• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • BLOG
  • WRESTLING WITH GOD BOOK
  • CONTACT

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.

Women — Can They Have It All?

May 27, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

women -- can they have it all, like singer-songwriter-jaspar-lepakWomen — can they have it all? Can a woman have the child and her dreams of a career? I say, yes, she can. Go for it!  Read more.

Kegeling With Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin — Tales From the Pandemic Shutdown

May 20, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

michael-douglas-alan-arkin men kegel

I didn’t know men could kegel until I saw actors Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin discussing their kegels in Netflix’s “The Kominsky Method,”  Read more.

An Unruly Garden Tamed at Last

May 13, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments

markings-for-a-new-garden-path

An unruly garden tamed: Neglected during the pandemic, it had become a leafy free-for-all with star jasmine tangling with Japanese anemone.  Read more.

In Defense of Pink

April 29, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments

encore-autumn-carnation-azalea-in-defense-of-pink

In defense of pink: Pink is a legitimate color. It deserves respect. It’s not teal. It’s not periwinkle. It is pink, and it has a lot to give.  Read more.

Did the Pandemic Shut-Down Change the Way We Live?

April 22, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

did the pandemic shut-down change the way we live?

Travel with me back in time to the bad old days of 2020 to consider — did the pandemic shut-down change the way we live?  Read more.

My Years Are Numbered. Give Me Those Blossoms — Now

April 15, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments

lavender-stalk my years are numbered

My years are numbered. Who knows, I might be at the point where I’ve got more money than time. Give me the plant that’s ready to bloom — now.  Read more.

Old and Getting Older — The Octogenarian and the Four-Year-Old

March 11, 2023 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 12 Comments

4-year-old-girl is old and getting older

Some old people, including me, are a lot like little kids. We like to brag about how old we are. Read more.

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 4
  • Page 5
  • Page 6
  • Page 7
  • Page 8
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 51
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

GET MY Riffs on Life BY EMAIL

True stories often told through a humorous lens–because you just can't make them up!

We respect your privacy and do not share your email with anyone.

 

LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

A Book of Essays From Cartoonist Cathy Guisewite — Did She Write It or Did I? Sheltering at Home Week 26

Cathy-Guisewite-cover-subtitle

Cathy Guisewite’s thoughts about life in “Fifty Things That Aren’t My Fault” look a lot like the thoughts running around in my own brain. 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

 
Need some levity? Push my Funny Button!

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!

I Let the Maytag Man Into the House. And I Here’s What I Learned About Human Nature. Sheltering at Home Week 7

Barbara Falconer Newhall in purple knit gown wearing Swarovsky fit silver shade earrings. Photo by BF Newhall

The Mother-of-the-Groom Diaries — Am I Too Old for Splashy Earrings?

Barbara Falaconer Newhall taking a gift from the family Christmas tree. Photo by Jon Newhall

The Perfect Christmas Tree — I Finally Found It

High School Revisited: The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same — Only Different

MORE DON'T MISS!

© 2009–2025 Barbara Falconer Newhall All rights reserved. · Log in