I was awake for sunrise on Thursday 23rd February and got up early for my cup of Yorkshire tea. I decided that since I’d had zero syns on weigh day, yesterday, I was also going to be good today. I’d done a meal plan but instead of it being for the week, I had just done it up to Saturday. This is because I would buy what was on offer at the market and plan the rest of my meals around that. For breakfast I had a banana, strawberries, pineapple and quark. Debbie (Darling) messaged me to ask if I fancied joining her and Sue after their Turkish class this afternoon and I did, as I’d not seen either of them for ages. I had my lunch first which was a bit of an eclectic mix; radishes, carrots, stuffed vine leaves, roasted pumpkin and potato wedges. I met Debbie (Darling) and Sue outside Lukka bar, where they were having a beverage. Katrina was getting ready to open up the Maizie Moo shop for the season and she gave me my dogsitting money, which was nice. It would have been easy for me then to spend that money on having an alcoholic beverage but I resisted. We wandered over to Tez bar where I just had a soda water with ice. After saying hello to Angela and chatting briefly to Gary about residency renewals, it was time for me to go. At 5pm I walked to meet Jamie, we had arranged to set off on a dog walk from Mosque Square then call in to Waterfall bar. Again, I was good and had just 2 sodas, Jamie had coffees. On my way home, I decided to treat myself at the Şarküteri where I bought the following; 1 tin Heinz baked beans 35.00 BBQ sauce 45.00 Gluten free soy sauce 50.00 1 tin Coconut milk 55.00 Total spent 185.00 lira (£8.20)
It’s expensive to buy imported food here but I’d decided that I really wanted those items and had only spent just over the equivalent of a bottle of wine from the off-licence. When I got home I made more of my fake takeaway, sweet and sour chicken, which I had with egg noodles and loved every mouthful. I had a video call with my parents, the last for a while as they were off on holiday, then I did another Decluttering Bootcamp challenge at 10pm. I was starting to see some areas I could make some small changes and improvements, which was really good.
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.
Sunday 19th February was a lovely day all round. It was still dark when I set up my makeshift dining area, ready for my first Sunday dinner with 4 guests. Some had doubted I’d get everyone in, in our small apartment, but I’d squeezed in 7 for a curry night once, although that was a bit too much and we didn’t have enough spare chairs. I had a cup of Yorkshire tea and some fruit to start my day off then took a trip to the shop. Here’s what I bought, some of which I needed for today, with the prices in lira:
Migros Supermarket
Fresh ginger 4.00 Fresh bread 5.00 Bottle of water 5.45 Becel spread 17.45 6 bottles of soda water 18.75 Flour 19.50 White beans 27.90 Fresh milk 28.90 Fabric softener 41.50 Falafel 49.90 3 tins of tomatoes 59.76 Toilet roll 68.90 Chicken breasts 78.45 500g Diced beef 82.00 Total spent 507.46 lira (£22.26)
I called at the corner shop to chase up what had happened to my water refill and they had forgotten again. They promised it would be there by noon and it was. Jamie was the first to arrive with his leek and potato soup and a bottle of water with cordial in. Next was Matt with his slippers and he grabbed the orange chair so he could pop them on. Mark and Kate arrived late and hungover after Sofra last night. Kate had brought orange juice and soda water as she wasn’t drinking alcohol today. She’d also brought a huge fruit salad for dessert. Luckily, I had got some cream and some ice-cream at the ready. Mark brought some cans of Efes and had them in a cooler but he too wasn’t feeling like drinking much. I had been looking forward to wine today and had opened a bottle of Tılsım, just for me by the looks of it! After a bit of a chat I warmed up Jamie’s soup in the Pampered Chef jug that he said was microwave friendly. Unfortunately it wasn’t and the handle melted so we had to resort to the good old fashioned pan method. In the to-do I forgot to get the butter out of the fridge but no one commented as we ate the soup and dry bread. Jamie’s soup was packed full of extra veggies and tasted really good. Our next course was more of a chicken casserole with carrots, onion, leeks and boiled potatoes. I served this with Yorkshire puddings and mini jacket potatoes so that it was more diet friendly than a usual roast dinner. Kate had brought some stuffing to accompany it and I’d made a chicken gravy from my own stock for those that wanted it. For afters we were ate the fruit salad with different combinations of toppings (crumbled ginger biscuits, ice-cream and cream). It was a lovely get together and Mark did quite a bit of the washing up and clearing/rinsing the plates as he likes a tidy ship. Once everyone had gone I finished the wine off and chilled out on the sofa for the rest of the day.
