I’d done nothing all weekend from feeling exhausted and Sunday 20th September was not much of an improvement. I hadn’t slept much at all but when Captain Caveman got up I fell back to sleep and woke up at gone 10am. I was met with a cooked breakfast which was rather delicious – pork sausages! Captain Caveman and I had just 11 days left in Sheffield until we both went back to Dalyan, him for 2 weeks and me until Christmas. We both were looking forward to it but I now needed to find a way to earn more money after spending everything I had on my week in Vegas. I blocked out time in my schedule for tomorrow to get up and finish The Handy Travel Diary for 2027. I needed to get it published quickly so that I could start to earn some extra royalties. Captain Caveman suggested that it might be a good time to start looking for a better paid job and move back to England. I managed to do a post for my Resort Experts Facebook page which was a New York and Las Vegas holiday then I went back to bed and fell asleep again. I got up to eat a chicken dinner which Captain Caveman had cooked. I was still feeling really wiped out and had zero energy – it was an effort to even get in the shower.
Gratitude List 1. Sausages 2. Captain Caveman cooking me meals while I rested 3. Getting some sleep.
Captain Caveman was up and off early on Monday 21st September as he was working in the Ilkeston office today. I was meant to be attending an online book writers bootcamp then finishing off The Handy Travel Dairy 2027. I really tried but I felt so ill that I could barely sit at my desk – neither got done. I rearranged most things, did the bare minimum and went back to bed. Captain Caveman came home having called at Aldi again as he’d forgotten the baked beans last time and I was craving them. Here’s what he bought with prices in pounds:
1 carrier bag 0.40 2 tins of beans 0.78 Baby potatoes 0.99 4 Hot Cross Buns 0.99 1 protein bar 1.99 Gruyère cheese 2.99 2 bottles of Merlot 7.98 Total spent £16.03
I didn’t see any hot cross buns as they were for Captain Caveman’s lunches and he snaffled the protein bar on the way home. When I’m in Turkey I miss baked beans as they are so expensive there so I don’t buy them. Captain Caveman had worked a full day, hobbled about on crutches and then made me french onion soup for dinner to try to get me feeling better. I’d been back 4 days now and done very little but I didn’t seem to be getting any better!
Gratitude List 1. Captain Caveman 2. Sleep 3. Great food.
Louisa and I had a good flight from LA to Heathrow on Thursday 17th September. Luckily, there were no disasters on this return journey and we landed around 3pm. After collecting Louisa’s case we headed to the bus station to wait for our Flixbus. I was very tired as I had not slept on the plane and I had to keep going for walks around to stop my eyes from closing. I messaged Captain Caveman to say I was back on home turf, he was still suffering with a sprained ankle but was off to Aldi after work to get some provisions in for us. I’d been lacking in fruit and vegetables this week so I was looking forward to getting some healthy food. We were also invited to our friend’s in Leicester this weekend where I was really looking forward to a good curry! Our Flixbus was at 5pm and arrived in to Sheffield at 10.55pm. The journey was ok, I nodded off a bit but I was so tired and found it irritating that people don’t use earphones for their phones anymore. It was also very cold! The bus was meant to drop Louisa off at Meadowhall first but it did the city centre drop off for me first. I said bye to Louisa and thanked her for the last 3 weeks of being my holiday buddy. She was looking forward to getting home to her other half and her dog. I was very lucky to have had the chance to visit Las Vegas and if it hadn’t been for Louisa I probably wouldn’t have made it. I was also very grateful that I’d had the chance to meet up with friends who live in the USA. I was meant to meet Captain Caveman in the Sheffield Tap but, as the bus was a little delayed, I went straight home and was back in Kelham Island not long after midnight, completely exhausted. This last trip had left me with more questions than answers, though, as I’d started to feel like I really craved some serious rest. I was super exhausted, I felt like shit and I was more broke than ever. The rest of this month was certainly going to be interesting.
Gratitude List 1. Watching films on the flight back, I don’t recall which ones 2. Getting back to Sheffield 3. Seeing Captain Caveman again.
Unfortunately, I didn’t feel great on Friday 18th September. I’d not slept well and I couldn’t work out what time it was. I’d been invited to spend the weekend with friends in Leicester but had to cancel. Captain Caveman couldn’t walk so he wasn’t fit for anything and I was just broken from lack of sleep. I managed to move one of the pieces of furniture in to the living room to use for my desk and I did a tiny bit of work. Captain Caveman made me a beef brisket with vegetables for dinner and it tasted great. I spent most of the time in bed trying to get warm and go to sleep but failing at both.
Gratitude List 1. Having the ‘borrowed’ Virgin Airlines blanket for extra warmth 2. A new desk for me to use 3. A healthy dinner.
I was in the wide awake club before 7am on Saturday 19th September and I felt like I’d done 10 rounds with Mike Tyson – my body ached so much! I managed to walk to the nearby bakery to get some sourdough but then I got back into bed. Captain Caveman didn’t get to the supermarket as he’d planned in the last 2 days so he decided to go to Bridge in the afternoon and call at Aldi on his way back.
Here’s what he bought with prices in pounds:
Indian Seasoning 0.79 5 bananas 0.80 Soft cheese 0.89 3 Casserole sachets 1.05 Deodorant 1.09 3 packets of stuffing 1.35 Orange Juice 1.59 Fish fingers 1.65 Honey 2.09 Raspberries 2.65 Cumberland Sausages 3.29 Peanut Butter 3.99 1 bottle of Merlot 3.99 900g Chicken thighs 5.39 Total spent £30.61
Captain Caveman made us a meal of beef brisket with onions, peppers and melted cheese on sourdough which was delicious. I ate that, managed to unpack a few items from my Vegas trip – including my wig! I didn’t manage any wine and went back to bed determined to shake off what we thought must just be jetlag.
Gratitude List 1. Sourdough 2. Captain Caveman doing everything while I tried to rest 3. Good food.
