When I got up on Wednesday 22nd February I was a bit fragile, I’d gone to bed about 3am when I had woke up a bit chilly on Mark and Kate’s sofa. Mark was already up and about, had fed the cats and was cleaning the kitchen cupboard fronts when I emerged. I got a cup of tea and a little later I decided to walk home. I got a few hundred metres when Tayfur showed up on his new motorbike and gave me a lift to Rehab bar – it was very whizzy. On the way home I called at the pharmacy where I got another box of pills for 150 lira (£6.44) and some imodium for 20 lira (86p). Back home I was keen to know my weight, I got on the scales and had lost a little bit but Carol’s scales would be the true test. I did my measurements and they were pretty good; Bust -2cm, Waist and hips no change, Right thigh and calf -0.5cm Left thigh +0.5cm Right calf no change. I had strawberries and a herbal tea for breakfast then went for a walk. I managed to catch up on the 2nd day of the Decluttering Bootcamp where I had a challenge based on some action that I would need to take. For lunch I had more vegetable soup with pasta and then went over to Jamie’s to let Norman and Edna out. Jamie was at an appointment in another town with Nanny Kay so I just spent an hour with the dogs at lunch time. Edna was so excited to see me that she went straight in for cuddles and wanting to sit on my lap, Norman seemed a bit cheesed off that I’d woken him up and he paced about a bit. Edna was wriggling about and when I laughed at her new hair do she was confused, Norman came up on the sofa for snuggles and we tried to get a group selfie. Edna was up for it, once her appearance was sorted, Norman less so. Amazingly, at Fat Club, I had lost 0.7kg (1.5lb) and was happy with that. I had a diet coke there and then walked to Rehab bar for 2 soda waters while chatting to the pool group. I left about 5pm, called to get some bread and, when I got home, I treated myself to a cheese sandwich and some mantı, Turkish ravioli. I waited up until 10pm to do the next decluttering challenge about vision and I did a couple of tasks on the back of it.
I had a banana, Kate’s fruit salad, with added strawberries, pineapple, and quark for breakfast on Tuesday 21st February. I also tried some Linden tea which Jamie had brought me to sooth a bad stomach. It seemed to work and I wasn’t affected by the banana, like before. For lunch I had some healthy bits and pieces in an effort to get a good weigh-in result tomorrow at Fat Club. Kate was off to the UK this afternoon so had asked me and a couple of other friends to ‘look after’ Mark while she was away. Even though it was Pancake Day today, I decided I would have mine tomorrow, after Fat Club. In the afternoon I met up with Jamie, Norman and Edna and we had a dog walk along the river then Edna insisted we call in to the Waterfall bar. She had forgotten that it was a Tuesday and Skippy doesn’t go in on a Tuesday. I had a diet coke and 2 wines, we were joined by John, Andrea and Mark on their way home from Tez bar. Captain Caveman had been at his briefing for his next Son Doong trip but had managed to get a quick call in, which I took outside. We had a rough plan that I would be visiting Phong Nha, as well as having some holidays in both Vietnam and Singapore. I would only stay for 6 weeks which meant I had no visa issues and would be leaving Phong Nha when the weather was unbearable in July and August. Jamie went home to feed the dogs and have his own dinner, John and Andrea said bye too, then Mark and I bought some wine and milk at the shop, got Fikri’s taxi to mine where I picked up a bag. We drove to Mark’s and he fed the cats then reheated us up some leftover Chinese for dinner and opened the wine. The cats that stayed in were super cute and were happy to settle in to their beds for the night. We decided to watch a film, drink wine and later have cheese, chorizo and Ritz crackers. The diet had fallen short again and I’m sure it would mean a bad result tomorrow at Fat Club. It also meant that I had missed day 2 of the Decluttering Bootcamp, luckily I could catch up tomorrow on replay. It was after midnight when Mark went to bed and left me asleep on the recliner sofa, I’d obviously nodded off during the film.
My week started quite positively on Monday 20th February! I confirmed a house and pet sitting job in Rhodes. I checked out some flights and chatted to Captain Caveman about the possibility of going to Vietnam from Athens, in May. For breakfast I just had a cup of Yorkshire tea and some orange juice, left by Kate yesterday. I decided to go out for a walk as I needed to run a few errands and get some exercise in. I called at the stationers to buy a notebook and pencil which cost just 35 lira (£1.50). I went to the pharmacy to buy contraceptive pills and order more, one month’s worth was now 163 lira (£7) and they were in short supply. For lunch I had the rest of the fresh bread with tomato soup and gorgonzola cheese. Today would be a no meat, no alcohol and more exercise kind of a day. In the afternoon I decided to take my Marks and Spencer black boots to the cobbler as one of them had a cut in the rubber soul. I went for a walk around Gülpınar, checked on my parents’ place and then walked the long way back after about an hour. The boots had been repaired at a cost of 280 lira (£12) which was quite an unexpected expense but cheaper than buying a new pair. Rain was forecast later in the month so I needed these or to buy some wellies. I had a banana for a snack then had a bad stomach again – I don’t even like bananas. For dinner I had left over leek and potato soup from Jamie and I added some cooked pasta to make it even more filling. Around 6pm Jamie popped round, with Norman and Edna, as he was passing on his evening dog walk. The dogs were really excited to visit and were so happy to see me and be allowed on the sofa for cuddles. In the evening, I stayed up to join the first one of Heather’s Decluttering Bootcamps at 10pm (Turkish time) and I found it really interesting. It was all about planning, Heather did a live session where she taught us how to plan to declutter a specific small part of our home and then set us a challenge to do. We would post our outcome in the group and then join for the next challenge tomorrow at the same time.
