Barbara’s Riffs on Life

The Shame of Aging: The Big Seven-Five Has Finally Arrived

It’s here. My birthday. The Big Seven-Five. I’m now officially old. But I don’t wear my trousers rolled. Read more.

When I went wedding dress shopping forty years ago, I went all by myself. My daughter was smarter. She phoned and asked me to go with her. Read more.

Airbnb is supposed to be a good deal — homey and cheap. But maybe, really I’d be better off in a real bed and breakfast like this one. Read more.

Yes, you can locate your long-gone ancestors. You can pin them down to an exact place. Sometimes it’s a parking lot. Read more.

Want to see some gorgeous book cover designs? Check out the 50 Books 50 Covers competition. Read more.

When my big brother saw me without glasses for the first time in a half century, his reaction took me by surprise. Read more.