Dalyan to Barnes – 1st April

Where was the time going!? I was finding it hard to believe that it was already Tuesday 1st April and I had so much to do. All with a hangover, too!!!!
I still needed to calculate my budget v actual spending at the end of March, I was behind on my blog posts and I hadn’t even checked how many books I had sold in my first full month of trading! All this and we were off to the prison restaurant for a hello/farewell lunch with Jamie and then to the airport for our 2.30pm flight to Gatwick! I’d had a wonderful message from my friend and colleague, Dagne, yesterday but had not had chance to post it on social media. She had finally got her copy of ‘You Can’t Shit Yourself on a Bicycle’ and was on the beach in Majorca, reading my book. The photo was perfect! I wondered if the British humour would still translate well enough. I needn’t have worried as she was already enjoying it and said she felt like she was getting friendly travel advice from a friend over a glass of wine! Amazing, and that is all I could have wished for! Dagne was also the first person to send me a photo where it was the new version of the book! It was also the first one to be bought in Spain! I think this was the 5th country to have someone reading my book in, and that felt good!
When I checked how many books I had sold it wasn’t as many as I had hoped for but it averaged at over 1 per day. Apparently, that is good for a self published one with zero marketing budget/adverts. Still, it meant I had earned less than £150 for the month, which I would not get until the end of May. I needed to sell more and I needed a smarter way to do that. I was grateful for everyone who had bought it already and I needed a way to get it out to more people, particularly who would benefit from the travel advice. I think using Amazon puts some people off, and I’m not a massive fan of it either, but it’s the biggest seller of books in the world. If I couldn’t cut it using Amazon as a free platform, then it wasn’t wise to pay for a different platform. I was also surprised at how few ebook/kindle versions I had sold as I thought that was a popular way to read books these days. I would persevere and hope more people would buy it in the coming weeks and months. I’d already started a list of chapter titles for the next one.
My next task was to check the money situation; unsurprisingly I had gone over my £300 budget. In March I had spent a grand total of £370 including bills (but not rent or council tax). I was a bit disappointed at going over by 23% but I had splashed out on my hair this month plus some extra treats.
April was going to be tough to set a budget for as I was off to the UK for at least a week and we had a holiday in the İzmir area planned. Captain Caveman was also planning to move out of Sheffield as his 3 months renting in a shared place was up and he had decided to rent a house to himself in a more convenient location for work.
I didn’t eat any breakfast on account of feeling sickly from too much booze last night. I’d had a whole bottle of red wine and one whisky and I really felt it!!! I was doing all I could to not be sick by the time Jamie picked us up. Unfortunately, the storm last night had blown the adjacent new build’s roof off, some of it was on our balcony and some in the garden. We drove to the prison and we ordered food, I just copied what Captain Caveman had, köfte, hoping he’d eat some of mine anyway. As Jamie was kind enough to drive us to the airport I bought the lunch which only came to 985 lira (£20) for 3 meals and 3 soft drinks – impressive.

We drove to the airport and said our farewells to Jamie, it felt weird that I was going back to the UK after almost 9 months and I wasn’t sure when I would be back exactly. At the airport they let us go through to the lounge with our water and Captain Caveman went off to do a reccy in the Duty Free. It works out cheaper to get the small wines or spirit miniatures at the Duty Free shop, than buying in the bar but I had no plans on drinking or eating anything. On the easyJet plane, I had a whole row to myself, Captain Caveman was sat in front of me with just 2 of them in a row of 3. We took off on time and then Captain Caveman came and sat in my row, taking the window seat and I had the aisle. Luckily, I had brought chocolate Dido bars for a snack but we didn’t bother buying any food or drink on the entire journey. We were due to land about 5pm and Captain Caveman managed to get quite a bit of sleep.

We landed in to Gatwick airport on time on and got the train to Barnes. Captain Caveman and I were staying at his parents while they were away. We were walking in to the house just before 6pm, having cost £15.60 using my Wise card to get from Gatwick. I was really excited as I had a package, it was 3 copies of my book. It was the first time I’d touched or seen a copy of it and I was actually quite happy with it. It was small enough to fit in to a handbag which was a good selling point. I took a couple of photos and then we unpacked.

Captain Caveman suggested we have a walk around Barnes, get some dinner and do some shoping ready for us both being back to work tomorrow. Barnes was really beautiful and it wasn’t as cold as I thought it was going to be. Captain Caveman treated us to dinner at Base Face Pizza which was just amazing. I wasn’t going to be drinking but I ended up with a red wine and a pizza with ham and pineapple on. Captain Caveman had beer and a spicy pizza. He paid the bill so I wasn’t sure of the exact total but it came to about £50 for the 2 of us, including a drink each. Tap water was free and I just couldn’t get enough of it – it’s one of the things I miss when I’m not in England. Our food was so delicious, the waitress was really good and I took half of my pizza home as I was trying to be good. We saw the sunset over the river Thames and it was so nice to be in London together.
Our next stop off was at Sainsbury’s where I was gobsmacked at how much chocolate they had. Cadbury’s Cream Eggs were in abundance at 85p each or 5 for £3 but I resisted the urge to buy any chocolate. Here’s what was in our shopping basket (prices in pounds) and doing the self scan, which Captain Caveman was really good at;

Sainsbury’s Supermarket
2 tins Baked Beans 0.80
1 wholemeal loaf 1.39
6 eggs 1.75
Pork sausages 1.79
Fresh tomatoes 2.00
Total spent £7.73

I was shocked at the price of tomatoes and bread but pleased with the baked beans and sausages. We didn’t even watch any TV as we were both tired so we had an early night.