Fat Club on Wednesday 15th February was cancelled because the venue was busy having taken in earthquake survivors. I got weighed at home to find I was the same as last week so that wasn’t ideal but not too bad. My measurements were as follows; Bust -2cm, Waist -3cm, Hips -2cm, Right Thigh no change Left Thigh -1cm, Right Calf -1cm, Left Calf -0.5cm. These were good results and I had Slimming World friendly soup for lunch. At 3pm I had a wander to the tea gardens near BC Spa to meet Janice and Tina from Fat Club. I enjoy seeing the ladies from this group and we talk about how good or bad a week we’ve had on our diets and share some ideas and recipes so we don’t get too bored. The sun was out, it was warm and even the street dog behind us had to move in to the shade after a while. After an hour I walked along the river and up to Rehab bar where I just had soda water with ice and lemon. I didn’t stay long, just enough to say hello to some of the Pool group and to see Matt was in high spirits round the pool table. Back home I had left over chicken şakşuka and rice, followed by quark for dinner. At 7pm I went to Lukka bar to meet Jamie and the Beverley Sisters where we played pool. Jamie and I stuck to water as we were trying to be healthy and we had a good laugh. The Beverley Sisters are really good fun and one of them was as bad as me at pool. I left before 10pm and then had a small red wine and some cheese with cream crackers before bed.
On Monday 6th February at 4.25am I woke up thinking that the dogs were walking up and down the bed. I thought I’d overslept so I checked my phone for the time. I also noticed that Brad had replied to say he’d got home ok but he’d had missed calls and messages from his mom, dad and girlfriend! I looked over to the dogs after putting the bedside light on and they were still asleep. I thought I must’ve been dreaming or still drunk and went back to sleep. When I woke up again I heard the terrible news of the horrendous earthquake in East Turkey and Syria. I checked the time of it and it was when I’d been woken up. Friends in Antalya said they felt it there, where the rooms shook as if someone was trying to break in.
I was definitely looking forward to Katrina and Jamie coming back from Antalya today. I think I’d found my doggy limit with 2 dogs and a very young puppy. I quickly wolfed down some cereal and a cup of Yorkshire tea for breakfast. I took the 3 dogs out for a fairly short walk and told them that they were going to see Jamie and Katrina later. Norman was impatient, Little Ted oblivious and Edna needed further information related to an exact ETA. As I was cleaning up and getting ready for my departure, I realised I’d not yet eaten up the bacon Jamie had told me I should have (how unlike me)! I cooked bacon with pasta, mushrooms and a cheese triangle for my lunch and there was a bit left for later. I was hoping the 6.5 hours of walking I’d done this last 4 days would help with the weight loss and counteract the alcohol. Little Ted had found himself a little bit fond of Dennis, the doorstop, so I had to sit him on top of the water cooler so he couldn’t get humped or peed on.
By 6pm the dogs were getting impatient for their owners to come back, especially as some of Jamie and Katrina’s luggage had already arrived before them, courtesy of Ünal. I ate the rest of the bacon pasta and put some moisturiser on my sore hands. I’d washed them so much this weekend, from cleaning up puppy pee, that they were cracked and stinging. They were finally back, but the mood was pretty sombre as I started to realise that some of our Turkish friends had family in the areas affected by the earthquake that morning. At the time, none of us realised just how bad it was. When I got home I sat with a blanket on the sofa enjoying the peace and quiet!
It was very cold when I got up at 7.30am on Sunday 5th February. Norman and Edna were still snoozy and Little Ted had slept longer than yesterday. Teddy was a bit overexcited to see me and accidentally caught my lip with his mouth when he was trying to give me kisses. It hurt but it didn’t draw blood so I thought I’d be ok. While I had my cup of tea, all 3 dogs wanted cuddles and they had to share me, begrudgingly. Norman, Little Ted and I were all squeezed in to the arm chair where the dogs had a nice little nap. I didn’t have chance for any breakfast! Every time Norman snored, Little Ted raised his head in a disapproving manner which was funny.
