I had a banana, Kate’s fruit salad, with added strawberries, pineapple, and quark for breakfast on Tuesday 21st February. I also tried some Linden tea which Jamie had brought me to sooth a bad stomach. It seemed to work and I wasn’t affected by the banana, like before. For lunch I had some healthy bits and pieces in an effort to get a good weigh-in result tomorrow at Fat Club. Kate was off to the UK this afternoon so had asked me and a couple of other friends to ‘look after’ Mark while she was away. Even though it was Pancake Day today, I decided I would have mine tomorrow, after Fat Club. In the afternoon I met up with Jamie, Norman and Edna and we had a dog walk along the river then Edna insisted we call in to the Waterfall bar. She had forgotten that it was a Tuesday and Skippy doesn’t go in on a Tuesday. I had a diet coke and 2 wines, we were joined by John, Andrea and Mark on their way home from Tez bar. Captain Caveman had been at his briefing for his next Son Doong trip but had managed to get a quick call in, which I took outside. We had a rough plan that I would be visiting Phong Nha, as well as having some holidays in both Vietnam and Singapore. I would only stay for 6 weeks which meant I had no visa issues and would be leaving Phong Nha when the weather was unbearable in July and August. Jamie went home to feed the dogs and have his own dinner, John and Andrea said bye too, then Mark and I bought some wine and milk at the shop, got Fikri’s taxi to mine where I picked up a bag. We drove to Mark’s and he fed the cats then reheated us up some leftover Chinese for dinner and opened the wine. The cats that stayed in were super cute and were happy to settle in to their beds for the night. We decided to watch a film, drink wine and later have cheese, chorizo and Ritz crackers. The diet had fallen short again and I’m sure it would mean a bad result tomorrow at Fat Club. It also meant that I had missed day 2 of the Decluttering Bootcamp, luckily I could catch up tomorrow on replay. It was after midnight when Mark went to bed and left me asleep on the recliner sofa, I’d obviously nodded off during the film.
Sunday 19th February was a lovely day all round. It was still dark when I set up my makeshift dining area, ready for my first Sunday dinner with 4 guests. Some had doubted I’d get everyone in, in our small apartment, but I’d squeezed in 7 for a curry night once, although that was a bit too much and we didn’t have enough spare chairs. I had a cup of Yorkshire tea and some fruit to start my day off then took a trip to the shop. Here’s what I bought, some of which I needed for today, with the prices in lira:
Migros Supermarket
Fresh ginger 4.00 Fresh bread 5.00 Bottle of water 5.45 Becel spread 17.45 6 bottles of soda water 18.75 Flour 19.50 White beans 27.90 Fresh milk 28.90 Fabric softener 41.50 Falafel 49.90 3 tins of tomatoes 59.76 Toilet roll 68.90 Chicken breasts 78.45 500g Diced beef 82.00 Total spent 507.46 lira (£22.26)
I called at the corner shop to chase up what had happened to my water refill and they had forgotten again. They promised it would be there by noon and it was. Jamie was the first to arrive with his leek and potato soup and a bottle of water with cordial in. Next was Matt with his slippers and he grabbed the orange chair so he could pop them on. Mark and Kate arrived late and hungover after Sofra last night. Kate had brought orange juice and soda water as she wasn’t drinking alcohol today. She’d also brought a huge fruit salad for dessert. Luckily, I had got some cream and some ice-cream at the ready. Mark brought some cans of Efes and had them in a cooler but he too wasn’t feeling like drinking much. I had been looking forward to wine today and had opened a bottle of Tılsım, just for me by the looks of it! After a bit of a chat I warmed up Jamie’s soup in the Pampered Chef jug that he said was microwave friendly. Unfortunately it wasn’t and the handle melted so we had to resort to the good old fashioned pan method. In the to-do I forgot to get the butter out of the fridge but no one commented as we ate the soup and dry bread. Jamie’s soup was packed full of extra veggies and tasted really good. Our next course was more of a chicken casserole with carrots, onion, leeks and boiled potatoes. I served this with Yorkshire puddings and mini jacket potatoes so that it was more diet friendly than a usual roast dinner. Kate had brought some stuffing to accompany it and I’d made a chicken gravy from my own stock for those that wanted it. For afters we were ate the fruit salad with different combinations of toppings (crumbled ginger biscuits, ice-cream and cream). It was a lovely get together and Mark did quite a bit of the washing up and clearing/rinsing the plates as he likes a tidy ship. Once everyone had gone I finished the wine off and chilled out on the sofa for the rest of the day.
