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It's exactly one year ago today that I received my last full-time salary cheque and joined the lotus eaters. As a self-confessed workaholic I was apprehensive about joining the non-employed. I knew my husband would be fine as he's always viewed work as a tiresome chore to be negotiated on the way to a tennis match, but could I ditch my annoying Protestant work ethic and embrace the freedom? I promised myself that I wouldn't consider any permanent job offers for at least a year, ( I did - wavered a bit and then came to my senses and refused) and for the first time in 30 years, just do things for gratification rather than remuneration. Was it a success? Absolutely. Can I pull it off for a second year? Hopefully. One of the bonuses of my new lifestyle is my immersion in blogging. I had no idea what a blog was 18 months ago and then, while googling "importing household goods" to Turkey, I stumbled upon Jack Scott's Perking the Pansies, starting reading and was hooked. That such comic erudition was served up on a daily basis was a joyous discovery and I still read every post. When I decided to dip my toe in the blogosphere, Jack kindly came to our building site of a house and helped me sort my links from my labels. Jack's page directed me to other Turkish sites. Ayak's Turkish Delight caught my eye as we seemed to have plenty in common. Ayak's unwavering tolerance of the illogical and absurd occurrences in her village made me know I'd like her before we met. It's thanks to Ayak's speedy Facebook posting that we have our lovely woofer, Jake, who is chewing his bone beside me. As a devourer of books, I was looking forward to giving myself up to my kindle. This hasn't happened as I spend most of my reading time keeping up with the weekly output of my favourite bloggers. Alan of Archers of Okcular is the person I'd like to accompany on a long walk as his encyclopaedic knowledge of flora and fauna is mind blowing. Mike and Jolie of Senior dogs nudge my social conscience and keep me up to date with the political situation in Turkey. Joy at My Turkish Joys, Özlem's Turkish Table and Claudia at A seasonal cook in Turkey spark the inspiration in the BtoB kitchen. Julia and Barry's site Turkey's for life, Hilary and Ashley's Pul Biber and Natalie's Turkish Travel save me a fortune in travel expenses by taking me around this amazing country without having to leave my computer, while Istanbul Stranger's off-the-wall impressions of Istanbul and Adventures in Ankara remind me that I'm a country girl at heart. If anyone reading this is contemplating visiting Turkey I suggest you give all the above sites a good look over. You will learn more from the acquired wisdom of these aficionados than a 100 guide books.
This navel-gazing was inspired by Helen of The Venomous Bead who kindly put me on her list of blogs under this august green box. If you haven't dipped into her blog before, do so immediately as she is a natural raconteur with a flair for dialogue that puts most screen writers to shame. I haven't mentioned the non-Turkish blogs I follow but cast a glance at the side bar and I can promise you will enjoy them all.
