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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

My Ever-Changing Family

Our family shrinks and grows. People die. People get born. People get mad and won't talk to you for a while. Kids grow up and find partners of their own, and pretty soon there are brand-new in-laws. And a grandchild or two.

For the Kids: An Obstacle Course — Or a Fairy Circle?

August 24, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

FAIRY CIRCLE terraced-backyard-stairway

I tugged and dragged and rolled the old logs onto the terrace and made them into an obstacle course. Or was it a fairy circle?  Read more.

Help Me Be a Fun Grandma. I Need Ideas for My Babysitting Week

August 3, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 14 Comments

help me be a fun grandma

I agreed to provide child care for a week this summer. Help me be a fun grandma. Tell me, how do I keep two kids, 8 and 5, entertained?  Read more.

Clarence Thomas, Anita Hill, Jon and Me

May 25, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

Clarence Thomas, Anita Hill, Jon and me.

Clarence Thomas, Anita Hill, Jon and me — contemplating the perils and pleasures of office romance in the era of #metoo.  Read more.

Kids Who Cheat. And Those Who Don’t

May 18, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

Peter Newhall makes the catch during Piedmont, CA, rec department baseball game. Photo 1991 by BF Newhall

Kids who cheat and those who don’t: My husband was disturbed by what he saw — some kids playing touch football at the park, cheating.  Read more.

The Night I Forgot to Make Dinner — A Rerun From the Archives

May 11, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments

I forgot to make dinner

I planned a nice candlelit evening for my husband for that night, just as I’d dreamed of doing as a girl. Except I forgot to make the dinner.  Read more.

The Feminine Feminist — An Oxymoron?

May 4, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments

girls-in-pink-tutus

The feminine feminist — is she a contradiction in terms? Can a woman wear pink to the boardroom? Inch-long fingernails to the track meet?  Read more.

A Leap Year Leap: She Asked. He Said Yes.

February 29, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 14 Comments

jon-newhall-1976

Widowed: Jon and I had been dating for several years. No marriage proposal was coming my way. But a Leap Day was. Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

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

Writer Barbara Falconer Newhall tries on Swarovsky earrings with her mother-of-the-groom gown. Photo by BF Newhall

The long dress I was planning to wear to my son’s wedding needed earrings. Not a necklace. Not a bracelet. Not a glitzy ring. My gown needed earrings. Big, attention-grabbing, dangle earrings. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

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  • 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!

 

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Artichokes stacked for sale at Whole Foods, Berkeley, CA. Photo by BF Newhall

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