Tuesday 14th February was a good day, despite me waking up at 3.40am. It was cold and I obviously went back to sleep. At 8am I got the best message ever from Captain Caveman. We don’t often spend Valentine’s Day together so it was nice to know he loved me. For breakfast I had chocolate and tahini with bread and some cherry juice. I was trying to be good seeing as I had Fat Club tomorrow and I’d gone way over on my syn allowance this week. For lunch I had a simit with cheese spread and in the afternoon I went for a walk, then to the shops and bank. Here’s what I bought and the prices in lira;
I’d planned a non-valentine’s Valentine’s Day at mine that evening and everyone was bringing some food and drink. On the guest list was Ann, Nanny Kay and Jamie. Ann brought a massive salad and some other healthy nibbles, including potatoes, Jamie brought his version of a chicken şakşuka (aubergine and tomato based), I had the rice in the rice cooker and had made vegan Bolognese (using lentils instead of beef mince) which I’d stuffed the green peppers with then roasted. I poured the drinks and we had a good natter. We sat at the table to eat and all the food was delicious, and healthy. However, le pièce de la résistance was Nanny Kay’s dessert; she’d not let us down with her promised Christmas pudding and cream. It was amazing and quite naughty, but a great way to end our Valentine’s evening. As a treat, Nanny Kay had also bought me a bar of chocolate which looked a bit too tempting. It was 1am by the time I got to bed having had a really nice night with close friends.
I woke up at 8am on Monday 13th February and felt relatively refreshed considering I’d missed sleep on Friday and Saturday nights but had since had about 14 hours sleep, in two lots. I mixed hazelnut spread with tahini and had that with fresh bread for breakfast with a cup of Yorkshire tea. Foolishly, I didn’t have any lunch but was running late to meet Jamie, Mark, Kate, Matt, John, Andrea and Kev in Waterfall bar. Jamie drank coffee but I really fancied a beer so I had 3. Jamie, Kate and I were talking about healthy eating and roast dinners. I decided I’d try doing a Slimming World friendly Sunday dinner at the weekend and invited Matt, Mark, Kate and Jamie. Kate was doing the pudding, I the main and now we’d roped Jamie in for the soup starter. I was merrily going on my way home to make myself some dinner and have a nice relaxing day when I got waylaid. Walking past Jiks I saw Roy and he called me over to join him and Sarah, who I’d not seen since before she moved to Eskiköy in September. I sat down and ordered a glass of red wine but then, almost immediately, Roy left. While Sarah caught me up on some of her life of late I had 2 glasses of red wine and a pizza. It was a bit overdone but I manage to get it down me without realising, as I’d had a few to drink by this time. I went home feeling a bit disappointed that my lack of willpower had let me down (again), I really needed to be more motivated if I wanted to lose weight and stick to my budget. I decided I would really give it more effort this week and try to not get sidetracked on my way home in future.
It was very cold when I got up at 7.30am on Sunday 5th February. Norman and Edna were still snoozy and Little Ted had slept longer than yesterday. Teddy was a bit overexcited to see me and accidentally caught my lip with his mouth when he was trying to give me kisses. It hurt but it didn’t draw blood so I thought I’d be ok. While I had my cup of tea, all 3 dogs wanted cuddles and they had to share me, begrudgingly. Norman, Little Ted and I were all squeezed in to the arm chair where the dogs had a nice little nap. I didn’t have chance for any breakfast! Every time Norman snored, Little Ted raised his head in a disapproving manner which was funny.
I decided to try walking all 3 of the dogs together but when I went to get my shoes I’d made a massive error. I’d left them out and at some point, Teddy had chewed them. Luckily I had brought another pair of shoes with me as I had an important lunch date that I didn’t want to miss. The walk with 3 dogs was hilarious and I looked like I was going to get tangled up at one point. I’m sure I heard Edna say to Norman ‘Come back, Charlie’. Little Ted was just happy to be out with his new pals and wanted to jump up a lot. I got back, hoping for a shower but the water was off and I looked a state – I didn’t even have any wet wipes. I used the filter water to clean my teeth and wash my face but that would have to do. The rain was torrential just at the time that I needed to leave, and the water came back on as I was going.
