At 3am on Sunday 2nd March I was wishing that the bathroom lay out had the sink and toilet closer to each other! The chicken kebab I had eaten last night was not quite as enjoyable on its way out. I was so ill and felt terrible. I spent a few hours in the bathroom before trying to go back to sleep but didn’t really manage it. I had to call in sick to the Sunday meet up and had at first thought it was because I wasn’t used to drinking so much wine these days. When I went to pick up the bag with the kebab wrapper in, to take to it out to the bin, it made me puke again. I was in a bad way most of the day but there was no rest as I had 2 holiday enquiries for last minute deals that needed focusing on. Luckily, I found some ginger and honey tea in the cupboard and the dogs gave me lots of love. Edna knew I was sick and kept herself near to me. I managed a short walk with them in the afternoon but didn’t eat anything until late afternoon and then I managed toast and a cup of tea. I eventually ate a proper meal at almost dinner time, of curry with a wrap. After finishing off some work and lining up a couple more bookings for March, I had a lazy evening and watched TV. I was in bed relatively early and ready for a busy Monday.
Gratitude List 1. The kebab syns might not have stayed in long enough to count 2. Ginger tea 3. Norman and Edna being so easy to look after when I was feeling delicate.
I started the day with tea and toast while feeling a lot more human again on Monday 3rd March. Edna was overly fussy as she wanted to check I was well again, while Norman was wondering why we were all up so early. Rain was forecast so I took my laundry home, called at the bank and went to the shops to buy provisions while waiting for UK work related people to wake up. Here’s what I bought with the prices in lira;
Migros Supermarket 1 tin of tomatoes 21.95 1 wholemeal loaf 49.95 Walnuts 65.90 576g of chicken breasts 120.96 Total spent 258.76 lira (£5.64)
I had 2 bookings to complete plus more enquiries today so things were definitely looking good for holiday bookings as more people got ready to book their breaks. I had leek and potato soup for lunch and had made a chicken and mushroom stroganoff in the slow cooker for dinner. I enrolled on a Planner Ideation course with Claire Clarke who I had briefly worked with before and had last spoke to her before I published my book. I was very busy after the dog walk and, when I dialled in to a Lisa Johnson Make Money Online Masterclass, the electric went off and I couldn’t continue the webinar.
Gratitude List 1. Enrolling on a course with Claire Clarke 2. Being in a position to apply for residency now 3. Treats of walnuts in my shopping.
There was no Sunday Walk, secret squirrel or otherwise, on Sunday 23rd February. It was just too cold so I had arranged to meet some friends at Kefal Tea Gardens (indoor area) for a bit of a send-off for Zen. He was going back to work so it would be the last time we saw him until mid-April. We decided on meeting at 11.30am and joining the big table there were 8 of us. I wrapped up warm as it looked so sunny but was very cold outside.
When I arrived, the waitress helped me to move the tables in to place, in a sunny corner of the indoor area. I ordered a large Turkish tea, there were no gözleme available today. Everyone arrived and we had a good chat and beverages before ordering food. I ordered the breakfast portion (without egg) and it was rather substantial for the price of 225.00 lira (£5). I even took some of it away as I couldn’t eat it all. The sun had been very warm where we were sitting so it was very nice to feel hot and I even had to take a few layers off. My total bill with 2 teas, plus another which came included with the breakfast, came to just 255.00 lira (£5.67). I really enjoyed my Sunday Turkish brunch with friends but we were all sad to say bye to Zen. I got back in time to have a chat with a friend, living in Hoi An, Vietnam, as we were looking at planning a trip to Easter Island and Peru for her. Unfortunately, she had an incident at work so the call was put on hold. Around 5pm, I popped to the shops and here is what I bought with prices in lira;
Migros Supermarket 2 tins of tomatoes 44.92 lira (£1)
I still hadn’t managed to find a notepad and I had an important call tomorrow that I needed one for. After eating a chicken dinner, I went to look for a notepad. None of the nearest supermarkets had one but I bumped in to Kaan who took me to the Şevikoğlu where I got one for 49.90 lira (£1.11) in the sale. I walked back and called in BIM where I bought a couple of Dido chocolate bars for 39.00 lira (87p). I spoke to Captain Caveman who was in the Yorkshire Dales, he would be back in Dalyan in 5 weeks. At 11pm I was on a live Facebook update with Lisa Johnson getting ready for tomorrow’s Race to Recurring Revenue, which I was really looking forward to.
Gratitude List 1. Breakfast at Kefal with friends 2. An enquiry for Peru 3. A new notepad finally purchased.
I decided I didn’t really need anything from the market that was important enough to brave the cold on Saturday 15th February. I’d had a bit of a lay in because I didn’t want to get out of bed on what looked to be a cloudy and grey day. I also had 3 ongoing holiday enquiries that I wanted to get sorted too. I had my tea and toast in the office with the AC on warm before getting on with things. At lunch time I had leftover veggie curry and rice with sweet corn. After completing a couple of bookings, one of which I was particularly pleased about as it was a second booking for a good friend, I decided to make some brownies. I used chocolate spread to make them but I got distracted by someone asking me about Sapa in Vietnam, and they were overdone. I spoke to Captain Caveman who was already making plans for his first pay day. It was midnight by the time I got to bed, having had red wine and brownies for dinner because I forgot what time it was. I set the alarm as I had promised to meet friends for a trip to Çandır tomorrow.
