Dalyan – 23rd December

Monday 23rd December turned out to be quite busy for me as I had a lot to do before Jamie returned tomorrow. It was also bad news on the weather forecast for anyone who was planning on going to the beach for the annual Christmas Eve gathering. Captain Caveman and The Aussies were planning on going, however, I was going to be with Norman and Edna waiting for Jamie to get safely back. I preferred for me not to go and get stuck down at the beach, in case there were any delays. After a month away, it was important to Jamie that he was able to see his fur babies as soon as he walked in the door and he had planned a night on the sofa with wine and dog cuddles. While Captain Caveman went Dogging, and after tea and cornflakes for breakfast, I went to Captain Net to pay the next month of our internet which was 400 lira (£9.05) but would be going up in January. I went to the shops in the rain, here’s what I bought on the first trip;

Migros Supermarket

Pasta 11.75
Spaghetti 11.75
Tinned tomatoes 19.95
Cheese 89.90
Total spent 133.35 lira (£3.02)

Yaman Büfe 2
Jamie’s shopping:
1 bottle of red wine (Angora) 322.50 lira (£7.30)

Palmiye Pet Store
Dog food 495.00lira (£11.20)

Back at Jamie’s, I started to do some cleaning to minimise how much I had to get through tomorrow. I did a bit of work and messaged Jamie to discuss his plans to get back home during a predicted storm.
When Captain Caveman got back from Dogging and a shower at home, we had soup for lunch and then I needed to go over for a shower so we took some stuff back over and the dogs for a walk.
I was still concerned about money and income for both of us, so I was cautious that with our Australian friends arriving tonight, we didn’t have any spare in the budget to be able to go out. Captain Caveman seemed a bit more relaxed about it than me and he even suggested we go to the shops and get stocked up. We wrote a list and, because of our Christmas plans, we had some luxury items in the shopping, here’s what we bought with the prices in lira;

BIM Supermarket
Vermicelli 8.50
Wholemeal bread 22.50
Brown bread 24.50
Lentils 40.50
4 Dido chocolate bars 66.00
Total spent 162.00 lira (£3.67)

A101 Supermarket
Kaymak (Clotted cream) 59.00
Olives 79.50
Total spent 138.50 lira (£3.13)

Migros Supermarket
1l Tonic 45.00
Butter 99.95
1 pack of ordinary cheese 139.90
350g Strong Cheese 199.90
Total spent 484.75 lira (£10.97)

Şevikoğlu Supermarket
2 Metro chocolate bars 23.00
Cheese crackers 44.90
Total spent 67.90 lira (£1.54)

Şok Supermarket
Cheese crackers 28.00
Paprika crisps 35.00
Plain crisps 39.50
Total spent 102.50 lira (£2.32)

We had splashed out and got some nice treats for Captain Caveman’s last week in Dalyan. That evening, we had leftover bolognese on a jacket potato and we watched TV while I did a bit of social media content for over the Christmas period.

Dalyan – 22nd December

Sunday 22nd December was our anniversary and Captain Caveman had scheduled a Sunday Walk which incorporated going by the Dog Shelter to walk a dog. There was also a planned power cut which we didn’t know if it would affect either of the houses so I decided to join a small part of the walk with Norman and Edna. There was quite a few people on the walk, Norman and Edna loved it and wanted to continue on, but I turned back home before the dog shelter as we didn’t think it would be responsible to take them up there. While Captain Caveman and his fellow walkers, walked, I had cornflakes and a grapefruit for a late breakfast, with an extra cup of tea. I did some writing and a bit of work while it was quiet.

When Captain Caveman and some of the remaining walkers were on their way back, he called me to see if I wanted to re-join the walk to go back to the start point, Kaunos tea gardens. I got my shoes and coat on and went along, and I even shared a mixed toastie. Janet joined Ian and a lady on holiday met with her husband so we all sat together and had a chat.
Here’s what the group ordered, with prices in lira;

1 Tea 10.00
3 Double Teas 45.00
2 Latte Coffees 100.00
1 Mixed toastie 100.00
1 Chicken sandwich 125.00
2 Chips 180.00
3 Efes Malt beers 435.00
Total 995.00 lira (£22.51)

Captain Caveman’s and mine came to 260 lira (£5.88) which I thought was reasonable for a beer, a double tea and a mixed toastie.
On the way back, Jamie had run out of dog food almost so we walked to the pet shop to get more. Unfortunately it was closed on Sundays so we walked home and had soup for lunch.
That evening we had pasta bolognese and another bottle of our Levissi Christmas wine, this time the Makri red. It was very nice and so far the 3 bottles we had drunk were going down well. It was a nice way to celebrate 13 years of being together, even though Captain Caveman thought we had already acknowledged it on Thursday!

