Saturday 21st January was Tet Eve in Vietnam and Captain Caveman was enjoying some time off. I had extra Charlie cuddles until 10.30am and then decided I didn’t actually need anything from the market. I still had quite a bit left in the fridge so was going to leave it until next week. The weather was nice so we got a couple of walks in and I arranged to have a meal with Jamie and Katrina later at home. I didn’t even go to Rehab to see the pool group, Kate had gone to England for a week this afternoon so I thought a chilled out day would be good. Around 6.30pm I went over to Jamie’s to pick up the rest of my things and he showed me the new beds which had been delivered. ‘My room’ now had a lovely, comfy, anti static with washable topper, divan bed. I couldn’t wait to dog sit again to try out the new bed and I was booked in again in early February. At 7pm Jamie, Katrina and Joseph came upstairs and we were going to order food from China Town. I got handed a lovely gift from Jamie’s Mauritius holiday of a set of spices and a beer – a perfect gift for me! Jamie and I had brought a bottle each of Tılsım, he’d brought diet coke, and I’d got some Sprite. Unfortunately, because there was no TV in the living room, we decided to move to Katrina’s so that Joseph had something to watch. This helped because Katrina has bigger wine glasses and a dish washer so we took the drinks down and Katrina put the order through for delivery. Katrina has a puppy called Teddy, and he’s really cute. In the relocation I left my purse and phone upstairs so I didn’t take any photos and Jamie had to lend me the cash for my meal of sweet and sour chicken with fried rice. I shared the prawn crackers and had a few chips too and it was so good, but obviously not Slimming World friendly. I’d had a good evening but was glad to get to bed, even Charlie was still sofa snoozing when I got home.
While Vietnam was celebrating the first day of Tet on Sunday 22nd January, Jamie and I had planned to take the dogs to the beach. He picked me up at 11am from Charlie’s and we called downstairs to pick up Teddy, Katrina’s King Charles Cavelier puppy. We had a nice walk on the beach but not too far because Teddy’s little legs wouldn’t take him as far as we would normally go. It was his first time on the beach and he was so cute, the other dogs didn’t seem keen on him though. I didn’t get as many photos as I’d have liked due to having to keep an eye on the dogs a bit more with 4 of them. In the car on the way back, Norman and Edna in the back, Charlie, Teddy and I on the back seat and (obviously) Jamie driving, Charlie got car sick. Jamie had to stop the car because I was holding Teddy on my lap. As soon as Charlie got out, he was fine but then some street dogs tried to frighten Charlie and Jamie. All the time Teddy was like a little Scrappy Doo from Scooby Doo and wanted to get loose. Back home I had a quick lunch of hotdogs on fresh bread with ketchup because I fancied it. I had a homemade chicken and aubergine curry for dinner, with Kate’s lemon drizzle cake for afters. Fat Club next week was certainly going to be interesting as, not only was I having less exercise without the 2 additional dogs, I kept eating things that were probably not quite within the Slimming World plan. That evening Charlie was so sweet and wanted lots of cuddles, if I stopped stroking him he kept tapping my arm for more! It was going to be hard saying bye to him, once Helen and Abi were back.
On Friday 20th January Charlie and I had a lay in until 10.30am. I had invited Leanne over for a cup of tea and a dog walk around noon but Charlie got impatient and wanted to walk before she arrived. We were on our way back when Leanne arrived but only had time for a quick cup of tea before she got a call from work and had to go. Charlie also had seen me put some hot dog sausages in the fridge and had started trying to do paw so that he could have some. He was so funny and would only give his right paw!
Video of Charlie doing pawVideo of Charlie only doing right paw for a piece of sausage
At 2pm it was time for Turkish class at Ela’s Kitchen and I walked there in the cold and rain. The class went well and I enjoyed it but I was so hungry as I had not had chance to eat yet today. I stayed after class to catch up with a friend, 007, and I ordered a cheese sandwich and a cup of tea. The food was top notch and it was nice to chat to 007 who I’d not seen for a while. Back ‘home’ I walked Charlie again as was going out at 6.30pm for a birthday party, which had already started at 3pm! Jamie and I agreed to walk in to town together to meet the girls. Because I’d had a lively night last night, I didn’t feel like going but it was Annie’s birthday (from Bistro Blue) so it was bound to be a lively one, especially as it was also Sue and Selina’s birthdays too. We said we would just go for a couple and wouldn’t stay out long – famous last words!
Annie and the girls had already started their afternoon at Dalyance and then moved on to Ela’s Kitchen. As Jamie and I arrived, they were finishing their drinks and planning to head to Mustang bar. We went on ahead and, because the wine there isn’t to our liking, Jamie ordered gin and tonic and I had a beer. I was still a bit hungover from last night and, after 2 drinks at Mustang, we moved on to the next bar.
At Sofra, I decided to go on to wine and we plonked ourselves down next to Katrina and Mehmet. At 9.15pm there was talk of tequila shots and by 11pm Annie was behind the bar with Şükrü insisting on friends having shots! I was ‘forced’ on to the dancefloor and I might have accidentally dropped Sue when spinning her around but I managed to resist the tequila shots until 11.40pm but then it was pretty much ‘go for it’. There was dancing and lots of noise but by 12.30am I was flagging a little. It had been a great birthday celebration but I was definitely feeling my age these days! Luckily, Katrina and Mehmet were leaving so they kindly gave us a lift home, which was a good idea given the amount I’d had to drink.
Charlie was not impressed that I’d been out galavanting yet again, this time without any dinner. I cooked some pasta and warmed up the Gorgonzola cheese from Kordon, which I’d got out of the freezer earlier. I gave Charlie some plain pasta and he loved it, but then he insisted it was bedtime or I’d never make it to the weekly market tomorrow!
I got up early on Thursday 19th January intending to go back to bed but Charlie had cheekily taken my spot in the bed. I let all 3 dogs know that we had to get up anyway as Jamie was on his way home from Mauritius and would be arriving in to Dalaman airport at 9.30am. Norman and Edna were excited but Charlie not so much as I started packing and stripping the bed. By 9.30am Norman was pacing about the lounge and kitchen wondering where Daddy was but Edna was waiting on the sofa knowing there would be luggage to collect. By 10am Norman had drafted Charlie in to keep a look out for Jamie and they were on high alert for the sound of the taxi and gate.
