It was my last weigh day for at least a couple of weeks on Wednesday 9th July. I was feeling quite confident that I would have lost weight, especially as I had not touched a drop of alcohol for 5 days. I did my measurements and had lost 1cm from my bust and waist and lost 3cm off my hips. I was pleased with that as I was 2cm under target on my bust and only over by 1cm on both waist and hips. When I got on the home scales, I was disappointed to find I had put 0.15kg (0.3lb) on. Hopefully Carol’s scales would be kinder at Fat Club later. I shoved the ingredients for a chicken fajita dish in the slow cooker, which would be ready for mid afternoon. I worked until midday when I was learning something new (again). I had decided to join a free zoom call about Substack. I’d only just found out about this new platform which is ideal for writers and I wanted to find out more. The session with Ade went well and I got a lot out of it, I decided to wait until I had attended the next session before setting up my Substack. I carried on with work and stopped to go to Fat Club at 3pm. To my further disappointment, I had put on 0.6kg (1.3lb) so I wasn’t too pleased. On the way back home I popped in to Migros where I bought several packs of sweets and chocolate to restock my collection. I bought 7 items for 225.95 lira (£4.18) and decided I would pack some in my hand luggage for my trip to the UK this weekend. I quickly had a chicken fajita wrap, then I worked until almost 7pm. I went to meet friends at Kaunos tea garden, which was nice and I paid just 40 lira (74p) for a lemon soda. Captain Caveman had wanted to have a call but I had to say I’d ring when I got home. I finally got to chat with him at 11.15pm so we didn’t really talk much.
Gratitude List 1. Losing centimetres 2. Substack training 3. An evening out with friends but no alcohol.
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Norman and I were awake early on Monday 7th July, both needing a pee. The temperature at that time of day was much cooler and comfortable. After tea and toast it was time to crack on with Resort Experts work for the day. I often get friend requests on Facebook from people I’ve not met and don’t know but this morning I got one from a lady called Liz. I never add people I don’t at least know, even if we haven’t met in person. We had a friend in common from Rhodes and I recognised her from posts on a group I’m in. However, when I looked at her Facebook profile, the last 3 posts were saying it was a fake/scam profile and not to share posts. I messaged the woman to ask what was going on and she seemed real and fairly normal. I still didn’t accept the friend request though. By 9am, Norman was fast asleep and snoring away again. At midday I attended a webinar session with Lisa Johnson where she was sharing some thoughts and knowledge which I thought might help me. It was only for 30 minutes but was useful. Jamie and Drew arrived back a little earlier than expected, I went back to Fire Opal as I had another webinar booked in. This next one was some training with a lady called Katrina Young who was delivering a session on AI. Primarily on keeping ChatGPT in check, powerful prompts, scaling up a business and automating certain tasks using AI. It was interesting, although most of it went above my head. I took lots of notes though. After the training, I put some of what I’d learned in to place and it was really good. I just needed more practice and more time to do it, now.
Gratitude List 1. Norman being so easy to look after 2. Insights from Lisa Johnson 3. Learning more about AI from Katrina Young.
I didn’t get up until 8.30am on Tuesday 8th July and then I got on with writing content for my various social media pages. I am an agent for a supplier called Classic Collection and they had some great deals on for city breaks as well as summer holidays so I got involved in searching those. I’d seen a couple of city breaks that I liked the look of myself, including a 4 star mini break in Nantes, France, in August for £199 and a 3 star weekend in Krakow, Poland, in January for £125. They also had some luxury 5 Star holidays in Greece which looked fantastic. After working until 3pm and not having had any lunch, I decided to take a break and walk around the town, calling at the shops. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;
Migros Supermarket Green Peppers 13.99 Mentos 20.95 Haribo jellies 22.45 Biscuits 32.95 Salt & Vinegar crisps 48.95 Pasta sauce 52.95 2 croissants 69.90 Cooked chicken pieces 69.95 Total spent 332.09 lira (£6.15)
Friday 4th July was my last day with Lady C, it was also just one week until I would be back in the UK. Penny and Phil were flying back tonight but didn’t land until almost 4am tomorrow. I spent the day working and making sure Lady C was ok. I had a sandwich then walked Lady C, she was fine and didn’t seem bothered from the dog issue yesterday. When we got back, she let me check out where the other dog had tried to bite her and there was a bit of a cut. I messaged Penny to let her know and described which street it had happened near but I had no idea where the young boy and the dogs lived. It was a pretty quiet day really.
Gratitude List 1. Last day with Caramel 2. It being a Friday 3. Being ready for Penny & Phil’s return.
On Saturday 5th July I had woken up early, my care of Lady C had come to an end and I’d arranged to meet Jamie. The neighbour opposite had closed the stair door so there were no more cat shit incidents, which was nice! I had a curry for lunch and then went to the shops to get some essentials and restock up on wine. It had slipped my mind to check if there was still wine in the fridge after the comings and goings of the week. Here’s what I spent with prices in lira;
A101 Supermarket Washing up sponges 22.50 Frozen berries 179.00 Total spent 201.50 lira (£3.73)
Yaman Büfe 3 bottles of wine 709 lira (£13.13)
After more curry for dinner, I walked over to Penny and Phil’s with the wine and we had a bit of a catch up. Lady C was happy to have her owners back too. Back home, I had a much needed early night after doing the washing.
Gratitude List 1. A quick catch up with Jamie 2. Being home to a cat shit free apartment 3. Home made curry from the freezer.