Gratitude List 1. A lay in 2. Being able to help a friend get another good deal on a hotel booking 3. Chatting to Captain Caveman about money.
I was awake before the sun on Sunday 16th February and was looking forward to meeting up with some friends for a little trip over the river to Çandır. As I walked through Dalyan to the Migros Supermarket nearest the Portakal ferry, the town looked like lots of work was being done during the winter months, in readiness for the holiday season.
The ferry cost was 15 lira (34p) each way and we had a lovely walk with the sun shining. Johnny the dog joined us and one of the walkers brought a flask of tea. At the end of a beautiful morning we stopped off at the Kaunos tea gardens to meet a couple of other friends, who hadn’t been able to join the walking part of our morning. I had a chicken sandwich and 2 large teas for 155 lira (£3.52) – a bargain even in Frugal February. I got a lift back to mine as Janet had kindly given me some clothes as I’d been complaining all my clothes were now massive on me. I’d gone from a size 16/18 down to a 12 and it showed now – I didn’t even have a belt small enough to keep my baggy jeans up.
When I got home I did a bit of work before a family video call and a call with Captain Caveman – separately. It was funny that Captain Caveman had been living in Sheffield now for over a month but he hadn’t had chance to see my family yet as they had not been available for a visit. Luckily, he was keeping busy and today he had collected a suitcase from Vanessa then had driven to a village near Hull to pick up his Irata log book, ready for his course tomorrow. He had eaten fish and chips with bread & butter and a cup of tea at the seaside for £16.50! I had leek & potato soup followed by several brownie/biscuits for dinner and wished it was fish and chips.
Gratitude List 1. A trip out with friends 2. Lunch at the tea gardens 3. Chatting to family and Captain Caveman.
Sunday 9th February was still pretty cold as I went to meet friends for a Sunday stroll. I’d had a cup of tea and some overnight oats for breakfast and we aimed to walk to Gunlüklü and back. I hoped my feet would be ok as my trainers had fallen apart and my wellies still smelled of shit so I had to wear my Vietnamese porter sandals. I put an ankle support on my sore ankle to help and had a pair of socks in my bag, just in case. The walk was very nice but we did go back to show the others Shits Creek where Debbie and I got a bit of a surprise. The road with all the puddles on had been levelled off and the manure in the arık had been ‘tidied up’ somewhat. In the dry weather it did look as if it would have been impossible for the incident I had previously found myself in, to have happened without noticing. We had a cup of tea at the Gunlüklü, walked past the dinosaur and, at the end, decided to go to Kaunos tea gardens. By which time it was a bit warmer and we decided to have some food, even though my tummy had been iffy this morning. I had a sage tea and a chicken sandwich which was fantastic for 165 lira (£3.75).
On the way back home I decided to pop to the supermarket, here’s what I bought with prices in lira:
It was a sign I had increased my monthly budget, as I was splashing out on nuts and beef in the same shopping trip! I was meant to be meeting Jamie and his friend, Aimee, to celebrate her birthday but I lost my phone, which turned out to have fallen out of my pocket in Migros. When I went back the girl who found it had put it in the till, which was so good of her. Once home and after a hot shower, I did a couple of email replies, then realised I needed to rest my foot and didn’t go to join Jamie, Aimee and Scott. I ended up having left over Sunday dinner and painkillers that night and staying in. Before bed I had a sage tea and a Dido chocolate bar.
Gratitude List 1. Sunday Walk with friends 2. Ankle Support bandages 3. Dido chocolate bars.
Photo Credit – some photos by Debbie, the last one from Captain Caveman on his Sunday walk in the UK
I had an incredible day on Sunday 2nd February; Debbie and I were back to safety in numbers on a Sunday get together . Sezgin had invited Debbie, Mike and I for a trip to the beach. I had some work to do in the afternoon so it was perfect timing that I would go to the beach and be back before 5pm, which is 2pm UK time. I got a lift there with Debbie and Mike, who were still laughing at last Sunday’s debacle, so I was determined not to have another incident this week. We met Sezgin & Nur at Iztuzu Beach café where they introduced us to their son, Zen, for the first time. We all took a walk along the beach, it was beautiful and sunny – warm enough for a paddle too. It felt so nice to have the sand and sea between my toes and the breeze in my face.
We took a few photos, all chatted about a variety of subjects and I learned there was an alternative book publishing company to Amazon. Zen told me all about Kobo and how he used that to read books on his phone, without even the need to have a Kindle. All the young people he knew used this but I needed to look into it as I’d never heard of it. We ate lunch at the beach and here’s the prices, in lira;
1 Water 15.00 1 Lemon Soda 30.00 1 Mixed Toastie 125.00 1 Tuna Salad 150.00 1 Chicken sandwich 150.00 Total spent 470.00 (£10.68)
We left the beach all happy to have made the effort to have a Sunday outing and I had a task for Sezgin back at Fire Opal.