Gratitude List
1. Jamie taking us to the airport
2. Being able to go back to the UK with Captain Caveman
3. A night out with pizza in Barnes.

Dalyan – 31st March

Captain Caveman arrived at his Dalyan apartment at about 1.30am on Monday 31st March. His flight had been delayed by 4.5hours and they had to change on to a different plane. There was a quick welcome kiss but we had more pressing things to attend to. Captain Caveman emptied the case of the frozen and chilled products which had been wrapped in the Metro newspaper. We needed to get the bacon and sausage in the freezer, the cheese and chorizo in the fridge. The rest of the stuff could wait until morning! He had brought so much stuff and the only things he couldn’t get from my list was bouillon and a particular coconut powder. After the coldest wares had been attended to, we ate cheese pasties and finished off the wine before finally going to bed at stupid o’clock! Miraculously, we slept in until about 8.30am!!! Captain Caveman had taken the day off work, as well as tomorrow, but had decided to check if he could log in to do work while in Turkey. Unfortunately, he couldn’t join the morning team meeting but he did have access to files so he would need to get that fixed if he wanted to be able to do work while visiting me. By 10.20am, Captain Caveman had unpacked the rest of the goodies and we had a full kitchen table of them. My old stick blender had broken so I was so excited to get a new one, plus a silicon liner for the air fryer.
Captain Caveman had also brought out my freebie copy of a book, from Charlie Day of The Sales Agency. I’d been following her and had helped with some lead generation work. It was about making sales without being aggressively salesy and was right up my street. I couldn’t wait to read it but I wasn’t about to take it back to London with me. Captain Caveman was meant to have brought a couple of copies of my book out for Sezgin and Debbie but he couldn’t get them in time so I had ordered them to come to London.
Captain Caveman made himself some breakfast with eggs and I had overnight oats with a cup of tea. It was raining and the wind was getting up a bit so Captain Caveman had resigned himself to the fact that we were going nowhere. For lunch we had homemade soup with cheese pasties and bread. We also marked the occasion with a beer each, mine a gluten free one as normal Efes no longer sits right with me. While Captain Caveman opened boxes from storage and rearranged all his belongings, I attended the next session of Claire Clarke’s Planner Ideation course. This is where I decided I needed a white board, some marker pens and highlighters adding to my office. I had another project on the go and was excited to see where that would lead. Captain Caveman also managed to squeeze in a trip to the barbers.
It was my Dad’s birthday and they were enjoying their last day away so we had a video call and said Happy Birthday. Dad seemed to be enjoying himself and was impressed by the dessert selection on offer.

At 5.30pm, despite the grey skies and threatening rain, I suggested to Captain Caveman that we go for a walk. I knew we needed to be at Sezgin and Nur’s house for 6.30pm for the surprise dinner and drinks. Somehow I needed to get the chocolate, rakı and wine round there too so I said I needed to drop something off along the way. I tried to be a bit vague as I shoved it all in a rucksack while Captain Caveman wasn’t looking. Once on the walk, which Captain Caveman decided we were going by the river for but we needed to be heading to Gülpınar, he wanted to carry the bag! I think he could tell something was up as he suggested we go to Heybe for a drink and to say hi to Donny. I knew we were going to be late but I had to make it look casual, so we stopped off. We noticed that Retro bar was close to being reopened for the start of the season and now had a massive statue – it was certainly going to stand out and be a bit different to how it looked before. We carried on walking as I pretended we were just passing near where Debbie & Mike lived and I said we could perhaps stop by and say hello, knowing they were already at Sezgin’s for the surprise party. We ended up getting a bit lost (on purpose) and were late so I had to say we would just say hello to Sezgin and Nur, as we just happened to be passing! Everyone was so glad to see Captain Caveman and I think he realised what was going on but didn’t say anything. Nur had cooked an amazing meal with börek, salad and Baba ghanoush for starters. Then for main we had liver with rice which was delicious – Captain Caveman ate two lots. For dessert we had creme caramel which was delicious too. There was lots of wine for me, I’d taken red, white for Nur, plus the big bottle of rakı for Captain Caveman to share. We had a great night with lots of laughter and music. I think it was about 1am when we finally went home, having danced and drank whisky. Why do I do this on the night before a flight!?
It was the last day of the month and I’d been too busy today to see how I’d done against my monthly budget of £300 – I suspected I had gone over, though!

Gratitude List
1. Captain Caveman finally making it to Dalyan for 34 hours!
2. Being brought lots of goodies from the UK
3. A great ‘surprise’ party for Captain Caveman at Sezgin and Nur’s place.