Lady C had an eventful day on Thursday 3rd July and we were both up by 7am. We even had a quick walk round the block, before the paths became too warm for paws, and an early breakfast. The rest of the morning was spent working and making sure neither Lady C or I were too hot. I managed to make a good start on the chapter titles for my second book ‘You Can’t Eat a Whole Blancmange and Dance….’ I attended the Resort Experts Team Meeting, had catch up with Dagne (the Majorca Resort Expert) and Helen (the Italy Resort Expert) and got quite a lot done in the day. I got a message from Darcy’s owner to say he was eating at Olivia’s and did I want to join him for dinner. I said yes but I couldn’t go too early as Lady C was insisting on some chopped sausage and a walk. Andy walked Darcy, then came over to walk Lady C and drink some wine before going for food. On the walk, we saw a young Turkish boy, no more than 11 years old, who was walking a big dog, off lead. Lady C isn’t keen on other dogs at times so I was watching closely. Suddenly, a smaller dog came running from nowhere and tried to bite Lady C on her back end. I had to shove the dog away and pick up Lady C, who was very scared and shaking. Both dogs were with the boy and he didn’t know what to do when the small dog kept trying to come after me and Lady C. Luckily, Andy was there to help scare it away but it was a little bit worrying. Back home, we had wine while comforting the dog and making sure she was ok – it could’ve been so much worse. I couldn’t see a bite but she wouldn’t let me touch her to check properly. She got some extra love and sausage as a treat and she seemed back to normal after that.
It was 8.30pm by the time we got to Olivia’s and I decided that we would have a bottle of red wine. Andy and I shared a pasta dish and pizza (both vegetarian) and they brought us the bread and olives to start too. The food was spot on and I really enjoyed it, we also established that Andy’s son knew one of my best friends from back home so we got him on the phone for a chat. In the restaurant was a family of 5 who came over to chat to me, having read my recommendation about Olivia’s from the first visit. The Mom of the family, Jane, was also a reader of my blog and she thanked me for recommending Olivia’s as all 5 of them had enjoyed their meal too. They were a nice family and we all chatted for a bit and I got a photo for the blog (with me pulling a face)!
While Andy called Karen to see how she was back in blighty, I ordered more wine and paid the bill. It came to 2,450 lira (£45.37) for 1 neapolitan pasta, 1 mushroom pizza and 2 bottles of wine, one of which we didn’t finish. I said goodbye to Andy and I took the rest of the wine with me as I called to say hello to a friend in town on my way home. I was back home before 11.30pm and gave Lady C some cuddles before bed.
Gratitude List 1. Getting lots of stuff done 2. Another lovely meal at Olivia’s 3. Lady C seeming to be ok after her ‘attack’.
July was going to be an exciting month! On Tuesday 1st July I updated each of my To Do Lists (I have 3; Resort Experts, My Book stuff and Personal). I was conscious that I only had 11 more days in Turkey before I would fly to the UK to spend time with Captain Caveman, who would be celebrating his birthday and moving in to a new home. I had not yet booked my return flight as I wasn’t sure if I would get a good price to travel back in the school holidays or not, if I stayed more than a couple of weeks. While I drank water and waited for Lady C to wake up I checked how my blog had done for last month. I was pleased to see it had 24% more views than the month before and was mainly being read in the UK, Turkey and the USA. Unfortunately, Vietnam readers were now way down the list and no longer in the top 10 so I did want to try to increase that again in July. It had been a year since I was there and over 6 months since Captain Caveman was there – we missed it! After doing some Resort Experts work in the morning, I spoke to Captain Caveman who was at his parents in London. There was a heatwave and he’d had to sleep downstairs so he was preparing me for a hot summer in England. At lunch time I had some soup and looked at a post from my colleague in Italy, which was to help us have a happy July with 31 daily prompts. When I had my tea break at 3pm, I noticed Lady C had chosen to lay on the hot floor outside to sunbathe! I let her know that at 4pm we had visitors coming; Darcy, the dog, was getting dropped off while her owner went out with a friend. And my friend, Bev, was coming over for a cup of tea and a chat. When Darcy arrived, she ran in to the conservatory and did a wee with excitement on the sofa and the floor. Lady C was not impressed by the little pup and was not sympathetic when Darcy started to sneeze multiple times. Poor little Darcy kept sneezing and wouldn’t stop so I picked her up to check her nose. She had a bit of a flower or plant stuck up her nostril so I had to get it out with my little finger nail. Bev arrived, after I’d cleaned the wee up and we decided wine would be a better choice so we had a couple of glasses each – Fat Club weigh in tomorrow was not looking promising! It was nice to catch up and we nattered on about all sorts. Bev didn’t stay too long and I fed both dogs in separate rooms as they were ready for dinner. It was after 8pm when it was cool enough for both dog’s paws on the pavements and they walked well together. I had a mushroom pasta about 9pm for dinner and then settled down with the dogs. I couldn’t watch TV as the TTnet still wasn’t up to it so I watched something on my phone. When it was time for Darcy to be collected, she was already snoozing away, next to me on the sofa. Lady C was happy when Darcy left as she does like to be the only dog in the house.
Gratitude List 1. Cute dogs 2. Busy with Resort Experts 3. Seeing Bev for the first time in a while.