Photo credit – some photos by the Sunday Walkers

Dalyan – 20th & 21st December

More rain was forecast on Friday 20th December as well as a likelihood that it was going to be bad weather over the Christmas period and in time for The Aussies arriving on Monday. There was also a potential power cut due which we had been fairly lucky so far to have avoided most of them. I made Pho Ga (Chicken noodle soup) for breakfast as it had been a while since we had eaten it and we had left over chicken to use. I had a busy day working, blogging and playing with Norman and Edna while Captain Caveman went to play Bridge with Sezgin. I cracked on and made good progress, Captain Caveman brought back bread and a bottle of wine to have with our dinner and he made soup, with vermicelli in, for lunch. We had more banana bread and it was definitely better this time, with less egg. For dinner we had curry with rice and a bottle of the Petit Verdot red wine. It was easily finished but we did come to the conclusion that this bottle was a lot drier than the last bottle.

The rain came down so heavily on Saturday 21st December that Norman and Edna were even reluctant to go out under the terrace. Ordinarily we would not have gone outside at all in this weather and it was definitely the heaviest downpour I have walked through Dalyan in. Jan & David’s Christmas buffet was starting at 12.30pm and we made it on time. I wore my wellies and didn’t get dressed up as I knew we were going to get soaked. There was no way we would cancel as I knew that Jan had gone to great lengths for this day and her & David were already not having Christmas Day as planned. We were one of the first to arrive and we were welcomed in to the house and told to help ourselves to drinks. The food was amazing and plentiful, as was the wine! I started on rose and then went on to red to accompany the cheese selection and the homemade mince pies. The Slimming World plan had gone well and truly out of the window and I even got a bit drunk of the fantastic Christmas cake with royal icing and marzipan.
We had a lovely afternoon and were of the last to leave, a little bit merry but glad it had stopped raining at last. Back home, we walked Norman and Edna and it started to rain again.

Photo credit – photos from Jan & David’s party guests

Dalyan – 19th December

I had made time in my work diary to do the Quote testing on Thursday 19th December and had expected that Captain Caveman would be Bumming in the morning. I had a cup of tea but didn’t have any breakfast as I got straight on with work. At lunch time I made another banana bread and we had a slice of that for lunch.
In the afternoon I took a break from work, as we were still waiting for the Quote tool to be finalised, and I popped to the shops. Here’s what I bought in all 3 shops, with prices in lira;

BIM Supermarket
2 Dido chocolate bars 33.00
A 1.2kg whole chicken 97.32
Total spent 130.32 lira (£2.97)

A101 Supermarket
2 packs of mini wraps 30.00
1 pack normal wrap 43.50
Total spent 73.50 lira (£1.67)

Migros Supermarket
15 eggs 87.50
Frozen fruit 89.95
Total spent 177.45 lira (£4.04)

While I was out, I noticed that both Migros and A101 were selling fresh or frozen turkeys especially for Christmas and Migros even had some Christmas related tat in, which I think was the first time I had seen it in Dalyan.
That evening, despite not bringing any more wine over from our apartment, I cooked a Sunday roast dinner on a Thursday! It wasn’t that wild a notion as in Captain Caveman’s eyes, he thought today was our 13th anniversary. We met on the Thursday before Christmas so he sees this day as being our anniversary rather than the actual date.

