Barking – 25th December

Captain Caveman’s alarm went off at 7am on Thursday 25th December, or Christmas Day, in the Barking Ibis hotel. The bed was super comfy, particularly great pillows and black out curtains so I didn’t get up when Captain Caveman did. He went for breakfast with his work team mates and I lolled about in bed.
Captain Caveman came back to the room and said the breakfast was ‘alright’ for £12.95 and said he’d be back for 8.30pm tonight. He took samosas, tomatoes and mozzarella for his lunch, leaving me with 2 of my favourite salads and a pack of sausage rolls. In the corner of the room was a bag full of cheese, some charcuterie meats, chutney, crackers, a bottle of port some wine and a box of mince pies. These were for later when Captain Caveman got back.
I had plenty to keep me busy for the day and just needed to get the WiFi password so that I could use the internet. I had GiffGaff credit but the signal didn’t seem to be very good.
I had a shower with all the nice products in the bathroom and then went to breakfast. Even though it was Christmas Day, all was continuing as a normal day; breakfast was from 6.30 to 10am and, for the price, was pretty good value. I troughed down a full English, pastries, meats, cheeses, orange and apple juices then lots of tea. The hotel was fairly busy too which I was surprised at and there wasn’t a Christmas jumper in sight.

Back in the room there was no luck with getting any WiFi so I decided to have a chill out day. I opened my proof copies of ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ and checked the amendments I’d done were showing – they were. I was really pleased with the look of the book and I just needed to get it seen by more people. Amazingly, I had got the font size right, making it easy for anyone to read and use.

Video of me opening my proof copy of The Handy Travel Planner

The Handy Travel Planner Amazon link is here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0G7S5VX47/

For the rest of my Christmas Day I relaxed on the bed and watched a Miss Marple on TV. Although I have a TV in Turkey, I no longer pay to have any channels on it so tend not to watch any UK TV at all. This was fantastic and I really enjoyed doing nothing, eating my favourite salad followed by a mince pie and a cup of tea.

Photo Credit – Christmas ones from a London Facebook page

Captain Caveman called at 8pm to say he, Richard and Tom were on their way back and I should be ready for a cheese night!
I asked the receptionist if we would be allowed to bring our own cheese and port in to the restaurant and the hotel obliged. It turned out to be a really good night; Captain Caveman’s colleagues were really nice and were grateful for the cheese. Captain Caveman had gone above and beyond, even bringing a cheese knife and chopping board. We stayed in the reception until 11pm when I decided I couldn’t eat any more cheese nor drink any more wine! I left Captain Caveman and Richard discussing caving rope techniques – I’d had enough excitement for one day so left them to that conversation!
Back in the room, my phone connected to the WiFi but, interestingly, I’d not missed any messages at all! How did your Christmas Day go? Did you celebrate?

Gratitude List
1. A lovely hotel breakfast
2. A very relaxed, restful and easy going day
3. Cheese with Tom, Richard & Captain Caveman.

London – 24th December

Wednesday 24th December, or Christmas Eve, started with me having a face on that I had no clothes to wear. Captain Caveman had forgotten to bring my bag down from Pontefract – it was a good job I’d managed to bring knickers and bras with me! So today’s exciting activities would include clothes shopping – which I don’t enjoy. Captain Caveman already had it all planned out in his head but I wasn’t as confident that I would be able to find clothes which either fitted or suited me.
First thing was to get weighed and take my measurements. It seemed a bit futile, knowing that I was going to put weight on while in the UK, but at least I’d know my starting weight. The scales in Barnes said I had lost 0.3kg (0.7lb) which was a good start. My measurements were really good;
Bust no change, Waist -8cm, Hips -2cm.
Thankfully, the stomach issue had gone and my swollen belly had gone back down. I was still 5cm over my waist target, though, even after losing 8cm in a week.
I nipped to the shop as I had forgotten to bring my toothbrush and contraceptive pills. It was so cold out but Barnes Pond was beautiful. I spent £1.75 on a toothbrush in Sainsbury’s and £21 on a 3 month pack of pills.
I’d had deliveries of my book but I decided I would open them later, I did open a free book that Claire Clarke had sent me instead. That would definitely come in handy on my next publication too. Captain Caveman made us bacon sandwiches with brown sauce for breakfast and then we headed off to Wandsworth.

Captain Caveman was convinced I’d be able to get totally kitted out in TK Maxx, a shop I usually avoid on account of the confusing way the clothes are laid out and the resemblance of a jumble sale. I was a bit miffed and convinced I wouldn’t find anything. After an hour of looking, moaning and trying on items I would never had ordinarily chosen, Captain Caveman had forked out more than a hundred quid to sort me out. Here’s what we got with the prices in pounds.

