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Barbara Falconer Newhall

Veteran journalist Barbara Falconer Newhall riffs on life as she knows it.

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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."

A Dad, a Mom and an 8-Year-Old With a Bashed Lip

April 11, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 7 Comments

eight-year-old boy smiling up from a swimming pool. photo by bf newhall

At 7 on a Saturday night, eight-year-old Peter came home from the park with a lip the size of a ping-pong ball. He had been hit by a hardball on the fly. I wanted to take him to the ER. Jon said no, it was just a fat lip. Read more.

. . . And Two Books I Did Read, Sorta — By Lauren Winner and Anne LaMott

April 7, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

Anne LaMott at a reading of her book "Help, Thanks, Wow." Photo by BF Newhall

Yesterday I wrote about five intriguing books that have come across my desk in recent months, good books that I never got around to reading. Here are two more books — by memoirists Anne LaMott and Lauren Winner — that I’ve actually managed to blast through in a couple sittings each. Read more.

Good Books I Haven’t Really Read: Anna Quindlen, Stephen Prothero, David Talbot and a Book About French Love . . .

April 6, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 5 Comments

Portrait of Marilyn Yalom, author of "How the French Invented Love' with a lipstick kiss on her cheek. Photo by BF Newhall

There are seven intriguing books currently languishing on my bookshelf, crying out to be read. Books I’ve dearly wanted to spend quality time with in the past year, but haven’t. And that’s because I’m writing — and promoting — a book myself. Read more.

Shopping for a Mother-of-the-Groom Dress — Is That Me in the Mirror? Or Somebody’s Grandmother?

March 30, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 35 Comments

a long rack of fluffy white wedding gowns for sale at David's Bridal Salon, Pinole, CA. Photo by BF Newhall

My son is getting married. I’ll need a dress. A dress that makes me look terrific. It’s time to hit the department stores and bridal salons. Read more.

From the de Young — A Final Toss of the Bouquet

March 23, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 1 Comment

The cross-shaped floral design of Monique Duncan of Plumweed Flowers Co., San Francisco, took its inspiration from Robert Rauschenberg's "Shadow (Tracks)" sculpture.

At times during my visit to the Bouquets to Art exhibition at the de Young on Tuesday, I wondered whether my soul might be better off if I’d just stand there quietly looking at the floral arrangements — instead of taking so darned many pictures. I took 254 photos to be exact.

Leaves, Twigs and Seeds at the de Young — It’s Art, but Is It a Bouquet?

March 21, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

A floral design by Arlene Boyle of Violetta, SF, was inspired by a soapstone and walrus tusk carving by Judas Ullulak (Allulak), "Inukshuk" (Like a Person), 1981-82. Photo by BF Newhall

Nothing seems to be off limits to the floral designers who’ve filled the courts and galleries of the de Young Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco this week with arrangements of flowers, twigs, branches, seed pods, pussy willows and succulents for the museum’s annual exhibition Bouquets to Art.

Bouquets to Art at the de Young — Where Poppies Dance and Cactuses Are Petit Fours

March 20, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

bouquets to art -- a floral arrangment that looks like a cake. Photo by BF Newhall

It’s not too late to catch a bus – or a plane – and head out to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park for the annual Bouquets to Art show at the de Young museum — including a flower arrangement that looks like a cake. It’s on till Saturday, March 23, 2013, but if you can’t make it to the real thing, here are some fun photos I took the first day.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

A Case of the Human Condition: A Half Century Later I’m Still a Size 10 . . . OK, 12

Two teenager girls in Bermuda shorts, 1950s. Photo by DG Falconer

I wore a size 10 in high school way back in 1959 and a size 12 in college. That was twenty plus pounds ago, but I can still squeeze into size 10 (or 12) jeans. Am I remembering my young self all wrong? Read more.

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

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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!

Christina Newhall with cell phone. Photo by BF Newhall

When a Grown Daughter Doesn’t Call — Or, How to Overmother a Twenty-Something

san-francisco-street-paving-bricks

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

Jon Newhall makes dinner at the Newhall house. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Widowed: Lucky Me, I Told Jon Newhall I Loved Him

A Case of the Human Condition: Would My Husband Like to Add My Name to His?

MORE DON'T MISS!

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