Photo credit – some photos from the Riverbums

Dalyan – 18th December

It was definitely my own fault that I had sabotaged hitting my weight target when it came to weigh day on Wednesday 18th December, but I wasn’t impressed with myself and knew I could’ve done better this week. I took my measurements to find I had put 1cm on my bust, 1cm off my waist and my hips had stayed the same. On the home scales it read that I had stayed the same as last week which was a miracle. Carol’s scales would be the ones to tell the actual result at 3pm this afternoon, though.
There was no Turkish class today and I was meant to use the time to do my homework, instead I had cornflakes and a banana for breakfast and got on with some work. We had leek and potato soup with bread, for lunch then Captain Caveman took Norman and Edna on the postponed Sunday Walk, now a Wednesday Wander. He intended to cut it short if either dog got tired and promised not to wear them out as they only have little legs. I went to Fat Club for the full hour, with it being the first one back for Carol. She picked me up so that I didn’t have to carry the heavy bag of books and the scales. It was good to have Carol back as the pressure to be good was definitely felt. Unfortunately, this week I had put on 0.25kg (0.6lb) as I thought I might and so I still needed to lose 0.5kg (1.1lb) to hit that ever elusive target. My water and protein levels were still showing low but this week there was a change in my believed age. The app we use measures all these things through the app, somehow, and it had rated me as age 62 (11 years older) until now. I was now showing age 55 so I was pleased that it was having a good result, heading in the right direction and was determined to get to target by the end of the year.
On the way home, I called at the shop, here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
1 packet of jellies 17.45
2 tins of tomatoes 29.90
1 tin of chickpeas 31.95
Total spent 79.30 lira (£1.80)

I did more work and made a chicken, chickpea and spinach curry for dinner. Captain Caveman returned with Norman and Edna who had done the walk and we’re fighting fit. Edna went straight over to where the treat tin is and told me she deserved a snack! I gave them both a Shmacko, which did not touch the sides. I dialled in to the Resort Experts team meeting and Captain Caveman went upstairs to play Bridge. This week there was a bit of excitement on the call as we got an update about our new quote tool which would help us with package holidays from the UK on Easyjet, TUI and Jet2 Holidays. The next roll out would be hotel only accommodation and eventually cruises. This was great news and would really free up our time on the admin part of the quoting work which we do a lot of on a daily basis. Having worked with Insurance quotes some years ago this was right up my alley and I was looking forward to doing any testing required. This was also a good time to be telling people that if they are booking a holiday, I would love them to book it with me and I started to increase my Social Media posts on Facebook. I also decided that, as I wasn’t celebrating Christmas, I would work every day in December to build up my potential client base. Captain Caveman had booked a flight back to London on New Year’s Eve, as his 90 days in Turkey would finish then. He would leave at lunch time on New Year’s Eve and go to stay with his parents initially.
We enjoyed our curry with a bottle of the Levissi Gamay and were really impressed by it. By 10.30pm, though, my evening companions were absolutely out for the count and snoring away.

Dalyan & Göcek – 17th December

There was a planned power cut due at our apartment on Tuesday 17th December but it was not going to affect our day, as we had an exciting trip out planned. I got my cup of tea in bed and then got up to have a double breakfast of buttered toast and a grapefruit. I’d already gone way over the top on syns this week so I knew I was going to have put weight on at Fat Club tomorrow. Captain Caveman had a really bad sore throat and shouldn’t have been coming on the day out but he insisted he would be fine as long as he didn’t speak. I walked the dogs and got them settled for the rest of the day as we went to meet our friends, Ian & Janet. Captain Caveman had become good friends with Ian through the Sunday Walking group and he had told us about a place in Göcek, where they used to live, that has a great wine shop with good deals on. The sun was shining and we had arranged to go along for some wine shopping, which is what I had decided I would spend my parents’ Christmas money on as a really nice treat. We arrived in Göcek just before lunch time and went straight to the Levissi Wine shop where we met Ian and Janet’s friend. The lady who ran the shop knew our fellow wine shoppers very well and was very friendly. The Levissi wine that was on offer was only 150 lira (£3.37) per bottle so was great value and also, according to Janet, really good. Ian doesn’t drink alcohol so we only had Janet’s word for it but their friend could also recommend it. Our friends had quite a few bottles but we decided we would just get 12 bottles, 2 of each of 5 reds and a 2 of the rose. They also had whites but we both prefer red in winter so I didn’t want to get something we wouldn’t drink. Here’s what we got at the wine shop;

Levissi Şarap Evi
2 bottles of Petit Verdot red wine 300
2 bottles of Gamay red wine 300
2 bottles of Merlot red wine 300
2 bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon red wine 300
2 bottles of Makri red wine 300
2 bottles of Makri blush wine 300
Total spent 1,800 lira (£40.45)

