he was doing – he had 2 more days to go!

Then I remembered my agreeing to meet up with Ian at 3pm today, to give him some Yorkshire tea bags. I made the effort as I had no contact details for him, to cancel. I invited Norman who flatly refused.

I arrived at Ren Garden and we sat in the garden as the sun was back out again. Debbie (Darling) and Irena made it and Debbie foolishly ordered a white wine and soda, which she left. I had a pot of tea for 100 lira (£1.69) and then left as I had work to do and training sessions on cruises to attend.

I finally had my first meal of the day, a veggie pasta, at 4.30pm and I still struggled to get it eaten. Norman refused to go for a walk, stating he had already done his steps for the whole week, then reminded me of the Doggy Day! I finally finished my work at 8.15pm and was begging for mercy – vowing to never drink that much again (until the next celebration)! While sat on the sofa drinking water there was a massive bang (well actually 3 or 4 in quick succession) coming from upstairs. When I went to investigate, a framed certificate had fell off the wall at the top of the stairs and ‘bounced’ down the stairs, landing on the middle step. It was heavy and glass so when I picked it up I was expecting the glass to be broken. It was completely intact, despite hitting several travertine/marble steps. It was Jamie’s late husband, Graeme’s, star certificate. It was a bit spooky that it had managed to fly off the wall, but on further investigation it had been stuck on with velcro! I left it on the spare bed and made a note to tell Jamie.
It was an early night for me, ready to get up early tomorrow.

Gratitude List

1. Norman

2. Yorkshire tea bags

3. Free cruise training with Travelpack.

Dalyan – 26th March

Things got completely out of hand on Thursday 26th March! I got a few things done in the morning after getting up at 6.15am. After an hour of working with AI prompts for monetisation and doing my own research, I had tea and toast. Norman was now 15 years and 1 day old and he said he was entitled to 2 corners of toast today.
I spoke to Captain Caveman who was about to start his charity cycling event with a warm up practice which had been organised for today. You can watch a short video of it here:
https://youtu.be/21nVJ1luaaE?si=XanZFFjA7cMZPgoH

I got ready to take Norman for a walk as it wasn’t raining, but he had accidentally fell asleep. When he woke up he had complaints about how I was running the household. On our walk at lunch time, Norman was so slow that we turned into the road where Debbie (Darling) lived and Norman decided he wanted to find out why she hadn’t been over yesterday. Debbie (Darling) invited us in for wine and for Norman to chase the cats on the terrace by the pool. We had a lovely catch up in the sun and then decided to finish Norman’s walk by taking him to Ren Garden. Norman loves it there and they always serve him his water before the human drinks, because he’s 15 and deserves priority – especially when the sun’s out.
We sat by the pool in the garden and the weather was glorious. The hotel part (Grandma’s Garden) was starting to get customers and there were some workmen getting stuff fixed up for the season. Joining Debbie (Darling), Norman and I were Helen, Ian and Irena which was a nice eclectic mix for a Thursday – the conversation and laughs flowed. I had a couple of wines and had to say I’d call back the Resort Experts owner when he called me because I was in the middle of belated birthday celebrations for Jamie’s dog (as you do).
There was an agreement for me to give Ian some Yorkshire tea bags as he had inadvertently run out so I would see him again at 3pm tomorrow. Debbie (Darling) and Helen went on ahead to Cadde Balık Ekmek to have fish and chips. Norman and I followed after I’d paid my 300 lira (£5.08) for my 2 wines.

The fish and chips was lovely and it was my 2nd visit. Everyone enjoyed them, including Norman who managed to snaffle some fish that had dropped on the floor.
I paid 520 lira (£8.81) for fish and chips with a small bottle of water then it was time to go home.
Debbie (Darling) and Helen were meeting friends at Tez Bar and Norman insisted we go say hello. He was ‘out out’ now and on round 2 of his birthday celebrations. At Tez Bar, Norman got barked at by jealous resident dog, Cani, but they soon settled down when the treats came out. Ali & Kev had just arrived back from their motorhome drive from the UK with their dog, Brinny, so it turned in to another celebration – welcome back Brinny and a belated Birthday for Norman. I just had the one wine and then it really was time to go home. Norman had enjoyed all the fuss, the extra treats and had missed his afternoon nap, so as we got near Debbie’s he was flagging. I was also needing a pee so we went in to Debbie’s for a nightcap.
Hilariously, Norman made himself right at home then fell asleep and we finished off the vodka with limonata before going on to the gin!
I didn’t get back until gone midnight, having missed various calls. I also hadn’t attended the team meeting this week but it turned out there hadn’t been one. I’d spent £16.44 today which meant my weekly spend was now at £21.86, with 2 days left to go!