Dalyan – 30th March

Sunday 30th March was the day that Captain Caveman would be flying from Gatwick to Dalaman just to see me for a couple of days. When we initially booked the flight for £27, we had booked it without hold luggage. Since then, Captain Caveman had added on a case so that he could bring me some items that were cheaper or only available in the UK. He’d started buying the items before we decided that I would also fly back with him on Tuesday. I was up and about early as I was excited for his arrival, even though his flight didn’t leave London until 13:40 UK time. He was due to arrive in to Dalaman at 19:50 and our friend, Debbie, had volunteered to pick him up, taking me with her! The weather wasn’t fit for a Sunday stroll as it was raining and the skies were grey.

I’d arranged to meet my friends at Kefal tea garden at 10.30am as we wanted to discuss arrangements with Sezgin about our surprise BBQ (no longer a BBQ) tomorrow and our trip to İzmir at the end of next month. We were looking to do a cheese and wine trip for a couple of nights and Captain Caveman would fly directly to İzmir to join us. Tomorrow we had decided that Nur would cook a Turkish meal at their home and I just had to get Captain Caveman there as a surprise. Debbie and I agreed I would be at her house for 7.15pm tonight to go to the airport. No one had any breakfast at the tea gardens so I stuck to my 2 hot beverages. It’s still so cheap at the tea gardens, tea is often half the price of a tea elsewhere in Dalyan.

Kefal tea gardens
2 Turkish teas 40.00 lira (81p)

Back home, I ate overnight oats with berries for a late breakfast and decided to ask the AI tool, Chat GPT, about my book. It was hilariously inaccurate and read like it had made it up just from the title. I decided to reply to let ChatGPT know it had got ‘You Can’t Shit Yourself on a Bicycle’ wrong but I didn’t expect an apology. I was impressed with that and decided to use it for marketing purposes in the future.

After doing a bit of work and making cheese pasties for lunch, I popped to the shops. I needed to buy booze to take tomorrow, as well as get some beer for Captain Caveman’s arrival tonight. I already had treats at the ready. Here’s what I bought with the prices in lira;

Yaman Büfe 2
2 Salt & Vinegar crisps 120.00
1 bottle of white wine 229.00
1 bottle of Rakı 1095.00
Total spent 1444.00 lira (£29.41)

Migros Supermarket
Mints 18.45
2 Quark 70.00
2 Efes Malt 134.00
1 Gluten Free Efes 105.00
Total spent 327.45 lira (£6.67)

Parlak bakery
Bread 15.00 lira (31p)

About an hour after returning home, Captain Caveman messaged to say they hadn’t took off yet. They should have left at 3.40pm (Turkish time) and I was tracking the flight. It said it had taken off at 3.53pm (Turkish time) but would land earlier than scheduled so all was still good, according to the internet. Unfortunately, Captain Caveman reported back that an engineer was coming to fix something and it looked like it could be delayed an hour or 2. Interestingly, the flight tracker showed it had departed on time and was flying over Serbia as Captain Caveman told me they were all getting off the plane and on to a new one. We cancelled the lift to and from the airport as we didn’t know what time Captain Caveman would depart, if at all, and he was still not on a new plane by the time 3 hours had passed. This meant he would now get compensation but wouldn’t land until after midnight. I was more concerned about all the goodies that might be getting a bit warm in that suitcase! I thought about asking someone else or a taxi to pick him up but as it was Bayram that proved tricky. Captain Caveman said he would just get a taxi at the airport. They finally took off on the new plane just before 8pm, Turkish time, I decided to make more cheese pasties so that he had something to eat when he arrived.
At 10pm I sat down with a glass of wine and watched something on Netflix while I waited for Captain Caveman to arrive, which would be around 1am!

Gratitude List
1. Having a Plan B for tomorrow’s cancelled BBQ
2. Slimming World style Cheese pasties
3. Knowing Captain Caveman was finally on his way but could claim £350 compensation for his flight delay.

Dalyan – 29th March

I watched the sunrise on Saturday 29th March and got a text from a friend from the Berlin 10. Her delivery of ‘You Can’t Shit Yourself on a Bicycle’ had come yesterday and she had sent me a selfie with it. I was really chuffed and hoped Drexy would enjoy reading it. I also got a review from my mate Jamie, in Dalyan, who had only read the first chapter and thought it was hilarious! Unfortunately, Amazon only lets you review purchases once you have spent £40 so anyone who only used it to buy my book was not able to review it. This was a shame as it meant I only had 5 reviews so far.
I decided not to go to the market today and cracked on with work, seeing as Captain Caveman would be here on Monday and I was taking Tuesday off.
I had overnight oats with berries for breakfast and checked my money situation. I was pleased to find I was doing OK for March, despite having splashed out a bit more this month. I had a break for a sage tea and couldn’t resist a Dido from the fridge, since I had quite a stock of them now.
At lunch I had more of the soup with bread and then I popped to the bank and shops, here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

BIM Süpermarket
500g pasta 11.50
1kg lentils 36.75
1kg Basmati rice 62.50
4 Dido chocolate bars 78.00
Total spent 188.75 lira (£3.84)

A101 Supermarket
2 packets taco wraps 33.00
Marshmallows 37.00
Wholemeal bread 47.50
Washing Powder 134.75
Total spent 252.25 lira (£5.14)

In the afternoon I continued to work as the skies turned very dark with rain forecast. Another couple of friends shared my book posts on Facebook and a friend of Jamie’s sent me her book selfie as she had also started reading it. I was really pleased and sales were starting to take off but it was a hard slog doing it self published, just getting people to know about it.
That evening I warmed up a veggie curry with a naan bread and drank red wine, counting down to seeing Captain Caveman, tomorrow night.
Tonight the clocks would go forward in the UK, but not in Turkey, making me only 2 hours ahead.

