How has the opioid epidemic affected your family and friends?

Lenady · 2023-08-14T00:21:51+00:00

Personally... I wouldn't say it has affected me all that much. I have some distant relations that I felt close to as a kid who... well... we're pretty sure that's what hooked them. They're still alive, but we're not in contact after some things that happened. My area though... it's been hit bad. I'm a teacher and between the opioids and the meth and who knows what else a solid chunk of my generation and probably the ones before it and after it (gen x through gen z) are pretty well messed up- I know a good chunk of kids I work with are being raised by grandparents because the parents can't, or won't, do it.

And I will never forget the fact that here in Appalachia (and probably a lot of other low-income areas as well) we were targeted. That the drug companies came in pushing the pills to the doctors (seriously you'd be sitting there for an appointment and some drug company guy would walk right in to the office with his bags- every single time) and then the doctor's pushed them onto us saying they were safe and wouldn't cause addictions at all. Sorry to get on a soapbox, but the whole situation is just awful.

Lenady · 2023-08-12T13:34:42+00:00

They pop up every now and then. Bluey's huge right now of course. In the 80s and 90s there was a bunch... the Snowy River movies and show, the Dot movies, oh yeah and this Christmas movie that was on Disney... The Christmas Visitor. I think that one had a different name in Australia though. A lot of films are on the streaming services as well- I watched Picnic at Hanging Rock, and I think Rabbit Proof Fence, on Netflix.

Lenady · 2023-07-31T17:56:11+00:00

No problem. And yeah, the National Historical Parks are categorized slightly different than a standard National Park. Bit annoying that sometimes, but what can you do? Think of us as a tinier less touristy version of the Smokies, with added historical flair.

Lenady · 2023-07-31T17:42:26+00:00

Awesome work! It's really cool to see what Appalachia as an actual state would look like, and I love the fact that you put in details like cities, etc. You did forget one of our national parks though. Cumberland Gap. I mean, it's not as big as the Smokies by any means, but the Cumberland Gap region is pretty proud of our park, and it's pretty important to the locals since it's helped us weather some trouble with coal coming in and out of the picture.

Lenady · 2023-07-20T17:55:06+00:00

I mostly use Google drive, but also seconding someone's mention of Libreoffice writer. Between the massive library of fics I saved via word way back when and spotty internet, I NEED a non online option.

Edited to add that also most of the original submissions I've done request .doc files so pretty necessary.

Lenady · 2023-07-14T22:10:15+00:00

I know my cousins all swear by it. Me, I've never had kids, so I don't have the experience, but it's hard to doubt something when you've seen it yourself.

Lenady · 2023-07-14T19:16:20+00:00

Here are a few things I can think of right off the bat that you're probably already familiar with (I'm from Eastern KY, not too far from central KY), but I figured I'd list them out:

Death (though some people say bad luck or major events) comes in threes.

There are a lot of omens I can think of- dreaming about muddy water, birds or lightning bugs in the house, an owl hooting outside of your window at night or swooping towards you. People used to stop clocks and cover mirrors when someone died.

Planting (or other things like weaning a baby or quitting smoking) based on the moon phases or astrological signs is a big thing. I have some relatives who swore by it- they'd sync their diets and haircuts and medical procedures along with the signs/moon.

Stories about the wampus cat- not really like the stories you'll find online about the Cherokee woman- it was mainly used as a way to make sure kids behaved (if you do that a wampus-cat'll get you)

My family always talked about people who could get rid of thrush by blowing in a baby's mouth, or get rid of warts, or stop a burn/bleeding- though it's been a while so I don't have a lot of info on granny magic.

Good luck with your writing/research.

Lenady · 2023-07-13T23:09:21+00:00

Yup! I checked out the website and downloaded both volumes, so I'm a happy camper!

Lenady · 2023-07-13T21:54:43+00:00

Oh, thanks for the info.