Jamie arrived at 10.30am and after a doggy reunion we decided to go to Ela’s Kitchen for a breakfast. We both had the big one, me without tomatoes and eggs, Jamie without mushrooms, and it was delightful. Jamie surprised me by buying my breakfast as a belated birthday treat which was very good of him. Our next mission was for me to move back to Helen and Abi’s as I had quite a lot of stuff, including all the freezer stuff, to shift. Jamie drove me round and helped me carry everything too – it would have took me about 10 journeys on foot, easily.
As Charlie and I moved back in to the top floor apartment, Helen messaged me with sad news and I decided to give her home a bit of a spruce up. I took the Christmas tree and decorations down, hoovered up and checked with Katrina if it was ok to use the shower, now that the plumber had fixed everything. Jamie had already said I could use his shower if I needed to, which was very kind, but I could go to Captain Caveman’s place quite easily. Katrina confirmed it was ok to use as the leak had been fixed and she wanted me to try it to check all was well anyway. After putting all my stuff away I went to see what Charlie was up to and I found him on Abi’s bed. We went out on to the front roof terrace and I noticed that the hot water tank was spewing out boiling hot water so I let Katrina and Mehmet know. Charlie seemed to be pleased to be home but was a bit out of sync. I think he was either expecting Helen and Abi to be back or for me to be leaving him, because of all the bags. He even laid on what was Captain Caveman’s pillows as if he was hoping to find him back in the apartment. We had quite a long dog walk around the area that Charlie knows well and then went back ‘home’ for a quiet night in.
As we were almost out of dog food I went back to the pet shop and bought just 2kg of dog food for 50 lira (£2.21). Jamie had said if it was different to what Charlie was having, to mix it in with the old so that it didn’t upset his stomach, so I would do that. I went to Migros Supermarket too and bought skimmed milk and 2 lots of quark which came to 47.50 lira (£2.10). As I was coming out of the shop deciding what I would make for dinner, I got called over to Jiks!
Armed with the dog food and Migros shopping at 5pm, I went over to Jiks where Matt, Vanessa, Janet, Kev, Mark and Kate were having a beverage and they invited me to join them. I had a couple of white wine & sodas and, for some reason, all the ladies were trying on each others hats. We had a good laugh with Vanessa who had told us that Madge had been accusing her of talking too much. Nanny Kay and Becky arrived just as everyone was getting ready to leave and we briefly discussed my belated birthday get together next week. Matt & Vanessa had booked a table at Balıkçım for Thursday night fish and chips. I wasn’t going to go on account of me (supposedly) being back on my diet! I was (so easily) persuaded and, while Matt, Vanessa, Janet & Kev set off across town to the restaurant, Mark and Kate waited to give me a lift on their mobility scooter. This was handy as I could put my shopping on the back and we were there in just a couple of minutes.
At Balıkçım I ordered a glass of white wine to go with my fish and chips and it’s definitely the nicest white wine I’ve drank while out in town. Kate was very good and ordered meze dishes as a main meal while the rest of us ordered the infamous fish and chips. When it came I was very impressed as it was huge, the batter was crispy, the chips were excellent and the fish tasted amazing. Everyone else had either mushy peas or curry sauce (or both) on their’s but I just had the Turkish vinegar. A few splashes of non-brewed condiment would have made it perfect but we were in Dalyan so I couldn’t expect them to have that. Unsurprisingly, I ate every bit of mine and I even ate the generous serving of fresh rocket on the side. I was glad I’d gone along and was very pleased to have had such a big meal for less than an English £10. While we were there Matt and Vanessa spoke to Alp, the owner, about his forthcoming birthday weekend. He was going to be celebrating his 50th birthday at a 5 star all inclusive hotel in Antalya and Matt was organising a bus for anyone in Dalyan who wanted to go. After our fish supper someone, I’m not sure who, had an idea to go for one more drink! Janet and Kev headed off home, Matt and Vanessa said we’d meet at Bistro Blue, Kate and I walked there while Mark followed on the mobility scooter, with the shopping.
Inside Bistro Blue was nice and cosy at the bar area and it was only 8pm as we ordered drinks. I switched to red wine as I do like a red in Bistro Blue, Mark went from beer to red, Kate opted for vodka and diet coke while Matt had beer and Vanessa had a white wine and soda. The service was good but the music wasn’t as good without Selahı doing his DJing. We had a good laugh and when Matt and Vanessa paid their bill and left, I thought we would also be leaving. Mark and Kate had already said they would give me a lift back to Helen & Abi’s on the Puff Truck, it was on their way home almost and I was conscious that Charlie was on his own for the first time in just over 2 weeks. By 8.45pm Kate was doing some sort of drunken gymnastics on the stairs with the bannister and I was concerned an accident was waiting to happen. By 10pm Mark was also doing banister balancing which in turn lead to Kate having another go. Fortuitously no injuries were sustained and by 10.30pm I’d ordered the bill. I’d had 3 wines, Mark had 5 (we should have bought a bottle) but Kate had excelled herself with 6 vodka and diet cokes plus an extra diet coke. When the bill came it was a reasonable 80 lira (£3.54) per wine and 100 lira (£4.43) for a generous vodka and small bottle of diet coke. Mark and Kate saw that there was an extra 25 lira (£1.11) on the bill under ‘soda’ and argued they had not had a soda. This was actually for the extra bottle of diet coke Kate had asked for when she thought the vodka was a bit strong. I think Omer, the bar man, was happy to take it off the bill just to get rid of us, as Kate tried to pay on card. I paid mine in cash but Kate was too tipsy to be able to get the card and machine to do it’s thing. Luckily, I had cash on me so I paid the bill and took a photo to remind Kate in the morning. I got a lift home, almost forgot the shopping on the back, and said goodnight – it had been a really good impromptu night! When I got in, Charlie wanted to know what time I called this, getting in at 10.45pm on a school night smelling of booze!?
