Cali's Art Studio

A Few Argentine Scenes

calisartstudio — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:22:31 +0000

Hugo came home with a what appeared to be a shaving kit bag. “I bought you something. It’s for your camera because you’re always leaving it at home,” he said. So now I have a small bag to carry my camera and catch scenes I probably would have missed otherwise.

For nearly every store you enter, you have to leave your bags (backpacks, purses, shopping bags) in a locker at the front of the store, pocket the key with the large numbered fob and retrieve your items before leaving.

Notice all of the mopeds/scooters? They are the most popular mode of transport and the parking spots are great: on the sidewalks right in front of the stores!

A great accommodation here is the ability you have to hail a bus. Can't make it to the bus stop or have no clue where the stop is? Stay put long enough and hail yourself a bus!

Sleeping overnight in the hospital to be first in line to set a doctors appointment.

The dogs also find refuge in the hospital. They sleep in the halls and under the patient's beds.

Santa's hot wife helped a little on Christmas Eve.

I couldn't have planned the shot much better. The owners of the cart roam through town with a megaphone calling out what they have to sell. To see it parked next to this brand new car is interesting in many ways. It's surprising that a country with so many advances still has carts on the streets. It shows the stark class division between those who live in the surrounding "country" and those with one of the few local high paying jobs.

Work Made Beautiful

calisartstudio — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:48:28 +0000

Who thought preparing a proposal for a local municipality could be so stimulating? All the “how many in your firm” type questions can be boring at best. So why is it different this time? I’ll set the scene. . .

An easy 90 degrees out; 85 in the shade, which is where I am. To the right is a young mandarin orange tree leaning a little to far toward the house and chinese rose plants topped in red. To my left another slightly older tree and tall green and red grasses shading my workspace for the day. The birds are chirping high above in the trees and butterflies flutter through and around my “cubicle”. You could easily say this is one of those “happy places” they tell us to find when we are huddled inside our offices during the winter.

Blessed Argentine spring! . . . As long as we keep the fan pointed on me and can shower several times per day.

Argentina in August

calisartstudio — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 22:53:26 +0000

Good-bye U.S. Hello Argentina.

The plan at this point:

Leave the country quickly, passport in hand. Arrive in Argentina. Marry Hugo twice. Civilly in Buenos Aires. Again in the temple. Parents return home. I travel onto Presidencia Roque Saenz Pena where Hugo lives. I stay for a bit. We start the paperwork to get Hugo and Lizet into the U.S.

What do you think? Wanna come? I hear Argentina is lovely in the springtime.

It’s Nice to Hear

calisartstudio — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 15:30:35 +0000

I’m always impressed with people who go above and beyond their circumstances to give to others. Hugo is one person who always seems to be doing just that. In conversations with him and in gathering information for his visa application, I have come upon some great stories about him.

From a senior missionary couple:

“My favorite memory of Hugo was when he was the president of the Obreo branch, of our church {LDS}. There was a family of little children who were regular attendees. They were very poor and came to church barefoot. One little girl about 4 years old stepped on some broken glass and cut her foot quite badly. President Centurion picked her up and placed her in the bathroom sink, washed her up, bandaged her cut and combed her hair.”

This past summer Hugo was telling me about a neighbor woman who approached him in tears. Her husband left her and his three young boys for another woman, but took major household items, including the stove. (Yes, her stove.) Hugo, being the Deseret Industries of his neighborhood with one of his rooms dedicated to the storage of unwanted, useable items, gave her a camp stove and his spare tank of propane among other miscellaneous items.

All of the missionaries who have served in his area that I’ve spoken to always say how well Hugo treated them. He was (and still does) always feeding them, cutting their hair, doing their laundry and accompanying them to teaching appointments. He is extatic to be serving as the ward missionary leader again. Might as well have the title if you’re doing the work, right?

In 2008, while Hugo was in Buenos Aires for a while, he picked up odd jobs to earn money for his sister to have a much needed surgery performed.