Gratitude List
1. Belated extra birthday celebrations with Debbie (Darling) for Norman
2. Fish and chips
3. Having a good laugh.

Dalyan – 25th March

Norman, the dog, was 15 years old on Wednesday 25th March. It was a miracle that he’d made it this far and that he’d outlived younger Edna. After feeding Norman with some extra egg in his birthday breakfast we went outside where it was a bit wet and said a few words to Edna’s and Big Daddy’s pots.
I left Norman having a nap and popped home to get weighed and pick up some chicken for tonight’s dinner.
My weight on the home scales remained the same as last week, despite 5 no alcohol days! My measurements weren’t very promising either as I had put 1cm on my hips, 3cm on my waist and lost 1cm from my bust.
There was a break in the rain so Nanny Kay popped over at lunchtime with the carrot cake she had made to celebrate Norman’s 15th birthday. Norman was super excited to see her but we took the decision to not give him any of the cake. Instead, he had lamb bones which were much better for him. Nanny Kay makes the best carrot cake and we had a slice with a cup of tea. Luckily, Nanny Kay timed it well by coming early as the rain was on its way.
I didn’t go to Fat Club as I was expecting more visitors but I did invite anyone to pop over for a bit of cake. Carol came over and I’m sure little Norman managed to snaffle a teeny bit of her cake. I also gave her an extra slice for Ian as he was unable to be at the party and I had another slice. It started to rain just as Leanne arrived with the 2 pooches and a round of Happy Birthday sang to Norman. He was impressed at so many visitors – whenever I’m in charge, we rarely see anyone. Unfortunately, Debbie (Darling) didn’t make it to Norman’s 15th but the rain was now torrential and Norman was napping!
For dinner I had chicken and saved some with carrots for Norman’s dinner too. It had been quite a day and I felt lucky that Norman had lived to be 15. He did very well considering 2 years ago we were pushing him round in a pram!

Gratitude List
1. Norman
2. Nanny Kay and her amazing cake
3. People caring about Norman on his 15th birthday.

Dalyan – 23rd & 24th March

Monday 23rd March was all about writing and Norman, the dog. After his own breakfast he demanded a corner of my toast, using his cute face!
I broke off for a lunch of homemade lentil soup with wholemeal bread and did something a bit weird. I’d had several people mention ‘my ADHD’ recently, and it wasn’t for the first time. I don’t have, or think I have, ADHD so I decided to take a test. This didn’t go as I expected as the result said I ‘have symptoms highly consistent with ADHD in adults and further investigation is warranted’. Well, that taught me to try to prove people wrong! It went on to refer me to see a professional to get a proper diagnosis. I was unlikely to do that here in Dalyan and put it down to menopause and being a woman who tries to multitask.
For the rest of my lunch hour I proceeded to check out flights for my trip to Spain in June and got some booked in.

Captain Caveman, who was in Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City), called and he was looking forward to his upcoming cycling event, despite very hot weather.
I took Norman out for a walk, fed him and then he watched with anticipation as I ate more chicken chasseur with vegetables. I had a zero spend and zero alcohol day too.

Gratitude List

1. Norman

2. Getting my own travel sorted

3. Good food.

I was up ridiculously early on Tuesday 24th March to be greeted with 3 presents from Norman, the dog. There were no rubber gloves or kitchen roll and the mop that has the floor cleaner in had none in. I managed with wet wipes and poo bags and it was all cleaned up before 7am. I fed Norman and then made myself a cup of tea, I couldn’t face eating any toast. It was raining and cold so today was all about getting through the to do list and making sure Norman was ok.
At lunch time I had soup with toast and then decided to chop some veggies. Little Norman was hoping to get a snaffle and was standing behind me. When I turned to put stuff in the fridge, he’d fell fast asleep and was snoring away.
We had a very short walk and had to turn back because Norman didn’t like the rain. I managed to sing Happy Birthday to Mom who was getting ready to go out for her birthday meal in Scotland with the family. Norman got to say hello to Granny Annie and Grandpa Stupot too.
I had a chicken casserole with potatoes and courgettes for dinner then decided I would watch some TV. The TV had other ideas and it wouldn’t let me.
It was another zero spend and zero alcohol day, which was great, and it helped that it was raining. Tomorrow would be Norman’s 15th birthday so we had plans to celebrate.

Gratitude List
1. Norman
2. A video call with Ma on her birthday
3. Managing more no spend and no alcohol days.