After just 4 hours of sleep, the alarm went off at 2am on Tuesday 8th September. I was off on a trip to Las Vegas with the girls! Captain Caveman had agreed to accompany me to the Sheffield bus station to get my Flixbus at 3am. I had to be there at 2.45am and the plan had been to walk the 20 minutes with Captain Caveman carrying one of my bags, however, he was still very much in pain and had to drive me. He dropped me off and it was so cold, I don’t have a coat in the UK so I had made do with a hoodie. The bus was punctual and there were no issues with putting Pauline, my petite pink underseat suitcase, in the bottom of the bus and taking my rucksack (with my food and water in) on with me. The flixbus had cost just £27 return and allowed 2 pieces of luggage; 1 hold of 20kg and 1 hand at 7kg – I’d booked row 2 seats. Louisa got on at Meadowhall, about 15 minutes later, and we got settled for a long journey. We’d took the decision to get the earlier bus as the later one only arrived 2 hours before the flight departure. So, although our flight was at 2.30pm, we were due to arrive at Heathrow airport at 8.40am. I didn’t mind so much as it meant I could attempt a good morning’s work if I could find somewhere quiet enough. The bus ride was ok but there was no WiFi as advertised and the first driver had the temperature on at 18°C so I had to ask for it to be made warmer. The second driver had it back down to 21°C and drove quite erratically. There were no stops at a services, as I had experienced before, so no chance for anyone who hadn’t brought food and drink to get anything until we reached the destination. Once at Heathrow airport and the Virgin check-in area, we were able to print off a boarding pass at the machines and I sat near the door while Louisa dropped off her case. We had so much time to spare so I tried to catch up on some work. I still had 6 cruise training webinars to complete, emails to respond to and a hotel in Georgia with a query. It was extremely busy in the airport and we went through security with just me having to have my bag checked. At Duty Free we had a browse and decided to pick up a bottle of spiced rum for our hotel room. I liked this idea as I was going to try my best not to blow my budget on alcohol. I really needed a place to sit and get my laptop out and Louisa needed something to eat so she spotted a place called Slim Chickens. I’d already had some of my food from home and needed to work so I didn’t have any food. I’d never heard of the place before but it did chicken (as you’d expect) and other fried fast food. We’d already had changes to the flight prior to our journey, which Louisa wasn’t particularly happy with, and meant she’d felt forced to splash out on a hotel in Los Angeles because of an extended layover that wasn’t planned for, when Virgin or Delta wouldn’t accommodate her complaint. The hotel in Vegas was already booked from today so we had let them know we were checking in early tomorrow and had arranged to meet our friend, Briony, at Vegas airport at 8.45am tomorrow morning. We knew today would be a long day but we were prepared and were even looking forward to watching some films on the plane. I rarely take any time to watch a film or read a book these days so that was a real treat for me. Louisa had also bought a pretty cool eye mask that secures your head to the headrest of the seat so she was hoping to get some sleep too. We boarded at 1.30pm and we both had an aisle seat across from each other, towards the back of the plane. It was probably one of the nicest airlines I’d been on for a while so I was happy with my seat. There was also a spare middle seat between me and the man in the window seat – bonus. What we didn’t know was that an hour earlier something had happend with the Air Traffic Control systems and the airport was about to come to a standstill. After 5.5 hours on the plane and a couple of films watched, we were told by the pilot that the flight was cancelled and we were the 57th plane in line to disembark. Virgin were unable to offer any idea of when we would be flying and they said there would not be any hotel accommodation available. All flights today were cancelled and they didn’t have an ETA or reason. Louisa and I tried to contact our other half’s and get on the internet to find out what was going on but the phone lines were down. We got off the plane and were told to go find any hold luggage and a member of staff would give us instructions on what to do. It was complete chaos; the cases were all in the airport next to the luggage belts and in no obvious order, there were no compensation for food/drink and people had been told to leave the airport if they could. While Louisa found her suitcase I started to think of all the people I knew who lived in London and if we might be able to ask them to take us in for the night. The airport was very crowded but we did find a couple of seats, we’d taken the blankets from the plane and I was so grateful for that as it got very cold. Louisa managed to get us rebooked on a flight tomorrow morning so we just had to work out what we were going to do tonight. Louisa went to get something from M&S and when she got back she said the shelves were getting empty. When I went, there was nothing left that I could eat but I did still have more snacks in my bag. I walked to the hotel at the end and asked about rooms, of course there were none available and people were apparently paying £3,000 per night. If we were going to stay with a friend we would need to get the underground or train and Louisa pointed out that this would not be easy for her with a suitcase and we could check in again tomorrow around 6am so it wasn’t worth leaving the airport. I did a bit of blog writing and Louisa had a bit of a nod off but I was weirdly still not able to sleep so around midnight I took myself off for a walk, just to keep warm. Passengers were sleeping on the floor and I felt very sorry for the elderly, families and less mobile – there was nothing we could do, though.
Gratitude List 1. Cheap buses 2. Watching a couple of films 3. Taking my own food.
Monday 7th September was quite hectic and stressful for me and it didn’t go as planned. Neither Captain Caveman nor I could remember what caused the argument last night, it was probably because of his pain and me being hangry! I had a face on that he needed food to take ibuprofen but we didn’t eat anything after 1pm so he was in more pain than he needed be. In my world I would have gone to a doctor or A&E today but, of course, Captain Caveman would not consider that as an option. I had a very busy schedule as well as a Boot Camp of training sessions to dial in to today and a train journey back to Sheffield to get ready for my next holiday which started tomorrow. It was cold and wet in Manchester as Captain Caveman and I walked to his van, I walked to Cafe Nero and ordered 2 croissants for our breakfast while Captain Caveman limped to the car park. I couldn’t pay for the croissants as I had forgotten I’d bent my bank card yesterday and had put it between my diary and The Handy Travel Planner to straighten it out, so it was still in the hotel room. This really cheesed me off as I didn’t have time to go back for it and had to just get my clothes and shoes from the van, and give Captain Caveman anything I didn’t need, to drive back with later this afternoon. It also meant he couldn’t take his morning tablets before work because he also hadn’t eaten any breakfast. We said goodbye and I walked back to The Tribe hotel in the rain. Once in the room I logged on to the first cruise training session and tried to forget how hungry I was. The first session was just the intro then there was a further 5 to attend throughout the day. I wrote a quick to do list of all things I had to make sure I’d done before I went to sleep tonight, plus a few tasks I would like to get done if I could. I rushed off for my train to Sheffield and had to change in Manchester Piccadilly where I paid £3 for a croissant and I took my tablets so I didn’t get a belly ache – result!