Hugo also helps his mother run errands in town and has gathered his brothers and constructed an indoor bathroom and kitchen for his mother. Yes, “indoor” meaning she hasn’t had either before. Hugo even gave his mother his own refrigerator and microwave so she would be properly outfitted.

Can you tell I kind of like this guy? I kind of really do. Actually, in my nephew David’s terms, I like Hugo “10″, which is lots.

Here's a recent photo of Hugo from his cell phone. He was sick this day.

Now that I’ve gone on and on (again) about how wonderful he is, remind me to tell you about what a TEASE he is. Yeah, remind me to tell about the lizard.

Am I the Only One?

calisartstudio — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 15:07:44 +0000

I can’t be, because we never are the “only one” who [insert verb] anything. Yet I still wonder if other people find themselves staring at textured ceilings, wooden restroom stall walls, fluffy rugs, matted carpet or crumpled bedding and can see beyond the obvious. Not that there is great meaning to find in the fluffy rug, but. . .

Do you ever see something that you hadn’t noticed before? Perhaps a rhinoceros is charging a clown face? Or maybe you see a cute lady bug? Where? Well in the texture of your ceiling, of course!

Ha ha. . . Well, I suppose I am a bit crazy, but that’s to be expected from me–for those who know me well. In the event you’d like to see if you are crazy, too, here’s a fun texture to find shapes in:

There's gotta be SOMETHING in here!

Compliments: The Currency of the New World

calisartstudio — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 14:41:55 +0000

I am up and running. It has been more than just nice or even great to be back at work. It has been a delight. I knew I liked these guys.

The only other girl in the office asked today, “So has anything changed since you were here last?”
“Nothing except the lack of organization, which is driving me crazy.” I have taken time here and there over the past couple of weeks to do everything from clean the desk to organizing the desk drawers and tackle the scary office supply closet. I even ventured into the conference room file tornado.
I share my position with someone else and upon discovering the miraculous state change of the desk drawers, he said to my boss, “Look! Cali organized the drawer so now we can find things!” My boss replied, “That’s what she does. Cali demands a certain level of organization and we just sit back and enjoy it.” It’s been kind of funny how appreciative the guys have been about my need to have things straightened. It’s nice enough to have me smiling a pleasant sort of smile even now.
Speaking of smiling, the guys encourage it. They tell jokes, harrass each other or otherwise are quite entertaining after about one o’clock each day. When they’re not on stage, they are flattering me: “Cali, have I told you how nice it is to have you back?” If money isn’t what makes the world go ’round I’d choose sincere compliments as the currency. It certainly has deeper and longer lasting value than what we currently use to pay our bills. “Compliments: The Currency of the New World.”

In other news, don’t be surprised if you see some metal and ice gracing my left hand. I am wearing an engagement ring. It’s all becoming more and more “officialized” as time goes on. Now if we could just get them here!

That’s the news from the Frontrunner, where all the men talk to themselves, the women read and the children . . . are above average.

Trains and Sneakers

calisartstudio — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 04:39:30 +0000

Hi! Long time no see! I started work last Monday and things are going well. My health is actually improving as time goes on, which is FABULOUS!

I take the train into town, then switch to the lightrail. A couple of weeks before I started work we did a trial run to see exactly how to make the transfer and then how long it would take to walk from the stop to work. How did it go? Well, I missed the train! Yeah, I was late and they were on schedule. I ran and they. . . well, they left. Ha! Melina got a good laugh from it all. We tried again the next day and I actually made it. Phew! I was a bit nervous for the first few runs but now I’m quite enjoying the time to read. What shall I read next? . . . .

Work? Work is great. I can tell it may be a bit tricky at times because I’m splitting the position with someone else. He’s there for some conversations I’m not and vice versa. I’ve also done A LOT of cleaning up and organizing of the desk drawers and supply closet. Hopefully it’s a welcomed change. I just couldn’t stand the clutter anymore. My boss asked me on Friday afternoon how everything was going and I said, “I love riding the train; I love walking to work; and I love that I am working again. It’s wonderful!” Yesterday as I was hard at work on a PowerPoint presentation I thought, “I’m at work. . . Yay!” It really is wonderful to feel like a productive member of society again.