Dalyan – 22nd March

I woke up to my 7am alarm on Sunday 22nd March with a banging headache and feeling quite out of sorts. I went downstairs to let Norman out and, unfortunately, he had already peed in the house – right next to the lamp and Dennis, the doorstop. I cleaned it all up and fed Norman before messaging Jamie to check they had arrived in the UK and that all was ok – it was! They were flying to Tenerife tomorrow. I checked my budget and updated my expenditure list. It wasn’t great as I’d spent £72.23 this week, just over the increased weekly budget and £29 over for the month so far. I needed to really be careful this next week and I planned to.
It was cold, even with a thermal vest, t-shirt and hoodie on so I walked over to town to run some errands. I would be looking after Norman until the end of the month and Norman seemed happy with that.
By the time I was walking back, via the chickens who wanted some bread from me, the sun was out and it was a tad warm. I had a rare bit of time where I wasn’t doing anything related to work or travel so I decided to do a puzzle – guess what? It was a travel related one!
I took Norman for a short walk and he didn’t seem overly keen to walk on the road where my parents stay and he was super slow. On the way back he was quicker because he knew it was time for dinner.
I met a friend in the evening at Joy Cafe where they had the spaghetti bolognese and I had a sandwich and some cheese rolls with Turkish tea. They also brought us a free dessert to celebrate Bayram, which was sweet. It’s a really lovely cafe in Gülpınar and there was just us there. I paid 320 lira (£5.42) and my friend dropped me back off. Norman hadn’t moved since I left but was happy to see me when he did wake up, so that he could have sofa cuddles – he loves those.

Gratitude List
1. Norman
2. The sun coming out
3. Joy cafe.

Dalyan – 20th & 21st March

While Captain Caveman completed his last day at work on Friday 20th March, in readiness for his charity cycling event in Vietnam, I got a lot of admin done. It seemed cooler and looked like it might rain, which is usually the case whenever I have Norman, the dog. Jamie and Drew were off on holiday and Norman was going to be in my care while he celebrated his 15th birthday.
I wasn’t expected to finish work until after 8pm tonight so, at 3pm, I nipped out for a quick bit of fresh air and to the shop as I needed some essentials. I checked against the budget and I had just over £18 left for this week, plus the cash I had in my purse for the market tomorrow. It was Bayram, a bank holiday for Ramadan, so I wanted to get meat before it sold out and make sure I got cash out before ATMs ran short. Here’s what I bought at the supermarket, with prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Onions 5.31
Peanuts 52.00
Dark chocolate 66.95
Mushrooms 86.95
Wholemeal sliced loaf 97.50
500g Beef mince 375.00
Total spent 683.73 lira (£11.59)

Beef is expensive in Turkey so I’d gone mad by buying mince at over £6 for 500g but I fancied making a Bolognese this weekend.
I had a cruise training session with Travelpack from 7pm so I was still working until gone 8pm, then I made a pasta dinner with a glass of wine to round off my week. I’d plan to get more content for my next book done this weekend but I was already feeling exhausted.
I topped up my wine and tried to relax. Captain Caveman sent me a photo of a vodka named after me in the duty free – he was finally on his way to Vietnam for 2 weeks, and I was a little bit jealous that I wasn’t going too.

Gratitude List

1. Getting some work done

2. Excellent free Cruise Training with Travelpack

3. Pasta and wine.

Things certainly didn’t go according to plan on Saturday 21st March. While Captain Caveman had arrived in China for a 7 hour lay over but was unable to get to the lounge, I shoved the ingredients for a Bolognese in the slow cooker. I had plans to go to the market. Jamie and Drew weren’t leaving for the airport until 11.15pm but I had said I would meet them for an afternoon farewell drink and also go over to their’s for wine after dinner. I called round to Jamie and Drew’s on my way to the market, Norman was still in his bed.
Unfortunately, the market had limited stalls open due to Bayram so I only bought 5 bananas and 2 courgettes for 85 lira (£1.44). Back home, I ate more homemade soup for lunch. I didn’t make the 3pm drinks with Jamie & Drew, as agreed, because I was waiting for a work related call with one of the owners of Resort Experts. That didn’t happen until much later than expected so it was 7pm by the time I left the house.
When I got to Ren Garden, it was empty so I waited. Jamie and Drew had been in Sofra bar with friends. Drew arrived first, followed later by Jamie – late, ladened with shopping bags and walking Norman.
Drew just had the one drink and left, as Jamie and I were talking about work. We ordered another wine and continued on about work, even though we both had to get home for dinner. My 2 wines were 300 lira (£5.08) and we left Ren Garden, intending on going home to eat dinner. I only got as far as next door in Jik’s where another glass of wine was ordered.
Jamie and I parted ways after Jik’s where my glass of wine was 150 lira (£2.56), I bought a bottle of red wine from Yaman Büfe 2, to have later and rushed home to turn off, then eat, my Bolognese.
When I arrived at Jamie & Drew’s to see them off, Norman was napping, Drew was drinking wine and Jamie had popped out to the bank. The electric gate wasn’t working so there was some faffing about with that and I had to look away for fear of a finger or hand being cut off.
The taxi arrived and I said bye to both, Norman got kisses from Little Daddy and Step Daddy Drew, but didn’t seem unduly concerned – he was used to the comings and goings of us all now.
I went inside feeling tired but poured myself another glass of wine, which I would probably regret in the morning. Going through the menopause has meant that my body cannot tolerate alcohol like it used to.