TK Maxx
Black trousers 7.99
Thermal footless tights 8.00
Yoga leggings (with pockets) 19.99
Black hooded top 24.99
Black Dockers 69.99
Total spent £130.96

I wasn’t going to allow Captain Caveman to spend £70 on boots but he convinced me. I loved the docker style with leopard print tongues. They were sturdy, stylish yet practical and even had laces and zip opening. They were a make called Cavalli which I wasn’t familiar with so Captain Caveman Googled them to find that they were originally £330. While I thought they were an expense we could do without, these boots would turn out to be one of the best things Captain Caveman could’ve spent money on this Christmas. I was very pleased with my emergency clothing ‘Christmas presents’, which we don’t normally buy, and the treats continued.

Captain Caveman took us for brunch at Megan’s in Wandsworth. It wasn’t busy and, although on the pricey side compared to what I’m used to, it was a really lovely treat.
Here’s what we had and what Captain Caveman paid for, in pounds.

Megan’s
Sweet potato fries 5.90
Pigs in blankets 8.50
1 Rose wine 175ml 8.50
1 Bloody Mary 9.90
Shakshuka 12.90
Service charge 5.71
Total spent £51.41

We walked to the nearest convenience M&S petrol station and bought some items for tomorrow’s lunch; 2 salads, samosas, sausage rolls, tomatoes & mozzarella cheese for a total of £13.88. We had a quick pint in The Alma as I needed the loo and we needed to get the train back to Barnes. It was 4pm when I started packing for our 2 night trip away. Captain Caveman had agreed to work a 12 hour shift on Christmas Day so I was going to join him in Barking. I opened a lovely Christmas card from a friend and it felt quite nostalgic – we’ve not done Christmas cards for years now.
It was 8pm before we checked in to the Ibis hotel in Barking. Captain Caveman was already in the bar with his work mates when I came down from the room, dressed in some of my new items. We had a drink and Captain Caveman introduced me to the lads; there were 9 of them in total, all working today, tonight or tomorrow on some railway engineering job. They all seemed really fun and friendly but I was surprised that none of them had brought their other halves, as Captain Caveman had said a couple of them might do. When I asked, they said their wives had not fancied spending Christmas Day in an Ibis hotel while their partner worked – just me then!?
Captain Caveman left the fellas to it and we went to the dining area to eat, he had pie and I was tempted but decided to have lasagne with chips and garlic bread. To say we were only in an Ibis, I was impressed with the food and the red wine was pretty good too – I had 2! It wasn’t a very late night as Captain Caveman needed to be up and out early tomorrow.

Gratitude List
1. New clothes and boots from Captain Caveman
2. Brunch at Megan’s
3. A different but interesting Christmas Eve with Captain Caveman and his work colleagues.

Dalyan to London – 23rd December

Tuesday 23rd December was jam-packed as I was about to leave Dalyan for 26 days!!!! I was really looking forward to going back and we had so many different things planned! My flight was at 4.10pm to Gatwick so I had time to cram in just 4kg of my own stuff in to the 15kg hold luggage. This wasn’t an issue, though, as I had all my work stuff in my underseat bag and when I got to the UK, a bag of my stuff would be waiting for me. Captain Caveman had promised to bring my bag which had a few sets of clothes, pyjamas and a pair of boots!
With plenty of time before I left, I popped round to Jamie & Drew’s to say bye to Norman, with me being away for so long! He seemed in fine spirits and I promised him I’d be back to look after him in January.
Next, I went to Ela’s Kitchen for a breakfast with Karen and Andy who were on the same flight as me and were very kindly giving me a lift to the airport. We all had an English breakfast, which was a bit ironic, given where we were off to. It was delicious as always. Karen also ordered sandwiches to take with them but I decided I’d be ok without, after eating a breakfast. I spent 960 lira (£17.14) for my breakfast, a Yorkshire tea and my lift’s takeaway sandwich. Karen and I popped to the shop next door for some travel sweets and snacks – I got them as it was only 114.25 lira (£2.04) and they were giving me the lift which saved me the taxi fare.

