{"id":2976,"date":"2017-01-02T09:14:06","date_gmt":"2017-01-02T17:14:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/?p=2976"},"modified":"2017-01-13T14:38:29","modified_gmt":"2017-01-13T22:38:29","slug":"2017-out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2017\/uncategorized\/2017-out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new\/","title":{"rendered":"2017, Out With The Old, In With The New"},"content":{"rendered":"

A New Year<\/h3>\n
\"a<\/a>

Granddaughter Mimi in Our Town<\/p><\/div>\n

With 2017, a new year here, we look back on 2016. It’s been a tumultuous year, marked by a wild American election, Brexit, the Syrian refugee crisis and rising concerns about climate change. We also lost some well-loved celebrities. Because of all that and more, it wasn’t an easy year. I’ve heard many journalists say they were glad 2016 was on its way out.<\/p>\n

But it was also a year that promised new horizons through space travel, electric cars, and cures for Alzheimer’s, cancer, and multiple sclerosis.<\/p>\n

In fact, our family sat around the dinner table on New Year’s Eve discussing other positives in the past year. We noted that gay marriage was accepted and legalized in more places. The indigenous populations in both Canada and the USA became more vocal with their concerns and were heard like they hadn’t been before. Marijuana was legalized in many states and accepted as a drug that could help rather than hurt. For many, it lessens pain and anxiety. And though racism reared its ugly head, we became more conscious of how far we have yet to go. There is hope here as well that we can put aside our differences and live in peace and harmony.<\/p>\n

2017 New Year’s Resolutions<\/h3>\n

With the tradition of New Year\u2019s resolutions, it\u2019s natural to do an inner check and plan on some changes. I\u2019m planning on scaling back my involvement in social media. Much as I like the Twitter buzz and the Facebook updates from friends and family, I end up spending too much time checking out videos, reading quotes, etc. All lovely, but it\u2019s time I could be devoting to my writing projects and reading. So, that\u2019s one of my resolutions. To lessen the time spent on these sites. Whether I\u2019ll be able to follow through remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

Lukia<\/h3>\n

I\u2019ve also decided to re-write Lukia, my grandmother\u2019s story and weave myself into it, much like the author, Amy Tan, did in her novel, Joy Luck Club<\/strong><\/em>. I had tried before but gave up because I couldn’t come up with a satisfying ending. I\u2019ve since figured it out and have started the re-writes.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m also hoping to get it published sometime in 2017. But again, I don\u2019t know. Hope is like that.<\/p>\n

Along Came A Gardener<\/h3>\n

And if you haven\u2019t signed up for Diana\u2019s Book News<\/strong>, do. I\u2019ll be letting you know of any book specials and also sending you FREE chapters of my other work in progress, Along Came A Gardener<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Blessings at This Time of Year<\/h3>\n

Rob and I have been blessed to have a wonderful Christmas. Our two daughters, one son-in-law (the other was performing in It\u2019s A Wonderful Life for Soulpepper<\/a><\/strong>) and three grandchildren have been celebrating the holidays with us.<\/p>\n

The photo on his page is one from Our Town<\/a><\/strong>, a Thornton Wilder play that Soulpepper produced in 2011. The little girl waving is our granddaughter, Mimi. I like to think she’s waving good-bye to the old year as well.<\/p>\n

A Very Happy New Year!<\/h3>\n

And if you have any resolutions you\u2019d like to share, I\u2019d love to read them. I wish you a wonderful New Year, one of peace and joy and hope.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A New Year With 2017, a new year here, we look back on 2016. It’s been a tumultuous year, marked by a wild American election, Brexit, the Syrian refugee crisis… <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[88,87,1],"tags":[930,903,931,78,932,933,929,60,61,928],"class_list":["post-2976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life","category-theatre-2","category-uncategorized","tag-930","tag-along-came-a-gardener","tag-amy-tan","tag-diana-stevan","tag-joy-luck-club","tag-lukia","tag-new-years-resolutions","tag-our-town","tag-soulpepper","tag-thornton-wilder"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/our_town.jpg?fit=267%2C267&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LuVB-M0","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4651,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2020\/writing\/lifes-unexpected-surprises\/","url_meta":{"origin":2976,"position":0},"title":"Life’s Unexpected Surprises","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"7 \u0421\u0456\u0447\u043d\u044f, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Last year was full of wonderful writing experiences and great trips, but this year, we were hit with life's unexpected surprises. Crummy ones. Since Robert and I have been so blessed in life, it\u2019s hard to complain. And yet, since New Year\u2019s Eve, there have been a few dark moments.\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"life's unexpected surprises","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/image1-2-scaled-e1578421599611.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/image1-2-scaled-e1578421599611.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/image1-2-scaled-e1578421599611.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/image1-2-scaled-e1578421599611.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3133,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2017\/writing\/a-writer-takes-stock-in-february\/","url_meta":{"origin":2976,"position":1},"title":"A Writer Takes Stock In February","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"23 \u041b\u044e\u0442\u043e\u0433\u043e, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"As a writer, I've enjoyed February so far, even though the early weeks brought some disappointment. It was a rough winter by Pacific Coast standards. We normally get little snow, but this year the big snow dumps did some damage. We were lucky though to get away with just a\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/crocus.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/crocus.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/crocus.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/crocus.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/crocus.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3438,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2017\/writing\/siwc-an-exceptional-writers-conference-in-b-c\/","url_meta":{"origin":2976,"position":2},"title":"SIWC – An Exceptional Writers Conference in B.C.","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"19 \u0416\u043e\u0432\u0442\u043d\u044f, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019m back from a wonderful holiday in the Maritimes. I\u2019ll post more about that later, but today, I\u2019m off to work at the Surrey International Writers Conference, held Oct. 19-22, at the Sheraton Hotel in Surrey, British Columbia. 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With Michael being in school, it\u2019s taken a year and a half to get this 25 min. film this far. Though he and I co-wrote the screenplay, it\u2019s his vision that\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Film"","block_context":{"text":"Film","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/film-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"theBROTHERposter","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/theBROTHERposter.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":474,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2011\/writing\/the-theatre-illuminates-life-and-vice-versa\/","url_meta":{"origin":2976,"position":5},"title":"The Theatre Illuminates Life and Vice Versa","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"28 \u0427\u0435\u0440\u0432\u043d\u044f, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"My husband and I spent a glorious week in Toronto, visiting family and seeing four plays, all put on by Soulpepper Theatre Company. What struck me was how much the theatre illuminates life and vice versa. The playwright draws from life to write his plays but his plays speak to\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Film"","block_context":{"text":"Film","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/film-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/our_town.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2976\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}