I decided to try walking all 3 of the dogs together but when I went to get my shoes I’d made a massive error. I’d left them out and at some point, Teddy had chewed them. Luckily I had brought another pair of shoes with me as I had an important lunch date that I didn’t want to miss. The walk with 3 dogs was hilarious and I looked like I was going to get tangled up at one point. I’m sure I heard Edna say to Norman ‘Come back, Charlie’. Little Ted was just happy to be out with his new pals and wanted to jump up a lot. I got back, hoping for a shower but the water was off and I looked a state – I didn’t even have any wet wipes. I used the filter water to clean my teeth and wash my face but that would have to do. The rain was torrential just at the time that I needed to leave, and the water came back on as I was going.
Video of Teddy being a bit friendly with his toy
Lukka bar had reopened this weekend and was doing Sunday lunch today. I’d already asked some friends if they fancied it and I’d remembered that Vanessa’s son, Brad, loved a Sunday dinner as she had mentioned they often go out together for one in the UK. We had all pre ordered our meals and agreed to meet at 2pm at Lukka bar. The Beef Sunday dinner was 255 lira (£11.10), the chicken dinner is only 185 lira (£8.05). The portion size is massive so I took Tupperware for any leftovers (I hate wasting food and money). On arrival, Linda and I decided to splash out on a bottle of red wine between us, Nanny Kay was driving so had a soft drink. Brad arrived extremely apologetic having not been able to find where Vanessa had hidden the house keys, making him a tad late. He ordered a beer and I introduced him to Linda and Nanny Kay. Linda and I had lots of cat talk as she was looking after Kate’s 6 cats for the first time in ages and had taken over from Vinnie. When the food came it looked fantastic, there was no cheese sauce on the cauliflower, as advertised, and I had my gravy on the side so I could do damage limitations on my Slimming World diet. Nanny Kay was short on carrots and the Brussel sprouts could do with a few minutes more cooking as they were too hard, so I let the waiter know for future diners. The Yorkshire puddings are phenomenal and the biggest I’ve ever had, this is a good recommendation to a Turkish chef from a Yorkshire lass, who hasn’t been to England for 13 months. I thoroughly enjoyed the dinner and the company, we had a break before dessert where I filled my Tupperware with half of my dinner, plus the others’ spare sprouts and Nanny Kay’s left over Yorkshire pud. I had a smaller Tupperware which I intended the apple crumble to go in, however, when it came I couldn’t resist it. We’d all had a jolly good time but the rain was threatening again so we said our farewells. Nanny Kay drove home, Linda cycled to Mark and Kate’s and, as you may have guessed, Brad and I decided we could probably have another drink!
Brad kindly agreed to a dog walk, to walk off a bit of our Sunday dinner and get some exercise for his recovering knee. I had to call in to Captain Caveman’s apartment briefly on the way. As I pointed out to duck under the rose thorns, Brad snapped the stems with his bare hands and tucked them in to the plant – that was that problem solved! We went to Jamie’s and collected all 3 dogs who were obviously pleased to be getting out after being left for 3 hours, Little Ted in his crate. When I told them we would have a walk to the Waterfall, Edna was beside herself with excitement at the chance to see Skippy. Little Ted didn’t remember what Waterfall meant but was enthusiastic regardless. After a walk around the block and round by Poo corner we arrived at the Waterfall. All the dogs were made welcome and a fuss made of them but Skippy wasn’t there to see that I’d not shrunk Norman. Brad and I got chatting, the dogs were quite happy and we ended up having a couple more drinks in the Waterfall where it was toasty warm. We were reassuring ourselves that we were quite fortunate not to be on the all inclusive-big-bender weekend for Alp’s birthday. We knew that without our partners there we’d probably have had alcohol poisoning by now, as well as putting on loads of weight from the all you can eat food! We had a good laugh and when it got to the dog’s dinner time we decided to grab more drinks and go back to Jamie’s.
I never thought to offer Brad the WiFi password at Jamie’s villa and we were just so busy chatting that we didn’t check our phones. After more red wine for me and beer for Brad I decided to do us a curry for dinner. I was a bit drunk and had to do the rice in a pan for the first time in years, the curry was a vegetarian Dahl type so I chucked in some leftover cooked chicken from Jamie’s fridge. It was pretty good and we ate it all, as if we’d not already had a big lunch! We didn’t realise the time until Vanessa messaged to check Brad was ok! As no one had heard from him, and he’d only gone out for Sunday lunch with the ‘oldies’ at 2pm, there were concerns from his girlfriend and parents. It was after midnight when Brad left and I told him to message me once he got home. I got in bed and fell asleep before seeing that message.
