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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

The Night I Forgot to Make Dinner — A Rerun From the Archives

May 11, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

I forgot to make dinner

I planned a nice candlelit evening for my husband for that night, just as I’d dreamed of doing as a girl. Except I forgot to make the dinner.  Read more.

The Feminine Feminist — An Oxymoron?

May 4, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

girls-in-pink-tutus

The feminine feminist — is she a contradiction in terms? Can a woman wear pink to the boardroom? Inch-long fingernails to the track meet?  Read more.

I’m Going on a — Homemade — Writer’s Retreat

April 27, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Barbara-Falconer-Newhall-at-laptop

I’m going on a homemade writer’s retreat. Just me and my laptop. No dental appointments. No lunches with friends. No Facebook. No Instagram.  Read more.

It’s Spring and My Garden Looks Dreadful. Here’s Why

April 20, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

heuchera-and-iceland-poppy-clashing

My garden looks dreadful. Here’s why. My plants won’t cooperate. The iris wants to be an iris. The azalea, an azalea. The poppy, a poppy.  Read more.

Widowed: He Knew How to Show a Girl a Good Time

April 13, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

he knew how to show a girl a good time jon-and-barbara-newhall

I was in the right place at the right time for the 2017 solar eclipse because my husband, Jon Newhall, knew how to show a girl a good time.  Read more.

Spotted: Red Mary Janes at the Easter Vigil

April 6, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

red-mary-janes-at-the-easter-vigil mary-jane-flats-eitheror

When I spotted a pair of red Mary Janes at the Easter Vigil, my meditations flitted from shopping to death and resurrection and back to shopping.  Read more.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Autumn in the Garden, When Sensible Plants Pack It In for the Winter . . . And a Healing Ankle

Autumn in the garden where, like it or not, the seasons impose their wills on every living thing. Photo by Barbara Newhall

It was autumn in the garden and all the grim stuff that happens as winter sets in — death, rot, shrivel and retreat — made for a thing of beauty. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

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  • A Case of the Human Condition
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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!

Author Barbara Falconer Newhall manages a smile, despite the discomfort of a brand new intraocular lens. Photo by Barbara Falconer Newhall

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

Hauling-branches

An Urban Oasis: Keeping It Wild — And Fire Resistant

feral-plum-tree-blossoms

Not Dead Yet. That Feral Plum Tree Lives On

My grandmorther's pince-nez with gold chain, hairpin and laminated metal case from J.H. Chinnery, optometrist, Scottville, Michigan. Photo by Barbara Newhall

‘Tis the Season to Declutter. Or Is It?

MORE DON'T MISS!

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