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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
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Older and Older

What to Do With Those Battered Old Baby Shoes? Hide Them in a Wall, of Course

March 29, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

baby-shoes-hidden-in-a-wall

Those battered old baby shoes? Hide them in a wall. It’s centuries old tradition that lets you declutter without giving up your dear old stuff.  Read more.

When the Rough-In Plumbing and Electrical Are Things of Beauty

March 22, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

When the Rough-In Plumbing and Electrical Are Things of Beauty copper-pipes-new-bath

The hidden secret behind the sheetrock in my bathroom — the rough-in plumbing and rough-in electrical are things of beauty.  Read more.

Happily Retired? Take the Quiz

January 25, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

happily-retired-doing-crossword

Retired, I’ve decided, is an attitude. It’s a state of mind, a state of equanimity. You can have that attitude whether you’re still working or you’ve clocked your last forty-hour work-week.  Read more.

Huston Smith on the Most Important Thing You Can Do in 2025

January 4, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

huston-smith-most-important-thing-you-can-do-in-2025

After nearly a century devoted to the study of life and truth and the meaning of it all, religion scholar Huston Smith had some advice for his fans.  Read more.

Christmas Carols — Listen Here for the Real Thing

December 21, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments

christmas carols  creche-san-miguel-mexico

Tired of the safe, watered-down Christmas music now playing in shopping malls? Try these Christmas carols, the real ones.  Read more.

The Darkening Days — And My Mother’s Last Hours

December 14, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 5 Comments

my mother's last hours TINKA-FALCONER

In the years since my mother’s death, I’ve often felt regret that my mother’s last hours with me weren’t more meaningful for her, and for me.  Read more.

My Little Old Lady Christmas Tree — Showing It Who’s Boss

December 7, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

my little old lady Christmas tree

It’s time to buy myself another little old lady Christmas tree, haul it into the house and stand it on the coffee table — creaky knees and knuckles, notwithstanding.  Read more.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Telephoning Those Teenage Babysitters — Rejected Again

An ivory colored touch-tone telephone, c.irca 1970s, with coiled cord and handset. A babysitter phone list is next to it. Photo by Barbara Newhall

What did teenage boys and moms in need of a babysitter have in common back in the day? They had to call up teenage girls. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

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  • A Case of the Human Condition
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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!

grandmother-skypes

Grandparenting Via Webcam — Helping Out Those Frazzled Parents. Sheltering a Home Week 13

"Garden Party," by Amy Roman Vassar, San Francisco. A floral commen on Frank Stella's "Lettre sur les aveuglesII, 1974. At the de Young Museum Bouquets to Art 2017. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Bouquets to Art 2017 — Seduced by Those Quirky, Charming Boxed Bouquets

house remodel mess

Sheltering at Home: Day Zero

My grandmorther's pince-nez with gold chain, hairpin and laminated metal case from J.H. Chinnery, optometrist, Scottville, Michigan. Photo by Barbara Newhall

‘Tis the Season to Declutter. Or Is It?

MORE DON'T MISS!

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