Kate Out on the Fringe…uhm, Festival

It was the first week of June, and I was panicked: I had two weeks to finish our new website and learn how to blog.  Dave was preparing for a weeklong business trip, and half our third floor was torn up for renovations.

So naturally I did what I always do when I’m overscheduled and terminally stressed:  I started a new project.

“WHAT  DO  YOU  THINK?”

“So, Dave,” I happily called as he dragged his laptop upstairs after work,  “I thought I’d sign up for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival in September.  I already have a funny slide show – the one about wacky tourist destinations from the 1950s and ’60s – so it won’t take any work to schedule some performances, especially if I do them right here in my studio.

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The Great Photo Album Adventure (Part 4)

(Kate resumes the story….)

It was March, 2014 as I nervously approached Virginia Tavani Romano’s front door with a laptop full of photos in one hand and a potted plant in the other.  For months, I’d been poring over Art Tavani’s magical 1960s photo album, trying to unlock its mysteries. Now, only four blocks from home, I was about to meet his sister and her nieces Suzanne, Clair and Elaine.

“Let’s hope they have a sense of humor,” I fretted, yanking at my newly dyed violet and teal hair…..

15_7_13 1 Kate Hair_0652

(Hey, even middle-aged girls just wanna have fun…)

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The Great Photo Album Adventure (Part 3)

(Back from vacation, Kate continues the story….)

Discovering that the mystery owner of our star-studded 1960s photo album was named Arthur Tavani and that he once worked for two South Philadelphia newspapers was pretty exciting….

15_7_8 1 Bennett(Art Tavani,  with his trusty camera,  joins the crush around singer Tony Bennett.
And,  yes,  the patterned carpet identifies this as Palumbo’s.)

Discovering that Art’s sister Virginia lived just 4 blocks from our house was….well, disconcerting. Continue reading