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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

DON'T MISS!

I've written hundreds and hundreds of posts over the years. To help you find your way to the best of the best, I've tagged my favorites "Don't Miss!" Scroll down here to find them.

Another way to locate Riffs on Life that you might enjoy is to click above on your favorite category – "My Ever-Changing Family," perhaps, or "Funny Button." You can also use the search box located way up top to hunt for stories by topic. There's fun reading at "garden," "aging," "kids" and, of course, "Jon."

Widowed: I Don’t Like My Life

September 17, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

I don't like my life, but I did like my sunny-cheerful-airbnb-house

I’m widowed and I don’t like my life. Stranded 2,000 miles from home with covid proved easier than facing the life that awaited me back home.  Read more.

Guo Pei’s Wearable Splendor (Wearable? Maybe Not. Splendid? Oh, Yes)

August 13, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

[caption id="attachment_36247" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]guo-pei-east-palace  [/caption]

The opulent imaginings of China’s premier couturier Guo Pei are on view at San Francisco’s Palace of the Legion of Honor through Sept. 5.  Read more.

A Week With Fellow Writers — Surprising Me With Gifts

July 30, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

[caption id="attachment_36196" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]communityi-of-writers-2022 We writers go to workshops, manuscripts in hand, hoping to get helpful feedback from our fellow writers. Sometimes we get more than we hoped.  Read more.[/caption]

Happily Married? One of You Is Going to Get Your Heart Broken

July 23, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

couple-on-michiga-beach -- happily married? One of you is going to get your heart broken

When I see a happy couple, long-married or newlywed, I want to say, “Happily married? One of you is going to get your heart broken some day.”  Read more.

My Deceased Husband’s Mail — I Like Getting It

July 9, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

charity-donations

When my deceased husband’s mail arrives in our mailbox, it’s often from charities he supported, so a little bit of him shows up along with it.  Read more.

My Deceased Husband’s Voice — Coming at Me From the Stars

June 24, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

my deceased husband's voice father-daughter

My deceased husband’s voice came at me the other day — from across the years, all the way from 1988 and a summer’s night under the stars.  Read more.

Widowed. I’m Fine Until It’s Time to Go Home

June 18, 2022 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

widowed I'm fine until it's time to go home

A day-long hike at Pt. Reyes keeps my mind off the fact that I’m widowed — and I’m fine until it’s time to go home.  Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

How to Grandmother – When the Grandkids Live 2,500 Miles Away

Berkeley CA ceramist Nancy Selvin with her dog in front of her large painting, 2013. Photo by BF Newhall

My friend Nancy is a potter – a world-class ceramist to be exact – and a grandmother. Much as she loves her work, Nancy wants to spend time with her grandsons – and not just a Thanksgiving dinner here and a birthday party there. The trouble is, the young boys live a continent away. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

CATEGORIES

  • A Case of the Human Condition
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  • 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!

making-sandwiches-for-homeless

The Homeless — What They Really Need From Us (A Little PB&J, a Lot of Love)

Young man wearing a black shirt and red tie greets guests at Minneapolis' Bachelor Farmer restaurant.

The Mother-in-Law Diaries: A Groom’s Dinner at a Place Called the Bachelor Farmer

california-fuchsia-bud

Betty Rollin on How to Talk to a Widow

grace-kleis-barbara-falconer-newhall

Sexy at Any Age — Tips From My 98-Year-Old Aunt Grace

MORE DON'T MISS!

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