On Saturday 4th February I’d set my alarm for 8am. All the dogs were meant to be able to sleep in until this time, however, that didn’t happen. I was woken up at 6.20am by Little Ted whining and scratching to get out of his crate. I let all the dogs out on to the back garden for ablutions and Teddy did a wee, he also did 2 more in the kitchen when he came back in. I gave him some cuddles hoping he might go back to sleep but he just wanted attention and to play or be fussed. Norman and Edna went back to bed on my bed upstairs and didn’t resurface for ages, they were still not impressed with their new buddy. I was just glad to see they were no longer hiding behind the cushions in Safety Corner.
We had a couple of walks, Teddy first, and then some more play time. Jamie had left me some vegetable soup which I had for lunch, it was Slimming World friendly and very tasty and filling. In the afternoon I got all 3 dogs outside playing on the back garden and tried to get Norman to teach Little Ted football. I think I had more fun than the dogs but I did make some cute videos for Jamie and Katrina on our group chat.
Video of Teddy asking to be Norman and Edna’s friendVideo of Norman and Edna playing ball Video of me playing football with the dogs
I’d had a welcome invitation from Debbie (Darling) to meet her for a drink later but I felt like I didn’t really want to leave all 3 dogs at home to go to Sofra bar. Dogs aren’t allowed in Sofra, and it tends to be the usual late afternoon/early evening busy drinking spot on a Saturday. I said I’d be able to make it for a wine or two at Waterfall bar instead, because then I would be able to bring the dogs. Debbie (Darling) said she’d also asked Ann and would see me there – perfect.
On my first visit to Waterfall I took Little Ted, he was enthusiastic but I had to pick him up and hold him while at the bar. Skippy arrived and was most upset that I had shrunk Norman and was quite perturbed that ‘Norman’ didn’t seem to recognise him. Debbie (Darling) kindly got me some kitchen roll when she called at the shop for crisps while Little Ted decided he liked chewing the bar. When Debbie (Darling) said she felt a bit under the weather, we were concerned that it may mean their drinking session would be cut short. After 1 red wine I left the 2 ladies finishing their drinks while I took Little Ted home to exchange him for Norman and Edna.
When I returned, at 5pm, with Jamie’s 2 dogs, Skippy was even more confused that Norman was now back to full size. I was also surprised to see that Debbie (Darling) had phoned a taxi and was off, as she was feeling no better. I didn’t want to leave the dogs, especially with it being my first time with a puppy, so after my 2nd glass of wine I was going ‘home’ to give all the dogs their dinner. As Ann’s Saturday night out had come to an end, I invited her back to Jamie’s with me.
Ann bought white wine and some snacks from the shop next door, then we stopped at the baklava van where we spent 70 lira (£3.07) on a bit of sweet pastry that I really shouldn’t be having on my diet. Luckily, I had some beef bourguignon left so I got that in a pan then made some Yorkshire puddings to go with it. I’d now gone way over on my weekly syn allowance and would probably regret it on Wednesday at Fat Club but I can’t resist a Yorkshire pud. I had 2 more glasses of wine to join Ann but, alas, she also had to head home to sort out her own dogs. It was hard work having 3 dogs, a dinner guest and some Yorkshire puddings to attend to but I managed it, just about, and was absolutely shattered. I’d got left over Yorkshires so once they had cooled they went in the freezer for another time. It had been a very unexpected and lovely afternoon spent with friends and doggies.
It was Big Alp’s 50th birthday weekend in Antalya on Friday 3rd February and it looked like most of Dalyan was going. Matt and Vanessa had organised a bus to take people from Dalyan as well as a lot of Alp’s Turkish friends taking their own transport. I do know Alp, and I was at his birthday party at Sofra bar last year, however I wouldn’t class myself as someone who would join him for a weekend birthday bash 250km away. As it happened, there were people going who knew Alp less than I did. Everyone was staying at the 5 star hotel, Delphin Imperial Lara, which was all inclusive. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good booze up but it wasn’t something I fancied for 3 whole days. It might have been different if I’d been going with Captain Caveman so that we could take advantage of the all inclusive minibar and the facilities together. Before I even knew about this little get away, I’d already booked Jamie in for house and dog sitting, without realising he was going to Alp’s birthday weekend. Katrina had also managed to piggyback on to the action by sending Little Teddy to stay with me, Norman and Edna – things were about to get lively! Jamie picked me up at 8am to take me to his villa. He was all set to leave with Katrina, Mehmet and the kids once they arrived. When Katrina got there, she had brought Little Ted, his crate, lead, puppy pads and his food but had forgotten a couple of bits. They were late and in a rush to leave so she gave me her house keys so that I could fetch Teddy’s things and also asked me to hang out the washing from the machine. If Norman and Edna weren’t keen on Charlie coming to stay, then Little Ted was definitely less welcome. As soon as everyone had left for Antalya, Norman and Edna resorted to safety corner on the sofa and wouldn’t shift.
What do Norman and Edna think of Little Ted?
