Guess What?

All went well as I have planned today. So, I decided to head home at 3 p.m. It took me four and a half hours and luckily the traffic approaching Istanbul was not as bad as I expected.

So, I am now home as I type this post. 

As soon as I walked in, I opened the windows to let the fresh air in. It is a bit chilly in the apartment. That what's throw blankets are for, right?

It is now past midnight here so, I better go to sleep. My sleep cycle is better than it used to be nowadays so, I do not want to go back to my old ways.

Hope, everyone has had or is having a productive day. Take care!

Before Going Home

On Monday, the dishwasher was taken by the service guys. They were right on time so, that was a nice surprise. I then went to meet my babyhood friends and had Chinese Food. Came home and watched the last episode of our TV show with my American friend M.

Yesterday, I took my car to have my winter tires put on. This year I had to buy a full set of regular tires and winter tires. However, I knew these expenses were going to be incurred this year. Therefore, they were budgeted. 

I then went to get a cup of tea and a napoleon to treat myself. I was so close to Anıtkabir so, I have decided to visit the mausoleum of the founder of Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. This coming Sunday, November 29th is the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the country as a democratic republic. I paid my respects and went to the museum in the complex. I feel so good about having visited Anıtkabir.

Today, I visited a friend who had a hernia surgery a couple of weeks ago. We chatted happily for a couple hours and when I noticed that she was getting tired, I took my leave.

I had a late lunch and came home, packed my suitcase and put it in my trunk. If I can finish my business with the real estate dealer early enough, I can just leave to go home to Istanbul. It is a highway and it only takes about 4 hours to drive. Why wait till Friday?

The dishwasher will be delivered early in the morning. After that, I will go to the bank and then to the real estate dealer. Wish me luck for smooth sailing tomorrow.

In about an hour M and I will be watching the first episode of the final season of The Sinner on Netflix.

Hope, everybody is having a nice hump day.

Back in Ankara

It has almost been a whole month since I had posted. I was having a good time and was dead tired at the end of each day. Besides, every day was almost the same as the day before. Go to the beach, swim, have coffee, read book, swim, read book, swim, go home, have dinner, hit the pillow latest by 10:30. Rinse and repeat. It was so relaxing. It was around 80 degrees Fahrenheit the whole time. Perfect! The water was also awesome. It started to get a little cooler on the last few days and that is expected.

A couple of times, uncle and I went on his little boat and that was fantastic too.

The last day of my vacation was Friday and that was not so great though. As I was on my way to the beach one last time, I saw an engine warning light on my dashboard. Luckily, I was not too far from a Ford Service. I brought the car to them and they diagnosed the problem quickly. I was going to have my car serviced for 90K kilometers so, they did that too. I borrowed my uncle's car to go to the beach. 

As I was getting ready to go back to collect my car, a bee decided to sting me. Ouch! The area is still read, warm, swollen and itchy. 

Anyway, I made it to Ankara yesterday and here I am typing a new post.

I have a few errands to run this week in Ankara and I am hoping to go back home on Friday. I miss my home and it has been too long to be away from home.

Tomorrow the dish washer is going to be serviced. Since it is still in warranty, there will be no out of pocket costs. The only problem is, they will need to take it away for a couple of days because the salt dispenser needs to be replaced.

I had recently decided to buy two small lots of land within 30 minutes of the Ankara home as an investment. The area is still under development and it will be a few years before anyone can build on it but, it sounded like a good investment and the price was right. One of my childhood friends also bought two lots. We are next to each other and her brother bought the two lots right behind me.

I do not think, I will build anything there. I will most likely sell the land when the price is right but, who knows? 

I had made a down payment for the lots and on Thursday, I will pay the rest of the money. 

I also have some banking and investment decisions to make this week. Majority of my money is where my sister works but, she is planning to retire in 2024 so, I will re-distribute my money into different accounts and banks. 

Today, I need to rest because the 7 hour drive yesterday was quite tiring. Hope, everyone is having a restful weekend.

