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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.

Sheltering at Home Day 2: Oh, No! Our Porta-Potty Is Gone

March 19, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

porta-potty-taken-awayTerrible news. They’ve hauled away our porta-potty. Which means that work has ground to a halt on our half-finished house remodel. Read more.

Day One: Self-Isolation — For Us It’s Already Been Two Weeks of Sheltering at Home

March 18, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

zumba dancers -- before the corona virus pandemic

Jon and I have been sheltering at home — no Zumba classes for me — for two weeks now. And I have to tell you, it’s no fun. Read more.

Sheltering at Home: Day Zero

March 17, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

house remodel mess

The deadly COVID-19 virus is stalking the San Francisco Bay Area and authorities have ordered me and my neighbors to be sheltering at home starting now. Read more.

Where’s Barbara? On Instagram, of Course

March 14, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

barbara falconer newhall on instagram

Where have I been? On Instagram, of course. So much quicker and easier than writing blog posts. Look for me and lots of photos at @BarbaraFalconerNewhall. Read more.

Over-Wrought Iron — Those Curlicues Had to Go

July 11, 2019 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Fifties Kitsch-curlecues

Those Fifties kitsch geegaws on the stair railing have got to go. That’s what I told myself when Jon and I bought this house back in 1978. Read more.

Our Flag Is Flying Again This Fourth of July

July 6, 2019 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

fourth-of-july-flag

Very festive. Very patriotic. No jets or tanks, just the red, white and blue flying on the Fourth of July at our house again this year. Read more. 

California’s Golden Poppies Aren’t So Golden This Year — They’re Orange

April 10, 2019 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Golden Poppies bursting out all over California in spring 2019 after a heavy rain winter, these in a Berkeley front yard. Photo by Barbara Newhall

This year’s California Golden Poppies are a richer, darker — orange — color than I’ve ever seen in the Bay Area. Credit that winter rain? Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

The Perfect Christmas Tree — I Finally Found It

Rows of perfectly shaped christmas tree on a tree farm. Creative commons photo

At the Christmas tree lot, the kids played hide ’n’ seek amid the trees, leaving me to find the perfect Christmas tree. The responsibility weighed heavy. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

CATEGORIES

  • A Case of the Human Condition
  • My Ever-Changing Family
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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!

 

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1960s-girl-swimmers

My Husband’s Name or Mine? I Need Them Both

Pages in Hebrew and Aramaic from the Bleichrode Jewish prayer book published in 1923 in Franfurt. Photo by BF Newhall

Who Is a Jew? The Pew Research Center Tackles the Question — And Gets Some Answers

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My Pretty New Clothes — Shall I Just Wear Them Around the House? Sheltering at Home Week 10

cypress-lawn-cemetery-colma

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