Back in Sheffield I had things I needed to get done in the town but I had a heavy bag with all the laundry in so I hadn’t time to go then. I got the tram to Captain Caveman’s flat for £2.50 and put the washing on straight away. I needed to wash and dry it ready to repack it – the joy of travelling light meant I didn’t have many other clothes in England. I’d done another cruise training session before lunch but missed the P&O one, even though I had a customer who had just been on a 2 week P&O cruise. I was pegging the washing out when Vanessa arrived to see me before her 60th birthday cruise and she was really excited to be setting off on her special trip. We would both be in the same time zone so I’d assured her that I would still be available while on my next holiday, should she need anything. I’d turned my phone on to silent because of all the stuff I needed to concentrate on and, when Captain Caveman came home earlier than planned, he was not impressed that I’d not answered my phone. I was still with Vanessa and he’d needed help carrying the Aldi shop upstairs, which is why he had called. He’d driven back from Manchester after his work meeting and called at Aldi in his lunch hour. Here’s what he had bought, with prices in pounds;
We ate bacon muffins and then I got a lift with Vanessa in to town. I missed the Marella & Celestyal Cruise training as I was busy with important errands. I would catch up on them tomorrow in the airport. I spent a massive £32.23 in Holland & Barrett stocking up on very much needed 3 for 2 Lactase pills for me and Black Cherry extract for Captain Caveman. I also treated myself to 2 cherry Bakewell flapjacks to take with me on the flight, just in case I needed a bit of sustenance. Captain Caveman needed more coffee so he asked me to get some from Marks & Spencer’s which I did for £3.75 and then I picked up some new potatoes for £1.85 and one of my favourite salads for £3, which I could eat at the airport.
I rushed back to finish off my work stuff, check-in for my flight, try but fail to finish off the internal pages of The Handy Travel Diary 2027 and then repack my bags. This time I was taking Pauline, my petite pink underseat case, as well as my waterproof rucksack as a cabin bag. I didn’t have a suitcase to check in, though, as we didn’t have one in England and I didn’t have enough stuff to fill a case anyway. Captain Caveman was cooking us the crispy duck he’d bought at Aldi when he spotted online that someone nearby was getting rid of some free furniture. I was trying to get all my jobs done but of course, Captain Caveman couldn’t walk quickly, so he sent me. I really could’ve done without that but I met a man in a lockup with a climbing wall, where we acquired 4 pieces of furniture; a small desk, a shoe rack, a cupboard with a drawer and a book shelf. Captain Caveman came with the van and then we had to carry them to the lift and along to his flat. I was a sweaty mess and it was very hard work, he struggled with some of it too. We left it in the spare room and rescued the crispy duck from the oven. It was already 7.30pm and I’d hoped to have everything finished and be getting some rest. The alarm was set for 2am tomorrow morning and I already knew I was going to be knackered. With hindsight, it would have been so much easier for me to have gone straight from Manchester airport to London, instead of coming back to Sheffield just to do the washing, but it had all been arranged and paid for.
Gratitude List 1. Free cruise training 2. Seeing Vanessa before we both went away 3. Free furniture for Captain Caveman’s (new?) flat.
Saturday 29th August was the day Captain Caveman and I were leaving Sheffield for Manchester airport to have a 9 day holiday together, starting in Poland. Our friend, Louisa, was also joining us but, due to a miscommunication and flight availability when Captain Caveman and her were booking it, she would be meeting us there on Sunday evening. Captain Caveman was in charge of our arrangements as the reason for the trip was for him to attend the Bridge competition that was happening in Katowice, while I worked and got on with writing my book(s). Louisa had been to Poland before and had found herself at a loose end with holidays booked off work. Captain Caveman could see no reason for her to waste the holidays and had suggested we all go together. This was good as it meant those 2 could do all the adventurous/expensive things and I could prioritise other stuff. This last week I had been so frugal that I’d only spent £19.99 and that was to buy my internal diary pages to change on Canva. I did need to spend money today though and Captain Caveman had transferred money for both of us so that I could use my Wise account while away. I used my copy of The Handy Travel Planner to knock up a budget plan and set it at £30 per day each, which was 3 times my allowance in Turkey. I’d got up early and packed only to find my new glasses which had been tightened were now uncomfortable and I needed to go back to the opticians. We had already eaten everything in the fridge or cupboard and put stuff in the freezer so we didn’t have anything in for breakfast. I was going to pop and get us croissants from Baker’s Yard but Captain Caveman suggested we go out for breakfast at The Grind. It’s a lovely independent cafe in Kelham Island which I love but don’t go often as it’s not in my budget. Captain Caveman ordered a coffee and eggs on toast, I chose a pot of tea and a granola bowl. I took my Lactase pills so that I didn’t have a bad stomach for travelling and had been pleased with the effects of them – they had generally been great when I took them properly. I couldn’t manage all of my breakfast as it was massive and I started to get a bit of a belly ache. I ended up with a bad stomach and feeling like I was going to puke which can sometimes happen when I have Greek yoghurt. We walked towards town so that I could go to the opticians and neither of us had a coat on. It was too cold so Captain Caveman decided to go back home and repack while I carried on to town. We had a small personal underseat item each and 1 cabin bag to share. Because we were flying with Ryanair I couldn’t take Pauline, my petite pink suitcase. Where possible I walk it to town and back, rather than getting the tram as it saves almost £5 and I get some exercise. I got my glasses sorted at Vision Express then went to Marks and Spencer for travel money and some food for our journey. When travelling, I often take food as it’s sometimes difficult to get food I like in the airport or on the plane, never mind choices which don’t make me ill. I was in a tangle already with my stomach and had to go to the toilet at least 3 times, plus I was trying not to puke. Here’s what I spent, with prices in pounds;
M&S Travel Money 100.22 2 smoothies 4.00 2 bags of crisps 2.10 1 pastrami sandwich 4.50 1 nutty salad 3.00 1 bag 0.80 Total spent £114.40
I was also shocked to see that the meal deals were no longer available in the shop in town so our lunch was more expensive than I’d expected. By the time I left, it was raining quite hard so I got wet walking back to Captain Caveman’s flat. He was waiting to set off for our trip, while I fannied about having a shower, putting the washing on and repacking to fit my food in!