Katrina had assured me that the puppy was toilet trained but I stopped counting at 23 pees and 2 poos all in Jamie’s house. I got through so much toilet roll in that first day as Jamie doesn’t have kitchen roll. We went outside every 30 minutes but Little Ted peed as soon as he came back in. I took him with me when I went over to Katrina’s, Norman and Edna hoped he wasn’t coming back. He was very cute but you couldn’t take your eyes off him for long. I was getting the washing out of the machine when he found a balloon and popped it! With hindsight I’d have been better off if we’d all moved in to Katrina’s, where Little Ted had been trained and was in a bit more of a routine. I carried the dog bed and bowl back over while walking a tiny puppy who just wanted to be picked up all the time. I made sure I didn’t pick him up so that he had to walk, it was only a short distance but it took a while.
Teddy with a balloon
Jamie had left me some bacon in the fridge so I had a couple of rashers on toast (no butter) for breakfast then took Norman and Edna out while Teddy was in his crate, whining to get out. For most of the day Norman and Edna made it clear that the puppy was not welcome as he peed everywhere but on the puppy pad. I had vegetable soup with noodles for lunch then I took all 3 dogs on the back garden to see if they would get along better – they didn’t! After another little walk for Teddy, and a longer walk for Norman and Edna, I started making dinner. I’d already got the beef bourguignon in the slow cooker but I had a go at Gluten Free Yorkshire puddings in Jamie’s Pampered Chef stoneware. I wasn’t going to drink this weekend but after feeling like I’d had a very long day, I had 2 glasses of wine while Little Ted slept. On the plus side, I’d not spent any money as I’d not been anywhere.
I was up and about at Mark and Kate’s by 8am, on Thursday 2nd February. Kate made me a cup of tea and then went back to bed while I sat on their lovely new sofa. JC came to see if there was anything we could watch on TV and looked at me while I sipped my tea. I got a lift back in to town on the mobility scooter with Mark and Kate and went to the bank. Kate had recommended a few things in the supermarket that I wanted to try, including the nan bread from last night, so I decided to walk with Kate, who was off for her hair doing, to go to Bim. Here’s what I bought:
1st Bim Supermarket Carrier bag 0.25 Fresh loaf 5.00 Brown sliced loaf 11.50 4 nan breads 15.95 Total spent 32.70 lira (£1.43)
I’d had to go to both Bims because the offers they had on meat had lead to a shortage. At home I had a cheese sandwich for my breakfast before quickly getting ready for my Turkish class at Ela’s Kitchen. I was super thirsty when I got there so I completely forgot my new Frugal February rule, to have a large water, and automatically ordered a cup of tea and an orange juice. These came to 55 lira (£2.42) and the Turkish class itself was only 50 lira (£2.19)! Back home I had a bowl of soup with noodles in for lunch and had a chat to Captain Caveman. For dinner I ate more bread, some gorgonzola cheese, which needed eating up, and some olives. I also started to pack my bags as I was off on another dogsitting stint tomorrow!
On Monday 30th January I was on my way to Jamie’s villa by 9.30am, for a short spell of dog sitting. On my way out, I almost scratched my face on the thorny rose bushes and I made a mental note to ask Vanessa if I could borrow some loppers to cut them. Norman and Edna were, of course, pleased to see me and we spent the morning watching some house programmes on TV. I had some Slimming World potato wedges for lunch but also cooked some roast potatoes to have with a chicken casserole for dinner. I even made enough for Jamie, without mushrooms in, for when he got back tomorrow. I was looking forward to trying out the new bed which was super comfy. The dogs didn’t want to sleep downstairs and they insisted they also try out the new bed. With it being so high, I had to pick the dogs up to get them on, and they loved snuggling under the new pink blanket.
Captain Caveman was out of the cave on Tuesday 31st January and we arranged to have a video call later today. Norman and Edna stayed on the bed with me while I drank my cup of tea and we all really loved that new bed. I had no news on the work front which was disappointing and I made a note to update my CV and get actively looking for a new job. After walking the dogs, I went to the bank and changed US dollars in to Turkish lira. I also decided that Frugal February was an absolute must if I was to be able to afford to pay the bills, go to Vietnam and still have some sort of social life here in Dalyan. At 11.30am I went to Ela’s Kitchen to meet Vanessa and a friend, who we call 007, after their Turkish class. We all ordered a breakfast for lunch and had a lovely catch up. In the afternoon Vanessa, Kate and I went to singing group and had a good sing along, I even succumbed to having a strawberry bun which was very nice. At 4pm I went to Tez bar for a drink with Vanessa, Matt & Brad, Mark, Kate & Vinnie, Nick & Angela, Andy & Kaye, Sheila and Gay Gaz so it was fairly busy. I had the 1 drink and then went home to speak to Captain Caveman, he was in good spirits and had enjoyed his tour. Unfortunately, due to finances and Captain Caveman’s schedule, I probably would have to delay me going out there until we were better off. This meant I would have to cope without seeing Captain Caveman for a bit longer but we would hope to plan my visit for when he had the most available days so we could spend the maximum amount of time together. I had another one of those home made wrap pizzas for dinner and then set about trying to write up a budget for February.
