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Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

  • A CASE OF THE HUMAN CONDITION
  • MY EVER-CHANGING FAMILY
  • WRITING & READING
  • MY ROCKY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
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Barbara’s Riffs on Life

Sixteen Years Left to Live. How Many Bowls of Froot Loops Is That?

June 6, 2026 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

froot-loops-at-my-grocery-store

In the sixteen years I’ve got left, how many of the gotta-do items on my to-do list will I get done?  Read more.

Was My Mother a 1950s Tradwife?

May 2, 2026 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 8 Comments

at-the-beach-in-the-1940s

My mother was a tradwife, a bona fide 1950s tradwife. That’s what she wanted. That’s what she got. Read more.

The Trouble With Poinsettias

April 5, 2026 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 10 Comments

poinsettias

The trouble with poinsettias is — they don’t know that Christmas is over and it’s time to make an exit.  Read more.

Widowed: If I Visit His Grave, Will It Help?

February 28, 2026 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

newhall-gravesite-colma

I said hello to Jon and his family, and then there was nothing more to do in this graveyard.  Read more.

Maybe I Want a Facelift After All

January 31, 2026 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

window-with-houseplants

Facelifts that leave your cheeks looking like you’re facing into 100-mph headwinds are not for me. Or are they?  Read more.

Big News — Big Changes for This 2009 Website

January 10, 2026 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Big Changes for This 2009 Website lawn-chair-on-deck

Two big changes for my — 2009! — website: a major redesign and a more spacious writing schedule for me.  Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

The Cataract Chronicles — I’m Not Lovin’ My New IOL

Author Barbara Falconer Newhall after cataract surgery in right eye. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Three months after my first cataract surgery, things are still fuzzy in my right eye. Unlike most veterans of cataract surgery, I’m not loving my new IOL. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

CATEGORIES

  • A Case of the Human Condition
  • My Ever-Changing Family
  • On Writing & Reading
  • My Rocky Spiritual Journey

 
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TO MY READERS

Please feel free to share links to my posts with one and all and to quote briefly from them in your own writing, remembering, of course, to attribute the quote to me and to provide a link back to this site.

My Oakland Tribune columns, btw, are reprinted by permission of the Trib. With the exception of review copies of books, I do not accept ads or freebies of any kind. Click on the "Contact" button if you have questions. Enjoy!

 

DON’T MISS!

Christina Newhall, age 7, playing tug of war at a party. Photo by Barbara Newhall

No to Bride Barbie — Yes to a Real-Life Wedding

Did my long-lost dead ancestors live in old frame houses like these on Minneapolis's Seventh Street South? Photo by Barbara Newhall

My Long-Lost Dead Ancestors — I Found Them in a Parking Lot

A gray American domestic cat has curled up atop a 1986 TV set being used as a computer monitor in a home office. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Mom With Kids — The Home Office Blues

File:Partirdge & Blackwell.jpg (category Department stores in Michigan) & Blackwell Department Store in Detroit, Michigan Date 1910 Source Library of Congress-Prints & Photographs online catalog Author Detroit Publishing Company

A Lost Child in Wartime Detroit — A Headscarf Story

MORE DON'T MISS!

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