Captain Caveman needed his Irata Log book which was in a cupboard above the stairs so, on the way home from the beach, Sezgin and Zen came to help get it down. Captain Caveman had told me where the key was which was to unlock a ladder, attached with a bicycle lock to the outdoor balcony. I was then to place the ladder half way up the stairs to be able to go up it to get one of the boxes out and pass it down to Sezgin. I didn’t want to try it alone in case I fell or hurt myself doing it, but by the time I had got the ladder unsecured, it was obvious that Sezgin was tall enough to not need it. Sezgin thought it hilarious that Captain Caveman thought he needed to secure a ladder to a balcony railing when we are on the second floor. The 2 men got both boxes down and all was good – no incidents, so I was very grateful. It did mean that I needed to take photos to send the contents of the book to Captain Caveman and then would have to take it to him if/when I went to visit. I was still hoping to go to England in a couple of weeks’ time. I went back to Jamie’s and took the dogs out for a walk. In the evening I cracked on with work and was really pleased to be able to organise a family holiday for a good friend. For dinner I had a lentil and chickpea curry and then a cuddle on the sofa with the dogs who had been so well behaved today. Edna had not had as many snuggles as usual but she said she wasn’t going to complain if I could guarantee it was a one off. We had a video call with Captain Caveman who was preparing for his first day of work tomorrow. I was so proud of him and wished him luck, I admired how self-sufficient and confident he is and knew he would do well – his new employers were lucky to have him.
Gratitude List 1. An outing to the beach 2. The ladder fiasco which made us all laugh 3 Being able to help my friend with a surprise family holiday.
I had just one dog free day on Sunday 26th January and so, when I woke up, I felt like I should make the most of it. I’d already booked for Sunday lunch in the afternoon with friends but Debbie and I decided we would go for an impromptu Sunday Walk. Today would turn out to be quite the day and neither of us expected what happened to happen!!! It was cold so I put my footless tights on and borrowed Captain Caveman’s nice merino wool socks, they were rather thick but I planned on wearing my wellies due to the amount of rain we had yesterday. I couldn’t decide which jeans to put on so I dragged some jeggings, which were a bit big for me, out of the charity bag I had been filling up. I set off in the rain but I had my small rucksack and an umbrella so all was fine. It did stop raining once Debbie and I got started and we got quite far before the ‘incident’ occurred.
We were walking on the flat on a lane, not too far from Eskiköy, when we came to a bit of a blockage in the path. It was filled with puddles, on the left was a drop to a flowing stream and on the right was a recently ploughed farmer’s field. On our path in front of us were the dirty puddles and Debbie had trainers on. I was wearing much more appropriate footwear; yellow wellies and Captain Caveman’s socks so it made perfect sense for me to offer to test out how deep the puddles were. I suggested Debbie wait while I walked forward to test the depth and I found that the middle of the slippy lane was ankle deep. Debbie really didn’t want to get her feet wet and looked like she may take a chance on walking on the left, too near to the stream for my liking. I said not to, as I didn’t want to have to rescue her if she fell in – it was quite a drop. I mentioned that maybe we could go to the right and risk walking via the farmer’s field which had quite a bit of manure in it but was flat. What happened next was a bit of a blur as I stepped just a couple of steps to my right (if only it was as easy as doing the Timewarp) and ended up in a predicament. My right foot sank very quickly into cold, soft, smelly shit. As my left foot followed suit, I had 2 things pop in to my head, simultaneously. Practical advice from one of my former senior school teachers that was actually about not staying still if ever I was to get stuck in quicksand and to not put my hands down. So, I started to try to move my legs backwards to stop them sinking further as the manure pile was very deep and similar consistency to quick sand. I was quickly sinking further, it was so cold and wet and smelly. Then came the realisation I was not going to be able to get myself out. If you’ve ever seen the TV show ‘The Vicar of Dibley’ where Dawn French goes in to a puddle, it was not dissimilar. Debbie meanwhile, admitted her first thought was to get the camera out but she soon decided against it when she saw the sheer panic in my eyes, I told her I couldn’t move and that she would have to help drag me out. To give credit to Debbie, after the initial laughing, she did effectively manage to drag me out of the shit, without me pulling her in. I was in a mess, a bit shaken and I stunk of shit!! When I looked down I had been almost fanny deep in soaking wet cold manure and now my jeggings were covered and my wellies were full of shit! Debbie was crying with laughter as she got her phone out for a photo and was clearly disappointed not to have actually got one of me ‘in the shit’, literally.