Gratitude List
1. Getting to the end of the month and still having money left
2. Support from friends with my handy travel tips book
3. Looking forward to only being 2 hours ahead of the UK.

The link to buy my book:

Dalyan – 28th March

I had strawberries with quark and a little bit of honey for breakfast on Friday 28th March and checked my bank while I sipped my tea. Ordinarily, today would be the date of me checking I had the required money in my Turkish account for residency. I didn’t need to as it had already been done and that was lucky as it was a Bayram (holiday). It felt good but I also felt like I needed to put in the amount for April, as I still needed to get my new card. It felt like I could somehow not receive it and need to have put in the amount to show proof still, which was probably silly. Back in the UK, Captain Caveman had been paid and sent me some money to take care of a few bills for the apartment, plus a bit extra so that I wasn’t having to be frugal with the housekeeping. It was a habit now, though, and I couldn’t help be thrifty – I hoped this mentality meant I could start to save for future holidays and trips with Captain Caveman now.
I was busy working in the morning and had a break for a sage tea and a Dido chocolate bar, I had loads in the fridge as I’d bought them when on offer! In the news there had been an earthquake in Myanmar which had also been felt in neighbouring countries such as Thailand. With there being a war in Myanmar, it was difficult to know what rescue work was actually happening, which was sad.
Debbie popped round and brought me a couple of pairs of size 12 jeans, I think she was sick of seeing me hoisting mine up on the Sunday walks, complaining my trousers were falling down! A lot of my clothes were too big for me and I was starting to look like a bit of a tramp. I was looking forward to getting some new clothes in England. I had cheese on wholemeal toast for lunch and then got back on with work as I had a long awaited event happening at 4pm.
I finished work and left home for my hair appointment with the fantastic Emrah Kilis. I’d only been waiting to get my hair cut and coloured since last year. I had meant to use my birthday money to go sooner but I’d not really had any reason to bother. Now that I had Captain Caveman coming over, I’d been advised by one of my friends that it would be a good time to sort my hair out in readiness. I was peckish on the way so I nipped to the shop for a treat and wanted something that wasn’t chocolate. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out and I ended up getting chocolate anyway.

Şevikoğlu Supermarket
1 X 4 Finger Dido 29.90 lira (61p)

I ate my KitKat-like treat after having my dye put on and the assistant brought me a cup of tea. I sent a photo to Captain Caveman asking him to guess where I was. He didn’t answer straight away but when he did, he responded ‘Dentist’.

Emrah and I had a laugh about that and then he got on and did wonders with my hair. It felt so good as I’d not had it done since June. It cost me 1900 lira (£38.70) which I thought was reasonable. In the past I would associate getting my hair done with going out but I’d already decided I wouldn’t be. I wasn’t paying almost £40 to have my hair done for it to then stink of smoke from going to a bar! In the winter time most of the bar owners are much more slack at allowing smokers inside so I had decided I would rather stay at home, eat nice food and drink my own wine. I called at the shops on the way home and here’s what I bought, prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Turkish Delight 90.00 lira
6 Dido Chocolate bars 99.00
2 Milka Chocolate Bars 139.80
Total spent 328.80 lira (£6.70)

On the way out I noticed something on offer and went back in for it;

Migros Supermarket
Washing up liquid 59.95 lira (£1.22)

It was a sign I had more disposable income this month as I stocked up on treats for when (if) I got invited round to friend’s houses.

I had a lovely drop of Levissi Gamay red wine, spoke to a couple of friends in other countries and then danced to my favourite songs on YouTube – a lovely drama and smoke free Friday night! I was so excited to get a photo and message from an old Phong Nha friend who had bought my book. Jamie was a friend who we met when I first went to Phong Nha and was even present in at least one of the chapters. Her young daughter had opened the package and been shocked at the curse word so Mommy had to put a 💩 emoji over it – genius! Maybe I needed to adapt my front cover like that for more sensitive audiences!

Gratitude List
1. Having a hairdresser’s appointment with Emrah
2. Knowing my American friend, who had lived in Phong Nha, had bought my book
3. Enjoying my Friday night doing what I wanted.