Captain Caveman had decided we would drive to the airport this time as on our return he had a meeting in Manchester. I was still feeling ill but we set off according to Captain Caveman’s schedule. Our flight wasn’t until 6.05pm so we arrived early and ate half of our lunch in the car park before we went in to the airport. I ate my salad once through security and then had to walk for a while to get our water bottles filled back up. Next, we decided to go to the bar where a wine and a beer were about £20. The Ryanair flight was fine, I was sat in an aisle seat in row 5 while Captain Caveman was in a window seat at the back of the plane. We aren’t bothered about sitting together and we rarely pay extra on short flights to make sure we are.
We arrived in to Krakow airport early and were able to find the train easily. It cost just 20 zloty (£3.86) each for the train from the airport to the main station and took about 1 hour. I was impressed with trains for cleanliness, efficiency and prices in Poland already. We were staying within walking distance of the train station at Krakow Central Apartotel. It was so close that we actually walked past it and then returned. It was very nice and, as we were staying just the 1 night, we dropped out bags and went straight out.
We found nearby Polibuda pub but it was closing at 10pm so we just had a couple of pints of the local beer at just under £3 per pint. For dinner we found Aleya Food Truck serving amazing Indian street food. We had a chicken pakora wrap for Captain Caveman and a chicken tikka wrap for me and it came to just under £11. It was amazing and I wanted to come back again tomorrow for lunch. Including the airport drinks and M&S picnic we’d still managed to spend under our daily budget (by 88p) for the first day of our holiday and had really enjoyed it. Back at the hotel we had a comfy bed and a very big bathroom.
Gratitude List 1. Getting ready for a week in Poland 2. Amazing food 3. Spending a day off with Captain Caveman.
It was raining, cold and miserable on Thursday 27th August – it was still quite dark at 10am and I wasn’t used to that. Typically the weekend was the bank holiday in the UK so that made sense that the weather had changed. Around 3pm Vanessa popped round to collect something and address any last minute preparations for their holiday which they had booked through me at Resort Experts. Her and Matt were off on a cruise and stay holiday in the USA and Canada to celebrate her 60th birthday and they were really looking forward to it. We had a cup of tea and some bacon sandwiches while chatting and then we popped out for a quick drive as Vanessa had errands to run and I needed to tighten up my new glasses. It was another busy day, not finishing work until late. Captain Caveman and I had a walk round the block when it stopped raining and resisted the pub, before having another dinner at home. I cooked fish fingers and wedges and managed to make a mess of getting the fish fingers off the tray but they tasted fine.
Gratitude List 1. Knowing we were going away this weekend to escape the rain 2. Seeing Vanessa before her trip 3. Going outside for the first time since Sunday.
It was another hectic day for me on Friday 28th August and, instead of looking forward to going away, I’d started to get a bit stressed. I don’t have the luxury at the moment of being able to not work and weekends and evenings do tend to be my most demanding times of the week – especially bank holidays. I think it was at the back of my mind that I was still going to have to fit in working at least a few hours per day over the next few weeks. I ploughed through the to do list in the morning, then broke off to sort laundry so I had my stuff for taking on holiday. We had soup and a bacon sandwich for brunch at about 1pm and then we had a lot of travel related tasks to do; getting my travel insurance sorted, booking trains to and from Manchester airport, booking the airport hotel for when we got back from Belgium next month and checking we were ready to depart to Poland tomorrow. Disappointingly, the most important thing on my to do list was to have completed the internal pages of The Handy Travel Diary 2027, which I had hit a bit of a delay on. At 4.30pm we had another flat viewing in the area and, although it had 2 bedrooms but only 1 bathroom it did come with a parking space right outside. It didn’t have any outside space or an ensuite though – which we liked on the first flat we viewed. It was £20,000 cheaper but I’m not sure we both ranked it as high as the other one. We also were able to view a first floor flat which was a bargain but had only 1 bathroom and no allocated parking space. It did come fully furnished and was amazing inside, although no outdoor space or balcony. I still thought it was a strong contender and Captain Caveman said he wouldn’t rule it out. I made slimming world style pizzas for dinner, using Captain Caveman’s pasta sauce and wraps. We also opened a bottle of red wine to mark the end of a frugal and sober week. We watched a cycling event go past and Captain Caveman was a bit jealous as he still was suffering with gout so couldn’t have joined.
We decided to have a wander to the pub with it being Friday night and we had been very frugal for the last 4 days. Today was pay day for Captain Caveman which was a good job as I had completely run out of money. Captain Caveman treated us both to a drink in the Kelham Wine Bar and then we decided to pop over to the Alder for a second drink. We spent most of the night discussing the possibility of Captain Caveman buying a flat in the near future and what our future looked like after that. I went to bed that night with a lot to think about and also with a bit of worry about how on earth I was going to manage 3 holidays on a budget with people who earned so much more money than me (including Captain Caveman) – it was going to be tough.
Gratitude List 1. Getting a load of things done to help make it easier to work while abroad 2. Captain Caveman looking to buy a flat in Kelham Island, Sheffield 3. Going to the pub with Captain Caveman.
Monday 24th August was a full on working day where I was researching and compiling multiple customer quotes. It felt good to be back in the UK and connecting with more friends plus referred people who wanted me to look at their holidays for 2027 and 2028. I even had a 2029 enquiry for a special trip too. People were definitely planning ahead even more than I was. I broke off from the laptop for lunch of fish fingers, wedges and beans only to find we were out of beans. We made do without and had a discussion that we would try to get to the end of the week without spending much or buying any non-essentials. We had just 5 days until our holiday so needed to be sensible. In the evening we made do with leftovers and I said I would make a veggie curry tomorrow.
Gratitude List 1. Getting some more potential customers and bookings 2. Fish fingers 3. Being able to look forward to more holidays.