A little way down the road, from what we would later rename ‘Shits Creek’ was a house so we decided we would go there to ask for help to wash the manure off. The farmers were stood outside looking towards us – potentially feeling bad for filling and blocking the arık (small drainage canal) with their big pile of poo. As we walked, and I worried about the squelchy shit-saturated socks I’d borrowed from Captain Caveman’s drawer without permission, I realised how lucky that my phone in my back pocket was still safe. Debbie called Mike to come and rescue us but didn’t actually tell him what happened, just to bring the car, wet wipes, bin liners and an old blanket/towel because we needed rescuing. As we approached the farmer, I saw that he had a water pump in his garden and I moved towards it, he and his wife/sister (it was hard to tell) gestured for me to get back. They hosed me down next to the stream with a powerful hose of cold (but not freezing) water. By this time a bit of shock and hysteria had set in and I was quite happy to just attempt to walk home without taking the wellies off. The shitty socks had swelled and the wellies were suctioned on as I tried to remove them, just to wash my smelly feet. The farmer was overly keen to help and proceeded to use brute force to get them off, not knowing that there was a vacuum created. My bad ankle didn’t half take some twisting and he finally yanked off the wellie while I held on to Debbie. Now that Debbie knew I would live, she was no longer holding back the laughter and we both had tears rolling down our cheeks after saying bye and a reluctant thanks to our ‘helpers’, who had more than likely dumped the manure in the arık in the first place.
Mike arrived and had assumed there was some shit involved but all 3 of us were laughing so much at me getting in such a shit situation just to prevent Debbie from getting wet feet. The bin liners weren’t big enough for me to fit in to so we tied one round each foot and I sat on another in the back seat of their car. We drove with the windows down and they dropped me off at home where I am lucky to always have hot water on. Although our Sunday stroll had been cut short I still needed to get cleaned up for the afternoon antics and pop to the shops. I said my farewell and thanks to Debbie and Mike and walked in to our complex, pondering the logistics of getting my shitty stuff off before I went in to the apartment. I sat on the bench having pulled down my dirty and wet jeggings but leaving my footless tights on. I was about to take off my wellies and socks when a workman from next door looked over and was met with what I can only assume looked like a woman having a toilet break in her own garden. By this time I didn’t care and I just wanted to not be able to smell shit. I put the wellies and socks on the steps, in one of the bin liners and the jeggings in another, destined for the bin on my way back out. That shower was probably one of the best and longest I’ve ever had – I still had manure on my knees and in between my toes which took several washes to get it off!
Jamie had said they would meet me in Sofra bar, if I wanted to meet there before the Sunday lunch. However, I was pushing it to get there on time and was paranoid that I still smelled of manure. Due to being an eczema sufferer in the past I use only natural products so I wasn’t convinced that they had eliminated the stench. I threw out the shitty jeggings but everything else went in the wash, including my ‘dinlo’ Oxalis rain jacket which may not survive. I’d invited Debbie and Mike round for a drink tonight and wanted to get a few nibbles in from the shop too. I nipped to Migros and here’s what I bought, prices in lira;
Migros Supermarket 2 plastic bags 1.00 (I had none left at home)! Plain Crisps 27.00 Plain hummus 39.75 3 x Dido chocolate bars 40.50 Tomato hummus 42.50 Crinkle crisps 44.95 Dates 81.95 Haydari 92.50 Soft cheese 105.50 1.5kg chicken 107.37 Mozarella cheese 137.90 Total spent 720.92 lira (£16.38)
I popped the shopping away and kept the bags in my rucksack, just in case! I then went to meet the others in Sofra where there were a few Dalyan Dwellers. On arrival, I asked Drew if he could smell shit and he couldn’t, so that was good! I wasn’t going to drink but after my ordeal and the fact that my leg and ankle ached, I took the white wine that Melanie didn’t want. I didn’t have time to drink it before we had to go for our Sunday lunch so I left it.
I had booked a table for the 5 of us at River House for 2pm and we were met by Orhan. It was the first time I had met the new waiter and I was a little taken aback that he kissed my hand then offered us a table outside. We all preferred a table indoors so he went to sort that out while we chatted to some of the Dalyan Dwellers who were sat outside and had finished their first course already. One of them told us that they had been coming to River House for their Sunday meal a few times and that we should ask for extra roast potatoes. I thought it a bit odd but went inside to be seated with Jamie, Drew, Melanie and Nanny Kay. I decided to have the beef, in fact everyone but Nanny Kay had beef, and she had the chicken. Drew and I shared a bottle of red wine that we didn’t think to ask the price of but the beef dinner was 650 lira (£14.77) and the chicken 550 lira (£12.50), including apple pie and custard. I ordered mine without mashed potato but they forgot so I gave mine to Nanny Kay and I should’ve remembered to ask for the gravy on the side as I’m not really a fan. We got a shared starter with bread and the wine was good, Orhan had insisted he give us some to try first as Jamie preferred white. The food was nice but the chicken dinner was better value and it was definitely diet friendly as the portion size wasn’t massive. I certainly didn’t need a Tupperware for any spare. None of us did ask for extra vegetables but we probably should have – there’s something odd about getting your main course, though, and then having to ask for more of it! The food was nice but I much prefer their Turkish food. When the bill came, Orhan explained he had given us discount on the wine, which was kind of him. My share came to a total of 1,200 lira (£27.27) for half a bottle of red wine, my 2 course dinner and a tip. It was great to go out with friends for another celebration, and River House is a nice place with good toilets. I’d definitely go again but I think I’d stick to their traditional Turkish dinners next time – they do an amazing İskender kebab.
