I was doing a bit of painting at home this week. Being bored I put on the television – and then had to keep stopping painting to listen to the Doctor Oz show. I don’t know if you have seen this guy. He is very famous in America thanks to his appearances on the Oprah Winfrey show and now on his own series. His popularity stems partly from his willingness to discuss even the most embarrassing problems, but also I think from his realistic expectations – he knows we are not going to give up all our bad habits! In Turkey his popularity also, of course, stems from the fact that he is Turkish (at least in origin)!
So why did I have to listen to yesterday’s programme? The subject was the effects of ageing – what they are and what we can do to minimise them in our 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. He EVEN suggested things we can do to REVERSE the effects of time! What a great guy – no wonder he’s so popular! Being a bit late to be trying the 30’s stuff, I listened carefully to what women in their 40’s should be doing. Apparently we should watch out for an increase in cellulite and age spots, we should be ensuring we get enough sleep and looking for face creams containing hydroquinones. We shouldn’t be drinking more than one cup of coffee a day (I’ll need to work a bit on that one!) but we can smother a home-made honey and coffee grounds skin ‘tightener’ on our faces.
I was certainly feeling the passing of time this week when we celebrated Kaan’s ELEVENTH birthday. I remember – and some of you will remember – the panic of his premature birth, shortly after the millennium New Year and the weeks spent at St Thomas’s Hospital in London. Once we did get him home he was such a happy and easy-going baby. He still is really. After the excitement of Christmas and New Year, it’s hard to make a big thing of his birthday and this year he got an odd selection of presents including some books, a jigsaw puzzle and some goldfish. Unlike the little boy on You-Tube, Kaan is very happy with his books – and even happier with his fish. Here he is blowing out the candles on his fishy cake!
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| Kaan's eleventh birthday |
Now Christmas and New Year are out of the way, I hope people will be starting to think of summer holidays. For Turkey, booking flights and holidays early is the best way to get good prices; nearer the time flights are usually more expensive or actually full. It also gives people something to look forward to during the bad weather of January. Just to make you jealous, here is Çalış Beach in January!
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| Çalış Beach last week |
