ein großartiger Tag heraus

A grand day out.

I'm doing a little bit of catching up here. It's been a busy few days. This post will focus on Saturday. The stories lack the dramatic finish of The Torte, Us and the Hair, but well, it's a glimpse at our (or my) daily life. That is why you're reading this, isn't it?

My hair got pretty long on this adventure of ours. Funny what not getting a trim for six months will do, huh? This is fine, but not great. And the weather has been very warm and a little sticky so it seemed that I was constantly pulling my hair into a ponytail. I was sick of it. So, I splurged and submitted an online request for an appointment at an Aveda-affiliated salon. The LA-born friseurin is on vacation all month, but I was offered an appointment with Alexander, for whom English would be no problem. I didn't want to show up looking terrible so I stole a dab of Curt's gel (I've been hating the Austrian "modeling paste" I tried to replace my American gel with). The long hair looked better than it had in months, but that didn't stop me!

it's below my shoulder, really

I left Curt and a classmate slaving over a Powerpoint presentation and ventured across town. I got to see the back side of the Anker Clock as I approached the salon. I like it even better from that angle. I was welcomed into the salon and happily found UK versions of fashion magazines available for my entertainment.

When Alexander was ready, he greeted me cheerfully, sat me in the chair, flipped the ends of my hair and exclaimed, "but I like this!" I convinced him that the daily ponytail was not a great solution and he seemed willing to do his part to rid me of a couple of inches. "So, go; sit; a girl will come and shampoo you. Then, we'll talk," he commanded.

I went. I sat. A girl came. She had me move to the chair in front of the adjustable height wash basin with the foam pad for my neck. She slid a small ottoman under my feet. She applied shampoo and massaged my scalp. She applied conditioner and massaged my scalp. She applied deep conditioner, combed it through and said, "ok. 5 minutes." I reclined with my hair in the sink for 10 minutes thinking that the only way this could be better was if I were on the Masai Mara and Robert Redford had been standing over the wash basin.

I was sent back to Alexander's station feeling quite relaxed. He was a little nervous to cut too much. I wanted to give him freedom to style (and get me out of my rut); he wanted to give me a style I knew worked for me (as if I have a clue). At last, he seemed to have a plan and started clipping away. I was amazed how much hair fell to the floor. snip, snip, snip. He offered to dry it out straight, but understood that since I'll never have the patience to do that, he should style it more naturally. I ended up feeling "refreshed" (his term), but there was no radical departure from the way I wear my hair most of the time. I guess I should appreciate the confirmation that my usual works on my face.

see? shorter!

I left the salon at noon, to the sounds of music pouring out of the Anker Clock and lots of tourists gazing at its dancing figurines. I watched for a minute or two and headed to the center of town. I braved the dressing rooms at H&M and bought a dress for Tuesday night's party (next post, I promise). I found a tiny French bistro and had a snazzy baguette sandwich for lunch. Then, I made my way to the Volksgarten.

Yes, it was World Wide Knit in Public Day! So, I grabbed my giant ball of Wollmeise lace yarn, 2/3 complete stole (more on that with the post about Tuesday's party) and met up with a bunch of strangers who knit. No need for shyness among knitters. The organizer, Yarnbird, speaks English and made me feel welcome right away. Rita, a spinner/felter/knitter speaks English (and six other languages) and invited me to a couple of knitting groups. Sure, it's our last (and busiest) three weeks of the semester, but I may try to get to a couple of the meetings anyway. She also requested my help with a double decrease stitch, reputed to be common in the US. I was able to help and she didn't mind having to twist a couple of stitches because I wasn't sure how to executed it on her combination knitting fabric as it was. Well, that was enough to start off a nice friendship. I think she wants to teach me to spin, too!

Yarnbird made sure everyone had a yarn craft to enjoy.

After being told sitting on the grass is "verboten," some knitters moved to the sunny steps.
Others took to the benches.

Rita is second from the right, knitting all her spinning samples in to a TV cover (maybe).

One of the knitters brought enough mini Erbeerplunder (delicious Austrian strawberry pastries) for all to taste. Yarnbird's photos of WWKIP-Wien can be found here.