My measurements were not good on Wednesday 2nd July. I’d put 1cm on my bust, my waist had remained the same but I’d put 3cm on my hips (that will be the fab Bakewell tart from Ela Bakes)!!! It didn’t look good for Fat Club weigh-in and I would have to wait until 3pm to find out my weight. I worked up until then and decided to walk, so that at least I was getting some exercise. It was very hot out and I arrived at Fat Club a bit sweaty. I was gobsmacked to find I had lost 0.9kg (2lb) and it made my day! There was a bit of a grumble at the group as the drinks prices had gone up. A small water had gone from 25 lira (46p) to 50 lira (92p) and that was the shock of the day. I didn’t think it was too bad to sit in a nice hotel and drink a cold water which they supplied a glass and lots of ice for, but doubling the prices was a bit of a surprise. Usually, each July there is a general price increase in shops anyway so I was expecting it. I went straight back to work and had leftover mushroom pasta for dinner – no alcohol. Once it cooled down I took Lady C out for her walk and she was happy to be let off the lead for a little bit on the back paths. At 9pm I decided to pop to the shops to get something for dinner tomorrow night. Here’s what I bought, prices in lira;
Şevikoğlu Supermarket Onions 5.21 Peppers 8.22 Bread 15.00 1kg chicken breast 144.80 Total spent 173.23 lira (£3.27)
I meant to buy more wine but I couldn’t be bothered to walk all the way to Yaman Büfe and the Şevikoğlu was more expensive. I had an early night and didn’t even bother with any wine today, conscious I only had one more weigh-in before my UK trip.
Gratitude List 1. Losing weight when I didn’t expect it 2. Walking with Lady C off the lead 3. A no alcohol day on a Wine Wednesday.
Lady C was still asleep when I got up on Sunday 29th June. I topped up my Turkcell phone with a 50GB hotspot package for 425 lira (£8.02) which should last until I left for the UK. Lady C didn’t go for a morning walk as it was too hot but she did spend most of the morning searching for a cool spot. Most of which was found at the neighbour’s house, on their patio. The forecast predicted 38°C at the highest today so I was going to crack on with some writing and maybe have a dip in the pool later. By midday, Lady C had joined me indoors to benefit from the AC as I worked on my laptop. I spoke to Captain Caveman who was working in London and had enjoyed the concert last night. Around 7pm I took the dog for a walk and then got talking to the neighbours at the pool. Andy (Darcy’s dad) popped by and had some beers, I had wine and the neighbour joined us for a drink too. We all ended up in the pool with it being so hot but Lady C was not likely to be joining us for a swim, as she isn’t a fan of the water. Dinner was going to be noodles from Simple but it was closed so Ozzy’s were able to deliver pizza, chips and a bottle of wine. The Slimming World plan had gone out of the window (again)!
Gratitude List 1. Turkcell hotspot packages 2. Getting all my jobs done 3. Having a dip in the pool.
The last day of the month did not end well! On Monday 30th June I started the day feeling tired as I ploughed through my to do list. I had quite a few calls and emails to deal with and the day went so fast. Unfortunately, I was not prepared for an incident that had happened as a result of our neighbour opposite not closing a door! The door to the communal stairs was open and, as I started to walk up the stairs, I could smell an awful stench; There was cat shit all over the top of the stairs where the 3 apartment front doors are. Ours and the next door neighbour had cat shit all over the step and some of it was up our door. I was fuming and banged on the door opposite, to ask her to close the stair door to prevent the cats coming up. It’s not a common thing with Turkish people to get them to close a gate or a door, for some reason. She wasn’t in so I went inside the apartment to get some bin liners and cleaning products. I felt so sick and it really was disgusting, especially as it was dried on and took ages to get off. It was also difficult to wash because any water put down was going under the doors. I messaged Captain Caveman to ask him to let the other apartment owners know to close the stair door. While I was cleaning, the neighbour opposite came back so I showed it her and asked her to close the door from now on. She agreed but I wasn’t convinced she would remember. Needless to say I then had to have a shower and change my clothes. I walked Lady C and told her about the random cat shit incident, she felt my pain as she isn’t keen on sharing her home with stray cats either. I wasn’t in the mood to eat dinner so, instead, I worked out my June income and expenditure – which didn’t do much to ease my bad mood! In total I had spent a whopping £820.23 in June which was the most in a month so far this year. It did include Captain Caveman being here for 12 days and me going on 3 boat trips, 2 of them with him, and us going out far more than I usually would do! I did have zero debt, all the bills were paid including my credit card continuing to be paid off in full. As Captain Caveman had very kindly helped me out this month, I did still have £175 left to take in to the next month too. I was also due some royalties in the next couple of days from ‘You Can’t Shit Yourself on a Bicycle’ sales in April.
Gratitude List 1. Getting on top of the workload 2. Eating a lot less than I would’ve, due to the cat shit incident. 3. Having money left at the end of the month!
Photo credit – Captain Caveman sent me the photos from the Iron Maiden gig
I had arranged to see friends on Saturday 28th June, before they flew to the UK. Their dog, Lady C, was going to be in my care while they were gone. I had beans on toast for breakfast and Captain Caveman sent me over an itinerary for our holiday at the end of August – it looked quite busy with 11 European towns in 2 weeks! My concern was that there might be too much moving about in a heat wave. I worked all morning until 2pm then I wandered over to Ozzy’s bar to meet Penny & Phil! Penny was on the phone when I arrived, so I ordered a shandy, at 120 lira (£2.26) a pint it went down very well and I had to order water and another pint. Penny came off the phone and the plan was we would go over to their’s to see Lady C and chill out before they left. I threw caution to the wind and ordered one of the Ozzy’s pizzas which was loaded with toppings and tasted really good. I paid my bill, then the staff gave the 3 of us a shot to drink. We thought it was an alcoholic one but it was a watermelon smoothie, of which they gave us a bottle to take home, too. Here’s what I spent, prices in lira;
Ozzy’s Bar 1 small water 40 1 Efes shandy 120 1 Efes draft 120 1 Chicken pizza 410 Total spent 690 lira (£13.02)
While Penny whizzed back on the ‘Madge-mobeel’ (her orange mobility scooter), Phil and I sauntered back and bumped in to Kaan (from Tequila boat) at his new villa. It was looking really good now that it was finished and he’d done a good job. Lady C was pleased to see me but was rather warm so she chilled out in front of the cooler in the sun room. By 6.15pm I was enjoying a cold drink and had my feet in the pool while Penny and Phil finished last minute getting ready and packing. I still didn’t know exactly what time they were flying but I had ascertained that it was late tonight.