I was thrilled that we had got so much wine for such a bargain, the cheapest one I’ve enjoyed in Dalyan was 43% more. After borrowing a couple of shopping trollies from the nearby Carrefour supermarket to take all the wine to the car, we decided to have a meander round Göcek town centre. Janet and I got involved with a stray dog situation as I just couldn’t help it. A lively pup came up to us and barked until we followed him to his fat, old (dog) friend who was laying on the floor outside the back of a building. The pup was trying to tell us that the older overweight dog couldn’t get up and I thought it was sick. I did a bit of a foolish thing really, as I went to check it out and got a bit too near to the dog and it snapped at me a little. It turned out that the older dog just didn’t want to play and the pup was just trying to get his friend to get up and join in. We re-joined the men who hadn’t noticed we had been gone and then we had a really nice stroll around the town, stopping off at the pharmacy for more throat sweets for Captain Caveman, who had now started talking fine. We bought ginger throat pastilles for 49.95 lira (£1.12) at Watson’s and I noticed they had quite a good range of electric toothbrush heads at a good price.

After the wine shopping, we decided to have lunch in Göcek at a cute waterfront café, called Moc Café. It was a first for both Captain Caveman and I however our fellow wine shoppers had been a few times and liked it there. The sun was shining so we sat outside and ordered drinks then lunch. The men chose pizza or burgers, which were massive, and Janet and I ordered a chicken wrap. We all stuck to non-alcoholic drinks to be sensible and when the food came it was really nice. Janet & I got chicken shish instead of a wrap but it turned out to be a good mistake and probably better for my Slimming World plan, even though it was a little bit too late now. Captain Caveman and I paid 1,155.00 lira (£25.96) for a Turkish tea, an Americano coffee, 1 Cheeseburger and 1 Chicken shish. I really enjoyed having a rare lunch out and I thought the prices, to say we were sat on the harbour front in a stylish café, were pretty reasonable.
We drove back after lunch and on the way back, Janet and Ian invited us in to their home to try last year’s stock of the Levissi wine. Janet had a bottle of the Merlot already opened and she ended up opening another, it was very quaffable and we were pleased with our purchases if it was as good as this batch.

Ian, who doesn’t drink, drove us home and Captain Caveman went home to unpack the wine with strict instructions to take a photo of it so I could send it to my Mom to say thank you for our Christmas present. I rushed back to make sure Norman and Edna were ok as this was the first time in the 3 weeks we had left the dogs for longer than a couple of hours. When I went in to Jamie’s living room, Norman and Edna had just been snoozing away but were pleased to see me. I let them out while a grabbed the leads and poo bags for a walk. Norman was enjoying the new tiled patio area so much that he had taken to doing a poo on the same tile whenever he got the chance and he didn’t disappoint today. Captain Caveman arrived back and he was feeling a bit better so he made spaghetti with chicken, red pepper, onion and sucuk for our dinner. We didn’t have any more wine, though, as we had already had enough.

Dalyan – 16th December

Captain Caveman went Dogging, despite being sick with a cold, on Monday 16th December and the planned power cut didn’t affect me so I managed to get ahead of myself on the To Do list for a nice change. I had tea and toast for breakfast and the dogs really wanted some but I reminded them that Edna was on a diet and could not have buttered toast.
When Captain Caveman returned he was even more poorly and we had soup with bread for lunch. In the afternoon I popped out for some fresh air, to get some medicine for Captain Caveman and fetch some shopping. Here’s what I bought with the prices in lira;

Şok Supermarket
1 Caramel chocolate bar 16.50
15 eggs 87.50
712g Chicken breasts 149.52
Total spent 253.52 lira (£5.72)

Pharmacy
Strepsils 179.90
Tylol Hot 310.87
Total spent 490.77 lira (£11.08)

Stationers
A 2025 Diary 150 lira
A card 35 lira
Total spent 185 lira (£4.18)

Migros Supermarket
1 Quark 29.95
Milk 28.25
Chickpeas 31.95
1l Coca Cola 35.00
3 tinned of tomatoes 44.85
Butter 62.50
7% Fat Beef mince 209.91
Total spent 442.41 lira (£9.99)

I felt a little queasy on the way home and ate the chocolate bar to give me a bit of energy and when I got back I took the dogs out for a walk, while Captain Caveman had his hot lemon medicine. I was really pleased to have got myself a new diary and I messaged my Mom to say thanks for the Christmas money and that I now had a very much needed, and in my favourite colour, 2025 diary to get me focused on next year’s plans and goals. I also knew what I would spend the rest of the money on as a really nice treat for both Captain Caveman and I.
I did a bit more work as Captain Caveman rattled Strepsils round his teeth. Then we warmed up yesterday’s leftover Sunday dinner for our Monday evening meal.