On Monday 16th January Captain Caveman was due out of the cave and was taking himself off on a pre Tet holiday. Here in Dalyan, the weather was sunny and around 22°C but rain was due again tomorrow. I did quite a lot of editing in the morning after walking the dogs and then found Charlie had tried to go back to bed for a siesta. Kate and I had decided to make the most of the nice weather and had arranged to meet for lunch at 12.30pm at Egehan again. Gino at Egehan gave us a lovely warm welcome and he even gave Kate’s bike a thorough wash as it was very muddy. Kate had beer, I had a glass of red wine which was rather smooth and we both ordered pasta dishes this time. The food was lovely, as we sat in the suntrap outside by the pool. Kate had made a lemon drizzle cake for me for my birthday and she’d brought it along. We worked out how to cut it up in to pieces which would be around 10 syns each and I would pop some in the freezer too.
I seemed to be attracting abandoned dogs as, at Tez bar, one which looked a bit like a ginger Charlie came over. When the weather got cold, and Mark had come to join us, I popped back to Captain Caveman’s apartment to put most of my lemon drizzle cake in the freezer, put a coat on and grab a pair of leggings for Kate to borrow. I left just after 6pm so I could feed the dogs and walk them again. On my way back to Jamie’s I called in to Migros Supermarket where I bought filo pastry sheets, frozen sweetcorn and toilet rolls for a total of 136.60 lira (£6). For dinner I put a pie in the oven and started looking at flights to Vietnam. While the pooches all slept on the sofa I found Emirates to be the cheapest on the search I did. When my pie was ready Charlie showed that he desperately wanted some by sitting underneath the oven, then climbed on the sofa to try to get a piece. I didn’t give him any as I didn’t think it would be good for him and the other dogs would want some too if I did.
I went back to bed with a cup of tea and 3 dogs on Tuesday 17th January. Norman and Charlie were getting friendlier and it was a good job, as rain looked imminent. Captain Caveman was on holiday in Hue for a few days but would be going to Hoi An soon to meet friends. I had pie for lunch but in the afternoon I couldn’t make it in time for Singing group as I had to walk the dogs and get to Tez for a birthday celebration. It was Jackie’s birthday and I’d mistakenly thought her birthday was tomorrow. I hurried to walk the dogs and call at the bank but got there for 4pm, just before it started to rain. Quite a few of us were at Tez bar, including Vanessa, Matt, Mark, Kate, Cath & Keith and a few of the other regular ‘Tez-pats’. We had to move inside when it started lashing it down so it was quite cosy, but Vanessa’s coat got soaked.
Jackie, Chris, Amanda, Jeff, Gay Gaz and I all went on to Kordon for a meal while the rest stayed in Tez and then went home. I had lentil soup to start which I really enjoyed and the Gorgonzola chicken for main. Jackie had recommended the dish, it was fantastic and enough to take half home. I had a glass of wine too and my bill came to 450 lira (£20) which was good value but more than I’d normally spend on a Tuesday evening dinner and drinks. We were still eating our meals when Cath joined us and had a bit of Chris’s mixed casserole. After a rather lovely birthday meal I said goodnight to the others and we left Cath with Gay Gaz heading to Jiks for shots, as I went back to Jamie’s to check on the 3 dogs.
Wednesday 18th January was rainy so, after letting the dogs out in to the garden, feeding them and making a cup of tea, we all went back to bed for an hour. I had just strawberries for breakfast and stayed in my PJs while the rain was so heavy. All 3 dogs were waiting for it to stop raining so that we could go for a nice walk and they looked a bit fed up. In the morning I finished all my editing for this particular stretch and I was looking forward to getting more done during Tet. I had more pie for lunch and there was no Fat Club due to the bad weather. I was keen to know my weight this week, though, so I got on Jamie’s scales. Obviously the scales are different to Carol’s at Fat Club but it showed 0.1kg less than last week. Pleased with this I walked the dogs then had some lemon drizzle cake for a snack. The dogs were getting along much better now and were definitely friends, which was nice. I did a Slimming World friendly pizza for dinner but then later had some cheese and membrillo. I watched some TV and it was nice to see Norman and Charlie had become closer now too.
Captain Caveman had gone in to the cave by the time I woke up on Friday 13th January at 8am. I walked and fed the dogs and then waited for Louisa to get up for breakfast. I was a bit woolly headed after last night’s birthday celebrations which I’d really enjoyed. When Louisa emerged, I had started to need to go back to bed and she didn’t fancy any breakfast. Her taxi with Fikri was coming at 12.30pm and she intended to have a KFC at the airport on her way home. We said our goodbyes and made some arrangements that we might be able to see each other again in April. I was hungover so I had an easy day at Jamie’s with the dogs and watched a bit of TV. Unfortunately, Louisa found that the KFC in Dalaman airport wasn’t open so she didn’t get any breakfast or lunch. She’d also left some pistachio chocolate and a packet of ketchup flavoured crisps at Jamie’s, which would have come in handy. I got a mystery meal out of the freezer for dinner which turned out to be a nice chicken and mushroom concoction and I ate it with steamed rice. I was in bed by 8pm, absolutely done in!
I’d been looking after Charlie for over 6 weeks now and he was running out of his biscuits. I messaged Helen on Saturday 14th January to check where I should get more from and how much they were. When I’d googled getting the same 15kg bag that was now almost empty it was over 600 lira (£26.62) which seemed expensive to me as it was more than I spend on my weekly shopping. Helen replied to say she usually got it from Muğla so I decided to see if I could just get a few kilos for the time being. Neither pet shop I checked had the ones Charlie currently had so I didn’t get anything as I needed to check with Helen first. I needed to get back to the laptop in the afternoon but I spent the rest of my lunch break stocking back up at the supermarket and the weekly market. There was a young girl in a toy car at the market, which looked like a good way to navigate the stalls. Here’s what I bought in the supermarkets and prices in lira:
Migros Supermarket 1 carrier bag 0.25 6 Eggs 22.45 Cheese balls 53.25 540g chicken breast 57.73 1kg chicken thighs 81.25 Total spent 214.93 lira (£9.53)
I forgot to write down exactly what I bought and spent in the market but I did get myself some chestnuts and a punnet of strawberries as a treat and I rarely spend over 150 lira (£6.58) there. When I got home I had a nice message from Vanessa asking when I’d be able to meet up as I’d not seen her since Tuesday and I said I’d try for tomorrow. I made chicken fried rice for dinner and had dog snuggles. All 3 dogs were asleep by 9pm but I stayed awake watching TV. At 11pm I remembered I had chestnuts and had some of those.