Video of Teddy being a bit friendly with his toy
Lukka bar had reopened this weekend and was doing Sunday lunch today. I’d already asked some friends if they fancied it and I’d remembered that Vanessa’s son, Brad, loved a Sunday dinner as she had mentioned they often go out together for one in the UK. We had all pre ordered our meals and agreed to meet at 2pm at Lukka bar. The Beef Sunday dinner was 255 lira (£11.10), the chicken dinner is only 185 lira (£8.05). The portion size is massive so I took Tupperware for any leftovers (I hate wasting food and money). On arrival, Linda and I decided to splash out on a bottle of red wine between us, Nanny Kay was driving so had a soft drink. Brad arrived extremely apologetic having not been able to find where Vanessa had hidden the house keys, making him a tad late. He ordered a beer and I introduced him to Linda and Nanny Kay. Linda and I had lots of cat talk as she was looking after Kate’s 6 cats for the first time in ages and had taken over from Vinnie. When the food came it looked fantastic, there was no cheese sauce on the cauliflower, as advertised, and I had my gravy on the side so I could do damage limitations on my Slimming World diet. Nanny Kay was short on carrots and the Brussel sprouts could do with a few minutes more cooking as they were too hard, so I let the waiter know for future diners. The Yorkshire puddings are phenomenal and the biggest I’ve ever had, this is a good recommendation to a Turkish chef from a Yorkshire lass, who hasn’t been to England for 13 months. I thoroughly enjoyed the dinner and the company, we had a break before dessert where I filled my Tupperware with half of my dinner, plus the others’ spare sprouts and Nanny Kay’s left over Yorkshire pud. I had a smaller Tupperware which I intended the apple crumble to go in, however, when it came I couldn’t resist it. We’d all had a jolly good time but the rain was threatening again so we said our farewells. Nanny Kay drove home, Linda cycled to Mark and Kate’s and, as you may have guessed, Brad and I decided we could probably have another drink!
Brad kindly agreed to a dog walk, to walk off a bit of our Sunday dinner and get some exercise for his recovering knee. I had to call in to Captain Caveman’s apartment briefly on the way. As I pointed out to duck under the rose thorns, Brad snapped the stems with his bare hands and tucked them in to the plant – that was that problem solved! We went to Jamie’s and collected all 3 dogs who were obviously pleased to be getting out after being left for 3 hours, Little Ted in his crate. When I told them we would have a walk to the Waterfall, Edna was beside herself with excitement at the chance to see Skippy. Little Ted didn’t remember what Waterfall meant but was enthusiastic regardless. After a walk around the block and round by Poo corner we arrived at the Waterfall. All the dogs were made welcome and a fuss made of them but Skippy wasn’t there to see that I’d not shrunk Norman. Brad and I got chatting, the dogs were quite happy and we ended up having a couple more drinks in the Waterfall where it was toasty warm. We were reassuring ourselves that we were quite fortunate not to be on the all inclusive-big-bender weekend for Alp’s birthday. We knew that without our partners there we’d probably have had alcohol poisoning by now, as well as putting on loads of weight from the all you can eat food! We had a good laugh and when it got to the dog’s dinner time we decided to grab more drinks and go back to Jamie’s.
I never thought to offer Brad the WiFi password at Jamie’s villa and we were just so busy chatting that we didn’t check our phones. After more red wine for me and beer for Brad I decided to do us a curry for dinner. I was a bit drunk and had to do the rice in a pan for the first time in years, the curry was a vegetarian Dahl type so I chucked in some leftover cooked chicken from Jamie’s fridge. It was pretty good and we ate it all, as if we’d not already had a big lunch! We didn’t realise the time until Vanessa messaged to check Brad was ok! As no one had heard from him, and he’d only gone out for Sunday lunch with the ‘oldies’ at 2pm, there were concerns from his girlfriend and parents. It was after midnight when Brad left and I told him to message me once he got home. I got in bed and fell asleep before seeing that message.
