One of "those" days

The nice light and sky this morning at 8.40 as we drove in to Didim  is the only thing that was pleasant about today, except my pizza and beer for dinner. 

Up just after 7.30 (ouch) after very little sleep due to worry about what today would bring (see yesterday!). Roy picked me up 45 minutes later, with Harry and Rufus. Our first destination was the notary in Didim to obtain a Power of Attorney declaration enabling Helen of '4 paws pet transport' to take both animals back to the UK next week, via her home in Fethiye. Although it was neither cheap nor speedy, the process went smoothly and an hour later we were on our way to the infamous DidimTarim (agricultural) office and the beginning of the nightmare that befalls anyone unlucky enough to have business there. Dickensian bureaucracy and 'job's worth' mentality, it is staffed by people whose raison d'être is enabling their own shaudenfraude by ploughing through the should-be-straight-forward-process, dotting every i and crossing every t as slowly as possible and finding a "problem' with anything, and everything, so that they can deny issuing the papers that you need. The man didn't check Harry or Rufus, who were both waiting in the car, because we didn't, even after two hours, get to that part of the process where microchip numbers in the animal are compared to the paperwork. I won't bore you with the details, other than to say that although I know I had all the correct paperwork, the man wouldn't issue me with a pre health certificate for National travel for them to go to Fetiyhe before travelling home to England. Without this paper, they cannot even leave Akbuk. 

My day wasn't done with delivering extraordinary problems. Back home I'm in a frenzy of contacting both the vet and the pet transport company when I hear a loud clock ticking. Only it wasn't. A ticking clock that is. I don't have one. Turned out to be my electric hot water boiler dripping. The tick was a drip.....  I put a bowl to collect the water and Aziz (site caretaker) drove me in to Akbuk to buy a new boiler. Good news, they had what I needed in stock. Bad news, they won't fit it until Tuesday. Four days with no hot water. Yeah. Back home to find the trickle had developed into a drizzle and then a steady flow so hall and lounge were flooded. "Fortunately" (?) it's tiled floors here, no carpets and I started soaking up the water with towels and Aziz recruited the two electricians who were on site for something else entirely, to drain the boiler and then remove it from the wall. 

It is worth mention, for extra sympathy votes on this difficult day, that in all this frustration and chaos, I hadn't actually eaten anything all day. Nor was there much in the cupboard to provide a meal, so I was very happy to go to the supermarket with Graham and Kat early evening and come back, with amongst other items, a huge veggie pizza and a six pack of beer.  This mood changer was enhanced by a telephone call from my vet to say that she had gone on my behalf to the Tarim office in Didim late afternoon (bless) and had pointed out to the jobs' worth, that all my paperwork for taking Rufus and Harry home for the winter break was perfectly in order. Watch this space. 

What was left of the evening involved eating and drinking, with 'The West Wing' and knitting to keep my mind and hands busy.