A plan was formed to go out for dinner at Olivia’s, which used to be Yolo, and I was invited to join. They had a deal on any pasta dish with a glass of wine for 300 lira (£5.66) which is great value for money. It was my first time at Olivia’s and it might just become my new favourite place! They served Altıntepe and Isabey wine (currently 120 lira per glass) which I like. The place is cool in the heat with lots of seating indoor and outdoor and great staff – one I recognised but couldn’t place. I had the Four Cheese Tagliatelle (perfect for cheese lovers), Penny had the shrimp spaghetti and Phil ordered chicken and mushroom tagliatelle. The portion sizes were good and we got a free appetiser of warm bread with olives and oil – a nice touch. The shrimp spaghetti had a rather generous amount of capers in and Penny doesn’t like them. Even though it did say it on the menu in the small description, our waiter and chef changed the dish to redo it without issue when he noticed Penny picking them out. Phil didn’t realise his tagliatelle had chicken in so he picked it all out to give to the dog later. We were almost done eating our mains when Karen and Andy arrived and sat next to us. Andy ordered a non-pasta dish and Karen ordered the same shrimp spaghetti which Penny had but with capers in (you couldn’t make it up)!
We met the dessert chef and it would have been rude not to try the desserts which looked amazing! My friends had a roulade type cake which got devoured and I had a Dubai Chocolate Brownie which was out of this world!!!! The desserts were a work of art and also tasted fantastic. Here’s what our bill came to, prices in lira;
I’d ended up with 3 wines and a pasta that I wasn’t expecting to be paid for so I put 250 lira (£4.72) in as a tip. It equated to 14% but given that Penny had her dish replaced after the capers debacle, I thought it a good idea if ever we wanted to go again. Meanwhile, Captain Caveman and Vinnie were having a great time at the Iron Maiden gig in London, where some of my Sheffield friends were also in attendance, but separately.
Gratitude List 1. Great food at Ozzy’s and Olivia’s 2. The amazing dessert at Olivia’s 3. Having a lovely afternoon and evening with Penny & Phil.
Tuesday 24th June was day 3 of not leaving the house or spending any money. It felt strangely therapeutic. I saw an ex Turkish Class member and Facebook friend had posted on Facebook needing someone in London. She needed passports picking up which were going to cost £400 to have couriered so I messaged to say I could help if she could wait until I went there in a couple of weeks time. I also looked at flights to come back in time for Nanny Kay’s 80th birthday celebrations and they were now getting a bit pricier. I ate beans on toast for breakfast around 11.30am after sorting out my social media posts for the day and dealing with a couple of enquiries. I’d ate cauliflower and cashew nut soup for lunch with wholemeal bread and then got back on with all my tasks. I stopped at 6pm to warm up some sausage casserole, not realising I didn’t have any potatoes in the house. By 8.30pm I was in bed with a facemask on and feeling really tired. I did a Facebook quiz to find out which country suited me to live in and wasn’t surprised to find it was Japan. I reposted the quiz so that others could have a go but it seemed a few people couldn’t get it to work. It was a shame as I wondered if any of the Dalyan Dwellers would have got somewhere other than Turkey as their answer. Tomorrow it would be weigh day and time to face Carol’s scales after indulging too much while Captain Caveman was here.
Gratitude List 1. Lovely home made food 2. Another zero spend, and zero alcohol day 3. Getting stuff done.
Of course the scales weren’t going to show a loss on Wednesday 25th June, after all the eating and drinking I’d done while Captain Caveman was here. It wasn’t surprising that my home scales said I had put on 0.5kg (1.1lb) this week. My measurements, though, showed no changes at all, which was good. While working in the morning I tried to help a friend out by sharing her post about a raffle to raise money for a local charity and unfortunately I didn’t really look at it too closely. I later noticed I was posting something that is illegal in Turkey, promoting alcohol, so I had to mess about taking it down but join the local charity page to share a version of it. I didn’t have time to eat lunch and headed to Fat Club via the bank a bit late. To my surprise, I was only showing a gain of 0.2kg (0.4lb) on Carol’s scales but I think I had been lucky really. I was now a whopping 2.7kg (6lb) over target and I only had 2 more Fat Club weigh-ins before I went back to the UK. After Fat Club I popped to buy 2 more AC remotes but they hadn’t got them in yet and said to come back on Tuesday. I called at the shop and bought the following, prices in lira;
Migros Supermarket 1 plastic bag 0.50 Haribo jellies 22.45 Cheese spread 29.90 Biscuits 31.95 Bin bags 44.95 Batteries 74.95 Mushrooms 79.95 Toilet roll 108.95 Wholemeal wraps 110.00 4 Quark 116.00 Mouthwash 124.95 Total spent 744.55 lira (£14.05)
I went back home and did a couple of work related tasks before doing a few reviews on Facebook for places Captain Caveman and I had enjoyed on his visit. It followed with comments of people complaining about the price of things, yet again, on and off-topic point! Dalyan really is not that expensive in comparison to lots of other places and it got on my nerves that I was only trying to put nice reviews on not argue with people on the internet! I’m all for saving money, obviously, but arguing about the prices on a nice review is, in my opinion, not good form. I noticed that the Dalyan Şarküteri had some offers on until the end of the month so I popped out around sunset to grab some imported products. I bought the following, prices in lira;
Dalyan Şarküteri 1 tin Heinz baked beans 65.00 1 tin Coconut milk 75.00 250g Lurpak butter 220.00 Total spent 360 lira (£6.79)
I spoke to Captain Caveman who was very busy working hard in London so didn’t have time to ask how I was, but I’d got used to that now. I lit my citronella candle put loads of Maizie Moo repellent on and treated myself to a White Russian (the cocktail) on the balcony. A couple of jays came to visit and I didn’t end up eating dinner of sausage casserole with potatoes and white cabbage until 10.30pm. Tomorrow I had another busy day as I had agreed to view a house for sale for a friend.
