trip
anyway i wore my sandals and a big fat wasp came and stung my toe, ok i admit jumping about on the back of a Transalp going 90 is maybe not the best of ideas, but as you can see it gave the boys a good laugh, not dave he wouldn't dare!! ha ha 
Ok maybe i wasn't entirely honest with you guys, met up with some great Bikers off to celebrate the Turkish Holidays, here's a shot of the real owners!!! 
I checked out your blog and voted for this entry, because a lot of Americans will love the scenery and the pictures you took, and this will get more people to visit your blog!
You seem to be a great gal, and your hubby and friends seem great as well. I just had to say that his stomach (Dave's) didn't look bad for eating so much on the buffet!
I have another American friend who is living in Turkey while she works for a volunteer organization. Her name is Christine and her name on here is privatedancer . She is on a trip to Amsterdam at the moment, but will be back; a lovely girl.
I enjoyed this blog and can't wait to see more. Are you Turkish or what nationality are you? What do you do there, for a living and so on? Tell us a bit more about you; that will be interesting!
I am American but went to South Africa when I was four with my parents who were missionaries, then ended up marrying and having three children there (South African White husband) before returning to the USA with the whole family in '93. We have since lived in Kentucky and Tennessee, then my husband and I moved to Utah in February without the kids, who are grown and have lives of their own now. The move was because of his job as a material analyst for a company that makes airbags and seat belts. I do not work at the moment; I worked all the years and may just not go back!
NIce to meet you. I have added you to my friends so I can see when you blog. Hope we become Mindsay friends. You seem great!
Thanks for your lovely e-mail, i am a Brit and have lived in Turkey for 4 years now, i have 6 children... 
..yes i know..being a stamp collecter would of been cheaper!! they have all grown up so we decided we had enough of England and quite simply up and left, we dont work but we do stocks and shares (when the times are right).
We do love Turkey, took abit of getting used to, the culture difference and the food are all so different, dave and i are from a forces background so the move was not difficult as we have been used to getting posted all over the place.
We sold our house in Yorkshire with everything still inside, yes the pictures on the walls to the cutlery in the drawer, when we left it was like popping out to the shops but in our case...not comming back, instead we had 2cases each and jumped on a plane to Turkey. 
Great to meet you to and i hope we do stay in touch..speak soon...x
Do you think you will up and go again, to another new place when you think you have exhausted the enjoyment there?
Do you get to see your kids often...do they come to Turkey or do you go home to see them? Do they think you're crazy? I actually think it's great not to have any ties that bind, so to speak.
And by the way; you sure do look good for a girl who has had four children! You and Dave make a lovely couple!
Have a great day now!
Bonnie
Actually ha ha i have had 6 children, kelly, deborah, daniel and Robert and Nathan are twins, my son Stephen passed away bless him from my first marriage, we also have Vienna from Daves first marriage.
I think we will eventually move on as there is so much we want to still see, but for the time being the way the world is at the moment, i think we will stay in Turkey.
We go back to the Uk once a year and a couple of them have been here, its not really a place for youngsters..ha ha i say youngsters kellys 26.. as there are no clubs or nightlife,you really have to go to Marmaris or Bodrum for that, we didn't want all that.No they dont think we are mad, we have moved about all our lives so it was a natural thing to do, lifes to short to stay in one place, so much to see and people to meet.
I would love to go to Egypt as i have never been and its always been a dream of mine, we will in time.
I shall start a new blog and put some photos of Turkey up so you can see more,it is beautiful.
Daves my world, hes a fantastic man... 
Speak soon and have a good day, Linda x
So, from what you say, I take it that Turkey is a relatively cheaper place than most to live? If that is so, then it will be a wise move to stay on there for a while. I know stocks and bonds are not all that good right now.
I love the British English, and have always liked to watch old British movies, like Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and so on...I love the vocabulary. South Africa had a very strong British influence when I was growing up there, which was good because the schooling was a high standard of education, and so on. But of course, when the Blacks got the vote, everything changed for the worse, because they were not used to ruling a country. And of course, the standard of education had to come down, because the blacks, who hardly knew the language had to be taught in among the whites....so it is all different now, even though I know they had a right to be treated equally. Just that it will take a long time to get back to "normal". I had a great life there as a child, but, of course, didn't think about the oppression. Things were just as they were, you know? I was only four when we got there, so that was life to me.
Nice that you get to see the kids; my husband, Lawrence's, family still lives in South Africa (mine are all over here now) and he does not get to go over that often, since it is so expensive. I can't remember how long it's been since he went home; is definitely going next year after taxes; wants to take me, but we'll see how it goes. I have not been back since we moved home. He has been four times since '93, and doesn't want his mum to pass without at least seeing her one more time. But thankfully, we have Skype, so he talks to her much more than he used to. And he sends her all kinds of videos and cd's of photos of us, so she can keep up.
Egypt sounds like a nice place to visit, but I don't know how I'd like to live there; but one doesn't know till one goes, hey?