If you want to buy my handy travel tips book, here is the link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/You-Cant-Shit-Yourself-Bicycle/dp/B0DWWTBVCL

Dalyan – 24th & 25th March

I was busy working all day on Monday 24th March. Many of the suppliers had sales that were ending at the end of the month so I was focusing on some Jet2 and easyJet deals.
By lunch time I was having warmed up courgette fritter and cheese roll from yesterday’s Sunday dinner. Captain Caveman requested a Friday and Monday off for the end of next month to meet me in Turkey again. It was less than a week until he arrived in Dalyan for the first time this year! I finished work at 4pm as I had enrolled on a course. I had joined Claire Clarke on a Planner Ideation course and was straight on to that from 4pm to 5pm. The course was very informative and was going to help me produce something I thought would help people as well as promote my business. After the course, Claire, who is a publisher, was super helpful and offered free help to get my book edited to look more professional. We had a zoom call where she talked me through how to do it and shared her screen. She was an absolute whizz at sizing, margins and layout for the cover! It was done in no time and I wished I had the money to have paid to have it done properly. But I didn’t, I was so grateful for the help that I could’ve cried, especially when I took in to account how long it had taken me to do it less than perfect in the first place.
I managed to get a video call in to my parents who were celebrating their birthdays away and seemed to be having a great time.
I also messaged Captain Caveman, who was busy working but pleased to know that I was going to be travelling back with him to the UK next month.
I had left over Sunday dinner but no wine and then had an early night as I was very tired.

Gratitude List
1. Starting the Planner Ideation Course
2. Speaking to Ma & Pa who were enjoying a holiday
3. Being booked on the flight to the UK and I had selected the seat behind Captain Caveman.

It had been nice weather recently but, when I woke up on Tuesday 25th March, I noticed the good weather was not set to continue. Sezgin and Nur had offered to host a surprise BBQ for Captain Caveman and some friends on Monday, but the weather might not be suitable. A Plan B might be on the cards!
I got my passport out as I was excited to be going back to the UK but I was only planning on a quick visit due to having commitments in Dalyan already. I hadn’t booked the return flight yet, though. I made a pancake for breakfast with my Yorkshire tea and added items to my list of things to get from the UK. Captain Caveman had already planned to bring me lots of stuff as he had booked hold luggage.
I worked until 3.30pm, when it looked like it might rain so I nipped to the shops. Here’s what I bought, with prices in lira;

Pharmacy
2 packs of Cerazette 658.36 lira (£13.44)

Stationers
2 Notebooks 100.00
2 Pens 50.00
Total spent 150.00 lira (£3.06)

Migros Supermarket
2 Dido chocolate bars 33.00
2 Quark 70.00
Toilet rolls 99.95
Total spent 202.95 lira (£4.14)

When I got home, I got a really lovely surprise from one of my friends; Louisa had sent me a selfie to say her copy of ‘You Can’t Shit Yourself on a Bicycle’ had arrived and she was looking forward to reading about our adventures. Louisa was mentioned in the book, so once again, I was looking forward to her reading it and her review.
For dinner, I made a chicken and vegetable pasta bake with left over chicken and it was very tasty. I ended up working until gone 10pm as I wanted to get some posts on social media scheduled in. Tomorrow I would have another busy day.

Gratitude List
1. Managing to get my book available in Spain.
2. Cute notebooks which I used for a social media post
3. Dido chocolate bars being on offer.

Dalyan – 22nd March

I had planned to meet a friend for an outing to Dalaman on Saturday 22nd March. The plan was to meet up after the market and go off on a bit of an adventure, but I had to cancel. I had Resort Experts enquiries to deal with and I didn’t want to miss out on potential bookings. I had Yorkshire tea and wholemeal toast for breakfast then cracked on with work.
In the afternoon I went to the market where I also treated myself to lunch. Here’s what I bought with the prices in lira;

Market

Stall 1
Potatoes 35

Stall 2
6 Eggs 42

Stall 3
Gözleme mushroom 125

Stall 4
Strawberries 130

Total Spent 332 lira (£6.78)

I didn’t buy much this week as I still had enough food in. Back home I ate the gözleme (Turkish pancake) which was amazing and not Slimming World friendly. I had strawberries after, as I washed and chopped them up – putting them in a glass jar so they last longer.

I worked all afternoon on quotes and social media posts and even ate a Dido with a sage tea in the afternoon. After work, I met my friend at the Kaunos tea garden where I had a large Turkish tea and a bottle of water for 50 lira (£1.02). I still rate the tea gardens as one of the best places to go and the views are so good. We decided to go to Cömert Lokantası for a cheap and quick dinner. I had a chicken stew which had potatoes in it but came with rice. The cost for my meal and a bottle of water was 110 lira (£2.24) and was rather tasty.
I’d planned to host a Sunday dinner at mine tomorrow and wanted to get the Yorkshire puddings made today, that went by the way side as I ran out of time. I had a bit of a near miss when I went to Migros to buy the chicken for the Sunday dinner – there were none left. There were none left in A101 either and the ones in BIM were very small. Luckily, I found the last 2 in Şok and went home. I had a second visit to the shop when I realised I had run out of milk. Here’s what I bought with the prices in lira;

Şok Supermarket
2 x 1.8kg chickens 309.52 lira (£6.32)

Migros Supermarket
Milk 31.25
2 Quark 70.00
4 Dido chocolate bars 66.00
Total spent 167.25 lira (£3.41)

I had to move my desk down to the kitchen to make a bigger table for tomorrow and was slightly concerned there wasn’t enough room. It had been a busy day and I was pleased to see my bed that night.

Gratitude List
1. Being busy with work
2. Market visit
3. Having a desk for a spare table.