It was another busy day for both of us spent working hard on Tuesday 25th August. I’d got in to the habit of posting a Top Tip every Tuesday and this week my post got over 400% more views, over 300% of which were from people who didn’t know me already. I was trying to grow my following on Facebook so that I could earn money from my original content but it was still proving tricky as I was short of the 500 followers needed to get started. I persisted in trying to increase this and write useful, genuine posts to get this increased but it wasn’t easy. I made a slow cooker chickpea, lentil and spinach curry for dinner and we had it with some warmed up wraps. It’s really cheap to make, we had all the ingredients in the cupboard already and it is healthy and tasty. I should’ve made more but we did have leftovers for tomorrow. That evening I caught up on my blogging a bit before bed, as I was getting behind.
Gratitude List 1. My Top Tip Tuesday posts becoming more popular 2. A homemade veggie curry 3. A no spend, zero alcohol day.
I found myself missing the ladies of Fat Club on Wednesday 26th August. The group chat was busy with positive vibe messages and encouragement for all those who may have succumbed to Sabotage Tuesday yesterday. In the absence of any scales I took my measurements to find I had lost 1cm from my bust, 2cm from my waist but stayed the same on my hips – that wasn’t bad considering the amount of food and drink I’d had this weekend! It was another busy day in the office but I did break off to have leftover curry for lunch with Captain Caveman. In the evening Captain Caveman went to Bridge and I did more writing. For dinner Captain Caveman made sausage pasta with the sausages we had bought for breakfast at the weekend but not used, plus his home made tomato pasta sauce from the freezer. It was day 3 of no spending and zero alcohol in readiness for our forthcoming holiday this weekend.
Gratitude List 1. Still keeping in touch with the Fat Club ladies 2. Good home made food 3. Another no spend and zero alcohol day.
It was Clare’s last day in Sheffield on Sunday 23rd August and I was sad that the weekend was coming to an end. My body was craving a rest after drinking too much, eating far too much and walking the 5 Weirs Walk when I’m unfit. Incidentally, when I checked the length of the walk it wasn’t more than 8km (5 miles) and I’d thought it was further. We had bought all the items to make a breakfast at home but got up a bit late and decided not to bother. Instead we treated ourselves to one last meal out before Clare had to get her train back to Southampton. We had a really good Sunday dinner at Kelham Wine Bar and Kitchen, our closest bar. Captain Caveman and I chose the pork, Clare ordered the beef. All came with all the trimmings and loads of gravy on the side. Clare and I chose to drink a mimosa while Captain Caveman had a beer and we had one final cheers to round off an excellent weekend. It had made me realise how much I miss friends in the UK and was so grateful that Clare could come to visit us. For the dinner and a drink we paid just under £25 each and we all really enjoyed it. As the tram had the replacement bus arrangement on, we advised Clare not to bother with public transport in case she missed the train. I had tears in my eyes as we waved bye to her in the taxi while stood on Ball Street bridge – I blamed the menopause for being over emotional. Back home, all good intentions of doing work, laundry, blogging and even meeting Louisa (as she was also in the area with family) went out of the window. I went back to bed for a rest while Captain Caveman fell asleep on the beanbag in the living room. It was almost 8pm when Captain Caveman and I ate halloumi pesto pasta for dinner and I remembered to take my Lactase pills at the right time and in the right way. They were actually working and my stomach was back to normal!
Gratitude List 1. Sunday lunch with Captain Caveman and Clare at Kelham Wine Bar & Kitchen 2. A great weekend with friends 3. Having a Sunday afternoon rest.
I regretted drinking so much last night when I woke up on Saturday 22nd August. I’d definitely overdone it on the wine of which I’d had 6 plus a cocktail – way over my acceptable limit. This also meant that just my drinks and food had cost us almost £50, but it had been a great night round Kelham Island. It didn’t help that we didn’t eat a proper meal all day either so I was happy with today’s plans, even if my stomach and head weren’t. I decided I wasn’t drinking alcohol today and might not tomorrow either. Captain Caveman had suggested we do the Sheffield 5 Weirs Walk so that we could show Clare more of the area and he knows she loves a walk. Of course, he had hoped to set off before 10am so that we could go for breakfast at one of his favourite cafes. My stomach and head told us we were going later even though Clare and I were booked in for something special after breakfast. It was gone 10.30am when we set off and I’d had to take an imodium as it was going to take us a couple of hours and there were no facilities anywhere on the route. Captain Caveman and Clare were up for it and weren’t hungover so I trailed a good few paces behind them for most of the walk. I did take water with me but didn’t drink much until I knew we were nearly there.
We finished the walk about 12.40pm and walked a little further to the Rag & Bone Cafe. We’d last visited when they had a private function on and were so disappointed to have walked all the way and not been able to go in. This time I had called ahead and I had brought my Lactase pills so that I could have milk in my Yorkshire tea without the worry of more stomach issues. Usually they serve breakfast until 11am but today they were serving it all day. We all ordered the large full English breakfast with tea and toast at about £16.50 each. I didn’t ask for mine without eggs, tomatoes and black pudding as Captain Caveman was having those in addition to his own breakfast. The food was delicious, the lactase tablets didn’t fully work and I had to go to the loo a few times before we said bye to Captain Caveman. He was going to Meadowhall to get the tram back home, while Clare and I were going to Louisa’s for a Japanese facial each.
We arrived later than planned but we got a taxi which cost less than £10 and Clare paid. Once inside, I rested downstairs on the sofa, begging for mercy and with a belly ache, while Clare went first. Louisa had set up her spare room to be a lovely and very relaxing therapy room and was now taking clients for this amazing Japanese Kobido facial/massage. Clare and I both loved it and it was very relaxing – I definitely drifted off a little and my hangover had gone by the end of the treatment, which was a bonus. Louisa was really good and I definitely would recommend booking in with her to try it.