On Thursday 16th February I was looking forward to a day at home with nice healthy food, no meat, no alcohol, perhaps some exercise and no dramas. I had a slice of wholemeal toast with 1 cheese triangle on, some cherry juice, a satsuma and some quark. For lunch I had leftover vegan bolognese, some in a pasta bake and some in a stuffed pepper. I was loving this meat free alternative. I had a snack of some of the lovely chocolate that Nanny Kay had given me, then I went for a walk to one of the Estate Agents. Some friends of mine who are looking to move to Dalyan had seen a property come up for rent and I’d agreed to view it on their behalf. When I arrived at the Estate Agents they weren’t there so I waited outside for them. We drove to Arıkbaşi where the 2 bedroom property was. It was nice and there was a massive garden for the dog so I took lots of photos and a video and thought it would be a good fit. I was chatting back and forth to my friend about the property which unfortunately they got pipped at the post with and we got messaging about general life. I happened to mention that this week I had put my CV out there again due to being without work. How fortuitous that they would be looking for someone to work part time for them shortly and they agreed to send me more info. I had a veggie wrap pizza for dinner which meant it was my first meatless day for this week. I also refrained from any alcohol today, despite it being wine Wednesday. That evening it was quite chilly so I decided to put 2 duvets inside the one cover on the spare bed and move in to the spare bedroom, where it would be warmer.
Friday 17th February was a lovely relaxing day. I had fresh bread and 16 olives for breakfast with a Yorkshire tea and a cherry juice. For lunch I made an egg fried rice with 2cm of Turkish sausage, garlic, onion, carrot and sweetcorn. My Turkish class at 2pm had been cancelled so I got on with a few chores at home. For dinner I had mantı, Turkish ravioli, with a spoonful of quark on top. I finished off the white wine in the fridge from Tuesday and I made some popcorn in my popcorn maker, so that it’s oil or butter free. I added soda water and ice to my glass of wine in an attempt to be a bit healthier. I was doing well on the diet so far this week and wanted to continue to do well, even if it was just making some substitutions rather than limiting myself completely. I also decided to sign up for a free master class on decluttering with my friend, Heather, at the end of the month and put myself down for the daily challenges which would start next week. Even though I do live a minimal clutter kind of life, I still find it’s a good idea to keep on top of these things – plus Heather is just so good at what she does that I wanted to be a part of it to show support and see what I could gain from it.
Tuesday 14th February was a good day, despite me waking up at 3.40am. It was cold and I obviously went back to sleep. At 8am I got the best message ever from Captain Caveman. We don’t often spend Valentine’s Day together so it was nice to know he loved me. For breakfast I had chocolate and tahini with bread and some cherry juice. I was trying to be good seeing as I had Fat Club tomorrow and I’d gone way over on my syn allowance this week. For lunch I had a simit with cheese spread and in the afternoon I went for a walk, then to the shops and bank. Here’s what I bought and the prices in lira;
I’d planned a non-valentine’s Valentine’s Day at mine that evening and everyone was bringing some food and drink. On the guest list was Ann, Nanny Kay and Jamie. Ann brought a massive salad and some other healthy nibbles, including potatoes, Jamie brought his version of a chicken şakşuka (aubergine and tomato based), I had the rice in the rice cooker and had made vegan Bolognese (using lentils instead of beef mince) which I’d stuffed the green peppers with then roasted. I poured the drinks and we had a good natter. We sat at the table to eat and all the food was delicious, and healthy. However, le pièce de la résistance was Nanny Kay’s dessert; she’d not let us down with her promised Christmas pudding and cream. It was amazing and quite naughty, but a great way to end our Valentine’s evening. As a treat, Nanny Kay had also bought me a bar of chocolate which looked a bit too tempting. It was 1am by the time I got to bed having had a really nice night with close friends.
