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Barbara Falconer Newhall

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

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Need some levity? Read on!

The Mother-of-the-Groom Diaries: They Did It. They Got Married

June 6, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 5 Comments

A Minneapolis bride and groom with a young cousin, May, 2013. Photo by BF NewhallThey pulled it off. They got married. They said their vows. They were pronounced husband and wife in Minneapolis on May 25.

The Mother-of-the-Groom Diaries — Am I Too Old for Splashy Earrings?

April 25, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 18 Comments

Writer Barbara Falconer Newhall tries on Swarovsky earrings with her mother-of-the-groom gown. Photo by BF Newhall

The long dress I was planning to wear to my son’s wedding needed earrings. Not a necklace. Not a bracelet. Not a glitzy ring. My gown needed earrings. Big, attention-grabbing, dangle earrings. Read more.

My Killer Shoes — Brought Down to Size by Those Four-and-a-Half-Inch Heels

April 18, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 7 Comments

Barbara Falconer Newhall tries on a pair of Glint pave shoes with 4 1/2-inch high heels. BF Newhall photo

Dress shoes for women right now, as you may have noticed, sport heels that go on forever. Wedge heels, spike heels, stack heels – everywhere I look I see nothing but heels of skyscraper proportions built to lift their wearers four or even four-and-a-half inches off the ground. Read More.

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.

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.

The (Two-Year-Old) Rhetorician at Our House

February 15, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 2 Comments

Two-year-old girl enjoys her bottle in her crib with blankies. Photo by BF Newhall

What’s rhetoric? I’ve always thought of it as the high-flown language of politics. But really, it’s something we humans do all the time, and that includes the two-year-old humans among us.

 

Real Snow in Minnesota . . . and Real Warm in My Real Austrian Walkjanker

February 8, 2013 By Barbara Falconer Newhall 9 Comments

Snowplow clearing snow in a snowstorm in Eden Prairie, MN. Photo 2013 by BF Newhall

 

My authentic Austrian Walkjanker jacket has hung forlornly at the far end of a plastic garment bag for decades. It had no place to go till my son got engaged to a Minnesota girl — and I had a chance to show it a good time on a snowy weekend in Minneapolis.

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LET’S CONNECT

ON THE FUNNY SIDE

Mom With Kids — The Home Office Blues

A 1986 home office with computer, crib, toddler and cat. Photo by Barbara Newhall

I liked being shoehorned into a 9-by-11-foot home office with three computers, a telephone, a cat, and a dear husband — most of the time. 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!

Author Barbara Falconer Newhall with the four calico crazy quilts she designed for the four grandchildren she hopes she'll have. Photo by Jon Newhall

The Baby Quilts Are Ready — Now All We Need Are the Babies

Squares of Turkish delight candy colorfully arranged in a shop window along the pedestrian shopping street İstiklal Caddesi in Istanbul. Photo by Barbara Newhall

Is an Istanbul Trip Too Risky for You? Here’s What You’re Missing

pinwheell-galaxy-NASA

A Hopeful Realist Is Keeping Me Company These Days

A greeting card with embossed and stamped poppies, blank inside by Emeryville, CA, printer Paula Skene Designs. Photo by BF Newhall

At the Hallmark Store — Teary-Eyed in the Sympathy Card Section

MORE DON'T MISS!

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