Dalyan – 20th March

On Thursday 20th March I was really looking forward to Jamie getting back to Norman & Edna so that I could enjoy the comforts and convenience of being in my own home (well, Captain Caveman’s!). I was up before 7am as it had been stormy in the night and poor Norman had woken up early, keen to get outside and check for damage. It was 4 degrees and I was cold. I updated Edna that Jamie (aka Little Daddy) would be back very late tonight.
I had a Dido chocolate bar with a cup of tea before doing a bit of work. After a bit of cleaning up, I went to the shop to order another gas bottle plus a water refill. The cost of water with delivery was 70 lira (£1.42), the gas was 950 lira (£19.31) and lasts a long time. I bought bread and milk for 83.85 lira (£1.70) from Migros so that Jamie had some upon return. By the time I had got home, I barely had time to take all of the stuff out of the cupboard before the fella was here to replace the gas bottle. Norman did not like the man and went mad at him – maybe he thought he was going to steal his treats. I had a chicken and lettuce wrap for lunch then attended the Resort Experts team meeting where we had a great session and shared ideas. Norman was restless and started a new trick where he tried to tell me he wanted feeding much earlier than usual by scratching the cupboard with his paw.
I walked the dogs for the last time and then they had their dinner with spare egg in – Norman loves a bit of egg. For my own dinner I warmed up a bit of curry and rice and then had a video call with Vanessa. She had bought my book and it had arrived today. I was so pleased and she sent me a photo. I did a bit more work in the evening while I waited for the dogs’ bedtime and, once I knew Jamie was on his way, I left to go back home to bed. I was looking forward to getting in my own bed and having a lay in tomorrow.

Gratitude List
1. A good Resort Experts team meeting
2. Video call with Vanessa
3. Getting back home.

Dalyan – 18th March

Tuesday 18th March was a day of catching up after not being full time at work over the last couple of days, due to the residency process. I started with tea and toast for breakfast and then threw myself in to getting stuff done. I was meant to go to the free yoga session at Nil Lounge at 11am but I was too busy catching up. I managed to pay off my credit card at lunch time, which was not yet at its limit and was 10 days before it was due. That felt good to be able to do. I had a cheese, walnut, sundried tomato salad for lunch, which was really good, and then I had a bit of an idea. Captain Caveman was coming to Dalyan for a visit at the end of March but only for 2 days and I looked at how much the flights were for me to take a quick trip to the UK in April. They varied from £60 to £155 so I would need to think about it. The weather was nice and Jamie’s flowers were out so I sent him the photos of his granny’s and late husband’s memorial plants. The weather forecast was saying storms and bad weather were due soon, though. Edna enjoyed a cup of tea with me outside on the terrace and Norman had a mooch about looking for cat shit to eat. He came back looking sheepish so I knew he’d found some to munch on!
In the afternoon, we got an alert to say the electricity would be off tomorrow so I decided I would work late today.
After more work, a dog walk and a chat with Captain Caveman, who had temporarily forgotten I had been for my residency yesterday, I decided to go to the shops. Here’s what I bought in the 3 shops, with prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Mints 18.45
Olives 53.90
2 Quark 70.00
Walnuts 76.90
Total spent 219.25 lira (£4.61)

A101 Supermarket
Popcorn 28.50
4 finger Dido bar 29.50
Crisps 31.00
Dubai Chocolate 79.00
Total spent 168.00 lira (£3.53)

BIM Supermarket
2 Hot chocolate sachets 9.00
2 Dido bars 39.00
700g chicken fillet strips 145.00
Total spent 193.00 lira (£4.05)

When I got back, Captain Caveman had booked me a flight and sent me the details. I was going back to the UK on the 1st of next month, on the same flight as Captain Caveman, for £60 one way. I worked late and then made a chicken wrap with lettuce and BBQ sauce for a late dinner before going to bed, tired but happy.

Gratitude List
1. Having a busy but productive day
2. Shopping
3. Having a trip to the UK to look forward to next month.

Dalyan – 16th March

It was 15°C and cloudy when I got up on Sunday 16th March and I thought it might be a bit chilly for a walk. I had overnight oats and a cup of tea for breakfast while the dogs had a wash. I started the walk with the usual suspects at 9.30am and it was a little chilly. We had a nice leisurely walk where we got a little lost again. It was almost 30 degrees by 11am and I was sweating. We had done over 10,000 steps just on that walk.

When I got back I took Norman & Edna for a walk, calling at Fire Opal on our return. Back at Jamie’s, we sat outside in the sun and I ate a frozen yoghurt bar as I was too hungry to wait for my lunch. I warmed up a portion of spaghetti and meatballs for lunch and then had to have a trip to the shop for some emergency lady items. Here’s what I bought with the prices in lira;

A101 Supermarket
1 chocolate biscuit 12.50
Haribo jellies 17.00
A 4 finger Dido 29.50
Sanitary Towels 95.00
Total spent 154.00 lira (£3.25)

Most shops in Dalyan don’t sell tampons so the best place to get them is the pharmacy, there is usually one open on Sundays somewhere in the town but I made do with what the nearest shop had.
Captain Caveman had been on the Sheffield Round Walk and sent me a photo from the top of a hill as he knew we had been on a walk today. He also decided to surprise my parents by calling in, on his way through Mosborough. He had messaged my Mom and she had messaged me to let me know that they weren’t available. My Mom and sister, Gayle, were at a spa for the weekend. Captain Caveman was a bit disappointed as I think he was looking forward to seeing them – it had been 4 months since the last time, over 2 of those had been living in the same town.
In the evening, I had warmed up curry and rice then briefed Edna about my plans for tomorrow as she was going to be in charge of things tomorrow morning, while I was in Fethiye. Within minutes of me turning on the TV and pouring a glass of wine, both dogs were snoring away.

