HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wishing everyone a healthy, happy and wonderful new year!

BUMMER

My BIL called this morning to tell me that my SIS was very sick and sleeping at home so, our New Year plans are off. They are not coming. I am truly upset but, what can be done?

Later in the day, I talked to my SIS. She had to go to work because being a branch manager of a bank, that's what she needed to do on the last day of the year.

From what she described, I think, she has COVID. Her symptoms are exactly like mine. I hope, she recovers quickly. She is not supposed to take any meds due to her liver condition except for parasetamol/acetominophen. She can take one if her fever is too high.

Uncle and I decided to forgo some of the dishes on our menu.

Ugh...

The Cleaning Lady is Back!

I hope everyone who celebrates Christmas had a very nice time with their loved ones. We celebrate the New Year so, SIS and BIL will be here on Saturday. Uncle and I are cooking. 

The menu includes Oven Roasted Chicken, stuffing (American Style), gravy, rice pilaf with chestnuts, red beans in olive oil, Russian Salad and Circassian Chicken (it is a paste made with chicken pieces, tons of walnuts, breadcrumbs and fat free chicken stock). I have soda, iced tea, wine and raki to drink. Dessert will be Cinnabon style cinnamon rolls as opposed to the usual chocolate cake. 

Now on to my story about the cleaning lady. When COVID hit and when we got stuck at home, my cleaning lady stopped coming. She was working full time back then and she was able to come every two weeks only on Sundays before the pandemic.

During all this time, she got back together with her ass...le husband, got pregnant and had a baby. She is no longer working full time so, she said she can come to help me since the baby is now 8 months old and her mother can take care of her. She does not go anywhere else to clean and I know she needs some pocket money.

As much as I would like her to come every week, it is not affordable now that I am semi-retired so, we agreed that she will come every two weeks. I gave her a New Year's bonus to spend on her girls and she was thrilled about it. She has a tough life and not all of it is her choice or her fault. I am hoping things will get better and she will soon be able to ditch her husband for good. 

I spoke to the cleaning lady's aunt today to wish her a Happy New Year. She used to be my former cleaning lady. She told me she is having some health issues and I want to help her out if I can. So, after the New Year's I will go visit her to see what is going on with her. She is a very sweet person.

Yesterday, uncle and I went to this Museum. We had a very good time. Spent almost 6 hours and last night my legs ached so much that I had to get up to take a pain killer.

There was a special exhibit of world dolls and it was a lot of fun. They even had a special Barbie section and a scary doll section with Chucky, his bride and others. Lol.

My favorite sections are classical cars, boats and old trains.

Back Home

Uncle and I arrived back home yesterday around 5 p.m. Glad to be back. I did a super quick grocery run in the morning and I am set at least till the end of the week. 

Had a great time in Ankara. Saw everybody I intended to see. We exchanged small gifts and the best was a bottle of homemade sour cherry liquor. Last year, S, an old colleague and a long time friend of mine served me that in a shot glass along with a cup of Turkish Coffee and I absolutely loved it. She gave me the recipe but, it was a bit tricky so, I did not make it. This year she gifted me a bottle. Yay!

I have some work to do so, I wish everyone a very nice week and Happy Holidays!

Crazy Busy Week

Last week came and went so fast because, I had to take care of a million things. Thankfuly, all went well. I got to see my SIS and BIL over the weekend. We all went out for dinner on Saturday and had a pleasant time.

I was able to see my cousins and a few friends and will try to see some others this week. 

Tomorrow I need to take my sister's car to inspection. Uncle took care of winter tires and a small fix. So, this is a joint effort for the princess, SIS.

Uncle was feeling under the weather and I made chicken soup but, he went out early in the morning and it is almost dinner time. He is a no show. I guess he must be feeling better :))

Wishing everyone a nice week.

Cleaning Done

I am going to Ankara tomorrow for a couple of weeks and I will bring uncle back with me so, I needed to clean up my apartment. It took me three days to clean the entire apartment in between interviews and other errands. My windows are filthy and they need to be washed so badly. I couldn't get to that this time but, when I come back, I will clean the windows in every room. Not all at once but at least one room a day.

Every time I clean the apartment, I promise myself to run the chargeable vacuum every day and stay on top of dusting but, that never happens. I wish I could do it.

Whenever I have to go to Ankara, I end up bringing the contents of my fridge with me. This time, I got smarter and used up pretty much all that I had. Dinner was kind of odd things thrown together but tasty and satisfying. Tomorrow, I will have breakfast at home before I hit the road. Got some leftover potatoes and I can scramble eggs. I will fill my Stanley coffee thermos and work on it on my way. Was thinking of stopping by the Starbucks on the way to  Ankara but, then I realized I needed to consume the potatoes unless I want to drag them with me. Also, Starbucks have become ridiculuosly expensive over here. Absolutely crazy. I do have some money on my Starbucks app (not enough to buy coffee) and I need to spend it before I get rid of the app. Totally unnecessary. Their regular coffee is roasted too dark that I sometimes think it is burnt. 

Now I need to arrange my meds, put together my computer bag and decide what to take with me to Ankara. It is colder and dryer than Istanbul. I do not want to take too much stuff with me. 

I have already put the keys to the Ankara apartment in my purse. It would be a disaster to drive for 4 hours and then look for a locksmith on a Sunday. 

As soon as I get there, I will turn on the heat and just go grocery shopping. My sister asked the cleaning lady to come on Wednesday. She has breakfast and lunch and uncle and I will be staying for at least 10 days so, we need food.

Here is a question: Do you ever get obsessed with something for a while and then move on to something else? I was obsessed with audiobooks for several weeks up until last month. Now I am obsessed with YouTube Channels on frugality, home cooking and simple living. I still listen to audiobooks but, mainly to fall asleep.

All these things that I watch make me want to declutter more and more at home. I think my number one goal in 2023 will be that. I have done a lot this year but, I know for sure there is more that can be parted with.

Hope you are having a nice weekend.

Phewww!

I have a very nice Dunlop Treadmill. I got it from a friend for free and I occasionally use it, mostly in winter. It is in my guest bedroom. Today, as I was dusting, I noticed that it wasn't working. What? Bummer. It is an old model and who knows how to get it serviced. I have no documents for it. 

I plugged it in and out a few times to no avail. I was quite bummed about it. Mixed thoughts occupied my mind for a good half hour. Get rid of it? Try a repair service? 

Surely, a threadmill is not something I would spend my hard earned money on. It was nice to have a gently used one for free. Real nice and sturdy ones like I have are too expensive. 

Then I noticed that the safety magnetthingamagic was not in it's usual place. I took it out of the cup holder and put it on it's specific spot. And voila! It is totally working fine. You cannot imagine how happy I was. 

To celebrate, I will start walking on it a few days a week. Covid pulled me down and made me very weak and lazy and it's time I start to exercise again. (Nice to be able to blame it on something else).

I am going to Ankara on Sunday or Monday. Will stay for about 10 days. I have to make a list of what I need to take with me. 

Today is a rainy day and I have a phone conference in an hour. I better go make a cup of coffee.

Wishing everyone a very nice weekend.