After dinner, we went back to Sofra bar where the bar man presented me with my leftover wine from earlier, which he’d saved in the fridge, and I’d forgotten about. I had to put soda water in it to get it down, though, as I’m not a massive drinker these days. Once it started to get chilly, I said my goodbyes and decided to walk the scenic route home, prior to Debbie and Mike popping round for drinks that evening. Every now and then this morning’s manure fiasco came back in to my head and I started to laugh. Debbie and Mike arrived with homemade marmalade and a lovely bottle of wine which we shared and it was definitely not a 150 lira bottle. I did a few nibbles including a selection of cheese and crackers, soft cheese stuffed dates drizzled with honey and a few ‘bought from the shop’ dips with crisps and carrot sticks. Debbie and I could not stop laughing as we retold the ordeal in much detail to Mike, yet again. I’d messaged Captain Caveman to say we would call him as he could not believe how I had possibly managed to come a cropper in the way I did – he knew that path well. We had a video call with him so that Debbie could fill him in as to how I ended up thigh deep in a shit filled arık! Oh how we laughed, while he shook his head in disbelief. I’m sure he was more concerned about his manure-covered merino wool socks that had already been through the wash twice, than me. I drank a few glasses of wine to ease the still throbbing ankle and aching leg and my face ached from all the laughing by the time my guests left. I didn’t go to bed until late but I set my alarm for an early start tomorrow. Dalyan might be a sleepy little town in winter but there’s hardly a dull moment!
Gratitude List 1. Being rescued from a shitty situation and traumatic experience 2. Spending time with friends over a Sunday lunch 3. So much laughter with Debbie and Mike over Manure-gate!
After a couple of exciting nights out this week, it was time to take it steady on Saturday 18th January. After a dog walk and beans on toast with a cup of tea for breakfast, I decided to do something similar to last week. I had just a bit of editing and the summary of my ‘You Can’t Shit Yourself on a Bicycle…’ book to finish off so I decided to crack on with it. Unfortunately, Amazon seemed to think I already had an account so I couldn’t log in to attempt to upload the book! It also kept sending codes to a phone number that I didn’t have and was annoying. I had more cake for lunch as I didn’t have any time to make something and then I did quite a long walk with Lady C and Chico. Back home, I had a chicken and chickpea curry with steamed rice and then taught Lady C a new trick. She wasn’t keen on the biscuits in her bowl so I was trying to encourage her to eat 5 before she was allowed a piece of chicken sausage as a treat. I lined the biscuits up on the step but she wouldn’t take them. I lined them up on the carpet but then she decided she wanted to get her own biscuits from the bowl. After some perseverance she managed it and was so excited to get the treat.
Gratitude List 1. Seeing Lady C and Chico getting along on the walk 2. Lady C learning the biscuit trick 3. Having enough discipline to not quit, when Amazon tipped me over the edge (for the first time).
I was meant to be going on a walk on Sunday 19th January and I hadn’t thought I would need to set an alarm! Unfortunately, I woke up 15 minutes before I would need to be setting off and hadn’t had chance to walk Lady C. I messaged to cancel and said I would head to the Kaunos tea gardens for after they got back so that I could catch up with the Secret Squirrel Sunday walkers. After a dog walk, I had orange and pink grapefruit, tea and toast. I got invited to an online networking event for free which Lisa Johnson, a famous online business strategist, had recommended, so I signed up to do that tomorrow. I did make it in time to meet the walkers and was surprised to see so many police at and around the tea gardens but I wasn’t sure what for. On the way back I went to the bank and then the shop, here is what I bought with prices in lira;
When I got back, I sat down with a cup of tea and a Dido chocolate bar while catching up on some admin. It was lovely and sunny out, so I took Lady C out for an early walk and decided to try her off the lead for a short stretch just to see what she would do. She surprised me and was quite good. That evening I got invited round to Jamie and Drew’s where we finished off the roast chicken dinner from Wednesday (it had been frozen) but we decided to do it without any boozing. Edna was not impressed that I was on water and she had a little sulk. When I got home I did a bit of work before bed as I had an important errand to run tomorrow morning.
Gratitude List 1. Having an unplanned lay in on a Sunday 2. Having tea with the Secret Squirrel Sunday Walkers 3. An impromptu dinner with Jamie, Drew, Norman and Edna.
Photo credit – some of the Sunday walk from Debbie
It rained heavily all day on Sunday 12th January and I had trouble getting Lady C out for a walk. Once she was out though, she discovered she liked a bit of sploshing in puddles and I had to dry her off with a towel which the damp cats had been on. She was not impressed and demanded snacks! I had more juicy oranges and pink grapefruit for breakfast, vegetable soup for lunch and peanuts for snacks. I did a few enquiries for work but I had a feeling they were time wasters – it’s hard to tell. I defrosted a chicken casserole for dinner and had it with slow cooker cauliflower cheese as I had so much cauliflower. It was very tasty and I really enjoyed a wet wintery day indoors.
Gratitude List 1. Good homemade food 2. Being warm in the AC 3. Sploshing in puddles.
Monday 13th January was a busy working day and I was loving having the new Resort Experts quote tool. It was reducing the time I was spending producing quotes. I was up very early, it finally stopped raining and I managed to get Lady C out but she didn’t want to go far. She wouldn’t go in the direction of the bin, when I needed to put some rubbish in, so I hooked her on to the gate – she wasn’t impressed. We met up with a dog who had been abandoned, Chico, who started to join our walks. Luckily, a kind Turkish lady was feeding her and let her shelter on her balcony when it rained.