Gratitude List
1. Sunday Walk with friends
2. Captain Caveman trying to visit my parents and sending me a photo from Sheffield
3. Frozen yoghurt bars.

Photo credit – Sunday Walk friends & Captain Caveman

Dalyan – 10th March

On Monday 10th March I awoke to a message from The Aussies that my book had arrived in Australia and Greg had sent me a selfie – the first one I received. He was excited to be the first person in Australia to read it, Amanda would be reading it after him. It felt so good to have friends’ support, particularly ones who travel a lot and who we met in the place most of the chapters describe. I was a bit nervous but excited to know what they thought of my ramblings. I had now sold around 20 books and I was looking forward to hearing the reviews.
To distract myself, I started my residency renewal preparation and had decided to save money and do it myself instead of using an agent, which can cost up to £250 on top of all the other things needed. After breakfast oats and banana cake and a cup of tea, I went off to the bank to get 6 months’ of bank statements printed out to show I had put in the required amounts to my Turkish bank account. The rules only asked for 33,156 lira (£705 approx at today’s rate) for the last 3 months but I had been putting in a little more, just in case.
On the way back from the bank I called at the shop and bought the following, prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
1 plastic bag 0.50
Chocolate biscuits 19.00
Light yoghurt 28.12
Sweetcorn 32.50
Cheese spread 34.90
2 tins tomatoes 35.90
Mixed beans 39.95
1kg chicken breasts 156.10
2 packs of mozzarella cheese 199.80
Total spent 546.77 lira (£11.61)

Nanny Kay popped round for a cup of tea and Edna was beside herself to have a visitor – her first in the 2 weeks that I had been looking after the dogs. She wouldn’t leave Nanny Kay alone and even kept fetching her a toy to play with and throw for her. It might have been because I had treated us to biscuits, which Edna was not used to.
In the afternoon, in between work enquiries, I went through all of my bank statements to check that each month had more than the required amount in. March had in the exact amount right now but more was due to go in this week. I was so pleased I had managed it and was so hoping that I would get granted my 2 years renewal this time. They had changed the rules the day after I got my 6 month renewal last time and I had been so gutted to have missed out. I spoke to Captain Caveman who was in Sheffield and was suggesting I might want to consider asking an agent to do the residency to make sure that it would definitely get done on a 2 year basis. I explained the costs of the insurance was already going to be a lot and I should save money. I got in touch with Aytaç Saraymine at Saraymine Insurance Agency, as well as the one I already had 6 months left of my policy with, to get quotes for a 2 year policy as required for the residency application.
For dinner I had roasted vegetable and feta style cheese with pasta and it was really lovely. I then joined a Lisa Johnson live Q&A session to hear her answer any questions about her and her business.

Gratitude List
1. Seeing Nanny Kay
2. Knowing that I had managed to get the required amount of money in to my Turkish bank account for the last 6 months – it had not been easy after losing my job.
3. Lisa Johnson’s Q&A session.

Dalyan – 8th March

The first job of the day on Saturday 8th March was to make a shopping list while drinking a cup of tea. I decided I would go to the bank before the market so that I had enough cash to spend and then I could get some nice treats for the week. I also decided I would treat myself to a spinach gözleme (pancake) from the market for my breakfast. Here is what I bought on my first visit, prices in lira;

Market
Stall 1
Potatoes & red onions 35.00

Stall 2
Strawberries 150.00

Stall 3
Carrots, Mushrooms and Spinach 120.00

Stall 4
Spinach Gözleme 80.00

Total spent 385.00 Lira (£8.14)

I rushed back, bumping in to my parents’ neighbours as I had a call booked in but I was stopped in my tracks when I read some bad news. A Facebook friend and ex colleague, who was about 10 years younger than me, had died from Cancer after a reasonably short illness and chemo. Of course it really upset me, as this person had been so motivational in recent months and had helped to encourage me to get on with life in a much more positive way. I had a cry and felt too upset to even be able to respond to his wife just yet.
I had a video call with Vanessa, who was sympathetic and really helped to cheer me up, as she always does. While on the call, I realised that I had forgotten some things from the market so, blaming the menopause, I went back to the market for a second visit in the afternoon. Here’s what I bought with the prices in lira;

Market visit no.2
Stall 1
Tomatoes & apples 75.00

Stall 2
Peppers 40.00

Total Spent 115.00 lira (£2.43)

Just over £10.50 in total for the weekly fruit and vegetable shop plus breakfast didn’t seem too pricey to me. On the way back I also bought a comb as I was getting tired of having to remember which house my hairbrush was in. It cost 19.90 lira (42p) from Şevikoğlu supermarket, so was a bargain! I had some strawberries when I got back and I gave one each to the dogs as I had read that it was good for cleaning their teeth. Norman was not impressed but persevered and Edna wanted a second one – she will shove anything in her mouth, that girl!
For dinner I had a warmed up Sunday dinner (on a Saturday) which I had defrosted from the freezer, and it was so good. I refrained from any wine and was hoping to be 100% fit for tomorrow’s meeting up with friends.