Gratitude List 1. Weigh day being better than expected 2. Being able to afford some shopping 3. White Russians on the balcony.
I had booked Sonuç, from Dalyan Transfers, for Captain Caveman’s ride to Dalaman airport on Sunday 22nd June at 4am. I walked Captain Caveman out to the gate and we said our goodbyes while I was still in my pyjamas. I love to use Sonuç as he’s so reliable, charges just £30 and is an all round good bloke. We had also decided that I would be going back to the UK to see Captain Caveman and escape some of the intense heat in just under 3 weeks time, so it wasn’t too sad a goodbye. Captain Caveman’s flight this morning, was with Sun Express at 6.45am and he would be landing back in to Manchester before 9.30am. He ended up with a row to himself which is a nice treat. I went back to bed and tried to sleep a bit but ended up tracking the flight which left at 7am, then I fell asleep. For lunch, I’d missed breakfast, I ate the remaining sweet and sour chicken from last night at Lukka. I caught up on a few messages and emails before going back to bed as I was tired. I checked the weather forecast and it was showing a sunny week ahead.
Gratitude List 1. Knowing I wouldn’t have to wait long to see Captain Caveman again 2. Leftover food for lunch 3. A zero spend day, to get back on track!
I didn’t bother with breakfast on Monday 23rd June as I was too busy getting on with all the jobs I needed to do. I also didn’t leave the house for the 2nd day since Captain Caveman left as I needed to get back on track. Not only with healthier eating and less spending but also working more on both Resort Experts and getting my book sold and the next ones finished. There just weren’t enough hours in the day but I was determined to build my customer base in readiness for the next books that were due to follow. I finally ate lunch which was more like a breakfast and really enjoyed it with a cup of Yorkshire tea. I worked on several quotes for friends and also had a call with my colleagues in Majorca and a Italy to share some ideas. At 3pm I was on a Q & A call with Claire Clarke who I’m working on a travel planner with. At 4pm I attended the last session of a Visibility session with Lisa Johnson who I was also learning lots from. I finished work at 5pm, tired, and warmed up a meal I’d taken out of the freezer; a chicken dinner with potatoes, carrots and red cabbage which I put a bit of gravy on. By 8.30pm I had lit my new Maizie Moo citronella candle and was ready for bed. I waited for Captain Caveman to call me and he told me all about his day. He was glad to be back in London and had put himself down for night shifts at the weekend because they were so short staffed.
Gratitude List 1. Getting back ‘on it’ after Captain Caveman had left 2. Nice food 3. My new candle.
I was so busy on Thursday 19th June that I’m not sure I had time to eat breakfast or lunch. Captain Caveman had a few meetings and the weather outside was very hot. We eventually went to the shops about 6.40pm and here’s what we bought, prices in lira;
We also tried to get another kitchen sink plug but failed. I managed to get up to Module 3 on a course I’m doing for publishing a planner.
Gratitude List 1. Both being able to work from home 2. Shopping 3. Dubai chocolate.
I’d tried to organise some after work drinks for Friday 20th June, given that the Friday Bar crawl didn’t seem to be happening. Captain Caveman had said he would finish work at 4pm so I would try to do that too. Usually weekends and evenings are when I get the most enquiries/bookings for holidays so I was finding it hard to change my working pattern. Our first treat of the day, though, was a quick trip to nearby La Sorella so that Captain Caveman could have a proper coffee and a croissant. He ordered a plain one but I ordered the chocolate one with banana and fruit – it was immense and I was so stuffed. The prices for what we had were as follows;
La Sorella 1 Green tea 60 1 Double Espresso 120 1 croissant 130 1 chocolate croissant with fruit 290 Total 600 lira (£11.32) but we got 50 lira (94p) off.
I’d never have spent that if Captain Caveman wasn’t here but it was a really lovely treat. I called at the bank before work and sent messages to friends asking if anyone fancied meeting us later. Most people responded to say they couldn’t make it apart from one friend who was up for tonight. I was pleased in a way that it looked like Captain Caveman and I could spend some time together, but was also a bit disappointed that we weren’t going to be out with friends for him to see them before he left for the UK. We had bacon sandwiches for lunch and we both had lots to do in the afternoon. Captain Caveman and I worked until 6pm (which was only 4pm UK time) before getting ready to go out. We decided to go to Okyanus for a drink where a friend came over to meet us. We saw Üstün, the waiter who was previously working at Tapa and who me and my parents like, and we got chatting and taking photos. We had 2 white wines and 3 beers for 900 lira (£16.98) and then decided to say bye to our friend and have a wander in to town. Captain Caveman chose Cafe Ivy to go to and we sat down to briefly say hello to Lou and the kids. We found some sunglasses which didn’t seem to be anyone’s and Captain Caveman said he would borrow them and then hand them in. While at Cafe Ivy, we got a message from Debbie to say she was going to pop to join us for one and Ghislaine went past with some friends and her dogs, so came to join us after all. Here’s what Captain Caveman and I had with prices in lira;
Cafe Ivy 2 Efes Malt 280 2 Glasses of white wine 300 1 chicken strips 300 Lots of free popcorn Total 880 lira + 100 lira tip = 980 lira (£18.50)
After our night out, we went home and warmed up a curry for our dinner.