At the airport it was a bit of a farce as I had to go back through security check twice when my boarding pass wouldn’t scan. This also meant I had to faff about with taking my laptop out on both occasions as well as shoes off! It was badly organised and no seating or repacking area. It would not have been ideal for anyone who struggled with this process.
Once at the gate, I bumped in to Dave, one of the regular boat trip blokes from Dalaman. We had a chat and a good laugh as he’s got a really good sense of humour. We took a photo to send to our mutual friends.
The plane left on time, I did a little blogging and watched some Netflix on my phone. When the drinks trolley came round I decided to have some water, a red wine and a cheese and crackers snack box for a total of 822.45 lira (£14.69). I was due to land at 5.40pm and had nodded off before that.

Once landed at Gatwick around 5.40pm, I retrieved my 15kg suitcase and said bye to Karen & Andy. I wrapped up in my hat, scarf and winter coat and headed to the train station. It wasn’t as cold as I expected but it was definitely chilly in England. I got the train to Barnes via Clapham Junction and Captain Caveman was there to meet me from the train. We then hurried to his parents’ house to drop off my luggage and then go back out.
I’d arranged to meet Stacey and Tracey, from Anex Tour Uk, in Hammersmith. Captain Caveman and I got the bus and arrived at The Swan pub first. Captain Caveman ordered himself a pint of ale and I had a pint of cider – he paid on card so no receipt but I don’t think there was much change from £20!
Stacey and Tracey arrived shortly after and we had a really good night, they are such a good laugh and Captain Caveman got on well with them too. After a few drinks we decided to order some food and I wolfed down the fantastic baked camembert with truffle fries like it was my death row meal – it was so good! I must’ve been quite tiddly when we said our farewells in Hammersmith train station as the group photo didn’t come out as I’d hoped at just before 11pm!!

Captain Caveman and I got back to Barnes by 11.35pm and I was knackered as my head thought it was Turkish time, 3 hours ahead. As I got in to bed, I saw a picture from a friend who had received her copy of The Handy Travel Planner and I was so pleased! She loves a holiday as much as I do so I knew it would be perfect for her to plan all of her adventures.

Gratitude List
1. A nice last morning in Dalyan
2. Seeing Captain Caveman again
3. Meeting up with 2 of the Anex ladies for pre Christmas celebrations.

Dalyan – 22nd December

There’d been 2 events that I’d contemplated doing on Monday 22nd December, my last full day and night in Dalyan this year. It was a friend’s birthday party at 4pm and I’d thought of a trip to Köyceğiz on the yellow boat had I been in a position to take the day off. However, it was the launch of The Handy Travel Planner and I was too anxious to sit and wait to see how it went.
Because I would be travelling tomorrow and that I would be taking some time off to see Captain Caveman, I wanted to get my scheduled social media content done for the next week or so. I spoke to Captain Caveman on video call who was already in London where I would join him at his parents’ home. We were both looking forward to seeing each other, even though it had only been 3 weeks since we’d last seen each other. Today was our 14 year anniversary too but we had already celebrated it while we’d been together in Dalyan last month.
I forgot to eat all day but by 4.30pm I was hungry and decided to warm up yesterday’s Christmas dinner. I spent the evening working and packing – I was really looking forward to my trip!

Gratitude List
1. The Handy Travel Planner was launched and ready to buy in paperback and hardback on Amazon
2. Seeing Captain Caveman was looking forward to seeing me again
3. Leftover Christmas dinner!

The Handy Travel Planner Amazon link is here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0G7S5VX47/

Dalyan – 21st December

I was up and working before 7am on Sunday 21st December so that I could catch up from being slack and time away from my desk on Friday and Saturday and knowing I had to be somewhere this afternoon. I had more cruise training to do and I thought the Arctic cruises were particularly interesting. I did more prep for The Handy Travel Planner which was officially launching tomorrow and I still hadn’t seen a hard copy, myself! I also checked in for my flight on Tuesday afternoon and then got ready for some celebrations.
I had been invited to join friends for a Christmas meal at Ela’s Kitchen. At our table there were Jamie & Drew, Ann & Stuart with their family, Charlotte & Kenny plus Nanny Kay and me. My stomach was still iffy from yesterday so I decided to drink soda water and I had took my tupperware so that I didn’t waste my food.
I had the prawn cocktail for starter and it was very good. The Christmas dinner was impressive and I did have some left overs because I needed to save room for the a Christmas pudding. I did manage a glass of red wine but I didn’t feel 100% despite the meal being delicious. We had a good laugh, especially as I was sat between Stuart and Nanny Kay who are both hilarious. Nanny Kay rounded the meal off with an After Eight chocolate sliding down her face, playing that game where you have to get the chocolate from your forehead in to your mouth without using your hands.
At 7.30pm I paid my bill of 2500 lira (£44.64) including the tip and hurried off to meet more friends. I wanted to catch up with Janet & Ian before I went back to the UK so we met in Ren Garden and I had a couple of glasses of red wine at 140 lira (£2.50) each – I would miss these prices when I got back to London!
It was lovely to finish off the weekend with more friends and farewells too.