I had to do some editing again on Sunday 15th January so the dogs were quite happy to relax with each other after their morning walk. I’d been upstairs for a couple of minutes but when I came back Norman was checking my diary to see if he was featured in this blog that he’d heard mentioned. I found a pizza stone in the cupboard so I made diet pizza for lunch and had some strawberries to snack on. On our afternoon walk Milo, who was still camping out at Manuela apartments, joined us and then another stray dog came along. I had 5 dogs on the walk at one point and got myself a bit of a sweat and a thirst up. So much so that when Charlie, Norman and Edna decided they wanted to pop in to Waterfall to see Skippy, I didn’t object. I was thirsty so I had a beer but I really did need to get back on the diet again. Back at Jamie’s, I had chicken fried rice for dinner and then the cutest thing happened; Charlie and Edna were holding hands (touching paws) while they slept on the sofa.
Although it was still raining when I got up on Thursday 12th January, it had eased a little. I tried to catch up with as many birthday messages as possible and I’d got a lovely message from my sister, Gayle, who had also sent me some money for my birthday. I thought I’d maybe put it together with the money from my parents and buy, either something nice to wear, or maybe a ring, when I next went shopping. I took the dogs out before Louisa got up and we’d all towelled off and were on the sofa when she came downstairs. Annie at Bistro Blue confirmed we could go ahead with yesterday’s birthday plans tonight instead. This was brilliant news, I let everyone know and asked if anyone wanted to change their preordered meals. Louisa and I did because she’d eaten her choice yesterday in Kordon and I decided to push the boat out and have something I really wanted. Louisa and I left the dogs at home to meet Mark and Kate at Ela’s Kitchen for breakfast at 11am. Our Fethiye friends had left early that morning so I sadly didn’t get to see them but they had given Kate a bottle of wine to give to me for my birthday – how lovely. For breakfast I had the big breakfast but agreed to do swaps of my eggs and tomatoes for Mark’s mushrooms on his small breakfast. Kate ordered a Chicken club sandwich and Louisa a bacon sandwich. I absolutely love the breakfasts in Ela’s and they have proper English tea too.
After breakfast, I confirmed menu choices and numbers for Bistro Blue but I’d had 20 cancellations already. Mark and Kate decided they wouldn’t come as we’d gone out yesterday for dinner and breakfast today instead. Vanessa and Matt also cancelled because they too had eaten out with me yesterday. In the afternoon, Louisa and Kate came with me to Charlie’s apartment where they helped me clean the remains of any flood water up. It wasn’t as bad as I’d thought and it was just in the main bedroom. We also emptied the freezer and fridge to take the stuff to Jamie’s so that if the electric had to be turned off, nothing would spoil. We saw Milo and he now had a crate with a blanket in from Katrina so that he was warm until his new owner could collect him. That evening, as we were getting ready to head off for my party, I got messages from Vanessa, Matt and Mark to tell me they were in Tez bar and that I should come to join them (and a few people coming to my celebrations) there. Of course, I couldn’t do that as it would mean being late for Bistro Blue and being rude to the people who were actually on their way to my belated celebrations.
Louisa and I arrived at the restaurant just before 7pm and the table was set up lovely, we had 12 people eating plus another half a dozen coming just for drinks. Joining in the meal was Wolfie & Irena, Jackie & Chris, Linda, Ghislaine, Pete, Bill & Jaxx and Gay Gaz. Joining for drinks only were Janet & Kev, Roy, Sheila, Andy & Kaye, and Cath & Keith. Janet brought me a bottle of wine for my birthday, Linda got me a lovely necklace and Ghislaine gave me a reed diffuser from LC Waikiki and some Ferrero Rocher chocolates. I’d said I didn’t want birthday gifts, just shots and snogs so I’d done very well and I also got quite a few cards which was very lovely. Louisa and I had a porn star martini cocktail each, I also shared a bottle of wine with Linda during the dinner. Both Louisa and I had ordered the same thing which was the surf and turf. At 500 lira (£22.18) it wasn’t cheap so when it arrived Louisa saw that it had a sauce on and wasn’t happy with it. I asked Omer to send it back as she thought it might have cheese in, it didn’t but she still didn’t want the meat and prawns covered in sauce. Mine came and I tried it and liked it, I’d asked for mine medium which was fine. Louisa got her food back and the prawns were separated but still in the sauce so I suggested she rescue them on to a bit of dry bread and I had her sauce. Her medium steak wasn’t cooked enough so I asked Annie if we could send it back again and, of course, they obliged. I really enjoyed my food and even finished off some of Louisa’s which was still too raw for her but she didn’t want to send it back a third time! I definitely would eat the surf and turf again but I think Louisa would choose differently next time.
Instead of a dessert, we had more drinks, Bill bought me a Moscow Mule, loads more red wine was had, then I decided that I would buy a round of tequilas for the few of us who were left. Things got messy as others joined in the buying of shots when Cath introduced everyone to a Baby Guinness (or 4). We turned the floor in front of the meze fridge in to our dancefloor and Selahı made an excellent DJ. I’m not sure I remember getting back to Jamie’s but I do recall having more drink when we got there. Louisa was leaving tomorrow so she had vodka and coke to drink up!
