By Barbara Falconer Newhall Young people are flocking to swashbuckling, get-rich-quick Shanghai. Come back soon to see what they’re wearing on their feet. I’m just back from a two-week blitz tour of China and am off to Austin for a Religion Newswriters Association conference tomorrow. There will be plenty to share when I get back. […]
Barbara’s Riffs on Life
The Lost Poems of Jane Johnston Schoolcraft — A Native Michigan Voice Rediscovered
In the process of moving their collection, the librarians at the Illinois State Historical Library came across some boxes of old documents. One of them contained a lost cache of writings by Jane Johnston Schoolcraft, a little known Ojibwe poet from Michigan. Read more.
Five Things I Like Best About My Kitchen
We remodeled our kitchen in 2000, and we made some design decisions that still make me happy. Read more.
Rugs, Afghans and Scarves — My Pentwater Cousin Weaves Them All
I wrote about my outdoorsy cousin Jeanie a couple of weeks ago. This week it’s my artsy cousin Mary Helen’s turn. She weaves gorgeous rugs from fabrics she gets at yard sales. Read more.
Photo Op: Pentwater, Michigan — A Small Town on a Big Lake
When I was a kid, Pentwater was not the place to be. The place to be was on the beach or in the woods with the wild critters. But now that I am thoroughly grown up, I’m preferring the charms of Pentwater village to the toads and grasshoppers of my 9-year-old self. Read more.
Los Angeles — The Good, the Bad and the Truly Ugly
Los Angeles is an awful place. It is 469 square miles of bumper to bumper traffic, sinus clogging air pollution, starless nights and unrelenting summer sun . . . Read more.