I was also playing catch up because of taking some time off at the weekend. Unfortunately, I got a message from The Aussies to say they were leaving at 7am tomorrow and wanted to meet up today to say bye but I just didn’t have time. I barely had chance to go to the corner shop to buy some provisions, here’s what I bought with prices in lira;
Fresh bread 10.00 1 Açma & 1 simit 70.00 1 tin of Heinz beans 57.50 Red cheese 133.00 Total spent 270.50 lira (£6.15)
I worked most of the day, had a couple of rain dodging short dog walks and ate the same as what I had yesterday for lunch and dinner – I do love a batch cook to free up time.
Gratitude List 1. Buying treats of baked beans and cheese!!!! 2. More genuine Resort Experts enquiries coming through 3. Time saving solutions.
There was no official Sunday walk on Sunday 5th January, as Captain Caveman had now left Dalyan and there was no one else willing/available to take on the task of organising one this week. I’d decided I would not always be free as I worked some weekends and I also was a bit of a fair-weather girl who couldn’t read a map. The sun was out and so when I got up and had my cup of tea, I messaged Debbie and Janet to see if they were going on a walk. They said they were up for a short stroll and Debbie let Sezgin and Nur know too so we could meet at the tea gardens at 11am. It turned in to a bit of a Secret Squirrel Sunday walk, quite by chance. We all started off togged up in many layers, as it was a very cold morning despite the sun. We had lost one walker before leaving the Mosque Square and we watched some stand up paddle boarders on the river. One of them fell in, which must have been a bit refreshing for them. By 12.45pm I had taken so many layers off that my bag was full of clothes and I had very hot feet. I was wearing Captain Caveman’s wool socks with my wellies to make them comfier. We went to the tea gardens afterwards and had a hot beverage and a bit of a laugh.
After the walk, I went to the shops to stock up, here’s what I bought with prices in lira;
Migros Supermarket 2 red onions 10.72 1 chocolate bar 14.40 Spring onions 34.94 1.2kg carrots 64.84 720g sweet potatoes 71.96 3 Quark 89.95 Spray olive oil 129.95 705g chicken breasts 105.72 912g chicken thighs 184.64 Total spent 707.15 lira (£16.07)
When I got home, Captain Caveman had been busy setting up a Facebook Group and had invited me to be the admin on it. I treated myself to the açma with kaymak and jam for my brunch and made a chicken casserole in the slow cooker for dinner. The weather forecast was looking bad again for next week so I got on with work and then started looking at my own holidays. I had a quick look at costs of package holidays to Marrakech in February and saw one at £229 per person from Gatwick, hand luggage only but staying at a nice place with a pool. Captain Caveman thought this was a bit pricey and I looked at flights which came up at a bargain £35 return from Gatwick. I would still have to add my flights from Turkey to the UK on top of that, though. I went to bed thinking of a weekend in Marrakech and knowing the sales course I was on tomorrow had come at a good time.
Gratitude List 1. The Secret Squirrel Sunday Walk 2. Bargain chicken from Migros 3. Captain Caveman including me in his projects and plans.
Captain Caveman was really looking forward to the Sunday Walk on Sunday 29th December, and it would be his last one in Dalyan for some time. This also meant that he didn’t care if it was going to be raining or if he had to do it alone. I, on the other hand, had hoped to join but still had a bad back and was super tired so I decided the wet weather was going to put me off. I felt bad as I had said to people I was going to go, even if I had to do the adapted easier route. Captain Caveman left and I decided to clean the house and wash the sofa throws, as they still had dog hairs on from Norman and Edna’s visit. After that, I spent time in my new office, sipping sage tea and looking out at the clouds. Before midday I decided to venture out and go to the Kaunos tea garden to meet Captain Caveman and any fellow walkers. As I went to leave, the heavens opened and I had to retreat to get an umbrella. When I arrived, I met a couple of people who had also missed the walk as they mistakenly thought it had started at 10am and we had a cup of Turkish tea and ordered some lunch. I decided to have a spinach gözleme and it was really tasty. When Captain Caveman and his fellow walkers arrived they were wet and very cold looking – I was also surprised at how many people had turned up. Captain Caveman ordered a large tea and a mixed toastie and I think he was relieved that I had already had a Turkish pancake so that he didn’t have to share. I paid the bill at the tea gardens and said goodbye to the hardcore walkers. Here’s the prices in lira;
Back at home, Captain Caveman had a hot shower and I had to get a spare quilt out for him to have on the sofa, as he was still shivering. It also meant that he was out of action to help with the rest of the cleaning – highly convenient when he had invited a couple of friends over to say farewell to tonight. At 7pm our guests arrived; bringing chocolate cookies, wine, beer and nice wintery wine glasses. We did a little buffet with pastries (börek), veg, dips, crisps, nuts, olives, cheese and crackers which went down well but I got laughed at by the Turkish guests for not making my own Turkish pastries and dips. Captain Caveman was sad to be leaving, he had made some lovely friends from doing the Sunday Walks and Bridge club. It turned out to be a really nice evening, although we only just had enough chairs for everyone.