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.
I felt absolutely shattered on Friday 27th January, after only a few hours sleep. Charlie was in Abi’s bed with me and he’d been scared of the wind during the night. At 8.30am I went to survey the outside balconies and found the furniture had blown everywhere. A screen fence had fell off the roof and I could see that on the ground there was some damage to the front of the complex fence. There was a slight gap in the rain storms so I got my casual clothes and a big coat on to go for a jog with Charlie. We had to be quick as the rain was threatening the whole time we were out and the wind was still blustery. We’d just got in when the torrential rain came and Charlie was scared. I snuggled him up in his favourite blanket and made sure he had Slothy, his best toy, with him while I went out for just over an hour to Turkish class. When I got back, I’d got a bit wet in the rain so went to have a shower. Charlie was still worried about the storm so he came in the bathroom too. I spoke to Helen about Gill, her friend who was taking Charlie, arriving later today. She sent me Gill’s number so that I could discuss directly about me dropping Charlie off this weekend. It wouldn’t be tonight as Gill was still on her way to Turkey, but tonight would probably be my last one with Charlie. Meanwhile, Captain Caveman had arrived back in Phong Nha and was at his Oxalis briefing ready for his tour tomorrow. That evening, I had something planned which even the manager at the venue had been sceptical about because of the weather.
I’d originally planned to go to Fethiye for the day with Jamie, Ann and Nanny Kay where, instead of drinking too much, we would go bowling to celebrate my birthday. In the end we’d decided not to go as I would have had to miss Turkish class and it could be too busy with families at a weekend. We would go for a meal and drinks in Dalyan instead and we decided Hotel Dalyance was a good choice for everyone. I’d not been in ages and I love the food there. We also had the added surprise that Jamie’s partner, Drew, had decided to come to Dalyan and had just arrived. The 5 of us had a lovely table and by 6.20pm I had a beer and a red wine on the go while tucking in to the complimentary bread and olives. Nanny Kay bought me a bottle of red wine with some Smarties and a chocolate bar attached which was very generous of her, especially as I thought that she already gave me a bottle of wine for my birthday. That one was just for having her over for dinner, as it turns out, so I wasn’t complaining and it was much appreciated. Sarah came to take our order and she recommended the pepper chicken for me, which sounded good. When it came, I was very impressed and it tasted delicious. I enjoyed my night, the food and wine at Hotel Dalyance with my friends but we were getting the bill before 9pm! It looked like the night was coming to an end quite early on a Friday night, luckily I’d not dressed up for it but everyone I was with looked like they had made a bit more effort. Jamie, Drew, Nanny Kay and I decided we would go for 1 or 2 more at Sofra bar. Ann said her goodbyes and went back home as she didn’t fancy going on for another drink as she was closer to home at Hotel Dalyance.
When we got there, it was pretty quiet but I had a couple of red wines while the boys managed 2 bottles of wine between them. Nanny Kay and I were having a nice chat when Mark walked in and joined our table. Sofra is one of the main go-to weekend bars for most of the expats during the winter and, as Kate was due back from England tomorrow, it was not surprising to see Mark on his last night of playing out. I limited myself to just the 2 red wines as I’d definitely had my fill with the 2 bottles of wine we’d shared at Dalyance. Nanny Kay was sensible and had just the one red wine in Sofra and a taxi home. I was home before midnight, Mark dropped me off in his taxi, and unfortunately Gill’s flight had been redirected to Heraklion in Greece due to the bad weather. I played catch Slothy with Charlie and told him he’d be going to stay with Gill at some point this weekend. I’m not sure why but he started licking my feet and we were still up at 1.30am.
It was a lovely sunny day on Wednesday 25th January, I was concerned it would be a bad result today at Fat Club so I saved having lunch until after weigh-in. I did, however, have sausage cassoulet with potatoes for breakfast, saving some of the cassoulet in the fridge. I also made Charlie have 2 walks with me which he didn’t argue about. At Fat Club, I was extremely surprised to find I’d only put on 0.1kg this week which was a miracle and we were all sat around discussing our week in the Nil Lounge bar area. Not everyone had arrived yet when, those of us who were there, felt the wooden floor start to move. The hanging cat basket behind me started to swing and Nil, the owner, recognised immediately that it was an earthquake. She evacuated the room, which is meant to be what you do, although I never had before, and we were all a bit surprised that it went on for over a minute. Luckily, it was over relatively quickly and wasn’t a big one in Dalyan. I believe it’s epicenter was 79km South West of Rhodes but had measured 5.9 so we had all felt it. It was definitely the first one I’d felt where it went on longer than a few seconds and we had to be evacuated as a precaution. When I got back to Helen and Abi’s, the internet was off, Helen had warned me that it was due to expire around now and I’d have to manage for a few days without it. Coincidentally, my 4G on my phone had ran out today too so I needed to get more tomorrow. It also meant that I wouldn’t be watching any more TV while I was there. I finally had my lunch at 4.30pm and had a lovely treat; the leftover meatballs from Egehan on my birthday, which I’d taken from the freezer and had with steamed rice. It was just as nice on the second time of eating it. I spent time with Charlie on the sofa then got peckish about 8.30pm so I had leftover cassoulet and oven chips (from Helen’s freezer stash), as they needed eating up!
