Adventures in Hair: Experiment #3

My hair grew too long overnight. I had hoped to make it until the middle of August, but since the handsome Italian didn't actually cut all that much off the last time, it got long very quickly. I've been keeping my eye out for potential salons and got a recommendation from the lady who owns the large-sized clothing store in town. I stopped by her recommendation and was greeted by a gorgeous man at the reception desk. Unfortunately, they could not squeeze me in until the 12th, nor could the salon next door. If I have to wait two weeks, I'll be cutting it myself with a cuticle scissors. It's gotten that bad!

I trotted hopefully to the other end of town, and after one look at my shaggy, faded mane the beautiful stylist offered me a same day appointment. I returned at the appointed hour and checked out the salon. It was a basic salon, no frills or strange hair growing lamps like at David and Francesco's. The stylist/owner, Elvi, was tall with long artfully highlighted long, blonde locks and beautiful big, blue eyes. She was really gorgeous. After a long conversation in German, of which I understood two words, we selected a reddish brown shade with blonde highlights. She applied the color and left me to ferment for 35 minutes. I became more and more nervous as I wathed the color develope and became darker and darker and more and more red.

After what seemed like an eternity, she escorted me to the sink and washed out the color with a massaging action, her fingers digging uncomfortably into my scalp. I strongly suspect there were red fingers marks on my scalp when she was finished! When she removed the towel I nearly exploded from the chair to make a run for the bathroom. I thought I was going to be sick! My hair was very red, with obvious blonde stripes, rather like a ginger tom cat. Nothing to do but let her cut it which she did in record time, shortening the back significantly and making shaggy layers around my face. After she dried and styled my hair, I could get a better idea of the color. The cut is cute, and the color is ok. There is a pretty big contrast between the base color and the highlights, and there are larger chunks of highlights than I normally get, but I think once my hair color fades a bit it will be just fine. I will add a picture of the haircut as soon as I get one taken. The best news of the day....the whole job cost 64.50...about $100, compared with the $170 I paid in Italy the last time.

I went shopping again yesterday, I cannot seem to resist clothes shopping lately, and bought a shirt on sale at the large-sized shop in town. It's navy blue and white, and needed a little "oomph" so I added some beads at the neckline. A girl can never have too much sparkle and I've been in need of a bit of sparkle in my life lately. The clothes at that shop are expensive, but the quality is very good. The two shirts I've bought there are a little snug, but wearable, so should fit for quite some time. Both shirts are made of something called "viscose". I always thought a viscose was a hoofed animal that lives in Tibet, sort of like an alpaca. Wait, maybe that's a vicuna I'm thinking of. Or maybe vicuna is Spanish for alpaca, or is it llama....

I skipped walking this evening as I developed a painful blister deep in my right heel, concealed under many layers of skin. I brought some wonderful blister band-aids with me, but the area is still painful enough to have earned a rest today.

After a lunch of a chef salad and potato salad, I crawled in bed with a book only to be startled by the sounds of "Symphony 101" issueing forth from the music school. There were a number of stringed instruments sawing away accompanied painfully by the squeak and squall of several clarinets. Gads! Reminds me of the days when my cousin, Carla, and I would be called upon to perform concerts for the family on holidays, she wheezing away on an arthritic accordian and me shrieking and squealing on my clarinet. My father was always conspicuous in his absence from these musical soirees. I wonder why?