Gratitude List
1. Being prepared for my book launch tomorrow
2. Christmas lunch at Ela’s Kitchen with friends
3. Farewell drinks with Janet & Ian.

Photo Credit – Ann, Stuart & Jamie for some of the photos

Dalyan – 18th December

I had to have a bit of a word with myself on Thursday 18th December. I was not getting enough rest, I wasn’t making and eating healthy meals and I wasn’t making time to see friends. So, I agreed to meet a friend at Ren Garden at 4.30pm so that no matter how my day went, I had to put down my laptop and go out. I had a friend in the UK who was having surgery today and I was thinking about how that would go, feeling sorry I wouldn’t be nearby to see them.
On going to open the fixed curtains it turned out one of them wasn’t fixed. I let the fixer know and I got told how to move the string to sort it out myself. It stil cost 1500 (£27), which I thought was amusing but what I was told to do, did work and they looked good.
I spent most of the day really trying to get my head around Canva and produce enough promo content for the next few days, ready for my new book launch day on Monday. It was hard, I didn’t like it, I wanted to quit but I kept going.
I made myself do a walk round the block and call at the bank for the curtain cash, before lunch. I was missing walking Norman and needed to stretch a bit. I called at the shop and bought the following, prices in lira:

BIM Supermarket
Wholemeal loaf 31.50
6 eggs 65.00
125g blueberries 85.00
Total spent 181.50 lira (£3.24)

I had a cheese sandwich for lunch and carried on with the promo designs. My eyes were tired and I was getting a bit tetchy with it, so at 3pm I went to the bank to buy my travel insurance for the UK and Morocco. It cost 1,001.67 lira (£17.89) for my 3 week trip, in 3 separate policies, which wasn’t bad. On the way back home I popped to the off licence and bought a couple of bottles of fizz for something I had arranged for tomorrow. It was 565 lira (£10) per bottle and was one I’d had before. Prosecco is really hard to get decent stuff in Dalyan.
At 4.15pm, as promised, I hurried over to Ren Garden with some of the chocolate for my friend. She had chosen the Forerro Rocher and I obliged, after all I was meant to be on a diet! When I arrived, she wasn’t there so I messaged her to see if she was on her way and I ordered a hot chocolate. They had no idea we had arranged to meet and apologised. I didn’t mind as it meant that I could get back to my Canva and I ended up eating some of the chocolate I was going to give her. It was almost midnight when I finished but it meant I was up to date with my marketing schedule and I could take some time off this weekend.

Gratitude List
1. Getting out and running errands
2. Being on track with my marketing schedule
3. Mastering Canva enough to get some marketing material done.

Link to my new planner here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0G7S5VX47/

Dalyan – 17th December

Just as I was starting to get a bit stressed on Wednesday 17th December, things started to take a turn for the better. I had less than a week before I flew back to the UK and I just had so much to do. I was still concerned about having less money than I had hoped for, so when friends and family were inviting me to do things in the UK with them, I knew I didn’t have the budget. I got my 2026 diary out and started to plan a bit better. I got weighed at home and took my measurements and of course it wasn’t going well. Being back at anywhere near my target weight by Christmas was not going to happen. I had put on 0.35kg (0.8lb) this week and still had to face Carol’s scales this afternoon.
My measurements were;
Bust +1cm
Waist +7cm
Hips +1cm
Yes, 7 centimetres on my waist – unusual and I think I’d eaten something that didn’t agree with me.
I also had the curtain man turn up to fix our curtains and he was the same guy who had fitted them years ago, before we lived there. I had a call from Jamie who had a Resort Experts related query that we worked on together so I didn’t check the curtain man’s work before he left.
I didn’t have time to eat any breakfast or lunch, because I then got a message from Amazon to say they had approved my updated internal pages for ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ and I was ecstatic!!!
This meant I could now start my marketing plan and all the self promoting that I needed to do on social media to get my book sold. Amazon do take quite a cut and, ideally, I needed to sell 3 per day but I wanted to aim for 1 copy per day for now. I’d planned badly and most people had probably done their Christmas shopping by now, which could have had an advantage for me. It also wasn’t just about me making loads of money on book sales (although that would be amazing), I knew the planner could really help people have better holidays. It was also designed to provide opportunities for me to book holidays for more people in 2026 and beyond. I used Canva and some templates from the course I had done with Claire Clarke to produce some promo posts. I’m not good with Canva and it took me a long time, in between holiday related queries and nipping to Fat Club. Carol’s scales were saying similar so I hadn’t been lucky there.
My next Zoom meeting was with Claire Clarke and the Create Publish Grow group – I was excited to report that my planner was finally ready.
At 6.15pm I nipped to the shop, here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Popcorn 13.50
Mentos 22.50
Peanuts 29.75
Crisps 47.90
Pizza toasties 109.80
Pizza 209.00
432.45 lira (£7.72)