Gratitude List 1. Breakfast at La Sorella 2. Nice food 3. A night out.
I made sure I got up and out early on Tuesday 17th June before it got too warm. I went to the shops and here’s what I bought with prices in lira;
Migros Supermarket 2 pot noodles 54.50 6 eggs 55.00 Wholemeal Wraps 99.50 Washing powder 157.95 Total spent 366.95 lira (£6.92)
Parlak Bakery 1 loaf 15.00 1 açma 20.00 Total spent 35.00 lira (66p)
I also called in to Jiks to get photos of the pizza menus because we were invited to Nanny Kay’s tomorrow. Captain Caveman and I had breakfast together of açma (half each) with white cheese and some of the left over olives from Saklı Bahçe at the weekend. We both got on with work and I had some enquiries from friends about Turkey. There was a sale on with Classic Collection who only offer holidays through agents and the deposit is only £12.50. Captain Caveman had 3 meetings and they were loud and sounded stressful. We both chose pizzas for tomorrow and messaged our choices to Nanny Kay. At lunch time, we had bacon sandwiches which were very nice and I got a message from a friend who’d been away. I’d booked them a city break and they had really enjoyed it. They were looking to book another one so we arranged a chat for later in the weekend. In the evening we had sausage pasta for dinner then had a walk through town. We called at Rehab bar to see Tay where Captain Caveman had an Efes Malt and I just had soda water (as it was Fat Club tomorrow). While we were there, the mozzies were out in force so we both had to spray stuff on and the bar staff went and bought more!
Gratitude List 1. Getting the shopping done early 2. Eating meals with Captain Caveman in between work tasks 3. Seeing Tay at Rehab bar.
Wednesday 18th June was a busier day for me. It started with the usual measurements and getting weighed on my home scales. Unfortunately, having Captain Caveman here had been detrimental and I had put on 1kg (2.2lb). I’d lost 1cm off my bust and hips and 2cm off my waist so that was good. At 11.30am I went to Turkish class at Lukka bar where I paid 60 lira (£1.13) for a small water and 150 lira (£2.83) for the lesson. I made lunch at home for Captain Caveman and I which was salad with cheese and salami. I had 3 online webinars, made a test book on Canva for a new planner that I’d started working on and saved that as a draft before heading back out to Fat Club. Carol’s scales were kinder than mine and and I had only put on 0.7kg (1.5lb) but I still needed to watch it a bit. After Fat Club, I went to the shop next to the hairdresser’s and bought a new AC remote for 400 lira (£7.55) and ordered 2 more for next week. The Arçelik shop wanted 1,000 lira (£18.87) for one but luckily, Carol had put me on to this shop and I’d saved lots. While I was still waiting for Katrina at Maizie Moo to make more citronella candles, I bought a cheap pack of 3 from the Millenium shop for 140 lira (£2.64), they weren’t as good but were better than nothing. Captain Caveman and I finished work by 7pm and walked over to Nanny Kay’s house where we ended up having quite a night! We had a Jiks pizza delivery which was piping hot and all correct, plus quite a lot of red wine. Nanny Kay was also asking how we would be spending the rest of Captain Caveman’s time in Dalyan and I was disappointed to hear him say I wasn’t really featured in his plans. He would be working all week and then wanted to do his own things at the weekend, before he left early on Sunday. I had already been lining up a boat trip and he now was not interested in another one and would rather go walk some dogs at the dog shelter or play Bridge. Luckily, Nanny Kay helped talk him in to agreeing to another boat trip, this time with Princess of Ekincik but only if there was less smokers on board. I checked and then we confirmed 2 places on Saturday, so I wouldn’t be going on my own. We walked home quite sozzled and it was late when we got back.
Gratitude List 1. Measurements being better than weight 2. Getting a bargain AC remote 3. A wonderful evening at Nanny Kay’s.
It was certainly a sign that Captain Caveman was over in Dalyan, as I would ordinarily have been budgeting for a trip to the weekly market on Saturday 14th June. However, as it was the weekend and Captain Caveman had 2 days off work to get to enjoy the delights of Dalyan, we were about to splash out as if we were on holiday. I was also doing a little less work this weekend so that Captain Caveman and I could have some time together. I’d already planned all my blog posts, social media posts and book promo stuff in advance so that I was available. I’d also planned for us to go to Captain Caveman’s favourite breakfast place, Saklı Bahçe, at 8.30am when they opened. We had the Turkish breakfast with extra water and it was really good – this time I didn’t even get a dodgy stomach from the pastries/bread. We did have to take some cheese, olives and bread home, though, as the portion sizes were big. We paid 1070 lira (£20.18) for 2 breakfasts and 2 waters which I thought was good value for money. We were done by 10am and had a wander in to town so that Captain Caveman could get ready to do what he loves best on his day off.