I woke up at 8am on Monday 13th February and felt relatively refreshed considering I’d missed sleep on Friday and Saturday nights but had since had about 14 hours sleep, in two lots. I mixed hazelnut spread with tahini and had that with fresh bread for breakfast with a cup of Yorkshire tea. Foolishly, I didn’t have any lunch but was running late to meet Jamie, Mark, Kate, Matt, John, Andrea and Kev in Waterfall bar. Jamie drank coffee but I really fancied a beer so I had 3. Jamie, Kate and I were talking about healthy eating and roast dinners. I decided I’d try doing a Slimming World friendly Sunday dinner at the weekend and invited Matt, Mark, Kate and Jamie. Kate was doing the pudding, I the main and now we’d roped Jamie in for the soup starter. I was merrily going on my way home to make myself some dinner and have a nice relaxing day when I got waylaid. Walking past Jiks I saw Roy and he called me over to join him and Sarah, who I’d not seen since before she moved to Eskiköy in September. I sat down and ordered a glass of red wine but then, almost immediately, Roy left. While Sarah caught me up on some of her life of late I had 2 glasses of red wine and a pizza. It was a bit overdone but I manage to get it down me without realising, as I’d had a few to drink by this time. I went home feeling a bit disappointed that my lack of willpower had let me down (again), I really needed to be more motivated if I wanted to lose weight and stick to my budget. I decided I would really give it more effort this week and try to not get sidetracked on my way home in future.
I was back home in Dalyan before 11am on Sunday 12th February and I could not wait to get a shower and have a sleep! I’d had a short spell away from Dalyan and had been gone for 37 hours. After a cup of Yorkshire tea, I showered first then took out my leftover Sunday dinner (from Lukka bar last week) from the freezer. Next, I cooked and ate some mantı, a Turkish ravioli, as I was starving. Once in bed, I turned my phone on to Do not Disturb, I set my alarm for 7pm so that I could sleep for 7 hours then eat dinner and go back to bed. At 7pm I put my Sunday dinner in the oven and added some additional sucuk, Turkish salami, to the chopped sprouts to make them a bit tastier. I also made up some gravy from an Oxo cube to freshen up and keep the beef moist. It was an absolute delight, my evening was relaxed and I was back in bed by midnight.
On Thursday 9th February I woke up feeling cold despite wearing my dressing gown for bed. I had a cup of Yorkshire tea and some cornflakes before getting on with some last minute arrangements for the weekend. For lunch I had a bit of a mixture; 10 olives, 4 gherkins, carrots, pickled onions, and homemade Baba Ganoush with fresh bread. I decided on another no meat day today as I was trying to be extra frugal with the housekeeping. I slipped off the diet somewhat in the afternoon when I ate a small bag of jellies (which I was meant to be packing in my rucksack for the weekend), drank an Efes beer and ate 2 pieces of chocolate orange. I went to Tez bar to say goodbye to Vanessa and Brad. This is why I had the beer, but it was still within my syns and I was under control, honest! I got back on track for dinner with veggie egg fried rice but then ended up having a glass of red wine with some cheese while watching Netflix.
My blog posts were about to get disrupted slightly from today, Friday 10th February. I decided to take a day off from blogging about life. I had a cup of Yorkshire tea and some fresh bread with hazelnut spread, to finish it off. At 9.30am I got picked up to go to Fethiye in the morning but was back within a few hours. I made it back in time for a quick shop, where I bought some probiotic drinks, wine gums and satsumas for a total of 46.12 lira (£2). I ate steamed rice with sweetcorn and egg for lunch, before going to Lukka bar for my Turkish class. In the afternoon I accidentally snaffled some crisps because I was peckish then had a veggie pot noodle for dinner. I had managed my 3rd day of no meat and 2nd day of no alcohol this week but I did know that tomorrow I would definitely be going off plan. I packed my bags, including a Tupperware of emergency snacks such as carrots, walnuts, cake, jellies, a satsuma and the rest of the chocolate orange. I tried to have a nap but didn’t get one. My blog would miss a day tomorrow and start again on Sunday.