On Saturday 4th February I’d set my alarm for 8am. All the dogs were meant to be able to sleep in until this time, however, that didn’t happen. I was woken up at 6.20am by Little Ted whining and scratching to get out of his crate. I let all the dogs out on to the back garden for ablutions and Teddy did a wee, he also did 2 more in the kitchen when he came back in. I gave him some cuddles hoping he might go back to sleep but he just wanted attention and to play or be fussed. Norman and Edna went back to bed on my bed upstairs and didn’t resurface for ages, they were still not impressed with their new buddy. I was just glad to see they were no longer hiding behind the cushions in Safety Corner.
We had a couple of walks, Teddy first, and then some more play time. Jamie had left me some vegetable soup which I had for lunch, it was Slimming World friendly and very tasty and filling. In the afternoon I got all 3 dogs outside playing on the back garden and tried to get Norman to teach Little Ted football. I think I had more fun than the dogs but I did make some cute videos for Jamie and Katrina on our group chat.
Video of Teddy asking to be Norman and Edna’s friendVideo of Norman and Edna playing ball Video of me playing football with the dogs
I’d had a welcome invitation from Debbie (Darling) to meet her for a drink later but I felt like I didn’t really want to leave all 3 dogs at home to go to Sofra bar. Dogs aren’t allowed in Sofra, and it tends to be the usual late afternoon/early evening busy drinking spot on a Saturday. I said I’d be able to make it for a wine or two at Waterfall bar instead, because then I would be able to bring the dogs. Debbie (Darling) said she’d also asked Ann and would see me there – perfect.
On my first visit to Waterfall I took Little Ted, he was enthusiastic but I had to pick him up and hold him while at the bar. Skippy arrived and was most upset that I had shrunk Norman and was quite perturbed that ‘Norman’ didn’t seem to recognise him. Debbie (Darling) kindly got me some kitchen roll when she called at the shop for crisps while Little Ted decided he liked chewing the bar. When Debbie (Darling) said she felt a bit under the weather, we were concerned that it may mean their drinking session would be cut short. After 1 red wine I left the 2 ladies finishing their drinks while I took Little Ted home to exchange him for Norman and Edna.
When I returned, at 5pm, with Jamie’s 2 dogs, Skippy was even more confused that Norman was now back to full size. I was also surprised to see that Debbie (Darling) had phoned a taxi and was off, as she was feeling no better. I didn’t want to leave the dogs, especially with it being my first time with a puppy, so after my 2nd glass of wine I was going ‘home’ to give all the dogs their dinner. As Ann’s Saturday night out had come to an end, I invited her back to Jamie’s with me.
Ann bought white wine and some snacks from the shop next door, then we stopped at the baklava van where we spent 70 lira (£3.07) on a bit of sweet pastry that I really shouldn’t be having on my diet. Luckily, I had some beef bourguignon left so I got that in a pan then made some Yorkshire puddings to go with it. I’d now gone way over on my weekly syn allowance and would probably regret it on Wednesday at Fat Club but I can’t resist a Yorkshire pud. I had 2 more glasses of wine to join Ann but, alas, she also had to head home to sort out her own dogs. It was hard work having 3 dogs, a dinner guest and some Yorkshire puddings to attend to but I managed it, just about, and was absolutely shattered. I’d got left over Yorkshires so once they had cooled they went in the freezer for another time. It had been a very unexpected and lovely afternoon spent with friends and doggies.
It was Big Alp’s 50th birthday weekend in Antalya on Friday 3rd February and it looked like most of Dalyan was going. Matt and Vanessa had organised a bus to take people from Dalyan as well as a lot of Alp’s Turkish friends taking their own transport. I do know Alp, and I was at his birthday party at Sofra bar last year, however I wouldn’t class myself as someone who would join him for a weekend birthday bash 250km away. As it happened, there were people going who knew Alp less than I did. Everyone was staying at the 5 star hotel, Delphin Imperial Lara, which was all inclusive. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good booze up but it wasn’t something I fancied for 3 whole days. It might have been different if I’d been going with Captain Caveman so that we could take advantage of the all inclusive minibar and the facilities together. Before I even knew about this little get away, I’d already booked Jamie in for house and dog sitting, without realising he was going to Alp’s birthday weekend. Katrina had also managed to piggyback on to the action by sending Little Teddy to stay with me, Norman and Edna – things were about to get lively! Jamie picked me up at 8am to take me to his villa. He was all set to leave with Katrina, Mehmet and the kids once they arrived. When Katrina got there, she had brought Little Ted, his crate, lead, puppy pads and his food but had forgotten a couple of bits. They were late and in a rush to leave so she gave me her house keys so that I could fetch Teddy’s things and also asked me to hang out the washing from the machine. If Norman and Edna weren’t keen on Charlie coming to stay, then Little Ted was definitely less welcome. As soon as everyone had left for Antalya, Norman and Edna resorted to safety corner on the sofa and wouldn’t shift.
