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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
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Barbara’s Riffs on Life

I Can’t Take My Eyes Off Those Flowers — From the Mighty Rose to the Humble Daisy

May 23, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Yellow roses by Svenja Brotz of Chestut and Vine Floral Design, Berkeley, CA. Photo by BF Newhall

The fine artist wannabe in me asserts that, as a rule of thumb, flowers are just too nice, too darned pretty to be the subject of Real Art. Real Art needs grit. It needs to be problematic. It needs tension. Something has to be askew. Flowers, on the other hand, never seem troubled to me, or even ruffled. Read more.

At Point Reyes: Wild Flowers . . . and Animals Wild and Tame

May 16, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Dairy cows returning to the barn cross a public road at Point Reyes, CA. Photo by BF Newhall

A couple of weeks ago, I mourned the loss of little hill in Michigan called Eagle Top. This week I’d like to celebrate a place that — unlike Eagle Top — has been preserved in all its wild and pastoral beauty – the vast triangle of land along the California coast known as Point Reyes, and especially the narrow outcropping called Chimney Rock.

In the Garden: Look What Happened to My Front Yard Over the Weekend

May 9, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

San Francisco Bay Area rock garden with geranium and blue-eyed grass tucked alongside moss rocks. Photo by BF Newhall

I wasn’t looking. I was at the computer all weekend with my back to the world. When I finally took a bleary look out the window Monday morning, I saw a front yard crazy with life — poppies, blue-eyed grass, armeria, pansies and several lascivious stalks of lupine blossoms. Read more.

On the Shores of Lake Michigan — Eagle Top, a Wild Place Tamed

May 2, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

A channel crosses a sand beach and empties into Lake Michigan. Photo by BF Newhall

Somebody owns Eagle Top. They bought it ten years ago and built a cottage on it. I didn’t think it was possible to buy, sell or own Eagle Top. Eagle Top was a wild place. I thought it belonged to itself. Read more.

The Mother-of-the-Groom Diaries — Am I Too Old for Splashy Earrings?

April 25, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Writer Barbara Falconer Newhall tries on Swarovsky earrings with her mother-of-the-groom gown. Photo by BF Newhall

The long dress I was planning to wear to my son’s wedding needed earrings. Not a necklace. Not a bracelet. Not a glitzy ring. My gown needed earrings. Big, attention-grabbing, dangle earrings. Read more.

My Killer Shoes — Brought Down to Size by Those Four-and-a-Half-Inch Heels

April 18, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Barbara Falconer Newhall tries on a pair of Glint pave shoes with 4 1/2-inch high heels. BF Newhall photo

Dress shoes for women right now, as you may have noticed, sport heels that go on forever. Wedge heels, spike heels, stack heels – everywhere I look I see nothing but heels of skyscraper proportions built to lift their wearers four or even four-and-a-half inches off the ground. Read More.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Grandparenting Via Webcam — Helping Out Those Frazzled Parents. Sheltering a Home Week 13

babysitting-via-webcam

Babysitting via webcam: The grandchildren are sheltering at home with their frazzled mom and dad. Can grandparents give parents a break from afar? Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

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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!

fourth of july in pentwater michigan. people sit on curb awaiting the parade. photo by bf newhall

Photo Op: Pentwater, Michigan — A Small Town on a Big Lake

Poster with dark red background with figure of god Ganesh announcing the 2014 Himalayan Fair Berkeley.

To the Himalayas and Back — In a Day and Duty Free

Sam Lamott portrait photo c Talena Smith & Ricci Nazareth-Silva

Sam Lamott Couldn’t Make It, but Anne Arrived With a Bouquet of Bons Mots

An exotic orange blossom from Bloomster's floral designer Kren P. Rasmussen. Photo by BF Newhall

I Can’t Take My Eyes Off Those Flowers — From the Mighty Rose to the Humble Daisy

MORE DON'T MISS!

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