I cooked a ready made pizza for dinner, which was probably not a good idea, really, given how massive my stomach had been. I then finished my first promo poster on Canva and it was almost midnight – I thought it looked good, but I would see how my followers (and you) viewed it.
I had a link at the ready for people to buy it once it went live (it is now): https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0G7S5VX47/

Gratitude List
1. My new planner ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ was ready and I could start to let people know it was coming soon.
2. Getting the Canva promo stuff done without giving up or crying
3. Managing to go outside and to the shop.

Dalyan – 22nd November

The day of Captain Caveman’s arrival was finally here on Saturday 22nd November – I was super excited and quite hungover!
Having consumed wine with dinner, 5 mulled wines and a further 250ml of red wine as a nightcap, I had totally overdone it with Jamie and Drew last night! It had been good to let my hair down but now, as I went to feed the cat at sunrise, I desperately wanted to be having a lay in, keeping warm under the duvet. I was back home by 8am, with no wandering round Dalyan unnecessarily this morning. I was going to go back to bed but instead I had a Yorkshire tea and a litre of water before deciding to move my office back upstairs in to the spare room. I moved the spare table first and it wasn’t that difficult, but my beloved red office chair was a little more cumbersome. I had to have a sit down when I got them in place but I was pleased as I was hoping to have a reduced work schedule this coming week so wouldn’t need our dining table as a desk. That morning, I finished my internal pages of ‘The Handy Travel Planner’, uploaded that and my book cover by Nicole at I Am Claire Clarke on to Amazon and hoped they would vet it and agree to publish it quickly! They said it could take up to 10 days, which was a bit long but there was nothing I could do and I just had to wait now! Overall, I was very pleased and excited with it but I was still annoyed with myself for not having got it done sooner so that Captain Caveman could bring me a copy to see!!
For lunch I had beans on toast and got a message from Captain Caveman who was getting the train to Manchester airport ready for his 13.45 flight. He was due to land at Dalaman at 21.00 so I still had all day to wait.
After doing some last minute work, I decided to pop out to the shops, help my Mom by getting her the stationer’s email address and feed the cat again. Here’s what I bought from the various shops with prices in lira;

Şarküteri
1 Chicken Tikka sauce 190 lira (£3.45)

I rarely buy the ready made sauces from the import shop as they are pricey but I decided I’d left it too late to make a curry for dinner.

Migros Supermarket
Mentos 20.95
Marshmallows 39.95
2 Nut Dido chocolate bars 60.00
3 tins of chopped tomatoes 149.85
1kg chicken breasts 172.09
Total spent 442.84 lira (£8.05)

I was so excited to get the tinned tomatoes, finally!

Yaman Büfe 2
2 Efes Malt beers 170
1 bottle of Red Rituel wine 288
Total spent 458.00 lira (£8.33)

After buying some booze to have with dinner, I went home to chill out, finish some blogging and await Captain Caveman’s arrival!

I managed to finish a few blog posts, check the coming week’s weather forecast, start my marketing plan for ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ and schedule a week’s worth of Resort Experts posts before I got a text to say Captain Caveman was on his way. Luckily, the curry was done and simmering away, the beers were cold and the apartment was nice and tidy. It was gone 10pm when he arrived, hand luggage only but with half of his bag full of treats for me! He’d got a transfer from Sonuç at Dalyan Transfers. By 11pm Captain Caveman had unpacked his wares which included;
2 bottles of Kahlua from Duty Free for £31
A 2026 Diary
A power bank
5 cheeses
2 butters
Steradent tablets
An Advent Calendar for Nanny Kay

I was so pleased that Captain Caveman had managed to bring so much in his hand luggage this time. We cracked open the beers and I dished up the chicken curry with steamed rice. It was almost midnight by the time we had finished eating, which was extremely late for me but Captain Caveman was 3 hours behind, on UK time. I set my alarm for in 6 hours time as I needed to make sure I was up for the cat feeding. Captain Caveman had also organised a Sunday Walk for tomorrow. There was so much to go on my Gratitude List today that I had trouble narrowing it down to just the 3!