What do Norman and Edna think of Little Ted?
Katrina had assured me that the puppy was toilet trained but I stopped counting at 23 pees and 2 poos all in Jamie’s house. I got through so much toilet roll in that first day as Jamie doesn’t have kitchen roll. We went outside every 30 minutes but Little Ted peed as soon as he came back in. I took him with me when I went over to Katrina’s, Norman and Edna hoped he wasn’t coming back. He was very cute but you couldn’t take your eyes off him for long. I was getting the washing out of the machine when he found a balloon and popped it! With hindsight I’d have been better off if we’d all moved in to Katrina’s, where Little Ted had been trained and was in a bit more of a routine. I carried the dog bed and bowl back over while walking a tiny puppy who just wanted to be picked up all the time. I made sure I didn’t pick him up so that he had to walk, it was only a short distance but it took a while.
Teddy with a balloon
Jamie had left me some bacon in the fridge so I had a couple of rashers on toast (no butter) for breakfast then took Norman and Edna out while Teddy was in his crate, whining to get out. For most of the day Norman and Edna made it clear that the puppy was not welcome as he peed everywhere but on the puppy pad. I had vegetable soup with noodles for lunch then I took all 3 dogs on the back garden to see if they would get along better – they didn’t! After another little walk for Teddy, and a longer walk for Norman and Edna, I started making dinner. I’d already got the beef bourguignon in the slow cooker but I had a go at Gluten Free Yorkshire puddings in Jamie’s Pampered Chef stoneware. I wasn’t going to drink this weekend but after feeling like I’d had a very long day, I had 2 glasses of wine while Little Ted slept. On the plus side, I’d not spent any money as I’d not been anywhere.
Wednesday 1st February marked the day where I aimed to make a few changes. I wanted to be more frugal, find a more suitable part-time job, get paid what I was already owed and lose some weight. I never make new year resolutions for January as I know I will fail, especially as it’s my birthday month. February was a shorter month and would be easier to put some goals in place. The first thing I did when I got up was to get weighed on the home scales and take my measurements. The home scales read heavier than Carol’s at Fat Club but, if they were correct, I had lost a little bit more – I would find out this afternoon at Fat Club. All of my measurements had either decreased of remained the same so it was looking like a promising start. I had cornflakes with skimmed milk and a cup of Yorkshire tea for breakfast then went to the bank and supermarkets, here’s what I bought:
Migros Supermarket Bag of garlic 9.34 835g onions 10.77 M&Ms 10.90 140g plain Quark 14.95 1.7kg potatoes 15.26 Bin bags 18.50 2 pot noodles 19.80 400g Mushrooms 29.90 450g Spinach 34.90 Cream cheese 49.90 Total spent 189.32 lira (£8.30)
Şok Supermarket Wine gums 6.95 2 packet of plain crisps 23.50 Rice 27.50 Total spent 57.95 lira (£2.54)
Mark and Kate were having a curry night at their’s later and Kate had invited me. I said I’d bring a Saag Aloo dish with me too. I hurried along to Fat Club, eager to find out my results. Remarkably, I had lost 0.9kg (almost 2lb) and had now exceeded a total loss of 3.6kg (7.9lb, over half a stone) which was a great start to the month. Spurred on by a good result, I decided not to have a cup of tea which is served with a biscuit and decided to order a large bottle of water. Back at home I set about making my dish for tonight and wolfed down a late lunch of chicken, sweetcorn and egg fried rice using the left over chicken shish from Kordon’s on my birthday, which I’d got out of the freezer earlier. Once I’d made my potato and spinach dish I got a taxi over to Mark and Kate’s as I was running late and the pan was too big to carry. Fikri’s prices had increased by 20% to 60 lira (£2.63) for the 3.3km drive. When I arrived, there was just Kate at home so I wasn’t actually late. Mark and the other guests were all still at Rehab bar after pool had finished. Kate had made a delightful meal of onion bhajis, chicken curry, rice, nan breads, and various salad, chutneys and dips. It was lovely and I really enjoyed it with my bottle of Tılsım red wine I’d allowed myself, using my syns. It was good to see that Mark and Kate now had a cat room where they all had an individual bed and a litter tray, this would make it so much easier to look after them in the winter. I ended up staying over in the upstairs bedroom instead of getting a taxi back as I’d drank a whole bottle of wine to myself.
