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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."

I Miss My Grown-Up Children — More Than I Can Say. Sheltering at Home Week 30

October 10, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments

I-miss-my-grown-up-children

I last put my arms around Peter in January. He was here for his birthday, I haven’t seen him — or his sister — since. Read more.

He’s Not Bald After All. Thank You, Covid-19. Sheltering at Home Week 28

September 26, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments

jon-newhall-Zodiac-News-Service

Thanks to the coronavirus, my husband hasn’t had a haircut in six months. It turns out he’s not bald after all. He’s got hair, lots of it.  Read more.

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

September 12, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments

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.

It’s My Birthday and I’m Really Old. Dang! Sheltering at Home Week 26

September 7, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments

it's my birthday and I'm really old chocolate-birthday-cake-just-desserts

Today’s my birthday, another year has blown past, and I can’t help noticing that I’m really old, and I’m going to die sooner than I’d like. Read more.

Watching People Working With Their Hands — Why Am I So Fascinated? Sheltering in Place Week 25

September 3, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

concrete-being-poured working with their hands

In Bologna they call them umarells, men hanging around building sites, watching people working with their hands. I’m an umarell. Here’s why. Read more.

Hanging Pictures: Too Much Art. Not Enough Wall Space. Sheltering at Home Week 24

August 27, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments

hanging pictures how-to-hang-pictures

Hanging pictures: we spent an entire Sunday on the project, pulling everything out of storage and propping it up all over the house. Read more.

Quarantine Hair: I’ve Got Curls All Over My Head. How Did That Happen? Sheltering at Home Week 22

August 15, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 5 Comments

I've-got-curls Barbara-falconer-newhall-with-fluffy-hair-2

Out of the blue, my hair has begun sprouting Shirley Temple ringlets. I’ve got curls, adorable curls. What the heck? I didn’t know my hair could curl.  Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Help! My Kids Aren’t Perfect After All

Little girl with broken arm & chicken pox marks. Photo by BF Newhall

The kids were still pre-schoolers at the time, and it had been another night of sleep deprivation for me. “Tell me it gets easier,” I said to my friend Nancy. “Well, actually it gets harder,” she replied. Nancy has a daughter three years older than Peter. She keeps me briefed on the parenting realities ahead. 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

 
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!

Shepherd Bliss of the men's movement. photo by shepherd bliss

Shepherd Bliss and Men’s Secrets — No Women Allowed

Jeff Greenwald, author of "Shopping for Buddhas," settled on purchasing this Buddha during his shopping serach in Nepal. It is the touching the Earth Buddha mudra. Photo by Barbara Newhall writers

Jeff Greenwald and Kevin Griffin — A Funny Buddhist and a Happy One

outdoor-dancing-studio

Widowed: Dancing Makes Me Cry.

The Abortion Wars: Forcing a Woman to Continue a Pregnancy Is a Form of Assault

MORE DON'T MISS!

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