Louisa had got a lovely dress that instead of sending back when it wasn’t suitable for her had thought it would suit me – it did and it would be ideal for my holidays. She also got me a funky pair of sunglasses straps, perfect for boat trips in Dalyan to make sure my new sunglasses were safe, and a neck fan! It was so kind of her and I was very grateful especially with our holidays coming up very soon. My stomach was still bad and I felt like I needed a nap when we left. The taxi back to Kelham Island was about £14 which Clare paid for on her app. We had no time for napping as we were having dinner at our place followed by a cheese board. Luckily, Captain Caveman could tell I was in no fit state to be cooking the Moroccan chicken we had planned for tonight as I kept having to go to the bathroom, so he took over. Louisa arrived around 6pm and she had brought some spiced rum and diet coke for her to drink, Captain Caveman and Clare were on the wine but I held off. The Moroccan chicken dinner was very tasty, I forgot to take photos on account of me doing my best to just get through the meal without any more tummy troubles, which I did. Our cheese for dessert was slightly problematic on account of Louisa not liking uncooked cheese so she unfortunately didn’t get to eat that much as we scoffed lots of really nice cheeses. I’d taken my Lactase pills and wasn’t expecting them to work as we had at least 3 cheeses, membrillo, pickled onions, gherkins, salami and various crackers. The speciality cheese, called Minger, went down really well too and I had to have a drop of red wine to compliment the cheese, obviously. At last the lactase pills kicked in and they worked. Captain Caveman was the first to retire to bed as he was yawning away and flagging. Clare did her best but was also tiring after 2 nights of being sociable. I drank a lot of water before bed while Louisa finished off her spiced rum and I walked her out to her taxi at gone midnight. We’d had a lovely evening at home with the 4 of us sitting on whatever make do furniture; 2 plastic dining chairs, an office chair and a canvas camping chair. I was starting to miss having a soft sofa to sit on, though. In bed, Captain Caveman was snoring away but I did get to sleep eventually.
Gratitude List 1. Surviving the 5 Weirs Walk and breakfast with a hangover 2. An amazing Japanese Kobido facial with Louisa 3. Spending more time with Clare, Louisa and Captain Caveman in Sheffield.
There was some excitement on Friday 21st August as our friend, Clare, was coming to Sheffield for the weekend. I’d already been in touch with our other mutual friends, Kerrie and Louisa, who were also keen to meet up. After cramming in lots of work and I also managed to do the hoovering and clean up a bit, I walked to the train station to meet Clare. I’d not seen her since we went for drinks and steak in London so it was great to catch up again. Clare had just a small backpack and it was a lovely day so we decided to walk it back to Kelham Island from the train station. According to Captain Caveman it should take 15 minutes but I’d say it was more like 20. Back home, Clare was shown around the flat and she was allocated the spare room/office which I turfed Captain Caveman out of. He was able to finish work a little earlier on a Friday and was able to nip to the shops for provisions. He also bought me some Lactase enzyme supplements because he was convinced I was intolerant to lactose. I’d not realised that both Kerrie and Louisa had been ready to meet up earlier in the day than we could be ready for. We rushed to get ready and I messaged them to say we were heading to the pub. As it turned out, they were both running late now so we had time to show Clare the area, have a quick pint in the Alder, then another drink in the Neepsend Social Club, where I went on to wine. We waited in the Gardener’s Rest for our friends to join us with a third drink while sharing the last of the pork pies and food as none of us had eaten. I was very impressed with the pork to pastry ratio in the pork pie too.
At 5pm Louisa, Kerrie and her son, Jack, arrived at the Gardener’s Rest and more drinks were ordered – I was already quite merry by this point! Kerrie and Jack made me laugh, especially Jack who was telling us all about his football and they couldn’t stay long as they had to get up early for football tomorrow.
After the Gardener’s Rest, Louisa, Clare, Captain Caveman and I walked to the next pub, The Workshop. Here the girls went on to cocktails, I stuck to wine and Captain Caveman beer but I had already overdone it and was hungry. We ended up having chips and gravy which I knew I was drunk by this time as I’m not fond of gravy but I ate it and enjoyed it!
We really should have gone home after that as I had definitely had too much wine but we went for a last drink at the Church, where, apparently, I had a margarita and Captain Caveman fell asleep. Louisa’s husband came to pick her up and I think we kept him waiting a bit too long while she drank up and said her farewells. We organised to see her again tomorrow for something new that Clare and I were really looking forward to.
Gratitude List 1. Clare coming to stay with us for the weekend in Sheffield 2. Drinks at Kelham Island with our friends 3. That pork pie in the Gardener’s Rest.
As it was National Hungary day on Thursday 20th August, I scheduled a post about Budapest on my business page before we had our last breakfast. It was time to leave The Tudor hotel and Scotland today. I was a bit disappointed to not have taken the opportunity to be at the Edinburgh Literary Festival but I had done a lot of work and managed to design my own diary book cover, so I settled for that. Captain Caveman went off to the office and I had a team meeting and check-out at the same time. I got packed and ready only to find the team meeting was cancelled anyway. I plonked myself down at an empty table in the busy cafe bar area and ordered the hot drink and cake special. The waitress in there was so friendly and allowed me to set up my laptop. I ordered a pot of tea with a jam and cream scone for £5.95. It was lovely and I got a lot more work done.
Captain Caveman arrived to pick me up a bit later in the day than I’d expected at 4pm. By which time I’d had a walk to the nearest shop to get some sweets for the journey back. It was still raining and I felt the cold so was back sat in the foyer within 10 minutes. We drove back, calling at Tebay services on the way. I’ve never been to such posh services and Captain Caveman stocked up on salami and (more) cheese ready for the weekend when we had a friend coming to stay.
Our next stop was for a curry with friends in Kirby Stephen which was really good. It was also good to see Captain Caveman’s friends, one of which I’d not seen for years. We had a good laugh and the curry at Mango Tree was great, the weather wasn’t much better there either. We spent around £50 for the 2 of us and I really enjoyed the evening.
When we got back to Captain Caveman’s flat in Sheffield, I’d had a delivery. I’d ordered a couple of proof copies of 2 of the 4 notebooks I’d published on Amazon KDP. They are just blank inside for writing notes in and the covers have eye-catching designs and titles. I’d got the templates from Claire Clarke who was helping me get my books in to Waterstones and it had been good practice for the main books and diary. I checked the week’s budget v spend and I had spent less than the previous 2 weeks at £111.41 but I still needed to be very careful until the end of the month. It was almost midnight when we got to bed, both of us were very tired.