On Saturday 28th January the day had come for me to say bye to Charlie. After 60 days with him we’d become very close and I was going to be sad to hand him over to Gill. Gill had finally managed to get to Turkey after a very turbulent flight via Greece and was going to be in at 4pm for me to drop Charlie at her place. Captain Caveman had gone back in to Son Doong and was due back on Tuesday but he’d managed to see Charlie in a video call. We both loved Charlie and I knew I would miss him as much as Captain Caveman already did. I had extra snuggles with Charlie that morning, the weather was still awful but we did manage another jog round the block. This was my 4th consecutive day of actual jogging but today I made the mistake of forgetting to put my bra on. Unfortunately, the Turkish neighbour across from me saw me set off jogging and was spurring me on so I couldn’t turn back. I looked and felt like I was going to collapse when I got back and we’d only been to Poo Corner and around the block. I spent most of the day packing stuff and wondering how I’d managed to have so much stuff, there was even some clothes left of Captain Caveman’s and it was going to take me lots of trips – not ideal in the rain. Around lunchtime I got a message from Jamie to say he and Drew would come over at 4pm to help me move all my stuff by car and they were happy to come with me to drop Charlie off at Gill’s too. I was so grateful and accepted the kind offer straight away. I’d already packed everything in easy to carry batches thinking I’d be taking it over manually so now I got on with stripping the bedding and washing the sheets and towels. By 1pm the sun was back out and Charlie was sunbathing in a chair on the roof terrace for the last time. Although it was market day, I didn’t bother, due to the fact it would be more to carry between houses and I had enough to do with cleaning Helen and Abi’s place.
At 4pm prompt, Jamie and Drew arrived and we decided to take Charlie with us and drop him off before going to mine. Jamie and Drew did most of the lifting and were super helpful. When we got to Gill’s, Charlie was excited to see Missy, Gill’s dog, and was off running around the garden like a mad thing. There was no time for tears as I gave Gill some of Charlie’s things, explained I needed to pop back tomorrow to put the rest of the washing out at Helen and Abi’s, then I would drop her the keys and Charlie’s toys which were being washed. Charlie didn’t even come to say bye, he didn’t look at me and I felt like a mom dropping her kid off at school! We drove to mine and brought all of my stuff up in one go between the 3 of us. I was just mentioning we should go for a beverage but, as they had the car we said we’d do it another time. I popped to Captainnet, the internet provider, to get my internet renewed as that was due to expire tomorrow but they don’t open on Sundays. It was now 200 lira (£8.82) per month for the package I was on and had increased by 14% this year. I called in to Bim supermarket on the way home to check for Dairy Milk chocolate but there was still none. Back home, I took photos of the entrance to the apartments. The thorny rose bushes from B1 were now right across the path at head height and we had needed to duck under them. This was certainly a hazard in the dark and I don’t know why the people living in B4 had not cut or moved them, especially as they are bigger than me. I realised I’d not eaten much today and felt a bit peckish so I popped some chestnuts in the oven. I had a nice cup of Yorkshire tea while I waited for them to cook then took my cooked chestnuts in a bowl covered in foil over to Jamie’s. The dogs were on the sofa and were pleased to see me, as usual. Drew dropped me back home around 10.30pm, after a chilled evening with the pooches, and I made a pizza from a wrap and snaffled it down.
