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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
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Barbara's Sheltering At Home Journal

The deadly COVID-19 had arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area, and county authorities were telling us to shelter at home. Husband Jon and I were pushing 80. We were definitely in the at-risk group. So we hunkered down in our house on the hill. To work off my ever-increasing anxiety, I did what writers do – I wrote. The result: this Sheltering at Home journal.

Death, Taxes, the Constitution. The IRS Has Granted a Reprieve. Will the Grim Reaper? Sheltering in Place Week 5

April 15, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

death, taxes, the constitution -- a tax form

Death, taxes, the constitution. One has been postponed to July. Death is closer than ever. But what about the permanence of Ben Franklin’s constitution?  Read more.

Now’s Your Chance to Let Your Roots Grow Out. I Did It. Here’s Why — Sheltering at Home Week 4

April 10, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

let your roots grow out. woman-with-white-air-barbara-falconer-newhall

Let your roots grow out? Not an easy decision. But I was home sick with mono, too sick to go to the hairdresser. Now I love my glamorous new look. Read more.

The Coronavirus Cruise Ship Has Disappeared From Our View. Why Does That Make Me Sad? — Sheltering in Place Week 4

April 8, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

coronavirus cruise ship -- a grand-princess-promo-shot

The Grand Princess was white and stately, a pretty sight, yes. But there was something else about the coronavirus cruise ship that kept us checking on it every day. Read more.

Why I Write About the Small Stuff — Like the Kettle Corn That Showed Up in Our Food Order. Sheltering in Place Week 4

April 5, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

kettle-corn

A bag of kettle corn? How did that get into our on-line food order? Provisioning mishaps have provided comic relief to the coronavirus anxiety at our house. Read more.

Twenty Seconds: What’s Good for the Hands Is Good for the Potatoes. Right? Sheltering at Home Week 3

April 3, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

washing-potatoes-for-twenty-seconds

COVID-19 is out there. It could get me, which is why I’m doing a lot of weird stuff lately. Like soaping down the potatoes. For twenty seconds, of course. Read more.

It’s Time to Forget the Coronavirus for a Few Hours a Day — And Find Some Normalcy. Sheltering in Place Day 12

March 29, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

donald-trump-forget-the-coronavirus-and-donald-trump

Sheltering at Home Day 12. It’s time to forget the coronavirus for a few hours a day — try to — and get back to work on my next book. Read more.

Will Donald Trump Be the Death of Me? Pardon My Rant as I Shelter in Place — and Wind Up Praying for the President. Day 11

March 28, 2020 By Barbara Falconer Newhall

will donald trump be the death of me?

Dying is bad enough. It’s another thing to contemplate dying because Donald Trump is in the White House. Read more.

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ON THE FUNNY SIDE

The Writing Room: Different From, Different Than – Which Is It?

[caption id="attachment_7493" align="aligncenter" width="500"]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 Some of my favorite books on the craft of writing. Photo by Barbara Falconer Newhall[/caption]

I was at the gym working on my pecs and abdominals the other day when I spotted a flyer announcing, “Belly fat is different than other fat.” Shouldn’t that be different from? What’s correct? I hadn’t a clue. 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!

An exotic orange blossom from Bloomster's floral designer Kren P. Rasmussen. Photo by BF Newhall

I Can’t Take My Eyes Off Those Flowers — From the Mighty Rose to the Humble Daisy

Jon and Barbara Newhall at Getty Museum tram, 2012. Photo by Christina Newhall

A (Lengthy) Case of the Human Condition: Married 35 Years

the politics of houseork. a man is working in the kithcen. Photo by barbara newhall

The Politics of Housework, Revisited

using-the-bathroom-scale

Am I Too Old to Lose That Weight? My Doctor Says I Am

MORE DON'T MISS!

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