Gratitude List
1. A tea and scone for brunch 2. Curry with Captain Caveman and his mates 3. New JoLo style notebooks (available on Amazon).
On Monday 17th August I woke up with a very swelled up stomach and I felt like I might explode. I decided to have a walk round the block to see if I could ease it a bit before a long car journey. Captain Caveman and I were off to Scotland today and would be staying in a place called Airdrie, not far from Edinburgh. When we set off I was still unwell so we called in to the supermarket to see if the pharmacist had anything. She didn’t and just recommended I buy some Colpermin off the shelf. I did and they were £9 in the big Tesco.
We drove north and the temperature was getting cooler and it looked like rain. We stopped at some services in Richmond where I experienced a first time experience; watching camels run around in the field next to the services! They seemed very happy and even smiled at cars going past them. In the shop Captain Caveman decided he was going to buy a sausage roll for lunch and, of course, I wanted one but couldn’t eat it for fear of an upset stomach. We still bought 2 for a whopping £7 and I got a packet of 95p sweets for the rest of the journey. Nearer to our destination, Captain Caveman got a coffee from Macdonald’s and we watched as crows tried to bully other birds and scavenged the bins outside.
Back on the road it was raining and much cooler for the rest of the way and I started to wonder if I’d brought enough suitable clothing. We arrived at The Tudor Hotel and had to hurry in as it was now raining quite hard. The hotel was nice and we decided, instead of eating in the hotel restaurant, that we would pop to a shop and get something from there. Here’s what we bought with the prices in pounds;
Morrisons Supermarket Ribena drink 0.70 Ziplock bags 1.00 Monster munch 1.20 Blueberries 1.29 Cherry tomatoes 1.35 Raspberries 1.79 Grazing platter 2.00 Cocktail sausages 2.60 Green salad 3.00 Chicken noodle salad 3.50 1 bottle of red wine 5.12 2 pairs of black leggings 10.00 Total spent £33.55
As I didn’t have any other warm clothes except for the jeans I had on, we bought a 2 pack of leggings. My stomach was still iffy, as I’d eaten the sausage roll once I got to the hotel, but I’d taken the Colpermin and was hoping that would help. It was an early night as we both had long days tomorrow but we were happy to have a comfy bed with a duvet on as it was pretty chilly in Scotland.
Gratitude List 1. Colpermin tablets 2. New leggings 3. A comfy, warm bed.
I wasn’t feeling too great on Saturday 15th August and had regretted drinking Hugo spritzes and a cherry beer or two last night. Captain Caveman was off to play Bridge in the afternoon while I did my best to function. I was also off to Scotland tomorrow so I needed to pack. The weather forecast didn’t look like it would be very warm and I didn’t have any suitable clothing, or a coat. My new glasses were ready for collection so I walked in to town to get them. They weren’t that dissimilar to my previous pair but this time I could actually see – really well! I also had a lovely pair of prescription sunglasses. Captain Caveman was meant to be going to the Sheffield United match tonight and we had also said we would meet friends for a curry but I was acutely aware of not having any spare cash and I felt rubbish. At 7.30pm I was peckish, having not eaten much all day so we decided to have a chicken fajita pasta dish which I made but it wasn’t that good. When our friends let us know they were finished at a beer festival and were on their way for a curry, we decided not to go. I hate not going to stuff, especially for an Indian in one of our favourite places with lovely people, but I couldn’t afford it and needed the money for our holidays (starting in 2 weeks).
Gratitude List 1. New glasses 2. Being able to see so much better 3. Deciding to save money and eat at home.
I was meant to be going to Scotland with Captain Caveman on Sunday 16th August as he had a few days of working from the Livingstone office this coming week. I had a bright idea that I would go to the Edinburgh Book Festival to promote my books. I did a bit of research and found that I may have left it a bit late, plus I didn’t have any copies of my books here in Sheffield – and it was too late to order them too. I did think it was good experience to go anyway just as an observer to see what it was like. While Captain Caveman spent the morning volunteering for the calvert walk, I made myself a chicken pho, now that I had rice noodles. It was only using the pho stock cubes but it was so nice as I do miss Vietnamese breakfasts. When Captain Caveman returned, he decided to put off Scotland until tomorrow and we had a late lunch of the leftover chicken fajita pasta which tasted better than yesterday after I added cheese. Unfortunately, I ended up with a belly ache after eating it and was in the bathroom a lot! So much so, that I almost missed the Drum & Base bicycle ride as it went past Kelham Island. This had been marked down as an activity which Captain Caveman had fancied joining in but his gout was flaring up again and he was in pain. Captain Caveman wanted to go out for a pint but I was mindful of not spending any money. We went to The Church, Temple of Fun just for 1 drink each. It’s quite an usual local pub but I liked the decor. I had a peach radler to drink which was definitely an acquired taste but refreshing. Back home, I still had a bad stomach so I went to bed early.
Gratitude List 1. Pho for breakfast 2. Plans to go to Scotland with Captain Caveman 3. A trip to the pub.