It was day 5 of Tet in Vietnam, on Thursday 26th January, Captain Caveman was due back at work tomorrow night and he’d had a nice time off. The weather was starting to turn a bit, here in Dalyan, and it looked like storms were coming. After walking Charlie, I had cheese on toast for breakfast so that I could use up some of Helen’s frozen sliced bread – I really enjoyed it too. In the afternoon the weather brightened up a lot and I even had to cloth off down to my vest top. Charlie and I sunbathed on the roof terrace but we both knew the rain was coming. At 3pm I decided to take some stuff back over to Captain Caveman’s apartment, given that I was due to be moving back there this weekend. I checked to make sure there was no damage from yesterday’s earthquake and all was fine. Some friends had got broken ornaments in the tremors so we were lucky. I also noticed that the people renting the apartment opposite us were still there and the communal stairs were pretty dirty. I thought I could smell cat pee too which wasn’t pleasant. I bought more dog food for Charlie, this time just 1kg for 30 lira (£1.32) but this was the adult food from the King brand which the shop person assured me was the same as what Charlie had originally. Unfortunately, I had noticed today that Charlie had been eating only the original biscuits and leaving all the new ones which were mixed in. I purchased more 4G credit for my Turkish phone so that I could at least be in contact with people while I was still at Charlie’s. I was surprised to see that 5GB had gone up from 88 to 115 lira (£5.07), an increase of 30% since last month. After taking 2 backpacks full of stuff, between the 2 houses I walked past Jiks on my way back to Helen and Abi’s. Gay Gaz, Roy and Brian were having a drink there so I joined them for just the one beer. Roy had negotiated 60 lira (£2.64) for beers at Jiks, so I gave him my money to pay for mine when I left, otherwise I would get charged 20 lira more! When I got back I knocked on Katrina’s door to see if she’d mind me logging on to her internet, she very kindly gave me her password. Unfortunately, I could only get my phone to connect to her WiFi if I was stood near the front door or on the stairs. It was useful but would not have been good enough if I’d been needing it for work or to watch TV. That evening, I had a real treat for dinner as I’d got my Bistro Blue leftover steak (from Christmas Day night) out of the freezer earlier. After a fairly long walk with Charlie, it was nice to make some beef steak fajita wraps, which I had with the pepper sauce. An amazing Thursday night dinner! I checked on Charlie’s food bowl again and this time he’d decided to take out all the biscuits he didn’t like from the mixed bowl – how clever. He liked the new stuff so that was ok. That evening we had lots of Charlie cuddles as a storm had started, I didn’t get to sleep until 5am!
On Monday 23rd January I decided to watch Abi’s TV for the first time since I moved in. Abi helped me get set up so that I could watch stuff like ‘Death in Paradise’ on ITV. I still hadn’t got any more documents for editing so I was expecting to be busy in February but then would perhaps go to Vietnam in March. By the end of this month I’d have been looking after Charlie for 2 months, I’d enjoyed it but it was time to get back to normal and move back to Captain Caveman’s apartment soon. I’d already tested Helen’s TV for water damage as it was on the floor when the bedroom flooded – it was fine. I’d hung out both rugs, then hoovered and rolled them up. I washed all the dog towels and cleaned the floors again and there didn’t seem to be any water damage, which was good. The front balcony was full of drying washing and the sun was shining. I put a chair out for me to sit on, only for Charlie to jump in to it – he loves sunbathing. I’d already took out one of Captain Caveman’s beef bourguignons from the freezer for dinner and was really looking forward to having that. I decided to put a filo pie lid on as I still had some left and it was absolutely delicious.
I had a steady morning on Tuesday 24th January and I’d hoped to go to singing group in the afternoon. I was going to leave Charlie sunbathing on the front roof terrace, however, the water tank on the roof was spewing boiling hot water out and I was concerned it might blow on to where Charlie was. Helen had also asked that I turn off the electric when I moved back home this weekend so I’d let her know about the stuff in the freezer which would need to either be thrown away, eaten or moved. I’m sure I spend far too much time moving produce from house to house on a regular basis but I hate wasting anything. Helen said to throw the bread away and try to eat as much as I could, of the rest! I’d already strayed from my Slimming World diet a lot this month but I said I’d give it a good go and what I didn’t eat I’d try to cook something with. It’s not in my nature to throw food away so I tried to work out what any mystery items were. I was about to decide on what to have for dinner when I got distracted by a message from Jamie. Edna wanted to know if Charlie fancied a doggy date at the Waterfall pub later. He knew she was using him as an excuse to go to see Skippy, but after mulling it over while I restocked the freezer, we agreed. Jamie said he would also ask Ann if she fancied it too and I’d see them there around 6pm, once I’d walked Charlie. Charlie loves going to the pub so he got a bit impatient waiting for us to go.