Photo Credit – Captain Caveman and some of the Sunday Walk group
There was a bit of excitement in our day on the morning of Sunday 15th December when we decided we would take Norman and Edna on the Sunday Walk which Captain Caveman had organised. Norman had been so sprightly lately so we thought we would give it a try and if he got tired then I would go back with him, or even both, dogs. It was very cold at 7am when I woke up but it would be a whopping 9°C by 9am. I forgot to have breakfast but I had a couple of cups of tea. It had been a month since my parents had left and I hadn’t spoken to them on the phone yet. I missed them not being on the Sunday walk so that I could have an excuse to be the fat, slow one at the back. On the walk today was a nice small group and I enjoyed our very nice walk until we got to a muddy patch. I had my trainers on that are not suitable so I moaned that I would turn back around with Norman and go home. Norman joined in and decided he didn’t want to go through the big puddle either so Captain Caveman came back, carried Norman over and then offered to carry me over it. I went across and was fine after that, despite soaking socks and Norman pulling to try to get in to the front again. We even got another dog, Chezza, joining us who protected us from any of the street dogs. At the end of the walk we went to the Kaunos tea gardens for a beverage and the big dog, Chezza, got in the river while Norman and Edna had a drink of water from my bottle. We sat on the wall as dogs aren’t allowed at the tea gardens and we had 3 teas for 40 lira (less than a pound). Edna got cocky and decided to see Chezza off so he left and then we all walked back home.
We had leek & potato soup for lunch with bread and then I ate a banana as a snack. I got on with work for a bit and Captain Caveman lay on the sofa with the dogs for the rest of the day. He said he didn’t feel well and he was incredibly snotty and sneezy. I made a chicken casserole for dinner with stuffing, Yorkshire puddings, carrots, onions, green beans, cabbage and roast potatoes. This did mean that I had gone quite a bit over the syns this week and was on 299 syns. I had a really nice surprise from my parents when they sent me some Christmas money, this made me a bit emotional and I promised to spend it on something nice, rather than something essential. At first I had thought I might use it to get my hair done because I had not had it done since June but I decided it wasn’t a priority and I could always wear a hat! I worked quite late as we had received a warning that there may be a planned power outage tomorrow so I wanted to be prepared.
It wasn’t raining on Saturday 7th December but it had been forecast and was pretty cold and grey outside. The builders didn’t come and, apart from a walk with dogs, we didn’t do much – not even the market! I had overnight oats for breakfast and the usual cup of tea. We had Captain Caveman’s vegetable soup for lunch with the vermicelli pieces in and that really is a game changer. It’s free on Slimming World and really fills you up for a bit longer without going mad on the carbs. We had banana bread after and we decided it might be a bit moist in the middle but I would use less egg in it next time. I did a little bit of work, but mainly searching for holidays which I would like to go on myself and flights to Vietnam for next year. Our dinner was the leftover chickpea and spinach curry with a bit of başlamak bread.
The Sunday Walk was postponed to Wednesday on Sunday 8th December due to the weather. It was wet and forecast to be rainy for the next 3 days. I’d been doing quite well sticking to the Slimming World plan this week but for breakfast I had banana bread with Nutella on it and it was so good. I worked as I was still trying hard to increase the amount of Facebook followers I had on my Jo Lo Resort Experts page. My favourite colleague already had over 1000 and I had just hit the 200 marker. I was pleased with this but needed more and, when I checked who was following me, I was surprised to see it was still mainly strangers rather than all the friends I had asked. Today I decided to focus on the best cities for Solo Travellers as a lot of my followers were people who travelled alone, for various reasons. I was also surprised to see that I had only been to 5 out of the 10 listed on a travel website and I wasn’t sure it was accurate. I mulled over which ones I would like to go to. By midday I had decided to try working in the bedroom using a patio chair, as my back was really hurting. The rain came quite heavy as I toiled away at the laptop, hoping to attract lots of potential customers with my creative social media posts. For lunch Captain Caveman made us chicken sandwiches and then we took the dogs out for a walk, in the rain! They were not too impressed when they got back and were made to dry off in their bed with the dog towels – another complaint added to their list! While doing some social media posts in the afternoon, I noticed a free event with Charlie Day of Sales Made Easy. I follow her on Facebook as she is always flying business class and makes a lot of money with her new online sales business. She was hosting a 3 day online Sales Summit and I decided to sign up. I booked it in my diary to attend next week, starting from Tuesday. It had been a tough year work-wise and, with Captain Caveman still looking at his work options, I had decided that I didn’t want to be in this same position, this time next year. While I worked more, Captain Caveman made pasta for dinner which was very tasty and I was now on 152 syns for the week, which was not as good as last week at this point and I needed to keep on track.
Sunday 1st December was the day of the Çalış Winter Fayre which a few of the Dalyan Dwellers were going to. We didn’t fancy it as we were being frugal with the housekeeping and we didn’t want to leave Norman and Edna for too long home alone. The electricity was off from 4am until 8am so Captain Caveman dealt with cups of tea and dogs, but we were lucky. Rhodes had suffered from terrible storms, floods and even landslides – posts on Facebook were asking for help and showed quite a lot of devastation, in particular where I had been on holiday with the girls in September.