Captain Caveman was working on site again of Friday 14th August, so it looked like he might be late for the night out that he had set the date for. Ages ago, we had arranged we would catch up with some of the Berlin 10 and tonight was in the diary for drinks in Kelham Island. More recently I’d invited the friends who had needed to cancel last month as well as Louisa and Linda. I worked all day and Captain Caveman made it back by 6pm, which was good. We decided to get our going out clothes on and see if we could find somewhere to get food too. Captain Caveman had bought me a dress from Uniqlo so I wore that with my Vietnamese porter sandals and loved it. We had a quick drink in the Kelham Wine Bar, where it was £17.68 for a couple of cocktails. Captain Caveman guzzled his down in about 2 minutes and then decided we would get snacks at Salt. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the kitchen open so we had pork scratchings for dinner with my Hugo Spritz (classy!) at a total of £15.60. The drink was very nice and I had another round as others joined. Caz & Tim arrived and they were on a bit of a curfew as they had to be back by 9.30pm for their son. Caz had invited the rest of the gang on the WhatsApp group but no one else could make it. Natalie & Paul came too, and I was glad that they could make it. Unfortunately, Louisa decided she wasn’t coming as she had got busy with dog walking and decluttering. Linda arrived and was the life and soul of the party when she mulled over 2 for 1 on the cocktails or jagermeister shots – she might have been the oldest there but she was certainly the most lively out of us all. Luan, Paul, Drexy & Jeff (of the Berlin 10) arrived next and we had a very good evening. It was broken up by a series of emergency alarms that there were wild fires nearby and that we were to remain in doors. Everyone ignored the alarms but they kept coming and we could see on social media that some areas of Sheffield did have spreading wildfires. We were fine where we were and continued in the beer garden. Our last pub was the Kelham Island Tavern, another favourite, and we had a couple of drinks in there before Caz and Tim had to get back to relieve their babysitter. They kindly dropped Linda off at home even though it was a little early to be going but Captain Caveman’s gout was still giving him issues and it would have been quite far for him to walk her home. It was a while since I’d been drinking with these friends so it was great to laugh and reminisce. We had a great time and I spent a total of £47 and Captain Caveman probably spent more. As we said our farewells to half the Berlin 10, Captain Caveman made arrangements to meet up again tomorrow and go for a curry at Butlers.
Gratitude List 1. Captain Caveman making it back to Sheffield in good time for our night out 2. My new Uniqlo dress 3. A night out in Kelham Island with lovely friends.
My new whiteboard was a game changer on Tuesday 11th August and I had popped it on the spare room windowsill. Captain Caveman was working on site today and tomorrow so it meant I could borrow his work desk. It was great to have more space and I had started to really get through my tasks today. At lunch time I met Vanessa who had popped over to see me. I’d had the great idea to go to The Grind cafe but it was a bit much for Vanessa’s stomach and she just had toast and I had a Greek salad. We both had a cuppa and, as the weather was nice, we sat outside. One of Vanessa’s favourite places at Kelham Island is the Fat Cat so we went there next and had just a quick drink. We chatted on about how good the 60th birthday 80s night had been and Vanessa still had some more celebrations to do next month. Back home it was a busy admin afternoon/evening and I forgot to have any dinner.
Gratitude List 1. My improved productivity from having a new whiteboard 2. Using Captain Caveman’s desk 3. Meeting Vanessa for lunch.
Ordinarily, if I’d been in Dalyan, Wednesday 12th August would be weigh day and I’d be going to Fat Club. It had now been 7 weeks since I had last been to the group and got weighed. I knew I had put weight on, even without any weighing scales, because I could tell on photos of my face! I decided to still take my measurements which I last did a month ago and it wasn’t quite as shocking as I’d expected. I’d lost 1cm from my bust, put 4cm on my waist (that will be the bread) and my hips had stayed the same. I decided I would walk in to town for some exercise and also I wanted to see if I could order The Handy Travel Planner at Waterstones yet. It turned out I could and they said they would order it in for me and call me when it arrived, which could take 2 weeks. I nipped in to Barclays to ask if it was ok for Captain Caveman to bring his bicycle in when he came for the mortgage appointment and while I was there I met the mortgage advisor and asked some generic questions. The mortgage advisor was very helpful and the branch had been done up very nicely. Next, I popped in to TK Maxx where I noticed a men’s manicure kit for £3 so I bought it for Captain Caveman ready for his forthcoming holidays. In Holland & Barrett I picked up some Gin Gins, tea for a bad stomach and some healthy snacks, spending a total of £9.32. I took photos of the cherry supplements for Captain Caveman so he could decide if he wanted any to help with his gout symptoms. I had also arranged to meet my parents in town and then we were going to be doing another pub crawl in Kelham Island. Captain Caveman was working so he couldn’t be there. Ma & Pa met me outside Boots and we got on the tram and went to the Wellington for a pint. Mom got the round in and it was very reasonably priced in there and is one of our favourites. It was warm enough for a sit out in the beer garden too. Our next stop was the Alder for a quick pint each at a total of £12.46 and then we decided to try the Neepsend Social Club which is very nice and had ice cold Aircon on. We decided to order some halloumi fries and chips with our drinks and I decided to go on to wine. The round worked out slightly cheaper at £12.19 and we were the only ones in there. We also did a video message to Nanny Kay who was in the UK celebrating her birthday this year. By this time we were peckish again but Ma & Pa didn’t fancy the main meals in the Neepsend Social Club so we decided to go for pizza at B’Reyt Dough, just round the corner. I had a pepperoni pizza and a large glass of red wine, Dad had Margherita pizza and a large red wine and Mom had a calzone and a smaller white wine. Dad ended up having a laugh with the waiter and we completely missed the eclipse. The total bill came to £62.25 for the 3 of us which my parents paid and I ended up with some leftover pizza to take home. I walked them back to the tram stop as we were all a bit merry, having had a really good time. It was also a farewell drink as all of us were going to be away on our holidays soon.
Gratitude List 1. A successful trip to town 2. Another Kelham Island pub crawl with Ma & Pa 3. Pizza and wine.
On Thursday 13th August it was more holiday planning for both me and friends. As we would be joined by Briony in Vegas she had sent her flight details through and we were lucky to be landing within 10 minutes of each other. There was a Resort Experts Team Meeting where updates of the eagerly awaited websites were spoken of and were looking likely for next month. In the afternoon I met with a friend who had booked to holiday in Dalyan while I was there so we had a walk to Tescos. I finally found some rice noodles and we carried on to her house for a late lunch and a glass of wine while we sorted out boat trips and taxi pick ups. I had a Greek salad pitta pocket while my fellow diner had tuna and cucumber in hers. It was a nice afternoon and we planned to meet up for drinks again very soon. As Captain Caveman was not back until late, I got to occupy the beanbag at home but I did have trouble getting back off it. I totted up the 2nd week of the month’s spending and it was much better than last week at £131.69, so less than £19 per day, but still too much and I needed to be more frugal next week, even though I had plans which required spending money.
Gratitude List 1. Knowing the Las Vegas arrival times were lining up nicely. 2. Rice noodles 3. Catching up with a client and friend for more holiday planning.