Gratitude List
1. Finally submitting ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ to Amazon to be published
2. Captain Caveman arriving in Dalyan
3. Getting some treats from Captain Caveman.

Dalyan – 20th November

I had another exciting day on Thursday 20th November, starting with feeding my friend’s cat just after sunrise and visits to my new favourite outdoor dogs. It had certainly got chillier in the evenings and early mornings now.
At 9am I walked over to Vanessa and Matt’s so that I could go with them to Ortaca. I’d arranged for the cleaner to come and do the whole apartment seeing as Captain Caveman was due to arrive in 2 days and I barely had time to get things done. I’d admitted defeat on the planner, as it was too late to get it delivered now for him to bring it out to me. Vanessa had an appointment in Ortaca so she had kindly agreed to give me a lift as I was off to the hairdresser’s in the afternoon and also preferred to be out of the house while the cleaner did her thing. We got to Ortaca and dropped Vanessa off then Matt and I went to Reyhan cafe. I had a hot chocolate and Matt had a coffee, the prices were reasonable, the service good and the cafe was big enough for me to be able to work from there later on. When Vanessa returned we all decided to have some lunch and I was impressed with their pizza, recommended by Matt. The food was fast food style but hot and on a plate, and they did really good offers.

After lunch, Matt and Vanessa left me in Reyhan for a bit longer and for an online meeting, which I took my noise cancelling headphones for. I also received my book cover latest version, from Nicole and was really pleased with how it looked. This made my day so I celebrated with tea and a cake before heading off to let Emrah, my hairdresser, work his magic. When I went to pay my bill at Reyhan, Matt had already paid for my lunch so I only had 190 lira (£3.45) to pay for tea and cake – very cheap, but not as good as Mono for the cake!

It was my first time of going to his new premises, since Emrah had moved to Ortaca from Dalyan, and it was very close to the bus station so fairly easy to find. I walked up the stairs as I wasn’t sure if the lift was working, although it was, and I received a warm welcome.
I had my hair done and it looked really good, the price had gone up a bit to 2,300 lira (£41.82) for a full colour, cut, blow-dry and Emrah’s signature curls. Some people in Dalyan had commented that they thought Emrah was expensive now but I loved how he did my hair and didn’t want to change. Even though I now had to come to Ortaca for it, I was happy enough to make time to do that every couple of months or so. I still rounded up my payment to give a tip and booked in for the Friday before Christmas as my next appointment.

I decided to get the bus back to Dalyan which cost just 46 lira (84p). When I got home, the cleaner has done a lovely job and saved me a whole day of having to do it myself. That evening I went to feed the cat, I spoke to Captain Caveman on video call and he’d decided we might be going to Madrid in July. There was another gig/festival he fancied and wanted to know if I would come if he could get the tickets! Of course, I said yes.

Gratitude List
1. A lovely outing to Ortaca with Matt & Vanessa
2. Getting my hair done by Emrah
3. A potential trip to Madrid in 2026.

Dalyan – 19th November

Wednesday 19th November turned out to be quite eventful. I’d fed the cat before sunrise and decided on another walk through Dalyan’s town and by the river, on my way home. It was a little chilly but beautiful and quiet.

I’d turned in to a bit of a magnet for stray animals as various ones came to say hello. I now had a handful of dogs who came over to get some fuss on a regular basis.

Back home I got weighed to find I had put on 0.3kg (0.7kg) which wasn’t ideal. My measurements weren’t good either; my bust remained the same but I’d put on 2cm on my waist and 1cm on my hips. I would find out later what Carol’s scales read. The Slimming World plan kept falling by the wayside but I was determined to get back on track before the end of the year.
I had beans on toast for breakfast and then went to do some more edits on my new travel planner. Canva had started playing up with the page numbering I had saved and was showing page numbers on pages I had asked it to hide, as well as moving the odd one to the right instead of the middle – very frustrating and unnecessary time was wasted.
At 3pm it was time for Fat Club, only to find I had lost 0.3kg (0.7lb) on Carol’s scales, which was better than expected.
I went straight home after Fat Club as I needed to finish off some work before my friend popped round. Vanessa arrived as soon as I’d finished and we chatted and drank tea. We were going to meet at Jiks but decided it would be better to chat first then go out. I went to feed the cat and then we were on our way to the bank, when we saw my parents with their friends in Ren Garden. They’d been out a while and were planning on going home but they stayed out a bit longer with Vanessa and me. It was the first time I’d seen them since they went to Jiva Beach almost a week ago so they were telling us how good a time they had on their trip for Kate’s birthday. I had 2 white wine and sodas for 300 lira (£5.45) and, while Vanessa went back home, we stayed out. My parents hadn’t got anything ready for dinner so we were going to eat out at Çağrı. Unfortunately, it was closed as it was already 8.50pm so we decided to walk to one of our old favourites, River House. We shared a large bottle of water, a meze plate and balloon bread. My parents both ordered liver with either mash or chips and I had meatballs with cheese. My share of the meal came to 1,410 lira (£25.64) including a tip and was very nice but slightly extravagant for a Wednesday.