Gratitude List
1. Getting work stuff sorted
2. Norman
3. Farewell wines with Jamie and Drew.

Dalyan – 16th March

I was beside myself with excitement on Monday 16th March; Claire Clarke, my publishing consultant, was about to give me help to get my book(s) in to actual UK bookshops – on the shelves or to preorder! I needed to buy the ISBN numbers for the books. These were £93 for 3 or £175 for 10. I spoke to Captain Caveman who was super supportive and thought that it was a great idea to get more of my books out in to the world. I decided to buy the 10 ISBNs as it would mean I had the rest for all my other books – if I didn’t think of myself as a writer or author before, I needed to now!

Claire and I got on a Zoom call at 1pm and, while it was technical for me, we got through the necessary work to get it set up (I won’t bore you with the details but it wouldn’t have been easy to do on my own). At the end of the call, I had a few more things from Claire to do and she was going to do her tasks. We would reconvene once we got an answer from the publishing company, which would allow us to then be on the national database for all booksellers in the UK.

I was so giddy, as I’d been trying to get to a point where my book(s) could be found in bookshops rather than just on Amazon. If all went well, all those people who ‘didn’t do Amazon’ would be able to buy my books in a bookshop this summer! ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ was first in line, then we would add ‘You Can’t Shit Yourself’ on a Bicycle…’ before the next couple I was currently working on. There was a slight setback in that my next book, ‘You Can’t Eat a Whole Blancmange and Dance….and other handy travel tips’ would be delayed. It was a bit scary, but also very exciting.

I was so grateful for Claire being there to support me and if you’re reading this and want to get a planner or journal published you should definitely get in touch (link below).

https://iamclaireclarke.co.uk/

I decided to celebrate in the evening; Vanessa was going back to the UK so we had arranged for me to join her and Matt for fish & chips at Cadde Balık. We’d had it planned for a while and Vanessa came to call for me at 5.30pm. Matt had decided not to come as he had eaten out at lunch time so wasn’t hungry.

As we were walking along the river, Vanessa said the reason we had picked fish and chips was because of Matt, and I’d been recently so we decided to change the venue so we could have a celebratory wine. We arrived at River House and the weather was nice enough to sit outside at 6pm. We decided to splash out with a full meal plus wine and it was amazing. Here’s what we had with prices in lira;

River House

1 soda water 50
1 Carafe white wine 590
1 Lahmacun 295
1 Chicken risotto 850
1 Liver & Onions 950
1 chocolate pancake 230
Total 2,965 lira (£50.25)

We also got free bread and mezzes so we had lots of food! Various stray cats and dogs waited to see if they would get any leftovers and one dog got a bit of liver from Vanessa. Obviously, we split the bill. It was the most I’d spent on a meal out in a while but I thought it was excellent. While we were there, a friend from the UK on holiday here, stopped by and she joined us. It was a lovely girl’s night and it felt nice to go out and treat myself while saying bye to one of my best friends. I would worry about the £70 weekly budget later!

When I got home, things had progressed with the pay day chase up and we were getting paid tomorrow. I was certainly looking forward to the money being in our accounts!