Gratitude List
1. Being able to go to the market (twice)
2. Video call with Vanessa
3. Celebrating it being Women’s Day by simply being alive!

Dalyan – 6th March

I had something a bit different for breakfast on Thursday 6th March; soft cheese with fresh bread and a cup of Yorkshire tea. I cracked on with both work and attempting to get my book promoted over Facebook and by messaging people directly who had once shown an interest in it. The main countries I was having trouble getting it available in paperback was Turkey and Vietnam, which was a real shame given that’s where I had spent a lot of time. There was a planned power cut from 8.30am today which actually didn’t start until later. Edna took over from Norman as chair-dog as Norman was tired but Edna was nosey.
At lunch time I went to the shop to get a few treats. It was definitely obvious from what I bought that I was able to splash out a little more than usual, which was really nice, but I was still mindful of buying things that were on offer. Here’s what I bought and the prices in lira;

BIM Supermarket

Chewing gum 17.50
1 Chicken pot noodle 30.00
2 packets of crisps 31.00
1 pack of Naan bread 55.00
1kg Basmati rice 62.50
6 Dido Chocolate bars 87.00
250g Chocolate chips 89.00
1 Dubai Chocolate bar 120.00
2 packs of frozen Blueberries 220.00
Total spent 712.00 lira (£15.15)

This was quite an expensive shop for me but I was allowing myself to do that, the lira had also now reached 47 to the pound. By the time I got back to Jamie’s the power was back on but not the internet so I had a couple of sage teas, a Dido chocolate bar and a pot noodle for lunch.
The internet was back on in time for the Resort Experts team meeting at 2pm. Our focus areas today were a new CRM system, Last Minute Bookings and important events in the calendar.
After the team meeting and a dog walk, I tried Dubai chocolate – a first for me! It is really good and very unusual. For dinner I ate leftover chicken and mushroom stroganoff with garlic cabbage instead of rice and it was surprisingly tasty.

Gratitude List
1.Being able to buy treats in the shopping this week
2. A really good team meeting
3. Dubai Chocolate for the first time!

Dalyan – 4th & 5th March

Before breakfast on Tuesday 4th March, I had checked in with the dogs and had a video call with Captain Caveman. I made a Slimming World style pancake for breakfast with my cup of tea and then cracked on with work until midday. I had some bookings, one of which was for later in this month so I prepared the paperwork and some recommendations to support the booking. An interesting reason as to why I nearly didn’t get the booking is that the customer had thought that if I booked the holiday they wouldn’t get the same benefits and good deal as booking directly with Jet2 Holidays. As a Jet2 Agent I can book the exact same holiday with all the things included that you would get if booking direct and at no extra cost or detriment. Luckily, the customer told me this as I had no idea that some people wouldn’t realise how it worked. As I can use most of the holiday companies, I can search and book trade only deals as well as book any that the general public see. There are a couple of the less reputable companies that I don’t get involved with but I can pretty much book anything. Any commission I get is not paid by the customer but by the companies so it just means if you book through me, I get paid instead of it going to someone you don’t know.
I had more soup for lunch and had a little walk to sort laundry while taking the dogs over to Fire Opal and back. I had a cheese, walnut and sun dried tomato salad when I got peckish and then made a chicken stir fry with rice after an afternoon of work. I made more of the Slimming World style breakfast oat bake so that I had it for breakfasts and snacks.

Gratitude List
1. Pancake for breakfast
2. Believing that walnuts and iceberg lettuce is now a treat!
3. Finishing the week on only 180 syns.

I wasn’t quite sure what my weight was on weigh day, Wednesday 5th March. My measurements were very favourable this week; no change to my bust but 4cm off my waist and 3cm off my hips – just proving how having less bread really makes a difference. Both dogs were very snoozey still as I had my tea and toast for breakfast and then did a bit of admin before Turkish class. I paid 40 lira (86p) for a Turkish tea and 120 lira (£2.58) for the lesson at Lukka. The exchange rate had reached 46.6 lira to the pound now. It was cold out but sunny and dry and I had a bit of a wander round before lunch which was reheated chicken stir fry and rice.
When I got to Fat Club, I was pleased to find that Carol’s scales showed I was 0.65kg (1.4lb) lighter and easily under my target – it felt really good but I did have the ‘advantage’ of having been ill at the weekend. I bought a soda water at Nil Lounge which was 50 lira (£1.07) as I’d had too much tea already today. As my treat for this week, instead of wine, I had bread and an açma which I had with cheese. On my second visit to Fire Opal I noticed the building next door had the brick work almost finished but it looked quite shoddy. I was busy with work, dog walks and then getting excited that my book had been bought in Australia!!! I didn’t cook any dinner and just had a cheese and lettuce sandwich, which I loved.

Gratitude List
1. Losing weight this week
2. Açma and bread as a treat
3. ‘You Can’t Shit Yourself on a Bicycle’ being bought in Australia!

Dalyan – 2nd & 3rd March

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.