Dalyan – 15th December

There was a bit of excitement in our day on the morning of Sunday 15th December when we decided we would take Norman and Edna on the Sunday Walk which Captain Caveman had organised. Norman had been so sprightly lately so we thought we would give it a try and if he got tired then I would go back with him, or even both, dogs. It was very cold at 7am when I woke up but it would be a whopping 9°C by 9am. I forgot to have breakfast but I had a couple of cups of tea. It had been a month since my parents had left and I hadn’t spoken to them on the phone yet. I missed them not being on the Sunday walk so that I could have an excuse to be the fat, slow one at the back. On the walk today was a nice small group and I enjoyed our very nice walk until we got to a muddy patch. I had my trainers on that are not suitable so I moaned that I would turn back around with Norman and go home. Norman joined in and decided he didn’t want to go through the big puddle either so Captain Caveman came back, carried Norman over and then offered to carry me over it. I went across and was fine after that, despite soaking socks and Norman pulling to try to get in to the front again. We even got another dog, Chezza, joining us who protected us from any of the street dogs. At the end of the walk we went to the Kaunos tea gardens for a beverage and the big dog, Chezza, got in the river while Norman and Edna had a drink of water from my bottle. We sat on the wall as dogs aren’t allowed at the tea gardens and we had 3 teas for 40 lira (less than a pound). Edna got cocky and decided to see Chezza off so he left and then we all walked back home.

We had leek & potato soup for lunch with bread and then I ate a banana as a snack. I got on with work for a bit and Captain Caveman lay on the sofa with the dogs for the rest of the day. He said he didn’t feel well and he was incredibly snotty and sneezy. I made a chicken casserole for dinner with stuffing, Yorkshire puddings, carrots, onions, green beans, cabbage and roast potatoes. This did mean that I had gone quite a bit over the syns this week and was on 299 syns. I had a really nice surprise from my parents when they sent me some Christmas money, this made me a bit emotional and I promised to spend it on something nice, rather than something essential. At first I had thought I might use it to get my hair done because I had not had it done since June but I decided it wasn’t a priority and I could always wear a hat! I worked quite late as we had received a warning that there may be a planned power outage tomorrow so I wanted to be prepared.

Dalyan – 14th December

It was the new day of the postponed Dalyan Winter/Christmas fayre on Saturday 14th December and most of Dalyan was excited that it was finally happening. There were also 2 parties happening that night to celebrate Christmas; a Zumba one and the Tapa Christmas party. We were going to neither and we only were going for a look at the Christmas market as we didn’t need to buy anything in particular. After tea and grapefruit for breakfast, Captain Caveman and I went to the ordinary weekly Saturday market, here’s what we bought with prices in lira;

Stall 1
Potatoes & onions 60 lira

Stall 2
Red & green peppers, carrots, tomatoes and red cabbage 250 lira

Stall 3
Bananas 55 lira

Stall 4
Başlamak bread 70 lira

Total spent at the market 415 lira (£9.41).

Although we had still spent less than £10, which was great, I was definitely noticing some things seemed to be getting more expensive at the Dalyan market.
After popping back to Jamie’s and Fire Opal with the various shopping and to get showered, we let Norman and Edna out before we went to the Christmas Fayre. We decided not to take them as it would be too busy and they probably wouldn’t enjoy it. The weather was good and the workers at Jamie’s were making a bit of progress.
At the Christmas Fayre we saw a few familiar faces and stopped to chat, it was a lot more Christmassy than I expected it would be. It was time to leave as Captain Caveman was off to Ortaca with Sezgin to play Bridge. I was tempted by the sight of the sausage rolls and Captain Caveman asked me if I wanted one, I did but I resisted as I was so near to reaching my target.
We walked back to Jamie’s and ate a Dido for lunch because Captain Caveman was in a rush. Norman, Edna and I went to Sezgin’s with Captain Caveman and we met his wife, Nur, who was very nice and the dogs liked to meet them both too. Back at home, I had leftover fajitas for lunch then got on with work while it was nice and quiet. I also managed to get a chapter of my book written.
Captain Caveman was back quite late so we just had leek and potato soup for dinner with some of the başlamak bread. Tomorrow’s weather was looking good so we were looking forward to a nice Sunday Walk.

