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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."

Forget Those Charming Little Forget-Me-Nots. They’re Not as Innocent as They Seem

April 12, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

forget-those-charming-little-forget-me-nots

Forget those charming little forget-me-nots. They’re not as guileless as they look. They have an agenda.  Read more.

I Confess. In 2020, I Washed the Potatoes. With Soap

April 5, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

sanitizing-mail-during-pandemic

It was April, 2020. The pandemic was underway and you couldn’t be too careful about what you let into your house, including your groceries. Which is why I washed the potatoes, with soap.  Read more.

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

March 29, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

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.

Five Years Ago This Month — Covid Shut Down Our World

March 8, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

five years ago this month covid

Five years ago this month covid shut down our world. There wasn’t much to do, so I wrote a lot of covid stories, some sad and some, I like to think, amusing.  Read more.

My Mother’s Writing Desk Is Not My Writing Desk. Here’s Why

February 22, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

ink-stain-in-an-old-desk-drawer

Being in the same room with my mother’s writing desk is like being in the same room with my mother, which is why her desk isn’t in my writing room.  Read more.

Widowed: Did My Husband Know I Loved Him?

February 15, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Widowed: Did My Husband Know I Loved Him? Zodiac-News-Service-Nov-11-12-1972

We were not gushy, Jon and I, and that was fine with me. Widowed now, I’ve been wondering, was I too stingy with my affections? Did my husband know I loved him?  Read more.

The Human Need to Name Things — While Standing in a Patch of Weeds

February 8, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

The Human Need to Name Things

We can’t help ourselves. We like to name things. We have a human need to name things, including the colors of the weeds in a weed patch.  Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Small Boys: Reading, Writing — And Yucky

A 7-year-old boy makes a yucky  face by stretching his mouth wide. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Let’s face it. Kids, some kids, naturally love raunchy jokes and faces. There’s one living at my house who loves everything yucky. Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

CATEGORIES

  • 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!

books on shelf by john gardener, sands hall, strunk and white, noah lukeman, robert mckee, theodore m bernstein, stephen koch, susan shaughnessy. Photo by Barbara Falconer Newhall

The Writing Room: Two Must-Have Craft Journals for the Literary Writer

robert morse in season finale of mad men tv show dances and sings the best things in life are free with four pretty secretaries.

Comedian Robert Morse – Dead at 90. Very Much Alive at 36

lumberjack-in-tree

Buzz Saw Bliss — Sheltering at Home Day 3

san-francisco-street-paving-bricks

When a Widow Laughs. Or, a Backyard Work in Progress

MORE DON'T MISS!

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