• 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

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."

Dead Stuff – Which I Will Be Too One of These Days

March 27, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 11 Comments

The bark has fallen off a dying valley oak tree at Bishop's Ranch, Sonoma county, CA, revealing the sun-bleached grain of the heartwood. Photo by BF Newhall

The fifth-century Saint Jerome kept a human skull on his desk to remind him of his mortality – memento mori. But if you’re like me and you like to take walks in the woods, you don’t need a skull taking up space on your desk to remind you that sooner or later everything dies, including you. That’s because the woods are full of dead stuff. Read more.

The de Young This Week: Bursting With Art — And Flowers

March 20, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 9 Comments

Kaori Imaizumi of Blooming Floral Design, Inc., created a floral design for Henri's "Lady in Black with Spanish Scarf." Photo by BF Newhall

Art. Bouquets. More art. More bouquets. My idea of a good time. I spent the day yesterday at the annual Bouquets to Art show at the de Young Fine Arts Museum in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park — joined by two friends who enjoy flowers and art as much as I do. Read more.

My Computer is Dead, Long Live My Omputer

March 7, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 6 Comments

Jon Newhall, the author's geeky husband, sets up her new Toshiba laptop. Photo by BF Newhall

I went away for the weekend, and when I showed up in my writing room on Monday morning my laptop had crashed. “It’s not your fault,” said the computer repair guy. “Computers are machines. Machines break.“

For Wetter, For Drier — I’m Married to California

February 27, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 8 Comments

The slopes along the Grapevine in Southern California are dry and grey during February 2014 drought. Photo by BF Newhall

Basically, there are two kinds of Californian. Those who are delighted by a sunny February day. And those who are dismayed. Jon is one of the latter. You can chart the weather by Jon’s moods. Read more.

Stalking Superman

February 13, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 12 Comments

Actor Christopher Dennis on curb of Hollywood Boulevard dressed as Superman. Photo by BF Newhall

There he was. In the flesh. Tall and slender and muscled and oh-so-handsome. Sigh. It was Superman. The Man of Steel of my girlhood fantasies. My dream man. Read more.

Making Friends — Trying To — With the Dread Serial Comma

February 6, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 7 Comments

Barbara Falconer Newhall in her writing room with book contract. Photo by Jon Newhall

My book contract says that I’m to deliver my book manuscript “in conformity with the provisions in ‘The Chicago Manual of Style.’” That means that, at long last, I’m finally going head-to-head with the serial comma. Read more.

Little Girl Lost — My Mother’s Magical Babushka

January 30, 2014 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 5 Comments

facade of Hudson't downtwon Detroit store, mid-20th century.

When I was three or four years old, my mother took me shopping at a big department store in downtown Detroit. It might have been Crowley’s or Kern’s or Hudson’s. Shoppers crowded the aisles and soon, my mother and I got separated and I found myself alone. Read more.

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 56
  • Page 57
  • Page 58
  • Page 59
  • Page 60
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 80
  • 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

The Mother-of-the-Groom Diaries: Snapping Pictures at My Son’s Wedding

Handsome groom in tux, vest and tie with pink boutonniere before his wedding. Photo by BF Newhall

 

My trusty point and shoot goes with me everywhere these days. But for my son’s wedding I resolved to Be In The Moment and resist the temptation to digitize every last detail of my son’s big day. 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!

preschooler-with-duckie

Grief — Love With No Place to Go

Orange metal chairs in a row at the Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Olympic Sculpture Park Photos — Cool Art, Really Cool Park

Church bell tower, whitewashed church in the Greek Islands. Photo by BF Newhall

Theologian Harvey Cox: You Don’t Have to Believe to Be a Christian

Belief Is Seriously Overrated — You Don’t Have to Be a Believer to Believe

MORE DON'T MISS!

© 2009–2025 Barbara Falconer Newhall All rights reserved. · Log in