Dalyan – 13th December

Friday 13th December was one of those unusual days and it really cheered both Captain Caveman and I up, I had 2 cups of tea to start my day and a grapefruit. I had a bit of a shift in attitude and decided I needed to be a bit more positive and grateful for the things I did have. Our first mission of the day was a first for me – taking Norman and Edna to the vets. They had their appointment for some routine medication so Captain Caveman and I walked them along to Kaunos vets. They both seemed fairly happy to be in the vets and Edna even jumped on the scales and tried to choose herself some treats for being good – this was before we got in to the vet’s room. Once inside, Norman knew exactly what was going on and was already moving back towards the door. Each dog was to be given 2 tablets and one was pretty big for a small dog. First up was Edna and I told her the tablets were treats! I barely saw both of hers get swallowed but I did see her try to eat Norman’s too. Norman was very crafty and he pretended to swallow the first smaller tablet, I actually saw him swallow, so the vet gave him the larger one and held his mouth shut. He waited and then spat both out!! The second and third attempts were more successful. On the way out Norman had to be lifted on the scales but Edna jumped on and waited for her result. They had both lost weight and Edna was pleased to be doing so well on her weight loss journey.
We called at the shops, where Captain Caveman and the dogs waited outside. Here’s what we bought and the prices in lira;

Şevikoğlu Supermarket
1 tomato puree 19.90
1 tin of tomatoes 23.90
880g chicken breast 140.71
Total spent 184.51 lira (£4.19)

Yaman Büfe 2
1 bottle of red Idol wine 215.000 lira (£4.89)

Migros Supermarket
2 Dido chocolate bars 28.50
1 packet Tutku biscuits 35.50
Mozzarella cheese 89.90
420g Feta style cheese 278.30
Total spent 268.80 lira (£6.11)

Back home we had the obligatory soup, with bread and a Dido chocolate bar each. Edna had decided she liked the sunny sofa arm and I did a quick video for Jamie and I finished work early, with it being a Friday. Captain Caveman and I shared making fajitas for dinner.
We arrived at our friend’s villa on time and armed with 2 bottles of wine and some chocolate biscuits. Joining us were 2 ladies who had only met briefly before but had quite a lot in common. We all knew each other from the Sunday walks, which was nice. The night was so lovely, with perfect hosts; there were pastries, mince pies, chocolate cake, pickled onions (which I love) and plenty of mulled and normal wine! I didn’t take any photos on account of the company who prefer not to have photos taken so I didn’t want to be rude and I was too busy enjoying myself to get my phone out anyway. It was just what we needed!
I got rather tipsy with 3 mulled wines and 3 red wines before we staggered home. I had one of those drunken epiphanies that one sometimes gets after reading too many words of wisdom on social media!

Dalyan – 12th December

Due to the wet weather forecast on Thursday 12th December, Bumming had been cancelled so Captain Caveman decided to go Dogging. He brought me a cup of tea in bed and both dogs so I worked from the bedroom for a while, still in my PJs until 10am. I went downstairs for more tea and some cornflakes but it was a cold day. Unfortunately, the Lukka Bar owners had put a post on Facebook to announce their cancelling of Christmas lunch due to bullying about the price they were charging. It was sad as I knew at least 5 people who were going and really looking forward to it, some of who were relying on it due to their health situation. It was the equivalent of £50 per head for a full Christmas dinner and the people complaining were mostly Dalyan Dwellers. I can’t afford to spend £50 on a special meal out this year but I’m not slagging people off on Facebook for it – what is wrong with people!?
I worked all morning and watched the dogs, Captain Caveman was home in time for a lunch of soup and a Dido chocolate bar, before we took the dogs out for a walk and missed the rain this time.
We received an invite for a Christmas buffet lunch from Bridge friends of Captain Caveman’s, Jan & David, and they were 2 of the worst affected by the Lukka fiasco. The invite for the Saturday before Christmas was very nice and, although we don’t celebrate Christmas while in Turkey, we did accept the very kind invite.
By 5pm, I was almost done with work, when Norman decided he was taking over in the office now, while I made Slimming World style pizza wraps for dinner. I pushed the boat out by making some potato wedges to go with them so dinner was very tasty and filling. Captain Caveman and the dogs were asleep before 9.30pm but I managed to crack on with blogging until after midnight.