He and Sezgin were driving over to Köyceğiz to play Bridge. So, I had a free afternoon to get some washing done, tidy up and then do some more work to get ahead for next week. I got showered and changed ready to meet Captain Caveman after his Bridge as we had arranged to go for a meal in town, with Sezgin and Nur. Captain Caveman told me to bring a bottle of the fizz to share with Nur and to be ready for 6.30pm. We went to Eylül where we took the bottle of fizz and Sezgin brought a bottle of Rakı which the 3 of them shared. Leaving me to drink a whole bottle of prosecco to myself, with my meal. I ordered a chicken shish and all 3 of my fellow diners ordered Adana kebabs and we shared 2 lavaş (balloon bread) between the 4 of us. The meal out was a lot cheaper because we had taken our own booze and we paid 2,000 lira (£37.74) for the whole meal – less than a tenner each! Captain Caveman and Sezgin were both feeling a bit unwell after the Bridge where the heat had been unbearable so I was shocked when they wanted to carry on drinking. Sezgin and Nur invited us back to their house where I had a bit more wine and they all carried on with the rakı. I didn’t want a late night as we had a really nice day planned for tomorrow. We said goodbye before midnight and walked past Jamie’s on the way home. As we got to his we could hear that he was in the pool and he was talking to someone. We decided to call in, Jamie was in the pool with a drink and had been talking to Edna, who had been laid to rest in a big plant pot, with plants and a few items to remember her with. It was the first time we had seen Jamie since Edna’s death so we all had a good chat and a bit of reminiscing. Captain Caveman joined Jamie with a G&T while I drank a pint of water. Norman, the older dog, was fast asleep but had been doing well and was making the most of getting extra treats and more cuddles than usual.
Gratitude List 1. Breakfast at Saklı Bahçe with Captain Caveman 2. Dinner at Eylül with Sezgin and Nur 3. Getting to see Jamie and give him a hug.
I had a busy day on Monday 9th June as I had decided to embark on a course to work on publishing a travel planner. After spending many an unsuccessful browse in book shops and stationers I’d realised there was a gap in the market for this book. I wanted to design, write and publish a planner that would enable buyers to plan their year of either small holidays or the big bucket list trip. It was a product I’d needed for myself, in the past, and I thought it might be really useful for others and to also add to my passive income stream. I had veggie noodles for breakfast and then got on with work. I attended another training webinar for a hotel chain in various European locations which was really good. I didn’t have lunch until gone 3pm and then it was a warmed up curry with steamed rice. I worked until 8.30pm and then messaged friends I had missed yesterday to apologise for me being AWOL. At 9pm I made myself 2 small pizzas from tacos, which were very nice. I spoke to Captain Caveman who was at work and cold in the UK.
Gratitude List 1. Starting to produce a Travel Planner 2. Good food 3. Training
There was a bit of excitement in the air on Tuesday 10th June as it was the day that Captain Caveman was travelling from Manchester to Dalyan after work tonight. While he worked in Warrington all day, I worked from home and tried to get quite a lot of my to do list done so that I could take the weekend off. At lunch time I nipped to the shops and here’s what I bought, prices in lira;
Migros Supermarket Green tea 34.95 2 Quark 70.00 A 2.2kg Chicken 219.69 Total spent 324.64 lira (£6.13)
Unfortunately, I saw a tortoise wandering towards a gate which it thought it could get under, so I had to move it. I rushed back to attend a webinar at 1pm which was about the new improved Quote Away platform and was very informative. I had a late lunch of jacket potato with cheese, done in the Airfryer and served with lettuce and carrot – a last ditch attempt to be healthy before tomorrow’s weigh-in! At 3pm I got a request from Captain Caveman to check he had his sunglasses here, and he did – he was finishing work soon and was heading to the airport for his flight at 7.20pm. I let Sonuç, of Dalyan Transfers, know that he’d be arriving at 01.35am tomorrow. Before dinner I went back out to the shops to get some provisions ready for Captain Caveman’s arrival and also because I wanted to take advantage of some offers that were on. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;
Dalyan Şarküteri 1 tin baked beans 65.00 1 tin coconut milk 75.00 250g Lurpak 220.00 Total spent 360.00 lira (£6.79)
Parlak Bakery 1 loaf 15.00 1 simit 15.00 Total spent 30.00 lira (57p)
At 9.30pm I got a photo from Captain Caveman who was on the plane and it wasn’t even full so he had extra space to spread out. He also sent me a list of the holidays he had requested from work. I had planned on going to bed but I decided to wait up for Captain Caveman and I caught up on my Turkish homework while I waited.
Gratitude List 1. Rescuing a tortoise 2. Finding a big chicken 3. Captain Caveman was on his way to Dalyan.
I worked most of the day on Saturday 7th June. I was trying to stay frugal but as it was so nice and sunny and I hadn’t had an alcoholic drink for a bit, it was tempting to go out. I worked on a few quotes and even got a couple of potential new customers who I didn’t already know. I was busy with holidays for next year, mainly, and it reminded me of the days when I used to be so organised at booking things way in advance. Eventually, I had a break to go to the weekly market, by which time it was pretty hot, but still with a breeze in the air. Here’s what I bought at each of the stalls, which I had noticed was getting a little pricier. How does it compare with what you spend on fruit and vegetables, where you are?