When we arrived, he was so pleased to see his mates, especially Linda who he gave lots of kisses to. Once we’d had sufficient drinks at the pub we decided to go back to mine. Jamie went home to drop Norman and Edna off, scoff his dinner, feed the dogs etc. We left Ann’s scooter at Waterfall and called at the shop for wine, then walked the short distance to Charlie’s. He was excited to be bringing Ann home as she’d given him some snacks and he was hoping for more. Ann and I had not eaten yet so I shoved chicken burgers and chips in to the oven (courtesy of Helen’s frozen stash). Jamie came over and we opened a bottle of Tılsım red wine, Ann had a couple of white wine and sodas and we had a good catch up. I even got the Ferrero Rocher out, Jamie gave his to Ann, she ate one and put the other on the table. I snaffled mine. Jamie didn’t want to be out too late because of the dogs, so he left us ladies and headed home. I walked Ann back round to Waterfall just after 1am, the temperature had definitely dropped and I had only been gone for 5 minutes. When I got back in, Charlie was on the back of the sofa and didn’t seem pleased to see me, which he usually does even if I go to the bathroom. I started clearing up and found out why; he’d managed to eat the spare Ferrero Rocher from the table and had cleverly put the wrapper back!
Saturday 21st January was Tet Eve in Vietnam and Captain Caveman was enjoying some time off. I had extra Charlie cuddles until 10.30am and then decided I didn’t actually need anything from the market. I still had quite a bit left in the fridge so was going to leave it until next week. The weather was nice so we got a couple of walks in and I arranged to have a meal with Jamie and Katrina later at home. I didn’t even go to Rehab to see the pool group, Kate had gone to England for a week this afternoon so I thought a chilled out day would be good. Around 6.30pm I went over to Jamie’s to pick up the rest of my things and he showed me the new beds which had been delivered. ‘My room’ now had a lovely, comfy, anti static with washable topper, divan bed. I couldn’t wait to dog sit again to try out the new bed and I was booked in again in early February. At 7pm Jamie, Katrina and Joseph came upstairs and we were going to order food from China Town. I got handed a lovely gift from Jamie’s Mauritius holiday of a set of spices and a beer – a perfect gift for me! Jamie and I had brought a bottle each of Tılsım, he’d brought diet coke, and I’d got some Sprite. Unfortunately, because there was no TV in the living room, we decided to move to Katrina’s so that Joseph had something to watch. This helped because Katrina has bigger wine glasses and a dish washer so we took the drinks down and Katrina put the order through for delivery. Katrina has a puppy called Teddy, and he’s really cute. In the relocation I left my purse and phone upstairs so I didn’t take any photos and Jamie had to lend me the cash for my meal of sweet and sour chicken with fried rice. I shared the prawn crackers and had a few chips too and it was so good, but obviously not Slimming World friendly. I’d had a good evening but was glad to get to bed, even Charlie was still sofa snoozing when I got home.
While Vietnam was celebrating the first day of Tet on Sunday 22nd January, Jamie and I had planned to take the dogs to the beach. He picked me up at 11am from Charlie’s and we called downstairs to pick up Teddy, Katrina’s King Charles Cavelier puppy. We had a nice walk on the beach but not too far because Teddy’s little legs wouldn’t take him as far as we would normally go. It was his first time on the beach and he was so cute, the other dogs didn’t seem keen on him though. I didn’t get as many photos as I’d have liked due to having to keep an eye on the dogs a bit more with 4 of them. In the car on the way back, Norman and Edna in the back, Charlie, Teddy and I on the back seat and (obviously) Jamie driving, Charlie got car sick. Jamie had to stop the car because I was holding Teddy on my lap. As soon as Charlie got out, he was fine but then some street dogs tried to frighten Charlie and Jamie. All the time Teddy was like a little Scrappy Doo from Scooby Doo and wanted to get loose. Back home I had a quick lunch of hotdogs on fresh bread with ketchup because I fancied it. I had a homemade chicken and aubergine curry for dinner, with Kate’s lemon drizzle cake for afters. Fat Club next week was certainly going to be interesting as, not only was I having less exercise without the 2 additional dogs, I kept eating things that were probably not quite within the Slimming World plan. That evening Charlie was so sweet and wanted lots of cuddles, if I stopped stroking him he kept tapping my arm for more! It was going to be hard saying bye to him, once Helen and Abi were back.
joloyolo 