Dalyan – 11th December

It was weigh day once again on Wednesday 11th December and I was hoping, but not confident, that I may have reached my target weight. My measurements were OK but both my bust and waist had remained the same and I had lost 2cm from my hips. I was now under target on my bust and hips and only 1cm over on my waist. I updated our shopping list and had pink grapefruit for breakfast and then did my Turkish homework upstairs, leaving it a little late before the lesson. On Jamie’s scales Captain Caveman had lost 1.4kg (3lb) and I had lost 0.5kg (1.1lb) but Carol’s scales would be the deciding ones later.
I was running late for Turkish class as I was waiting for the curtain pole workmen to arrive at Jamie’s. It also meant that I didn’t join Captain Caveman who went to say bye to a fellow Riverbum, who was moving towns.

The Turkish class was at Ela’s Kitchen again and was the last one for 2024. I treated myself to a lovely cup of Yorkshire tea for 80 lira (£1.82).
At midday Captain Caveman went on the postponed Sunday Walk and we had left the dogs in the front bedroom so they weren’t disturbed by the curtain men. When I got back to Jamie’s the workmen were still there so I had some bread and butter in the bedroom with Norman and Edna. Jamie had messaged and was missing the dogs so I took the opportunity to do a video for him.

At Fat Club, I had done well and had lost 0.7kg (1.5lb) but still had a tiny bit left to lose now.
After the group, I decided to get the shopping in and then struggled to carry it all back. Here’s what I bought, with prices in lira;

A101 Supermarket
1 plastic bag 0.25
1 lemon Dido 9.90
1 Salt & Vinegar Lays crisps 30.00
12 Toilet rolls 84.00
Total spent 124.15 lira (£2.82)

BIM Supermarket
1 plastic bag 0.25
1kg basmati rice 62.50
6 Dido chocolate bars 101.00
Total spent 163.75 lira (£3.72)

Yaman Bufe 2
2 bottles of red wine 460.00 lira (£10.45)

Migros Supermarket
1 tin tomatoes 14.95
2 Quark 59.90
15 eggs 87.50
Total spent 162.60 lira (£3.70)

I’d had to buy plastic bags as I couldn’t find any and needed more than I had in my bag. I bought the chocolate bars on offer and intended to take them to a friends on Friday night – if we didn’t eat them all first!

I’d barely put the shopping away when Norman decided he wanted me to play football, so we did. Captain Caveman made us spaghetti bolognese for dinner and then it was time for my Resort Experts team meeting where Jamie got to see his dogs cosied up on the sofa.
After the meeting we attempted to watch TV but Captain Caveman and the dogs were snoring away.

Dalyan – 9th & 10th December

On Monday 9th December, Edna decided she would help me in the office today, while Norman tried to hog the blanket. After cornflakes for breakfast, it was straight in to some work while Captain Caveman went Dogging. I had a friend who was off to London in the new year so I was on hand to help her find a suitable hotel for the night. While I was doing that, I came across a gorgeous hotel at King’s Cross and St Pancras called The Great Northern Hotel and it was really nice. I made a note of it for if I ever missed a train or wanted to stay in London. It was a bit quirky and had a posh train influence.
The weather wasn’t too good but we managed to get the dogs over to Fire Opal just as it started to rain heavily. Edna really wasn’t impressed and had to be wrapped in towels.

The rain had stopped for a bit so I went back to Jamie’s leaving Captain Caveman with Norman & Edna while he messed about finding some warmer clothes. Dalyan looked pretty after the rain and I took a few photos on the way back as I sloshed in some puddles.

I nibbled on peanuts as I was hungry and then we had a late lunch of soup (obviously). The water delivery man came out and brought us a 19l refill for 70 lira (£2.05) and I decided we would switch to this company at home when Captain Caveman left in 3 weeks.
We had leftover curry for dinner as I couldn’t be bothered to cook and I carried on doing some blogging in the evening.

Tuesday 10th December was mainly spent catching up with everything on my to do list and failing. I had cornflakes for breakfast and spent some time working with a hotel owner in Phong Nha for our Just Book Villas website. Captain Caveman took the dogs for a walk in between the rain and collected loads of grapefruit from our walking friend, Debbie. I carried on grafting and was feeling optimistic but with just so much to do, it was like walking through treacle!
We had soup for lunch with the vermicelli and bread and then I made jacket potatoes for dinner with spring onion, butter, sucuk and cheese. It was not particularly Slimming World friendly but still better than I may have chosen to have the day before weigh day. I finished the week on 179 syns and hoped for a loss tomorrow as it was my last week of standing in for Carol at Fat Club. I needed to lose just 1kg (2.2lb) to hit my target but I had a feeling I wouldn’t do that tomorrow!

