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Barbara Falconer Newhall

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

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  • MY EVER-CHANGING FAMILY
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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."

From the de Young — A Final Toss of the Bouquet

March 23, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

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

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

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.

Photo Op: It’s Blooming Springtime on Our Hill — In March

March 16, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Varigated camelia blossom with foliage. Photo by BF Newhall

It’s spring in March and the daffodils are going strong on the local hillsides in the San Francisco Bay Area. So are the camelias, abutilons and iceland poppies in our front yard.

Writing Tips — Begged, Borrowed, but Mostly Stolen From My Favorite Writing Coaches

March 8, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

San Francisco novelist and editor of Narrative Magazine Carol Edgarian. Photo by David Matheson

 

I’ve been writing personal essays, newspaper columns and blog posts for years now. I’ve learned some writing tricks the hard way — by trial and error. Others I’ve just plain stolen from my various writing coaches. Here are some of my favorite personal essay writing tips.

Writing the Personal Essay — Forget the Good, Go for the Bad and the Ugly

March 1, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

A star magnolia blossom and a bud, Oakland, CA. Photo by BF Newhall

When I’m writing a personal essay or a blog post, I find that nice stories in which I behave well and come off looking good generally don’t work so well. I look for the bad story, the ugly story, the story that shows off my marvelous human shortcomings.

Impermanence: Everything Changes — And So Can I

February 22, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

A limb splits off from a live oak tree in San Francisco Bay Area. Photo by BF Newhall

Impermanence. It’s a helpful, if not always comfortable, idea: Everything changes. It just does. My Aunt Grace died last month. My son Peter will be married in May. And 56 wind turbines are now up and running on the pristine rural countryside near my father’s birthplace. 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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TO MY READERS

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DON’T MISS!

my-husband-passed-away

My Husband Passed Away and Took the Encyclopedia With Him

The cover of The Best of KidSpirit OnLine, Vol. II, shows a intense sport bicyclist. Photo by Jack True.

KidSpirit OnLine: Where Young Souls Take On the Big–Old–Questions

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How to Describe My Late Husband? I Can’t Find the Words

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Blood and Guts in My Backyard. Or, Nature Tidies Up

MORE DON'T MISS!

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