I had reached the ripe old age of 50 and was no longer in my 40s on Wednesday 11th January. When I was younger I always assumed that I’d be doing something wild and exciting on my birthday to celebrate my 50th, or at least with family or my partner, however, that wasn’t quite to be. I’d been awake with all 3 scared dogs until almost 4am as it was blowing a hooley outside Jamie’s villa and the rain was relentless. Even before I’d got up, I knew my birthday night out at Bistro Blue would be cancelled. Captain Caveman called me but forgot to wish me a happy birthday until I mentioned it and we chatted while I was still in bed. Annie from Bistro Blue messaged to say the venue was flooded and could not open today but she would see how things were tomorrow. I agreed to postpone my birthday until then and messaged everyone to let them know. Quite a few people replied to say that even if my birthday went ahead tomorrow they already had other plans, so it looked like a much smaller do, if at all. It was disappointing but these are the issues that happen with a winter birthday so I wasn’t too upset by it. I opened a card from my parents which had some money in, I still had their Christmas money too and thought I’d probably buy something to wear when I got the chance. In 2022 I’d not bought one item of clothing and it showed as I didn’t have many clothes these days. I went downstairs, had a cup of tea and laughed that I’d put Louisa’s leftover vodka and coke from last night in the fridge. I’d got so used to having minimal waste these days that I may have taken it a bit far by saving Louisa’s drink for her to have the next day. I took the dogs out in the heavy rain for a very short walk and dried each one on a towel when we got back in. I’d managed to get the toaster down off the high shelf ready for Louisa coming and I had some sliced bread in ready for toast. When Louisa got up she also forgot to say Happy Birthday at first which was funny. I mentioned Vanessa would be over around lunch time for some birthday action and that we needed a Plan B with my birthday party tonight being cancelled. I think the weather made it feel less like a birthday and I wondered what we were going to do today apart from stay at home.
Video taken by Louisa of me giving treats to Edna, Norman and Charlie in exchange for them sitting and giving a paw
Fat Club was also cancelled so I wasn’t even going to that but Kate and Irena had still managed to go to Art class, and Vanessa went to Line Dancing. Vanessa arrived at Jamie’s around 12.30pm with a card and a present for me which was so kind. The silver bracelet was really lovely and she popped it me on to my wrist between my bracelets from Captain Caveman and Ingrid. I reheated yesterday’s curry and I opened a bottle of fizz (the one I bought for New Year but didn’t drink) for the 3 of us. We did a birthday cheers and Louisa gave me her glass of prosecco as she’s not a fan of it – a decent one is hard to get here so I wasn’t wasting any! Vanessa and I both had second helpings of the chicken and pumpkin curry and Vanessa got quite tiddly. I took the dogs out for a walk in the rain while Vanessa and Louisa carried on chatting and drinking, there was no point all 3 of us going out in the rain getting soaked on my birthday, after all! When I got back Louisa was having a vodka and coke, Vanessa a gin and Sprite while I just had a glass of water and a towel for mine and the dogs’ feet.
Kate messaged to say she was still rained in at Kordon with Irena and that we should get a taxi down there. At the same time, Matt was on the phone to Vanessa arranging to go to Tez bar with Mark. We decided to get the taxi to Kordon just after 3pm and when we got there, a rather drunk Vanessa took Louisa off in the rain. I said hello to Kate, Wolfie and Irena who all wished me happy birthday and had perhaps been on the beers a while. I ordered a beer and joined them next to the indoor fire which was nice and warm. When Vanessa and Louisa came back, wet from the rain, Vanessa announced that they had been to Tez bar to serve Matt and Mark with orders to come to join us immediately. Of course that fell on deaf ears and they remained there until it got too cold for them. In the meantime, Vanessa had also surprised me with a lovely chocolate cake which we all had a piece of, then the waiter gave the rest to a friendly bunch of English people on the next table.
When Mark and Matt arrived they were also quite merry and had forgotten it was my birthday too, so they never did wish me a happy birthday between them. I didn’t feel like getting on it really because I hoped we’d all celebrate my birthday together tomorrow but, as Louisa was ordering her second Malibu and coke, I thought I may as well have another beer. Kate decided we should eat at Kordon, so we looked at the menu, Wolfie and Irena went home in the rain. Kate ordered the orange chicken, Mark chose the lamb, Louisa went for Adana kebab, Vanessa ordered liver, Matt the chicken schnitzel and I a chicken shish. During the dining experience, I got calls and texts because the leak at Charlie’s had become worse due to the heavy rain. The rooftop balcony was flooding and I was asked if I could go over there. I explained I was trying to make the most of a cancelled birthday and was in the middle of eating so I said to phone the landlord – there was nothing I could really do and luckily Charlie was at Jamie’s villa and safe. The food at Kordon was really nice but I couldn’t eat it all on account of the 2 lunchtime curry portions so I took half of it home. The rain never eased off, rain water was starting to come in above our table and we were encouraged to go to Waterfall bar on our way home. Matt was making sure a very merry Vanessa got home but Mark and Kate were up for more drinks so Louisa and I shared a taxi with them.
Unfortunately, it was past 9pm and Waterfall had already closed so Mark and Kate dropped us off at Jamie’s. When we got out of the taxi the water was ankle deep on the road and the pool had overflowed. Once inside the villa I tried to let the dogs out on the back garden but they took one look at the weather and decided they weren’t going out there. Meanwhile, some friends were on their way from Fethiye in torrential ‘stay at home’ weather as they wanted to see me on my birthday. They arrived at Mark and Kate’s 2 hours late at 10.30pm by which time everyone was ready for bed. They ended up staying at Mark and Kate’s and I declined to venture over there because it was so late and awful weather. Louisa and I had more drinks as we’d only had 2 in the 6 hours at Kordon and stayed up chatting for ages. By the time I got in to bed that night I was begging for mercy as I set my alarm for 8am. It wasn’t the birthday I’d planned but it was still one I’d remember.
I was up and about early on Tuesday 10th January as Louisa was on her way from Manchester to Dalaman airport. I was really pleased that she was coming out to help me celebrate my 50th birthday. The dogs weren’t happy that I wasn’t back in bed with a cuppa so they had to do their snoozing on the sofa. I popped all the ingredients for a chicken and pumpkin curry in to the slow cooker and let Louisa know that’s what we were eating later. I crammed in as much editing as I could before lunch as I would be taking the next couple of days off for my birthday. Jamie had been gone a week now and he and his partner were enjoying Mauritius. Everyday they showed off their hotel towel art but it wasn’t that good, I decided to make some out of their tea towel and sent them photos of it. I spent my lunch break walking Charlie, Norman and Edna and even got a photo of them walking together. Back home, I cleaned and tidied in readiness for Louisa arriving. The sky was growing dark and storms were predicted, my birthday tomorrow was booked for quite a lot of us so I hoped it wouldn’t get cancelled.