On the morning of Sunday 29th January I was up early, having been so used to getting up to let at least one dog out. It was a bit sad not having Charlie with me but I was happy he was living in a big house with a gorgeous garden and a playmate. I was also looking forward to not having to worry about looking after a dog and getting back to earning some cash and doing some more work, hopefully very soon. I went over to Helen and Abi’s to hang out the rest of the washing and collect Charlie’s stuff that I’d not yet brought to Gill’s house. After dropping bags back off at mine, I was in a rush to meet Nanny Kay who was picking me up outside Lukka bar at 1pm for a quick drive to Ortaca. Nanny Kay dropped me back in Dalyan, somewhere in Gülpınar but I didn’t recognise where I was in relation to my next appointment. So I ended up walking past my parents’ and back round to Vanessa’s. Her kettle was broken so we had no option but to have a wine and soda (or 2) and we prattled on while Matt was trying to fix a printer and Brad, their son, was resting up from a knee op and playing video games. To give Matt and Brad’s ears a rest, Vanessa came with me when I went to take Charlie’s stuff to Gill’s, calling at mine on the way to pick it up. Gill invited us in and we had a nice cup of tea while Charlie came for some fuss. He looked well and I could tell he seemed happy to be at Gill’s with Missy. I handed the keys over and asked if Gill would mind bringing in the bedding once it had dried. She was also going to go over there and turn off the electric and empty the fridge freezer as there was still a fair bit of food in there that I’d not managed to eat. The sun had been shining but, as Vanessa and I walked back in to town, planning on calling for a drink somewhere, it was getting quite chilly. Instead, we went to mine where we had half a bottle of white wine in the fridge and a soda water. It was gone 7pm when Vanessa left to go home but we’d had a good catch up. That evening I made another one of the pizzas on a wrap and had an early night. The smell of cat pee in the stair well was very strong so I was very glad of my reed diffuser gift from Ghislaine which was scented with Jasmine. It was nice to be back home, though.
I felt absolutely shattered on Friday 27th January, after only a few hours sleep. Charlie was in Abi’s bed with me and he’d been scared of the wind during the night. At 8.30am I went to survey the outside balconies and found the furniture had blown everywhere. A screen fence had fell off the roof and I could see that on the ground there was some damage to the front of the complex fence. There was a slight gap in the rain storms so I got my casual clothes and a big coat on to go for a jog with Charlie. We had to be quick as the rain was threatening the whole time we were out and the wind was still blustery. We’d just got in when the torrential rain came and Charlie was scared. I snuggled him up in his favourite blanket and made sure he had Slothy, his best toy, with him while I went out for just over an hour to Turkish class. When I got back, I’d got a bit wet in the rain so went to have a shower. Charlie was still worried about the storm so he came in the bathroom too. I spoke to Helen about Gill, her friend who was taking Charlie, arriving later today. She sent me Gill’s number so that I could discuss directly about me dropping Charlie off this weekend. It wouldn’t be tonight as Gill was still on her way to Turkey, but tonight would probably be my last one with Charlie. Meanwhile, Captain Caveman had arrived back in Phong Nha and was at his Oxalis briefing ready for his tour tomorrow. That evening, I had something planned which even the manager at the venue had been sceptical about because of the weather.
I’d originally planned to go to Fethiye for the day with Jamie, Ann and Nanny Kay where, instead of drinking too much, we would go bowling to celebrate my birthday. In the end we’d decided not to go as I would have had to miss Turkish class and it could be too busy with families at a weekend. We would go for a meal and drinks in Dalyan instead and we decided Hotel Dalyance was a good choice for everyone. I’d not been in ages and I love the food there. We also had the added surprise that Jamie’s partner, Drew, had decided to come to Dalyan and had just arrived. The 5 of us had a lovely table and by 6.20pm I had a beer and a red wine on the go while tucking in to the complimentary bread and olives. Nanny Kay bought me a bottle of red wine with some Smarties and a chocolate bar attached which was very generous of her, especially as I thought that she already gave me a bottle of wine for my birthday. That one was just for having her over for dinner, as it turns out, so I wasn’t complaining and it was much appreciated. Sarah came to take our order and she recommended the pepper chicken for me, which sounded good. When it came, I was very impressed and it tasted delicious. I enjoyed my night, the food and wine at Hotel Dalyance with my friends but we were getting the bill before 9pm! It looked like the night was coming to an end quite early on a Friday night, luckily I’d not dressed up for it but everyone I was with looked like they had made a bit more effort. Jamie, Drew, Nanny Kay and I decided we would go for 1 or 2 more at Sofra bar. Ann said her goodbyes and went back home as she didn’t fancy going on for another drink as she was closer to home at Hotel Dalyance.