Dalyan – 7th & 8th December

It wasn’t raining on Saturday 7th December but it had been forecast and was pretty cold and grey outside. The builders didn’t come and, apart from a walk with dogs, we didn’t do much – not even the market!
I had overnight oats for breakfast and the usual cup of tea. We had Captain Caveman’s vegetable soup for lunch with the vermicelli pieces in and that really is a game changer. It’s free on Slimming World and really fills you up for a bit longer without going mad on the carbs. We had banana bread after and we decided it might be a bit moist in the middle but I would use less egg in it next time.
I did a little bit of work, but mainly searching for holidays which I would like to go on myself and flights to Vietnam for next year.
Our dinner was the leftover chickpea and spinach curry with a bit of başlamak bread.

The Sunday Walk was postponed to Wednesday on Sunday 8th December due to the weather. It was wet and forecast to be rainy for the next 3 days. I’d been doing quite well sticking to the Slimming World plan this week but for breakfast I had banana bread with Nutella on it and it was so good. I worked as I was still trying hard to increase the amount of Facebook followers I had on my Jo Lo Resort Experts page. My favourite colleague already had over 1000 and I had just hit the 200 marker. I was pleased with this but needed more and, when I checked who was following me, I was surprised to see it was still mainly strangers rather than all the friends I had asked. Today I decided to focus on the best cities for Solo Travellers as a lot of my followers were people who travelled alone, for various reasons. I was also surprised to see that I had only been to 5 out of the 10 listed on a travel website and I wasn’t sure it was accurate. I mulled over which ones I would like to go to.
By midday I had decided to try working in the bedroom using a patio chair, as my back was really hurting. The rain came quite heavy as I toiled away at the laptop, hoping to attract lots of potential customers with my creative social media posts.
For lunch Captain Caveman made us chicken sandwiches and then we took the dogs out for a walk, in the rain! They were not too impressed when they got back and were made to dry off in their bed with the dog towels – another complaint added to their list!
While doing some social media posts in the afternoon, I noticed a free event with Charlie Day of Sales Made Easy. I follow her on Facebook as she is always flying business class and makes a lot of money with her new online sales business. She was hosting a 3 day online Sales Summit and I decided to sign up. I booked it in my diary to attend next week, starting from Tuesday. It had been a tough year work-wise and, with Captain Caveman still looking at his work options, I had decided that I didn’t want to be in this same position, this time next year.
While I worked more, Captain Caveman made pasta for dinner which was very tasty and I was now on 152 syns for the week, which was not as good as last week at this point and I needed to keep on track.

Dalyan – 6th December

Edna was most upset on Friday 6th December when she heard Captain Caveman and I talking about eating ‘fur’ for breakfast. She was relieved it was pho, which is pronounced like her coat, but she was still confused that it was soup for breakfast, not lunch. We took the dogs for an early walk over to Fire Opal as a few days of more rain was forecast to come today. While Captain Caveman watched Norman and Edna and played Bridge on his phone, I went to the bank (again). On my way I noticed a cat had been locked in to a bar and alerted the owner. While walking the dogs back to Jamie’s, just before the rain came, I bought the following at the shops, prices in lira;

A101 Supermarket
2 packs of wraps 30.00
15 eggs 81.50
Total spent 111.50 lira (£2.53)

Yaman Büfe 2
1 bottle of red wine 210.00 lira (£4.76)

By midday, I was doing more work and then arranging some more training on cruises. I got up to make some banana bread and little Norman held the fort in the office. I had my meeting with the Resort Experts cruise specialist and we spoke about the Quantum of the Sea with Royal Caribbean Cruises. Captain Caveman had been keeping himself busy with his phone scrolling and Bridge most of the day so I was looking forward to a Friday night glass of wine with him. That didn’t happen as, at 6pm he decided to do an online Bridge thing and went upstairs, leaving me to sort out a curry for dinner. We finally ate at 8.45pm and I was starving, we drank the bottle of wine but, by just after 10pm, Captain Caveman and the 2 pooches were all fast asleep. I carried on doing more work so that I had some free time tomorrow.