• 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

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.

Widowed: As He Lay Dying

November 27, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

as he lay dying -- but he was healthy three months earlier to hangs-quilt

I wasn’t in the hospital when Jon died. I couldn’t hold his hand or say any words as he lay dying. Did he know his life was coming to an end?  Read more.

Halloween — A Day for the Dead

October 30, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Halloween-a-day-for-the-dead scary-mask

In the spirit of Día de Muertos, I’m making this Halloween a day for the dead: I’m publishing a story or two told about Jon at his interment.  Read more.

Widowed: Who Will Look After Me Now That Jon Is Gone?

October 23, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Farmers-market

Jon was the one I could count on for rides to car repair shops and colonoscopies. Who will look after me now?  Read more.

The Kids Are Coming for a Visit. No Time to Write

June 5, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

my kids are coming for a visit

My grown-up kids are coming for a visit this week. There will be just the three of us Peter, Christina and I.  Read more.

I Hated My Pandemic Hair. A Daughter to the Rescue. Sheltering at Home

May 15, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall


covid-haircut

My daughter had never cut anyone’s hair, ever. But my flyaway pandemic hair needed cutting. So I took a chance. The results were smashing. Read more.

Not Enough Rain. Not Enough Stories About My Husband

May 8, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

not enough stories about my husband. not enough rain. California-Grapevine-2014-drought

I wish I’d written more stories about my husband. But he was a good guy, and our marriage didn’t generate a lot of bloggable drama.   Read more.

Would My Husband Like to Take My Name?

May 1, 2021 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

add my name to his? jon-and-barbara-newhall-get-married

My fiance had no middle name. When we married, I asked, would he like to take my name to fill the empty spot in the middle of his? 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 23
  • 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

At the Feet of Annie Dillard, Memoirist, Essayist, Observer of the Real

A well-read copy of"The Abundance" by Annie Dillard. Photo by Barbara Newhall

What draws me to author Annie Dillard — what makes me want to turn off the TV and grab one of her books — is her eagle-sharp eye for the world as it truly is. 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!

crocosmia-sprouting-through-a-deck

Widowed: Life Goes On — And Some of Us Still Like It

david-and-ruth-falconer

Living to 100 — And Then Some

wedding-vows

Widowed: Our Love Is Immortal (Seriously!)

1986 home office with computer monitors, toddler and sleeping cat. Photo by BF Newhall.

‘Read Me a Story, Mommy, But Not That One You Wrote’ (Or,The Nicest Thing My Husband Ever Said to Me)

MORE DON'T MISS!

© 2009–2026 Barbara Falconer Newhall All rights reserved. · Log in