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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
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  • MY ROCKY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
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  • 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."

TV Host Phil Cousineau: “‘Wrestling with God’ Is a Riverflow of a Book”

March 12, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

a man plays the flute by a small river in winter. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Phil Cousineau, host of TV’s “Global Spirit,” praises Wrestling with God as “a riverflow of a book.” Read more.

It’s Launch Day for “Wrestling with God” and I’m Hoping You’ll Buy a Copy . . . or Two or Three

March 10, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 3 Comments

Author Barbara Falconer Newhall joyfully shows off her copy of Wrestling with God with cover design by Michelle Lenger. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Wrestling with God has arrived. Today is launch day, and I’m hoping that my subscribers will be the first to go to Amazon and their local bookstores to order themselves a copy. Read more.

The Dracena Is Dead. Long Live the Dracena

March 5, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 8 Comments

Homeowner succeeds in removing eight-foot stalk from an overgrown dracena marginata plant. Photo by Barbara Newhall

I did it. I cut the dracena marginata growing wild in our living room down to size. Read more.

Help! My Dracena Marginata Has Hit the Ceiling — What Can I Do?

February 26, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 8 Comments

A dracena marginat houseplant has grown so tall that it is crushing itself against the homeowner's ceiling. Photo by Barbara Newhall

My dracena marginata is doing itself in. It’s hurling itself against our living room ceiling. What’s a plant owner to do? Please advise. Read more.

The Atheists Are Coming – Out of a Closet Near You

February 19, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 3 Comments

A bumper sticker offered at the Religion Newswriters Conference in 2014 reads "Praying Is Begging." Photo by Barbara Newhall

The Openly Secular movement is calling on atheists in America to come out of the closet and declare their unbelief to friends, family and coworkers. Read more.

A Crazy-Making Crazy Quilt — Finished at Last

February 12, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 8 Comments

Sue Mary Fox quilting stitches a crazy quilt -- quilt top, batting and backing -- with her long arm sewing machine in her Berkeley, CA, studio. Photo by Barbara Newhall

In desperation I took the crazy-making crazy quilt that I’d begun–but never finished–over to Sue Mary Fox’s quilting studio in Berkeley. Read more.

The Quilt From Hell — Forty-Two Years Later, It’s Still Not Finished

February 5, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 10 Comments

An unfinished quilt and stray piece of calico overflow from a storage drawer. Photo by Barbara Newhall

It had been staring at me from that drawer for decades. The quilt from hell. My wedding present to my brother and his wife. Never finished, never presented. Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

The Somethingists — They Don’t Believe in God, but They Do Believe in . . . Something

[caption id="attachment_1163" align="aligncenter" width="427"]The Helix Nebula. NASA Photo. The Helix Nebula. NASA Photo.[/caption]

Good news for those of us – count me in – who aren’t at all sure of what God is like. It’s called Somethingism. 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!

Head and shoulders photo of James Dobson that appeared on the cov of the 1985 paperback edition of his book "The Strong-Willed Child."

James Dobson: Bully Your Pet, Hit Your Kid, Make Them Obey You–And God

Shopping at the Berkeley Potters Guild — Three Artists, Three Visions

Beyond Forgiveness book jacket. author phil cousineau

Book Openers: Forgiveness Is Tough — Atonement, Even Tougher

Branches of a monterey pine in California are seen against a blue sky with clouds. Photo by BF Newhall

Photo Op: When the Sun Shines Sideways

MORE DON'T MISS!

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