Gratitude List
1. Animals
2. Not being as fat as I’d thought
3. Seeing Vanessa and my parents.

Dalyan – 18th November

I was awake at 6.30am on Tuesday 18th November so that I could go to feed my friend’s cat. It was a bit fresh out but nice, so I decided to have a walk through the town and along the river on the way back home. My heart had still been racing a bit after yesterday’s shock and I’d not felt that great. I thought a bit of exercise would do me good, for a change. I was out until 8.15am and then I had a cup of tea and started working on the planner again.

I didn’t bother with breakfast, so at lunch time I sat on the balcony in the sun and ate bread, cheese and olives.
At 6pm, I broke off to go feed the cat again and then on the way back, did some shopping. I was still looking for chopped tomatoes but had to make do with tomato puree in a jar. Here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

Şarküteri
1 tin of coconut milk
2 tins of baked beans
Total 270 lira (£4.91)

A101 Supermarket
Mints 17.50
Jellies 29.00
Tomatoes in a jar 48.90
Sensodyne toothpaste 185.00
Total spent 280.40 lira (£5.10)

For dinner I had a pasta bolognese with parmesan and then did more of the planner until bed time.

Gratitude List
1. Walking through town before many people were up and about
2. A calm but busy day
3. Tasty food.

Dalyan – 13th & 14th November

It was little Norman’s last morning with me on Thursday 13th November, his owners were due back from Jiva beach, Fethiye, by noon. Once I’d done the handover with Jamie and Drew, I was due over to Kate & Mark’s to cat sit 7 cats for the next 5 days, while they went to Jiva Beach, Fethiye.
Norman and I had our last walk and then he got impatient waiting for his breakfast. An hour later he was snoring away on the sofa, living his best life. I was going to miss him as he was just so adorable. Jamie and Drew arrived, Norman was very pleased to see them and I was sad to say bye to him.
By midday I was having a stress on with my planner as I now had most of the pages written but the format was proving troublesome. I left it and walked to the bakery to pick up bread and a simit so I could have lunch later.

Jamie picked me up and drove me over to Kate’s, so that I didn’t have to get a taxi. A spare key had been left for me and I had my written instructions at the ready. All the cats were outside and stayed there until after I had my Resort Experts team meeting. Luckily, the internet worked well and I had no issues.
Before 3pm I was out on the terrace playing with Mork and Mindy, the latest kitten additions to this cat family. They were cute, mainly blind, very affectionate and they just wanted to play all the time.
It was lovely and sunny so I had a break then went to check if I’d heard back from the publishing company. I’d sent in my Canva link to get a second opinion but it had now been 6 days without a response and I was getting impatient.

At 6.30pm I had all of the cats coming home, ready for their evening meal. I spent the evening with them all vying for my attention and was surprised that JC was the one who came for cuddles on my lap. I had a sandwich for dinner and was in bed by 10.30pm, feeling quite tired.

Gratitude List
1. Norman
2. A lift from Jamie and Drew
3. Seeing all 7 cats were alive and well on the first day.

My deadline to have ‘The Handy Travel Planner’ finished was today, Friday 14th November. Unfortunately, the lady I’d tagged at the publishing company I was working with, had not seen it until today and now it was the weekend. I did get feedback about my sizing and fonts which needed more work so I was behind for getting the proof copies sent to Captain Caveman in Pontefract. The cats had woken me up at 6.30am so I was quite tired as I worked more on correcting my planner. One of the cats had torn open my bag of dried pasta that I had left on top of the toaster and it was all over the kitchen counter and floor, so most of that went in the bin.
By mid morning, I had 2 mock up copies of my book cover, designed by Nicole, and I was very pleased with them. I had a choice of 2 and could get some tweaks so I did that quite decisively. At midday, I needed a break so I walked in to town. This was the furthest I’d walked without a crutch since breaking my foot, just over 2 months ago. I was still very slow and it frustrated me. I called at the shop but they didn’t have what I needed in, here’s what I bought with prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Water 4.50
Cheese börek 26.95
Haribo jellies 32.95
Total spent 64.40 lira (£1.17)

I went back to Kate’s and cracked on with work and editing my planner until 4.30pm, when I put all the cats outside and walked back home as I had an online training session booked in for 5pm. It was about Nile river cruising which I was interested in doing myself in 2027 so I was glad to be attending it. I did this at Fire Opal then went to meet Vanessa at Ozzy’s. We had planned to meet there because I had to feed another friend’s cat at 6.30pm and we were going to order a pizza to take away.