On Tuesday 7th February I had an appointment with Vanessa and our friend ‘007’ at 11.15am. The Turkish classes were now back at Lukka bar, which although it was nearer to where I lived, it meant we wouldn’t be going to Ela’s Kitchen. The temptation to have a fry up breakfast would be avoided at least though. For lunch we went to Jiks and all ordered the breakfast, mine without eggs and tomatoes, and it was good, but not a patch on the one at Ela’s Kitchen. After lunch, Vanessa and I tried to buy cutters for removing Brad’s stitches but the pharmacist said he needed to go to a doctor for that. Next, we went to singing group at the Merhaba Cafe, in Mico hotel. As we were leaving I got a message from Jamie, he was at Lukka bar with the Beverley sisters if I fancied popping in. I did and I had myself a beer and some peanuts while chatting away. Mark came to meet us for one and then was off to Tez with Kate, so I joined them. Matt, Vanessa and Brad also came to join as Vanessa had said they all fancied a burger. I unexpectedly decided to join them for food and ordered a cheese burger too, completely forgetting I’d already gone way over my syn allowance and that it was Fat Club tomorrow. Matt didn’t want a burger after all and Tez ordered him a tuna and onion pizza from Pizza 48, which luckily arrived at the same time as the burgers. It was the first time I’d had a burger at Tez bar and I have to say it was absolutely delicious. It was really getting cold at night so by 7.30pm I was back home in front of the TV with a blanket over my legs! As I’d already ruined my diet, I went one step further and ate some of the dark chocolate orange from Josh! I’d gone a bit mad on the spending today, despite me still waiting on some money I was owed. Today I’d spent a whopping 500 lira (just less than £22) on lunch, beers and dinner – I would probably regret not being frugal.
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.
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!
Wednesday 1st February marked the day where I aimed to make a few changes. I wanted to be more frugal, find a more suitable part-time job, get paid what I was already owed and lose some weight. I never make new year resolutions for January as I know I will fail, especially as it’s my birthday month. February was a shorter month and would be easier to put some goals in place. The first thing I did when I got up was to get weighed on the home scales and take my measurements. The home scales read heavier than Carol’s at Fat Club but, if they were correct, I had lost a little bit more – I would find out this afternoon at Fat Club. All of my measurements had either decreased of remained the same so it was looking like a promising start. I had cornflakes with skimmed milk and a cup of Yorkshire tea for breakfast then went to the bank and supermarkets, here’s what I bought:
Migros Supermarket Bag of garlic 9.34 835g onions 10.77 M&Ms 10.90 140g plain Quark 14.95 1.7kg potatoes 15.26 Bin bags 18.50 2 pot noodles 19.80 400g Mushrooms 29.90 450g Spinach 34.90 Cream cheese 49.90 Total spent 189.32 lira (£8.30)
Şok Supermarket Wine gums 6.95 2 packet of plain crisps 23.50 Rice 27.50 Total spent 57.95 lira (£2.54)
Mark and Kate were having a curry night at their’s later and Kate had invited me. I said I’d bring a Saag Aloo dish with me too. I hurried along to Fat Club, eager to find out my results. Remarkably, I had lost 0.9kg (almost 2lb) and had now exceeded a total loss of 3.6kg (7.9lb, over half a stone) which was a great start to the month. Spurred on by a good result, I decided not to have a cup of tea which is served with a biscuit and decided to order a large bottle of water. Back at home I set about making my dish for tonight and wolfed down a late lunch of chicken, sweetcorn and egg fried rice using the left over chicken shish from Kordon’s on my birthday, which I’d got out of the freezer earlier. Once I’d made my potato and spinach dish I got a taxi over to Mark and Kate’s as I was running late and the pan was too big to carry. Fikri’s prices had increased by 20% to 60 lira (£2.63) for the 3.3km drive. When I arrived, there was just Kate at home so I wasn’t actually late. Mark and the other guests were all still at Rehab bar after pool had finished. Kate had made a delightful meal of onion bhajis, chicken curry, rice, nan breads, and various salad, chutneys and dips. It was lovely and I really enjoyed it with my bottle of Tılsım red wine I’d allowed myself, using my syns. It was good to see that Mark and Kate now had a cat room where they all had an individual bed and a litter tray, this would make it so much easier to look after them in the winter. I ended up staying over in the upstairs bedroom instead of getting a taxi back as I’d drank a whole bottle of wine to myself.
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.
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.
joloyolo 