Louisa arrived and she had brought me a block of Red Leicester cheese, which I’d asked her to and I was so happy. She’d been a bit worried about being able to get dairy through as it’s on the list of produce not to be able to bring in, even though everyone does. It’s my favourite cheese and you can’t get it often here, what they do have is super expensive too. I’d not seen Louisa for 9 months, the last time was when she’d been over with her nephew and mom in April last year. It was great to see her and she had a funky new haircut which looked great. Louisa didn’t fancy the curry I’d made for dinner so I turned it off and we could perhaps have it tomorrow for lunch. The rain was still holding off so we decided to go out to the bank. As we were walking it was obvious that it was definitely going to rain tonight and the forecast said it would be heavy for a few days. We ended up in Jiks where a glass of red wine was now only 60 lira (£2.64) but a shandy was 80 lira (£3.51). Of course we had to bump in to Madge, who came over to ask about my ‘pregnancy’ again. I really should have been eating that Slimming World friendly curry at home instead of joining Louisa for a pizza. I ordered the Slim pizza (which was incorrectly named but I took off ham and added mushrooms) while Louisa ordered the Happy pizza. They were only 90 lira (£3.95) each and it tasted so good that I ate the whole thing. My diet was, once again, postponed – until after my birthday. The rain started and we walked back to Jamie’s where I opened a bottle of red wine and Louisa had a vodka and coke. She’d not even managed to drink much of it before falling asleep on the sofa around 9.30pm – it had been a long day of travelling for her. As the rain got heavier and heavier I had a feeling my birthday tomorrow would not go as planned.
It was the start of my birthday week on Monday 9th January and the plans were coming along nicely. After breakfast I took the dogs out as usual but this time Charlie wanted to check on Milo, the dumped dog, who we had now found out was called Cookie. Apparently the owner of the off-licence, Yaman Bufet, had said he would take it if we could take it to the shop. I was struggling enough to handle the 3 dogs I did have on the lead so I sent the location to people who could help.
While Captain Caveman was on his way back from Son Doong, I was on my way for my first treat of the week. Kate was meeting me at Egehan restaurant, where her birthday gift to me was lunch and drinks. We had a lovely table outside by the pool in glorious sunshine and we were the only lunchtime guests. We had beers and a couple of beef dishes which were absolutely stunning. My meatballs were so tasty and Kate enjoyed her meal too. I was wearing winter clothes and was too hot, even the pool wasn’t that cold.
Next we went to Tez bar where we were later joined by Mark and we were discussing plans for my birthday. On my way back to Jamie’s villa, around 5.30pm, I called at the shop for some essentials, a little bit tipsy. Louisa was arriving tomorrow so I’d asked her what she might want so I could get it in, and I also took some vodka from home as she doesn’t like wine or beer. Here’s what I bought;
Migros Supermarket 1 Twix 13.95 Skimmed milk 15.50 Carrots 16.25 Toastie loaf 17.50 Crisps 18.45 Apple juice 22.00 1 tin of tomatoes 24.90
Total spent 128.55 lira (£5.66)
After shopping and walking Norman and Edna, it was time to take Charlie for his walk. This time we went a different route and ended up in Waterfall where I met up again with Mark and Kate. After a couple of drinks I went back home and sent the Bistro Blue menus out to the potential birthday party attendees so they could preorder. On the whole, prices had an average increase of 20%, which was normal but I expected some cancellations because of it. As my diet was on hold until after the celebrations I treated myself to a couple of pieces of the white Terry’s Chocolate Orange which Josh had brought me over from England.
I had quite a steady day on Saturday 7th January, when walking the dogs there was a small dog who had probably been dumped and was hanging around Charlie’s house. It looked like Milo from the film ‘Mask’, he was shaking and crying. I didn’t have my phone to take photos or try to find the owner but I suspected the cost of having a dog was getting too much for some Turkish people, prices of pet food was expensive as they class it has a luxury item which has a high tax on. At the corner shop the fresh bread was now 5 lira per loaf, only 22p in English money, but used to be 1 lira not that long ago. I met up with Vanessa in the afternoon at Kaunos Tea Gardens and left the dogs together for about 3 hours, feeling happy they had been walked and were now friendlier towards each other. I called in Bim supermarket to see if they had any Dairy Milk chocolate as I kept hearing rumours, but there was none. I didn’t stay out late as I felt a bit tired and headed back to Jamie’s villa for some dog and sofa time.
My Sunday, 8th January, was full of dog love and nice Slimming World friendly food. After letting the dogs out and feeding them, Norman insisted that we all go back to bed. I obliged and, this time, Norman had priority place next to me while Charlie and Edna were near my legs. There was lots of snoring and farting during an extra lay in, and that was just the dogs! By 11am I decided we were all being far too lazy and that we should get up and go for a walk. I wouldn’t say I’d mastered it, but we were now all 4 of us comfortably walking without me being tied up in dog leads. It was clear that Edna was the boss but I loved how well behaved Charlie was on his lead. When we walked near his house we saw Milo (the dumped dog) again and I spoke to the neighbour to check if it was their’s. This time we took photos and posted on Facebook to see if we could find the owner. It turned out the owner had been traced but didn’t want the dog, Milo had now moved in to the vestibule of Charlie’s apartment block and was being fed by two of the kind neighbours. Charlie wanted to be friends with him but there was no way I could surprise Jamie, or Helen & Abi, with a new dog. I had a late lunch of leftover curry with steamed rice and played outside in the garden with the dogs. All 3 of them were getting along much better now and they were less jealous of my attention since walking them all together. We watched TV while all 3 dogs stayed near to me and each other, which was sweet. I had another healthy meal of chicken and veg pasta for dinner and I had some of the white wine left over from the other night. When I got off the sofa for more wine the dogs spread out and I couldn’t get back to my spot.
