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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
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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Need some levity? Read on!

The Dracena Is Dead. Long Live the Dracena

March 5, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Homeowner succeeds in removing eight-foot stalk from an overgrown dracena marginata plant. Photo by Barbara Newhall

I did it. I cut the dracena marginata growing wild in our living room down to size. Read more.

Help! My Dracena Marginata Has Hit the Ceiling — What Can I Do?

February 26, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

A dracena marginat houseplant has grown so tall that it is crushing itself against the homeowner's ceiling. Photo by Barbara Newhall

My dracena marginata is doing itself in. It’s hurling itself against our living room ceiling. What’s a plant owner to do? Please advise. Read more.

The Atheists Are Coming – Out of a Closet Near You

February 19, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

A bumper sticker offered at the Religion Newswriters Conference in 2014 reads "Praying Is Begging." Photo by Barbara Newhall

The Openly Secular movement is calling on atheists in America to come out of the closet and declare their unbelief to friends, family and coworkers. Read more.

A Crazy-Making Crazy Quilt — Finished at Last

February 12, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Sue Mary Fox quilting stitches a crazy quilt -- quilt top, batting and backing -- with her long arm sewing machine in her Berkeley, CA, studio. Photo by Barbara Newhall

In desperation I took the crazy-making crazy quilt that I’d begun–but never finished–over to Sue Mary Fox’s quilting studio in Berkeley. Read more.

The Quilt From Hell — Forty-Two Years Later, It’s Still Not Finished

February 5, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

An unfinished quilt and stray piece of calico overflow from a storage drawer. Photo by Barbara Newhall

It had been staring at me from that drawer for decades. The quilt from hell. My wedding present to my brother and his wife. Never finished, never presented. Read more.

Superbowl: My Guys Are Talking Sports — And All Is Right With the World

January 29, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

nfl 2015 superbowl playoffs, seattle-greenbay, TV screen shot of game. Photo by Barbara Newhall

I like listening to my husband and son talk about football and basketball. I like the comfortable, father-son tone: My guys are talking sports and all is right with the world. Read more.

“Wrestling with God” Got a Starred Review From Publishers Weekly — And I’m Doing the Happy Dance

January 22, 2015 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

Author Barbara Falconer Newhall opens her copy of Publishers Weekly magazine, which had just arrived in the mail, to find that her book, Wrestling with God, got a starred review in the January 21, 2015, issue. PHoto by Jon Newhall

I’ve got some news. Huge news. “Wrestling with God“ got a starred review from Publishers Weekly this week. They reviewed my book, and they gave it one of their big, fat red stars. Read more.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Scaling the Mighty Willis Tower — With My Acrophilic Husband

View of Lake Michigan and downtown Chicago from the Willis Tower, Chicago. Photo by Barbara Newhall

The 108-story Willis Tower is my husband’s kind of place. I first noticed Jon’s acrophilia early in our romance, when we took a trip to Europe. 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!

Two deep pink tulips bloom at Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland, CA. Photo by BF Newhall

Tulips and Sex — Writing as If Everyone I Know Were Dead

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Widowed: The Superman at My House

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

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Betty Rollin on How to Talk to a Widow

MORE DON'T MISS!

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