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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
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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Need some levity? Read on!

Happily Retired? Take the Quiz

January 25, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

happily-retired-doing-crossword

Retired, I’ve decided, is an attitude. It’s a state of mind, a state of equanimity. You can have that attitude whether you’re still working or you’ve clocked your last forty-hour work-week.  Read more.

Huston Smith on the Most Important Thing You Can Do in 2025

January 4, 2025 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

huston-smith-most-important-thing-you-can-do-in-2025

After nearly a century devoted to the study of life and truth and the meaning of it all, religion scholar Huston Smith had some advice for his fans.  Read more.

My Little Old Lady Christmas Tree — Showing It Who’s Boss

December 7, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

my little old lady Christmas tree

It’s time to buy myself another little old lady Christmas tree, haul it into the house and stand it on the coffee table — creaky knees and knuckles, notwithstanding.  Read more.

When My Mother Was the Grandma

October 19, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall Leave a Comment

when my mother was the grandma

My mother was the grandma in the family. She deserved respect from our kids. Not because she’d earned it, but because she was the grandma.  Read more.

I’m Playing Hooky From My Blog Today

October 12, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

I'm playing hooky from my blog today bathroom-tiles-and cabinet-choices

I’m playing hooky from my blog today. So this is not a blog post. This is me complaining — again — about my consarned to-do list.  Read more.

Is My Writing Too Nice?

August 31, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 4 Comments

NASA-satellite-michigan

I sometimes wonder when I sit down to write — am I too much of an optimist? Am I too hopeful? Too trusting? Is my writing too nice?  Read more.

Help Me Be a Fun Grandma. I Need Ideas for My Babysitting Week

August 3, 2024 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 14 Comments

help me be a fun grandma

I agreed to provide child care for a week this summer. Help me be a fun grandma. Tell me, how do I keep two kids, 8 and 5, entertained?  Read more.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Shanghai Chic — It’s All About the Shoes in This Skyscraping Town of 24 Million

By Barbara Falconer Newhall Young people are flocking to swashbuckling, get-rich-quick Shanghai. Come back soon to see what they’re wearing on their feet. I’m just back from a two-week blitz tour of China and am off to Austin for a Religion Newswriters Association conference tomorrow. There will be plenty to share when I get back. […]

MORE "ON THE FUNNY SIDE"

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  • A Case of the Human Condition
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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!

pinwheell-galaxy-NASA

A Hopeful Realist Is Keeping Me Company These Days

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Getting Older: I’m Not ‘Keeping Busy’

"Flowers for all Reasons" by Judy Clark, accompanies Helen Frankenthaler's painting "Free Wheeling" 1971 at the DeYoung Museum. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Another Bunch of Bouquets to Art 2015

A pair of whimsical earrings by Susan Brooks of Berkeley with blue and green beads. Photo by BF Newhall

At the Sawtooth Building: Earrings for Thirty-Six Bucks . . . And Other Hand-Made Pleasures

MORE DON'T MISS!

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