All 3 dogs came back to bed with me on the morning of Friday 6th January. Even while I waited for the kettle to boil, Norman and Edna were halfway up the stairs and it was still too early for breakfast. They got on the bed together and there was some repositioning as Edna and Charlie both wanted to be nearest to me. In bed, while some of the dogs snored, I made some arrangements for my 50th birthday celebrations next week. It was likely to be bad weather and so I envisaged I might need to have a Plan B, just in case. I’d decided I fancied going for a nice meal and some drinks at Bistro Blue and was having conversations with the owners to arrange. I had to wait for them to reprice the menu as the prices were increasing for 2023, the new menus would be with me on Monday. I was really looking forward to having Louisa come over to celebrate my birthday with me but I did hope she wouldn’t be too bored – Dalyan can be very quiet in the winter time. I’d brought my tape measure with me to Jamie’s so I did my weekly figures; Bust & Hips remained the same, Waist +1cm, Both thighs and Right calf +0.5cm, Left calf still the same. I popped to the shop to get some provisions for a soirée I was hosting that evening. Here’s what I bought at Migros Supermarket: 880g chicken 67.00 400g tin of chopped tomatoes 24.90 1 carton of cream 18.90 Total spent 110.80 lira (£4.89)
I suspected that wasn’t far off the cost of the same things back in England, although I hadn’t been back for over a year. I put the ingredients for a Slimming World friendly curry in the slow cooker and brought my rice cooker over from one house to another. I had a bit of a tidy up then Vanessa popped over to join me on a dog walk.
Cheeky Charlie, obviously had us call in to Waterfall bar, which ended up being 2 drinks and Charlie getting lots of attention from his friends. When Vanessa and I got back to Jamie’s villa to pick up her bicycle, Ann and Nanny Kay were already on the patio waiting for me.
Once indoors and the dog fussing had been completed, we got the wine out. Ann had brought me a lovely birthday gift; a gift bag with Buzbağ red wine, Dairy Milk chocolate, M&Ms and a lovely purple bobble hat. Nanny Kay gave me a bottle of Tigre wine, which I also thought was a pre birthday gift as she also wasn’t coming to my birthday party on Wednesday. As Jamie would be away for my birthday, and Nanny Kay and Ann weren’t able to make it, we said we would do a night out at the end of January instead. I thought the curry turned out well and the ladies were impressed with my rice cooker rice. Charlie took a real liking to Nanny Kay and was loving being a bit cheeky with both our visitors. We had a lovely evening and I was quite merry by the time they left.
On Thursday 5th January it was cold when I got up to let the dogs out. I made a cup of tea, fed them, then we all went back to bed. The dogs were getting used to each other a little more, which was nice, and I had a feeling they would be best friends by the time Jamie got back home. I had cornflakes for breakfast while Charlie and Edna were sunbathing. I’d even brought a sun lounger near to the back door, popped a towel on it and was able to keep an eye on them from my stool at the breakfast bar. Norman remained inside but Edna got too hot in the sun and had to come inside to cool down after a while. There was a lamp on the breakfast bar which was constantly on so I had to message Jamie to ask how to turn it off, he laughed that I couldn’t figure it out. I took a few photos to send him of the dogs so he knew they were doing fine without him. I did more editing but then got summoned to go over to meet the plumber at Charlie’s apartment because they had come to try to fix the leak which was still going in to Katrina and Mehmet’s bathroom, below. It had been going on for more than a month now and was getting ridiculous as no one seemed to know where the problem was. Charlie had taken himself off for an afternoon nap and I didn’t know how long I would be gone for. I booked Louisa’s taxis from and to the airport, for her trip to see me next week, while I waited for them to finish. I’d been less than an hour out of my day when I got back to Jamie’s to another ‘situation’. He’d told me he had ordered some bathroom tiles at a bargain price and they had been delivered while I was out. Not only were they placed right in front of the patio doors where the entrance to the villa is, but a lot of them were broken. I took a photo to send to Jamie so he could organise to have them moved and I noticed Edna and Charlie looking out of the doors wondering what was going on. I got in the house but decided not to let the dogs out until the tiles were moved and I could sweep up the sharp bits. I didn’t have to wait long, as 2 ladies from the Agent’s arrived promptly and moved each one by hand in to a more practical spot. By the time I had walked all 3 dogs and was getting back to my laptop, Captain Caveman called me to chat for the first time since he’d got to Phong Nha. Unfortunately, we had just started chatting when a Phong Nha friend turned up and Captain Caveman had to go. It was a good job the call was cut short as Charlie had spotted some cake toppers in the form of Norman and Edna, which he was trying to push on to the floor. I moved them and he tried again so I had to pop them in a cupboard. I finally got some food, quite late in the day, just a jacket potato with cheese and salad. I watched Dragon’s Den and The Apprentice in the evening then had a glass of wine and a piece of Christmas cake, courtesy of Jamie. It was quite chilly so I was glad of the dog snuggles until bedtime at gone midnight.
Before I’d walked Charlie on Tuesday 3rd January, I’d already had some photos from Captain Caveman in Phong Nha. He had been out and about meeting friends at familiar haunts and because of the 4 hour time difference had already had lunch. Ganesh, the Indian restaurant, was now open and he was looking forward to trying it in the next few days. I walked Charlie and completed some editing, which Charlie wasn’t impressed about. For lunch I tried to salvage the ruined mushroom risotto by making risotto balls and they weren’t too bad. I also started looking at flights to the UK, hoping to pop back for a week or so. The prices to get to the UK were very cheap but to return to Turkey were not. The temperature felt cold here at 19°C at 5.30pm so I knew I’d struggle with the cold weather in England. My parents and Captain Caveman had left Dalyan a week ago now but it did seem like a lot longer. While Captain Caveman had been to Bamboo cafe and then was out with Tatas, I moved in to Jamie’s for another pet sitting stint. At 6.30pm I arrived, with Charlie, at Jamie’s villa and we had a glass of wine before he jetted off on his holidays. Dale, who handles residency applications, amongst other things, popped round and he joined us with a tonic water. I would be staying for 16 days to look after Jamie’s dogs, Norman and Edna, but Charlie seemed a little apprehensive of his new sofa buddies. When it came to bedtime he came with me, Norman and Edna slept on the sofa downstairs.