Gratitude List

1. Progress on getting my books in to actual UK book shops!

2. Getting to say hello to a friend on holiday

3. A wonderful send off for Vanessa.

Dalyan – 15th March

It was an interesting day on Sunday 15th March; I’d already turned down an invite to a boat trip with a friend so that I could get on with tasks that I needed to do. I had something exciting brewing with regards to my books but I couldn’t say anything yet, mainly as I didn’t have all the information. It was Mother’s Day in the UK but they don’t celebrate it in Turkey. I messaged Mom to see when I could call as I didn’t know if she might be doing something with my sister. I tootled off to meet Nanny Kay, Jamie, Drew and Norman in Luvi, a cafe I’d not really taken any notice of before.
It’s next door to Mimi’s and near Ozzy’s Bar in the square next to Migros. It took a short while to order a hot chocolate on account of the staff making the others’ 3 drinks but it was worth the wait and cost 140 lira (£2.37), it wasn’t much more for wine and the wine by the bottle was reasonable, I noted.
The cafe was nice and Norman got some attention. I decided to call to see if there was any chicken on offer on the way back, and I had run out of oats.
I was in luck and here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

Şok Supermarket
Oats 87.50
876g Chicken drumsticks 118.26
958g Chicken breasts 238.54
Total spent 444.30 lira (£7.53)

I had a bit of a fiasco with trying to log in to my Amazon account, which was irritating because I needed access for the important meeting I had booked in for tomorrow. That was frustrating as I was sure I had the right details.
In the afternoon I walked over to Vanessa’s, while eating a banana in place of breakfast or lunch, and had a cup of tea with her and Matt and picked up a bag of oranges.
Vanessa and I decided to have a walk round town and called at the tea gardens, it was incredibly busy. We’d already seen Mark, Kate, Pamela and Glynn in Efe bar when Vanessa dropped a scarf off for someone who had left it. Next, we went to Public bar for a glass of wine. It’s one of the more expensive places at 180 lira (£3.05) for a white wine and we shared a soda. I was getting peckish and thought I might order food at Public but resisted and we called at the supermarket. Vanessa recommended some chicken pieces that were a bit like a KFC and I decided to buy those. A bag of them was only 189 lira (£3.20) so much cheaper than eating out and I had wraps at home already, so that was late lunch and early dinner sorted. In the evening I had a video call with my Mom to wish her Happy Mother’s Day.

Gratitude List
1. Cancelled plans
2. Catching up with Vanessa
3. Chicken wrap at home.

Dalyan – 14th March

It was market day again on Saturday 14th March so I had arranged to go with Vanessa. I had already checked the remaining budget from my readjusted £40 for the week and today was the last day. There was no way I was going to be able to stick to it and I knew that the remaining £6.61 would get spent easily at the market today. I needed to better plan if I wanted to reach my saving goals. I called for Vanessa at 10am and we planned for a quick market shop then to go to the nice cafe for a cup of tea and a chat.

Here’s what I bought, prices in lira;

Stall 1
Lettuce 30 lira (51p)

Stall 2
Carrots, spring onions, radish 150 (£2.54)

Stall 3
Strawberries, oranges, bananas 340 (£5.76)

Total spent 520 lira (£8.81)

This week’s reduced budget was blown already, mainly due to strawberries at 200 lira (£3.39), but I was not unduly worried as we headed to Mornings in Mavi, my new favourite cafe.
I decided to throw caution to the wind and ordered a fancy tea for 120 lira (£2.03) and a toasted sandwich for 300 lira (5.08). It was fantastic and very filling so I wouldn’t need any lunch today. The owner of the cafe is from Eskişehir and seems very conscientious. After discussing my budgeting plans with Vanessa and realising I was being quite restrictive trying to live on less than £6 per day, I decided for future weeks I would reset and up the budget to £10 per day, so £70 per week. This way, when I didn’t spend it all, it would be more motivating but it would also not be such a burden if I did. I’d still not been paid but surely that would be due on Monday.

Back home, I put the shopping away and totted up that this week I had spent £49.32, which was pretty good to say I’d had 2 days where I had alcohol and only 1 zero spend day. I had a video call with Captain Caveman who had one week left until his trip to Vietnam. He was heading over to take part in the Saigon Children’s Charity bicycle ride for charity. Ordinarily, I would have been there for support but I had already committed my time to Norman, the dog, and his 15th birthday – I couldn’t miss that! Captain Caveman offered to send me money but he had enough on, with his trip to Vietnam and the apartment maintenance and repairs he needed to pay for, plus he was moving house, so I said I would manage by continuing my Money Minded March.
I worked for the rest of the day, my post using the new skills from Georgina Chapman had got so many views that it was scary! I had a cheese salad sandwich and realised I should’ve gone halves on the lettuce this week – it was huge!!! Later, I decided to swing by Ren Garden to say bye to Lucy and Scott before they went for dinner and then the airport.

Gratitude List
1. Splurging at the market and in the cafe with Vanessa
2. Speaking to Captain Caveman
3. Seeing Lucy and Scott one last time.