I had cornflakes for breakfast and later some bread and butter which meant I had hit my syn allowance for this week already. It was quite chilly as Captain Caveman went off for his Sunday Walk without me. I didn’t fancy it and had work to do. I spent the day with the dogs, mostly indoors at Jamie’s as there were no builders in today and it was raining quite a bit. Captain Caveman returned from the walk only having had 2 of them do it today, he had gone via Fire Opal for a hot shower.
For lunch we had left over curry and rice and I did a bit of writing. I found a blanket to cover Captain Caveman and me, but Norman and Edna had other ideas. All 3 of them had sofa cuddles and I made lasagne with roast potatoes and cabbage for dinner. After what had been a trying month, I decided I needed to have a more grateful attitude as I was very lucky to be in the position I was, right now, even though it sometimes didn’t feel like it.
Photo credit – some from the Sunday Walkers/Captain Caveman
While Captain Caveman had organised another Sunday Walk on Sunday 24th November, I decided to give it a miss. I had so many things on my to-do list that it was getting a bit out of hand. It was only 7°C when Captain Caveman brought me a cup of tea in bed at 7.45am and I didn’t see the sun rise over the mountains until 8.30am.
Captain Caveman was back for lunch and, of course, we had soup with some başlamak bread. I’d been busy cleaning, putting stuff away and making a chicken chasseur in the slow cooker to go with lots of vegetables for a fairly healthy Sunday dinner. The meal was very nice but Captain Caveman was a bit disappointed that I hadn’t had time to make any Yorkshire puddings. I was astounded to find out that Captain Caveman had lived in Yorkshire for years but had never made his own Yorkshire puddings and said he didn’t know how!!! I’d also been preparing social media posts for the coming week as I knew that I was taking tomorrow afternoon off for a bit of a treat and had promised to do Yorkshire puddings tomorrow. I was already on 194 syns so I would try to resist having them but I knew that would be tough.
Captain Caveman had changed the walk on Sunday 17th November to an easy one as the one he had planned would have been slippery and wet after last night’s storm. He was up early and took the dogs out for their walk first and then brought me a cup of tea in bed. My weather app predicted more rain today but Captain Caveman has more weather apps that said it was going to be fine. Once I had fed the dogs and Captain Caveman had his breakfast and left for the walk, I put all the ingredients for a bolognese in the slow cooker. I also made myself a pho for breakfast and really enjoyed it before getting on with work, as well as doing some writing I needed to do. I added more items to the shopping list and, when Captain Caveman got back from his walk we had cheese sandwiches for lunch. The Sunday Walk had turned out to be a good one and they hadn’t had the rain predicted. I could’ve gone but I had the dogs to look after and it was too far for their little legs to manage.
I had a bit of a mission that I needed to carry out in the afternoon as I had agreed to update Matt, Vanessa’s husband’s, Play Station at their apartment. I decided it would be a good idea before I got on the phone with Matt to go round (I had a key) to their apartment and check I could switch on the electric and that the internet would work. Captain Caveman and I took a dog each and did a walk along the way, when we arrived at Vanessa and Matt’s I realised there are cats living there so Norman and Edna had to wait outside the gate with Captain Caveman. I got in the apartment and found the meter to switch on but while I was there I heard the neighbour, shouting me. I came downstairs and she said that her and Captain Caveman had heard me shouting – I had not uttered a word. I went back up and as I reached their apartment door, it was closed and the key was inside. Oh shit, I was in a dilemma and had already sent Captain Caveman and the pooches off back home. I messaged Vanessa to tell her what had happened. Luckily, there was a spare key and all was ok. Not even an hour later, I had logged in to the device, followed Matt’s instructions over the phone and sorted it out. I’d even learned a new skill of being able to use a Play Station controller, which was a first for me – a man definitely invented that gadget! On the way back home, I called at the shop for a few essentials and here’s the details;
Migros Supermarket 1 pack of filo pastry 54.95 1kg Sweet potatoes 73.10 A 1.6kg chicken 124.40 400g of beef mince 191.96 Total spent 444.41 (£10.17)
Of course, the beef mince was expensive but I didn’t realise that I had got it at a better discount than it should’ve been as I chose the 7% fat as opposed to the 20% fat, but still got it for the same price as the fattier meat. That evening we had Spaghetti Bolognese for dinner with some red wine and we took the dogs out together. Norman and Edna were reluctant to go out but I think it was because they knew it was rainy/stormy. I had a video call with Vanessa and she updated me on everything she had done since leaving Dalyan, 12 days ago. Her trip to Istanbul had been good and she was glad to be back in the UK. While we were on the call, my Resort Experts Facebook page had hit 10,000 views and it had not been active a month yet, so I was pleased things were taking off a little bit. Downstairs, I got relegated to the sofa where I get a stiff neck if watching TV, while Captain Caveman and the dogs comfortably took the other sofa. By 10pm, all 3 of them were fast asleep and snoring away.
Photo credit – some photos taken by people on the SundayWalk, including Captain Caveman
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