I couldn’t reach the toaster at Jamie’s and I was struggling to open some of the new handle-less kitchen cupboards. On Wednesday 4th January I had to have cereals for breakfast because of this and they’d gone a bit soggy by the time I’d found and got in to the cutlery drawer for a spoon. It was sunny out, although I noticed Jamie had not expected nice weather in Dalyan as all the garden furniture had now been put away. There was washing hung out next door so I wondered if we were expecting neighbours but I think it was just the cleaner popping round to do a spruce up. Charlie was still unsure why he was staying at Jamie’s with Norman and Edna, so he had assumed the guard dog position. He barked at the Cleaner as we had a chat and she said she knew me from Facebook. I managed to get some editing completed on my laptop but working at the breakfast bar on a high stool made my legs a bit numb. At lunch time I popped back to Charlie’s home to pick up more of his stuff, including his blanket, and he snuck in a cheeky sunbathe on the roof terrace. While I was there, I saw Jamie’s plumber who was on the roof, and it confused both of us at the same time. I was still walking the 3 dogs in 2 separate walks as I couldn’t manage all of them at once, yet. Fat Club was exciting as Ghislaine had gifts from Atyom, the Russian, for the 5 of us from her birthday bash. We each had a lovely bracelet in a box and gift bag to say thanks – how nice was that!? It was no surprise that the results of my weigh-in weren’t good and I had put on 0.8kg this week. I’d only left the dogs for 1 hour to pop to Fat Club, when I got back they had all been well behaved but acted like I’d been gone for a week. I didn’t eat lunch until 5pm but I had a jacket potato with cheese (no butter) then I fed the dogs. I made sure to feed them in separate sections of the kitchen as Charlie was used to having his food bowl full at all times so he could eat when he wanted. The King Charles Cavaliers will snaffle anything so I couldn’t leave Charlie’s food out and he took his time eating while the other 2 waited for any spare, which never happened. I spoke to my parents on video call and they were doing well, getting used to the cold back home in Sheffield. Later in the evening I had some pasta then settled down for dog snuggles. Captain Caveman was settling in to Phong Nha well, he’d been to meet friends in Dong Hoi, had drank wine with Tatas and finished his evening with a Porter party, where all his work friends and colleagues were.
Having been up most of the night with scared Charlie, the dog, because of the New Year’s Eve fireworks I was tired but hangover free on Saturday 1st January. I made a Slimming World friendly pizza with leftover salami and cheddar for lunch and decided to try the Slow Cooker mushroom risotto for dinner. I had a nice leisurely dog walk and then arranged to meet Jamie and Ann at Waterfall for a couple of drinks. The dogs love it there and they get to see Skippy, the dog, too. Unfortunately we were there a tad longer than planned and my risotto was overcooked. I popped it in a tupperware thinking I’d salvage it another day but I ate a small soggy portion of it for dinner. I filled up with left over Christmas cake and some cheese, which meant the diet was out of the window, once again! Captain Caveman had left Saigon and was heading back to Phong Nha, moving back in to the Glass House and getting prepared to start work again.
On Monday 2nd January it was the end of my Christmas holidays and so I intended to get back on with working for a living. Things were tight money-wise as the inflation in Turkey continued to rise and prices of shopping was increasing by up to 35%. Ann posted a job advert on Facebook so I decided to apply and then I made a shopping list. At the top was a diary, I really needed one to get organised as January, for me, is a busy month. I had strawberries for breakfast, the ones I had bought a week ago at Köyceğiz market and had cut them and put them in a glass jar to keep them fresher for longer. I was on my laptop editing documents but Charlie didn’t want me to, because he needed more belly rubs. I had pasta bolognese for lunch then soup and a wrap for a snack later. After a nice afternoon dog walk Charlie was insistent we went to Waterfall bar again, he was starting to find it impossible to go past without calling in to say ‘Hi’ to the locals. I met up with Mark and Kate who were on their way home from town and we had a jacket potato, courtesy of Mehmet. I left after 3 wines but, at 11pm, I’d had another glass of wine at home and more pasta bolognese before snuggles with Charlie.
On Saturday 31st December, Charlie woke up in a cheeky mood! He was rolling on, and in, Abi’s bed with his toy, Slothy. It was New Year’s Eve but I had no plans to do anything to celebrate it. Josh was booked to leave for the airport at 1.30pm so Jamie and I had said we would meet him for a send off meal at Bistro Blue. I took Charlie out for a decent walk first and was walking him back, off the lead, through the garden. It looked like some neighbours had moved in downstairs but I’d not met them yet and I was looking over to see. Charlie found some green sloppy poo on the grass and decided to roll in it, then rub his face and ears in it! I was disgusted and shouted for him to stop straight away, he ignored me so I had to pull him off the grass, using the bit of his collar not covered in shit. I had less than 1 hour before lunch so he and I were straight in the shower where I wished they had a hose, and not just the overhead one. I panicked and used Abi’s Body Shop banana shampoo which worked a treat but Charlie was not too thrilled with it. I made him sit outside on his box to dry off, convinced he still smelled of poo!!! At Bistro Blue, I ordered a breakfast, without eggs or tomatoes, and it was very tasty. We had a good laugh and a nice last meal before Josh and I walked over to the bank to meet Fikri. We said farewell, I had really enjoyed having Josh come to visit and would miss him, and his humour, for sure. Back ‘home’ I didn’t really do much aside from polish off one of Annie’s homemade mince pies with kaymak and honey. No alcohol was consumed, despite me having bought a bottle of cheap fizz, and was in bed by 9.30pm. Before 10pm, Charlie had come to tell me he wasn’t happy with the fireworks he could hear and, as they got louder and more frequent, he got very scared. I kept him close and reassured him and eventually got to sleep.
joloyolo 