In Ankara

My friend and I went for our vacation and came back to Ankara. We had a real good time. The island was beautiful with cool water, nice breeze and fresh air. I slept like a baby every single day.

The hotel at Gokceada Petrino, was wonderful. They have only 8 rooms in an old stone building. It was tastefully furnished and impeccably clean. The owners were attentive to every detail and were so welcoming. Definitely would go back.

Every morning we had fresh and breads and pastries, olives, cheese, a selection of homemade jams, tomatoes, cucumbers and eggs made to order. 

You will see a video of a crazy good surfer we saw at our favorite beach below.

After Gokceada, we went to Assos. More on that later.

Gokceada (Imbros) after sunset

Gift store Mostly Handmade Items

Petrino Hotel LOVELY!

Our Daily Breakfast 

Hope to post more pictures soon. I had a HBP attack for a few days after we came to Ankara. Still recovering. 

Nowadays, I am trying to get together with a bunch of friends and having a good time.

I will resume posting more frequently after I return home in Istanbul.

Getting Ready

I love to travel but, I do not like packing and unpacking at all. I am trying to pack the least amount of things possible.

I was going to start packing tomorrow but, I need to attend a funeral at noon so, I started today. A High School buddy of mine lost her mom and the service is not too far from where I live. It is not an unexpected loss but, still losing a parent is extremely hard.

As I age, the hardest part of packing has become my pills. I take 6 pills every day for, HBP, Vertigo and allergies. I also need to bring additional meds just in case. Gokceada is not a heavily populated and touristic place. It is one of the very few natural beauties we have left. There is just a small town center. No loud beach clubs or anything like that.  I also take my pulse-oximeter, my blood pressure monitor, a bunch of masks, a small first aid kit. Yes, a small bag just for health supplies.

It is getting chilly so, I think, I need to pack a sweater and a light jacket. Once, I go down to Antalya, it will probably be much warmer than Gokceada.

On Sunday, before I go to pick up my friend from the train station, I will change my sheets and put my comforter in a duvet cover. By the time I come back home, I am thinking, it will be pretty cool in Istanbul.

There is so much to do. 

Wishing everyone a relaxing and nice weekend.

Finally!

I finally got my behind off the armchair and purged my wardrobe today. I still had a bunch of jackets and few pants that I do not think I will be needing anymore. I kept 3 jackets and 3 pairs of tailored pants and purged the rest. A few blouses also made it to the donate group. I tried every single thing, I am parting with. 

I then, got on my treadmill and walked for 35 minutes listening to the Rocky IV soundtrack. After the walk and shower, I felt like I wiped off Ivan Drago like Rocky. 

One more purging session is due when I come back from vacation end of October. There are 4 boxes of winter clothing and some summer clothes I am wearing now, that will be purged.

And, here are some more Edinburgh pictures:

Dolly the First Cloned Sheep

Monument of Sir Walter Scott

Holyrood Palace

Missing in Action

I have been MIA lately. I got busy and really did not have to write much about. Hope, everybody is doing fine. I need to catch up on reading my favorite blogs.

I do not know what happened to August but, September is here, the weather is somewhat milder and this is the beginning of my favorite season.

Next Sunday, I am going on vacation with a very old friend, the one with whom I had a month long vacation 2 years ago. This time it will be a lot shorter. After that, I will go see my uncle and hit the beach down in Antalya for a few weeks.

We are going to an island Gokceada (Imbros) for 5 days. It is located in Northern Aegean Sea. 

On Sunday September 10th, we shall drive to Gelibolu (Gallipoli) and stay there for one night. Early in the morning on Monday, we will get on the ferry to Gokceada. 

That whole area has great historical significance for us, the Turks. Some events led to the fall of the Ottoman Empire and birth of the Republic of Turkiye. 

On the way back from the island, we may decide to stay in the area for a couple of days but, we have not planned that yet.

Here is a map of our drive to Gelibolu, I have highlighted the border with Greece in red.