Do they make curries in Turkey? I love Indian food, and make it at home, but it never tastes exactly the way they make it.
OH yes; I wondered if you keep moving around all the time, like in your story, or do you have an apartment or something you stay at in between trips? I think I'd like a place I could do a bit of cooking in and could call home.
Thanks for the update. Anything you are curious about as far as I am concerned, just ask!
bonnie
Turkey can be a cheap place to live,our petrol is expensive and so to is meat, utility bills are cheaper than the UK,well we dont have a morgage anymore so that alone is a godsend,it all depends on your lifestyle and how you live it, there are alot of ex-pats who drink a great deal and that costs them alot and they go out for meals al the time and then wonder where their moneys gone!!
They dont really make curries here, would love one, tried making one a while back but making it from scratch using all their spices ummm not a great success!!
Their are so many different types of food here but i'm afraid we dont lke alot of it,its either far too sweet or dry, so we try to keep to good ol Brit food, well i say that you have to improvise and have a good imagination..lol
We either go on day trips or trips that last a couple of days, when we do the European tour next year we will camp..thats the plan..
We have our villa here that we live in but calling it home!! no i dont think so, we have never really had a place to call home as such, never been horders because we always know that after 3/4 years we will get itchy feet and want to move again.
Dont you ever feel you just want to up and do something exciting or have a great adventure?
Linda
OH, yes; our kids are always having some kind of drama; in the beginning it made us feel guilty for leaving them, but they have to grow up sometime, and it is getting a bit better now!
To answer your question about longing for adventure; well, I have had quite a lot of adventure, but just in a different way. I started out in Sioux Falls South Dakota, until the age of four. Then we went to South Africa, and of course that was a shocker. I would have had a great life, except that I had a few issues and couldn't handle things in a mature way. I felt rejected by my parents so many times, since they were always doing the work of God and leaving us to get along with baby sitters and so on, who didn't know our needs or anything. So, from a very young age, I was always out for love and attention, and it didn't matter how I got it really. Good or bad attention was still putting me in the limelight, so I just bolted on...but I was always unhappy. Anyway, I did exciting things and the thrill was there for a few minutes or the while it was going on, but then I came crashing down again because it was not the right way of going about it, and it was not truly satisfying.
I went through my whole life with issues. Was fired from most jobs and just couldn't stop my mouth and my actions once they got started. So I finally got to such a low last year in Sept that I wanted to die. Ended up in a psyche ward and they finally....after all these years...diagnosed me as bipolar. I had always known there was something wrong, but of course these pentecostal people of mine just thought it was my personality, and if not, then God is the one who heals these things...always skeptical of psychiatrists and therapy. But I got help and am now much more settled.
And after all that; yes, I would love to go out and do some exciting things that would not get me into trouble for a change!
Sorry to hear you have Bipolar, but at least you have now been diagnosed, to be fair there are no biological tests which confirm bipolar disorder, all they can do is exclude any other related illness it could also be, it actually effects 3 out of every 100 people so your not alone honey, are you on Lithium Carbonate or Lamotrigine?, these appear to be the most effective, i hope you have a good therapist and plenty of support.
The pazar (outdoor market) is fantastic here for fruit and veggies, all fresh and the colours are fab, much better than supermarkets in the UK, its also very cheap which is a bonus.
Well its cold and raining here today so wont be going far, the Bayrun holidays here in Turkey are nearly over and the shops will open up again, they dont celebrate xmas here being a Muslem Country so you have to make your own fun, thought about making mince pies but cant find the suet so have given upon that idea 
Daves busy planning our road trips for next year!! fancies riding through mud now..great! if i get my new bike not taking it through deep mud, still boys will be boys. I keep saying i'mnot doing that but he just smiles at me as to say...''you know you will'' huh! that man knows me too well, still wouldn't be a woman if i gave in too easily.
Speak soon mate..Linda x
I would love to eat a lot of fresh fruit and veg...so that sounds right down my ally!
What are the Bayrun holidays? And can't you find lard of any kind there?
And I bet Dave is right; You don't mean to miss out on anything that would be fun and exciting, and making memories with your love now would you? And dirty bikes wash. lol
Been busy the last week a good friend was admitted to hospital with deep vein thrombosis in his leg, they were worried the blood clot might come away and travel to his heart of brain, luckly hes alot better now and the colour is returning to his leg.
Bayrun is the Muslem holidays we have xmas they have Bayrun, their families all turn up and they have a feast, usually goat or cow, they dont have decorations or presents like we do its more of a family get together.
Never seen lard, you can get a sort of suet but does not look nice and not too sure what to do with it!!
I'm off xmas shopping today at the market, daves not really into xmas but i still have decorated the lounge and cook xmas dinner,weather does not look promising so i dare say we will get wet on the way.
Right speak soon and take care..
Linda x
Thanks for the note; if we don't speak again, I hope you have a great Christmas.
Take care and have a good day...Linda..
oh! forgot to ask Bonnie..whats the wiki page all about?