When we got there, it was pretty quiet but I had a couple of red wines while the boys managed 2 bottles of wine between them. Nanny Kay and I were having a nice chat when Mark walked in and joined our table. Sofra is one of the main go-to weekend bars for most of the expats during the winter and, as Kate was due back from England tomorrow, it was not surprising to see Mark on his last night of playing out. I limited myself to just the 2 red wines as I’d definitely had my fill with the 2 bottles of wine we’d shared at Dalyance. Nanny Kay was sensible and had just the one red wine in Sofra and a taxi home. I was home before midnight, Mark dropped me off in his taxi, and unfortunately Gill’s flight had been redirected to Heraklion in Greece due to the bad weather. I played catch Slothy with Charlie and told him he’d be going to stay with Gill at some point this weekend. I’m not sure why but he started licking my feet and we were still up at 1.30am.
On Monday 23rd January I decided to watch Abi’s TV for the first time since I moved in. Abi helped me get set up so that I could watch stuff like ‘Death in Paradise’ on ITV. I still hadn’t got any more documents for editing so I was expecting to be busy in February but then would perhaps go to Vietnam in March. By the end of this month I’d have been looking after Charlie for 2 months, I’d enjoyed it but it was time to get back to normal and move back to Captain Caveman’s apartment soon. I’d already tested Helen’s TV for water damage as it was on the floor when the bedroom flooded – it was fine. I’d hung out both rugs, then hoovered and rolled them up. I washed all the dog towels and cleaned the floors again and there didn’t seem to be any water damage, which was good. The front balcony was full of drying washing and the sun was shining. I put a chair out for me to sit on, only for Charlie to jump in to it – he loves sunbathing. I’d already took out one of Captain Caveman’s beef bourguignons from the freezer for dinner and was really looking forward to having that. I decided to put a filo pie lid on as I still had some left and it was absolutely delicious.
I had a steady morning on Tuesday 24th January and I’d hoped to go to singing group in the afternoon. I was going to leave Charlie sunbathing on the front roof terrace, however, the water tank on the roof was spewing boiling hot water out and I was concerned it might blow on to where Charlie was. Helen had also asked that I turn off the electric when I moved back home this weekend so I’d let her know about the stuff in the freezer which would need to either be thrown away, eaten or moved. I’m sure I spend far too much time moving produce from house to house on a regular basis but I hate wasting anything. Helen said to throw the bread away and try to eat as much as I could, of the rest! I’d already strayed from my Slimming World diet a lot this month but I said I’d give it a good go and what I didn’t eat I’d try to cook something with. It’s not in my nature to throw food away so I tried to work out what any mystery items were. I was about to decide on what to have for dinner when I got distracted by a message from Jamie. Edna wanted to know if Charlie fancied a doggy date at the Waterfall pub later. He knew she was using him as an excuse to go to see Skippy, but after mulling it over while I restocked the freezer, we agreed. Jamie said he would also ask Ann if she fancied it too and I’d see them there around 6pm, once I’d walked Charlie. Charlie loves going to the pub so he got a bit impatient waiting for us to go.
When we arrived, he was so pleased to see his mates, especially Linda who he gave lots of kisses to. Once we’d had sufficient drinks at the pub we decided to go back to mine. Jamie went home to drop Norman and Edna off, scoff his dinner, feed the dogs etc. We left Ann’s scooter at Waterfall and called at the shop for wine, then walked the short distance to Charlie’s. He was excited to be bringing Ann home as she’d given him some snacks and he was hoping for more. Ann and I had not eaten yet so I shoved chicken burgers and chips in to the oven (courtesy of Helen’s frozen stash). Jamie came over and we opened a bottle of Tılsım red wine, Ann had a couple of white wine and sodas and we had a good catch up. I even got the Ferrero Rocher out, Jamie gave his to Ann, she ate one and put the other on the table. I snaffled mine. Jamie didn’t want to be out too late because of the dogs, so he left us ladies and headed home. I walked Ann back round to Waterfall just after 1am, the temperature had definitely dropped and I had only been gone for 5 minutes. When I got back in, Charlie was on the back of the sofa and didn’t seem pleased to see me, which he usually does even if I go to the bathroom. I started clearing up and found out why; he’d managed to eat the spare Ferrero Rocher from the table and had cleverly put the wrapper back!
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.
joloyolo 