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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
  • WIDOWED
  • FUNNY BUTTON

Barbara’s Riffs on Life

My Pal the Recycling Bin

July 26, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

recycling-can

For years, my pal the recycling bin had been there for me and my empty olive jars and soda cans — until one day I let it be tossed into a collection truck with the other recyclables.  Read more.

I Write. Therefore, I Procrastinate. Why?

July 18, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

i-write-therefore-i-procrastinate-why barbara-falconer-newhall-at-a-writing-retreat

I write. Therefore, I procrastinate. Why? Could the thing I have in mind to write be too big, too gleaming, too unattainable?  Read more.

The Fine Art of Writerly Procrastination

July 12, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

barbara-falconer-newhall-columnist-oakland-tribune

Without an editor to set a deadline for me, the days pass merrily along as I practice the fine art of writerly procrastination.  Read more.

Older, but Wiser? Or, When Life Gives You Lemons, Freeze Them

July 5, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

older-but-wiser-or-when-life-gives-you-lemons-freeze-them

Older, but wiser? Maybe. We elders can’t give you wisdom, but we can give you some tips, like when life gives you lemons, freeze them.  Read more.

I Like My Past. It’s a Keeper

June 28, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

i like my past it's a keeper little-boys-drawing-of-home

We are instructed by the wise ones among us to live in the present. But I like my past. It’s a keeper and I like visiting it from time to time.  Read more.

The Great Big Medicine Cabinet of My Dreams

June 21, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

36-x36-medicine-cabinet

The great big medicine cabinet of my dreams has arrived — with its fifteen linear feet of shelving.  Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

My Upper Lip and Other Sorrows

Lucille Ball with red lipstick and hair

I feel bad about my lip. My upper lip. Nora Ephron felt bad about her neck, a body part she made famous back in 2006 with her book I Feel Bad About My Neck. Nora also felt bad about her frizzy grey hair, parched skin, incipient mustache, flabby upper arms, and tendency toward belly fat. She was getting older.

 

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

CATEGORIES

  • A Case of the Human Condition
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  • 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!

Little girl with broken arm & chicken pox marks. Photo by BF Newhall

Help! My Kids Aren’t Perfect After All

Cover of the book "The Abundance" by Annie Dillard. Photo by Barbara Newhall

At the Feet of Annie Dillard, Memoirist, Essayist, Observer of the Real

Flow Poppies in my California garden. Photo by BF Newhall

It’s Spring in Our Brilliant, Bursting, Buzzing Front Yard

The bride was beautiful. A crystal headpiece set off Christina Newhall's short dark hair on her wedding day in May. Photo by Barbara Newhall

They Did It — They Got Married (And the Bride Was Beautiful)

MORE DON'T MISS!

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