Ashley Gets Lost

My new friend Olya (Conglomerate’s foster mom), invited me to an evening of art with digital nomads on a friend’s roof in Aptera last week. I was of course nervous to go hang out with a bunch of strangers, but I knew I was in a good place when I parked and saw a roof dog.

It turns out that dog is on a ledge up there! Like just chilling, which is scary, but this dog knows her body!

Her name is Alepou, and she is Julia’s dog. Julia is an art therapist who hosts events on her roof. Alepou is an absolute delight. She has a pretty black mouth and loves getting her belly rubbed. She took our friendship to the next level almost instantly, kissing me on the mouth and rolling onto her back for aforementioned belly rubs.

Also, I was a goober who didn’t take any photos, so I any photos starting now are borrowed, with permission, from my new friends I met that night. I’ve linked to everyone’s instagram pages. Please go check them out!

This is Olya, who taught us how to paint with gauche, which was really fun. I felt very nervous about trying to just paint without an actual plan, so I started by basing my painting on the silhouette of the beautiful mountains behind us. It got a little wild after that, but I felt silly and free, so no regrets.

This is Linda and Julia working on their paintings.

On my left is Cyn, a lovely human from Canada who has a gorgeous instagram filled with the most delicious looking food!

It felt so good to push myself past my comfort zone, especially in a situation that has no consequences. Nobody cared if my painting was bad except for me, and I had so much fun doing it that the outcome didn’t really matter. I also got to be a part of some quality, honest conversations about living here and learning what the visa process has been like for others.

I have been missing hanging out with my burlesque friends so much, and spending a few gorgeous hours on a rooftop surrounded by women was just what my heart needed. I’m so grateful to Olya for inviting me and for hooking me up with some digital nomad groups on Whatsapp. I’ve been hungry to spend time with people that wasn’t centered around drinking at a bar, which I love, don’t get me wrong, but I needed to expand my friendship horizons a bit.

Thus endeth the borrowed photos!

Here’s my absolute masterpiece. Somebody call the Louvre! There’s gotta be an empty gilded frame somewhere just waiting for this bad boy. Haha! I think I’m going to collage something on there. That feels like a good idea.

Joshua and I just got back from a weekend away for our 16th anniversary, and I’ll be back to tell you all about it soon. Spoiler alert, we pet so many strong, beefy cats. It was a pussy paradise down there!