Stall 6 Spring onions, tomatoes & cucumber 40 lira (75p)
Total spent 480 lira (£9.06)
Lettuce and strawberries are still quit pricey in Dalyan but, overall, I was pleased with my weekly market shop. I was back home by 1.30pm and warmed up some cauliflower and cashew nut soup which I ate with wholemeal bread and butter. It was deceptively tasty and I carried on with more work. Vanessa had messaged to say she and Matt were at Retro bar, near to me, and I should come meet them for a drink. I said I would finish work at 4pm and pop along ‘for one’. Just before 4pm I got another text from Vanessa to say that they were having some food and one more drink. I still decided to go and I ordered a white wine and soda water with ice. Retro bar is back in favour with some of the Dalyan Dwellers as beer and wine was only 90 lira (£1.70) – an absolute bargain. Soda water is 50 lira (94p) and I shared one over 3 glasses of wine. Vanessa had already had her fill of wine and had a water, Matt had finished his drink and they were ready to go. After a quick catch up, they left and I ended up carrying on the afternoon with Sarah, Kate and Mark. After paying 590 lira (£11.13) for 6 wines and a soda water, for an afternoon/night out in Retro it was time to go home. Kate insisted we go to Sofra bar to do karaoke. I’d already worn a Kermit the frog shirt while singing and dancing then had Kate’s spare knickers on my head for a laugh – I really should’ve gone home but …. I ended up having 2 red wines for 300 lira (£5.66) in Sofra and sang several songs, quite badly. Jamie, Drew and all his friends were in too, Sioned joined Kate for a Meatloaf karaoke and I think once Kate and I got in to Teenage Dirtbag, it was too much! We bumped in to Brigette from Fat Club and it was nice to be out on a very rare Sofra visit from me, these days. When I started pouring Mark a glass from the bottle we had brought from Retro, it was perhaps time to leave!
Gratitude List 1. Fresh fruit and veg from the weekly market 2. Going out for one with Vanessa and Matt 3. Ending up out out with karaoke thrown in for good measure.
I did something for the first time this year on Sunday 8th June; my phone was off!!! I didn’t know it until quite late in the day and I’d accidentally managed to worry people because if it, without realising. I am never not contactable via messenger as I am constantly using Facebook for work. I’d had a heavy night and had woken up at Mark and Kate’s house under a duvet (which was too hot) in their upstairs bedroom. I went downstairs, it was already 11am and I was meant to have been going for a walk with Vanessa at 10am. She had already been to call for me and had assumed I was still in bed. No one had a phone charger to fit my phone and I had a bit of a panic that I might need it. We established not having my phone on for a change would do me good, but I had to ask Mark to call Matt to explain why I wasn’t at home. Mark made me a cup of Yorkshire tea and Kate made me a slice of homemade sourdough toast with homemade marmalade for breakfast. By 11.30am Glynn had popped round and offered to give me a lift in to town when he left so I thought that would be a good idea. However, once Mark’s sister, Tracey and Kate were in the pool it seemed like a good idea and I got in, wearing my cycling shorts and sports bra. I was meant to be meeting other friends, with it being my only day off and I’d likely made loose plans. Oddly, it was quite liberating not having any battery left in my phone and I missed my lift with Glynn when he left while I was still in the pool. Mark became the host with the most as he opened a bottle of Prosecco for Tracey, Kate and I and we stayed in the pool for the rest of the day. It was the first time this year I had been in a swimming pool and it felt amazing. The Prosecco was still going strong from when they had bought a very generous job lot which almost filled a spare bedroom. Kate had bought Mark a toy that you put in the water and it drags you around so he let us all have a go on that. It looked slow but it didn’t half get going and was making my pants fall down. We had a great day and it soon turned in to evening with more Prosecco and some sausages. I did go home but had been wearing my sunglasses with transitional lenses so I was a bit confused when I walked home using a really bright, borrowed torch which I thought was dull. I walked past Sofra and checked with Şükrü that I’d paid my bill last night and apologised for the singing – he laughed and confirmed I wasn’t barred (yet). I also had a quick chat with Carol from Fat Club, who was there with her family. It was only when I got home that I realised I’d walked home in sunglasses and had left my watch and my credit card at Mark & Kate’s. I had a shower and was about to get ready for bed when I noticed just how sunburned I was! June had certainly started to warm up. After charging it, I turned my phone on to apologise to a lot of people who had all been really worried that I had not be available. Oops – I felt bad but the break from devices had certainly done me good and it had made a nice change to see friends.
Gratitude List 1. 12 hours without my phone for the first time this year! 2. Prosecco 3. Seeing Mark, Kate and friends for a really great impromptu weekend.
Thursday 5th June was a working day but I decided to spend the morning on my laptop, outside on the balcony. I even heard the gardener doing some work which was good to know. After he had cleaned and topped up the pool, I went and took some photos while it looked good. I noticed we seemed to have a lot of ants on the back balcony so I ate a banana and chucked down the skin. Ants hate bananas so it helps to get rid of them. I have ant powder but it doesn’t seem to deter them at all. Our Resort Experts team meeting was a good one where the second version of our quote tool, Quote Away, was being launched. Of course, Jamie and I were always on hand to volunteer to break it. For dinner I tried to recreate the noodles from Simple, mine weren’t as good but they did the job. I’d also made a big batch of cauliflower and cashew nut soup in the slow cooker, it’s really creamy but low fat and the nuts can be counted as part of the B Option on Slimming World. I was determined to get back to healthy eating and being frugal, before Captain Caveman arrived.
Gratitude List 1. The pool looking good 2. Working outside 3. Great colleagues at Resort Experts
I mainly spent Friday 6th June at home and on my laptop. I had beans on toast for breakfast, worked on the kitchen balcony until soup for lunch and then worked inside when it got a bit breezy. I checked out flights to go back to the UK in July and found that the week before Captain Caveman’s birthday was looking cheaper. For dinner I warmed up chicken curry with steamed rice and made a cheese and garlic naan bread using 2 wraps in the airfryer. I even treated myself to an Efes beer to go with it and dined on the balcony.
Gratitude List 1. Great food 2. Cheap flights for potential UK visit 3. Being able to work outdoors again.
joloyolo 