Interestingly, we got chatting to a man, whose accent I recognised as being from Hull, and decided to have a second wine and order food. I left Vanessa chatting to Mike while I went off to feed the cat.
Vanessa had a plain jacket potato but I had a chicken pizza which is my favourite. I paid 705 lira (£12.82) for 2 wines and the pizza which included the winter discount. We had to get back to Kate’s cats for feeding time so we decided to get a taxi. Fikri charged just 200 lira (£3.64) for the journey and the cats were waiting for us. It was chaos and there was also a 3-legged cat who was on a beanbag under some chairs that had blown over in the wind. I gave it some food, it let me stroke it and was very vocal, so I thought it was injured. When I let Kate know she had an extra cat, she said it was Norman, Sue & Graham’s cat. I left it outside but it wasn’t being friendly towards some of Kate’s cats.
Vanessa and I shared some wine that she’d brought and we had a good chat. The kittens, Mork and Mindy loved her and got lots of cuddles.

Gratitude List
1. Getting to see my mock up book covers for The Handy Travel Planner, which I loved.
2. Dinner at Ozzy’s
3. Still having 7 cats alive, plus an extra one!

Dalyan – 12th November

Wednesday 12th November was chock-a-block with stuff!
Norman and I were out before daylight and he tried to go back to the spot he’d found the fish. He’d got an oyster shell in his mouth which I quickly retrieved – luckily as it was broken and could injure an animal.
After Norman’s breakfast he went back to bed while I took my measurements. I’d lost 0.4kg (0.9lb) on the home scales, which was surprising. My bust had stayed the same, I’d put 1cm on my waist but lost 1cm on my hips. Not bad, considering Sabotage Tuesday had got me.
I did some Resort Experts work before prioritising The Handy Travel Planner – yes, it now had a title! I updated the Packing, Itinerary, Must Do, See & Eats pages as well as reformatting the questions pages. I had soup for lunch before taking Norman on a quick outing before Fat Club. Bizarrely, on Carol’s scales, I was the same as last week. I was getting a bit frustrated that I wasn’t losing the weight but, although I was drinking far less and not as often, I wasn’t being as strict on the food. Even though I was walking Norman 3 times each day, it wasn’t far or fast.
After Fat Club I called at the shops to pick up some shopping to give to Kate. I was meeting her to pick up house keys so that I could start the cat care from tomorrow. Here’s what I bought, with prices in lira;

Migros Supermarket
Plastic bag 0.50
Pasta 13.95
Courgettes 18.98
Rice crackers 24.00
Milk 39.95
Chickpeas 69.95
Bananas 76.92
Pesto 79.95
Dark chocolate 84.95
Mushrooms 89.95
Total spent 499.10 lira (£9.07)

When I arrived at Ozzy’s to meet Kate, it was a little chaotic! Kate had just finished hosting the quiz and was trying to do 3 things at once. She apologised as she was very busy and had forgotten the key.
I sat down next to Vanessa and had a soda water but I had to leave because I was meeting my next cat owner to discuss her requirements and pick up her key. Vanessa and I took Ozzy’s phone number so that we could order delivery from him this coming weekend.

I said bye and headed to my next appointment, buying a couple of chocolate bars on the way as I was a bit early. I was eating a chocolate bar outside the Millennium shop when my friend arrived. We walked to her house, she gave me a spare key, and ran through the cat’s needs.
Norman and I had a little walk and bumped into my parents to say farewell and wish them a nice break at Jiva Beach in Fethiye. We then wandered past Phil who was walking Caramel and he’d left Penny in Tez bar. I decided to go in to say hello and had a glass of red wine while Norman got some fuss. He enjoyed listening to the regulars singing and even got a dog treat from Penny.
Back home I had a video call with Captain Caveman who was working in Scotland and was in a hotel. I had a very late dinner of chicken casserole then some cheese and wine as a weigh day treat.

Gratitude List
1. Not putting weight on
2. Norman
3. Things going well with half of the cat sitting arrangements.