Being back at work I can see I have changed since I was last there. I am much less self-conscious and, if I do say so myself, lots funnier. So, if you’re Downtown sometime, call me a day in advance and we’ll do lunch

2010 in review

calisartstudio — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 15:22:58 +0000

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.

Crunchy numbers

The Leaning Tower of Pisa has 296 steps to reach the top. This blog was viewed about 1,100 times in 2010. If those were steps, it would have climbed the Leaning Tower of Pisa 4 times

In 2010, there were 25 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 39 posts. There were 54 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 35mb. That’s about 1 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was August 20th with 40 views. The most popular post that day was Negligence.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, en.wordpress.com, etsy.com, bmadsenfamily.blogspot.com, and tvrizor.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for envelopes, swirly line, cute envelopes, wax sealed, and cute envelope.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

Negligence July 2010
1 comment

Valentine Envelope Chair Backers January 2010
5 comments

Yes, I’m stuck on Illustrator February 2010

Happily Distracted May 2010
2 comments

American Girl Doll Birthday Bash April 2010
1 comment

Countless

calisartstudio — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 05:12:03 +0000

I came to my blog today feeling like a slacker and was surprised to see I had made several attempts at writing since September. Why so many drafts with no results? I can’t tell you how many hours, days and weeks have been spent on one project just to be faced with another. Here’s a summary of what the drafts contain:

1) Mom’s 60th Birthday Party. Wow! These are bonified projects we take on in our family! We made Mom a quilt and a 30-minute video all about her. Matthew, Julia and Lizzy flew in for the event, too. Lots of fun!

2) Thanksgiving. Fun. Food. Games. FAMILY!

3) Homemade Christmas. I made my own Christmas cards again this year and was able to help make gifts for my nieces and nephews. Unfortunately, amidst our holiday chaos only 1/2 of my cards were written and sent out. I’m sorry if yours was one that didn’t make it. The gifts for the grandchildren ended very well, though. Mom made 3 full 18″ doll outfits for each granddaughter and Dad made pirate treasure boxes for all the grandsons. It was so fun to see everyone enjoying the gifts on Christmas Eve.

4) Hugo and Lizet are still chillin’ in Argentina. Actually, It’s pretty hot down there right now, so I guess they’re fryin’ in Argentina. In any case, we still haven’t been able to even begin the application process. I’ll let you know when it happens.

5) I will begin working part-time on January 17th. Yep! I’ll be working in Downtown Salt Lake City, again. Hoo-ray!

And that’s my story for now. Happy New Year everyone!

Merry Christmas! (This year's card.)

News Flash

calisartstudio — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 12:53:59 +0000

First off, for those of you who have been holding your breath since the last blog post: breathe. Blue and purple can be very becoming, but, seriously, breathing is always in fashion.

I’ve been unbelievably busy, which means my health is greatly improved!!! Yea!! So, for a quick update: I’m just feeling better and better. I need to remember what helps because those little things can make all the difference. I’m still on the treatment and overall I’m amazed at how well I am doing. Only 8 months ago a doctor finally figured out what I’ve been sick with these past 11 years. (Tropical Sprue for those of you who are just joining us.) Hallelujah! Thank you!

Perhaps you’d like a quick update on Hugo and Lizet. Well, I’m waiting on some papers from Hugo so I can turn in the application. As quickly as the Argentine mail can deliver, I should be able to turn around and send in the application. I’m just tying up loose ends on my part including some last minute corrections on translations. MANY thanks to Rosa who has been double-checking countless translations. Rosa, what dessert do I make for someone who can’t have gluten?

In other news, I’m job searching. Yes, some artists don’t like to starve. Anyway, that’s my update for now. I best be off to work on other things. Have a “superfluous day”! I can give those out today because it’s my birthday!