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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

A Case of the Human Condition

I’m Barbara Falconer Newhall and I’ve got an incurable Case of the Human Condition. And since you do too, I’m counting on you to laugh and cry along with me as I riff on life as we know it . . . Below you'll read about my creaky, old fifties house, my forays into home gardening, my shopping stories, my spectacularly low-fashion wardrobe -- and more.

Unmarried and (Probably) Pregnant in Mid-Century America

October 14, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 24 Comments

unmarried-and-pregnant? Barbara-Falconer-1960s

Unmarried and pregnant in the 1960s — I was too ashamed to tell anyone then. But I’m telling the story now. Here’s why.  Read more.

Window Treatment Sticker Shock — $13,000 for Living Room Drapes? Seriously? Sheltering at Home Week 29

October 3, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 3 Comments

window-treatment-sticker-shock sliding-doors-need-drapes

With a window treatment costing 13K and a new patio costing more than what an entire house once cost, we’re also facing retirement sticker shock.  Read more.

RBG: Glorious, Notorious — and Old

September 19, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments

ginsburg-book-jacket

I want my little granddaughters to treasure and revere RBG because she was smart, compassionate, lovable — and old.  Read more.

Grandparents Day Is Today — How to Grandparent and Why

September 13, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

Grandparent's Day. A grandfather, father and grandson, circa 1941. Photo by Tinka Falconer

It’s Grandparents Day today. How to be a grandparent? I haven’t a clue. Why do we do it? I have some thoughts on that one.  Read more.

It’s My Birthday and I’m Really Old. Dang! Sheltering at Home Week 26

September 7, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments

it's my birthday and I'm really old chocolate-birthday-cake-just-desserts

Today’s my birthday, another year has blown past, and I can’t help noticing that I’m really old, and I’m going to die sooner than I’d like. Read more.

Watching People Working With Their Hands — Why Am I So Fascinated? Sheltering in Place Week 25

September 3, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

concrete-being-poured working with their hands

In Bologna they call them umarells, men hanging around building sites, watching people working with their hands. I’m an umarell. Here’s why. Read more.

Hanging Pictures: Too Much Art. Not Enough Wall Space. Sheltering at Home Week 24

August 27, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments

hanging pictures how-to-hang-pictures

Hanging pictures: we spent an entire Sunday on the project, pulling everything out of storage and propping it up all over the house. Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

There’s a Dandelion Growing on My Grave

my grave cypress-lawn-cemetery-colma

We picked out a gravesite for Jon last month. And one for me. Jon’s grave was next to his sister’s. My grave had a dandelion growing on it.  Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

CATEGORIES

  • A Case of the Human Condition
  • My Ever-Changing Family
  • On Writing & Reading
  • 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!

plaid-nightshirt

The Truth About Widows — We Cry a Lot

Tinka Falconer enjoys Nordstrom Cafe chicken and berry salad. Photo by BF Newhall.

My Mother’s Last Words to Me Before She Died

The mother of the bride contemplates the figure flaws she'll be showing off at her daughter's wedding. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Six Ways to Look Dreadful at Your Daughter’s Wedding — A Mother-of-the-Bride Moment

woodland-skipper-butterfly

There’s a Pollinator in My Pollinator Garden

MORE DON'T MISS!

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