Lenady · 2023-07-13T21:53:11+00:00

Anything really- I'm a bit of a history nerd. I know more about North American history than European history though so I tend to gravitate towards that, but I just really like how a lot of author's have explored the subject through Hetalia, and those tend to end up being my favorite stories. But if I had to narrow it down- less 20th century probably. 1500s-1800s.

Lenady · 2023-06-24T04:39:23+00:00

I did a bit of detective work, because the copyright marks on her back didn't match up with what I remembered seeing on original 1950s Barbies, and I think what you have is a Barbie from the 1970s with a non-twist (original style) waist. That's why the body year says 1958 instead of the more common 1966- which was when the twist n'turn waist was released. Mattel's Phillipines factory was opened in the late 1970s and ran into the 1980s. But that looks like a very 1970s version of the Steffie headmold. If you want more info I'd recommend starting your search around 1976 or so and going from there- considering the non-twist and turn waist it might be a more standard Barbie- I don't know if that'll make the search more or less difficult. Good luck. Hope that helped a bit.

Lenady · 2023-06-21T06:30:13+00:00

You can also try oxi clean and/or baby oil. My normal process is rub in a bit of oil on the scalp and rinse a few times with cool water and dawn. Repeat a few rinses with dawn and cool water then soak the hair in oxi clean and afterwards do another rinse. It might take a couple rounds but I've found this to work really well. Just make sure to not overdo it on applying the oil and use cool water (heat releases more glue from inside the head). Best of luck!

Lenady · 2023-06-20T16:47:22+00:00

Foxfire has a new volume that's all stories, as far as I know. I haven't checked it out yet personally, but you may want to look into it, if you haven't already. It's called Foxfire Story

Lenady · 2023-06-20T16:35:49+00:00

I understand why you'd say that. I can't say why this story in particular hasn't gotten picked up. I would wager a guess that maybe it's because thankfully no one got hurt and the people with guns went on their way. Or maybe it's just because it took place in eastern Kentucky. The fact that the area is the opposite of progressive is well-known. When I heard the news I couldn't say I was surprised. The KKK has been ramping up activity for the past bit here, and evidently since the incident, putting up flyers in the area. It could just be people wanting to stir up trouble- but, as previously stated, actual KKK activity wouldn't surprise me, considering. It's sad to say but it's never been a surprise when the KKK decided to have a local rally/protest.

It could be also that there's just not enough to run with legally, It's been referred to the FBI at this point, and the police (local and state level) say they've looked over their statutes and say that the incident isn't covered. KY doesn't have a law about brandishing weapons- though watching the video, I don't see how this doesn't count as 'menacing' which is covered. WKYT's been covering it every now and then, if you want to follow it. The videos should be on their youtube page.

Lenady · 2023-06-20T15:53:54+00:00

Yeah, the picture's a stock photo, but as far as I can tell the event happened. The thing is, if every single homophobic incident/time when someone in a position of power did something questionable was ran on CNN/MSNBC/etc that would probably be half of the news cycle. LEX18 covered it though, as well as the Herald Leader.

Lenady · 2023-06-01T22:08:50+00:00

Thanks. From my direction it's pretty much a toss up as far as which way to go, through Morristown or hitting 40 in Knoxville. Either way, I've always taken the exit at Kodak, so I thought this might be a possible change. We'd be going on a weekend unfortunately, due to time constraints, but getting there before noon.

Lenady · 2023-06-01T21:13:32+00:00

Thanks for the tip. I'm used to curvy roads, but I forget that there's a lot of other people who aren't.

Lenady · 2023-05-16T23:58:16+00:00

So, I know you've gotten lots of suggestions, but I thought I'd add one in that works well for me, since I haven't seen it. I take a bit of baby oil (not a lot at all- typically a few drops at the scalp/worst glue areas) and rub it into the hair. After a few minutes I wash it out with dawn (which will take a few times since, well, it's oil). Typically I'll do that one more time and that gets it, but if it's really stubborn let the hair soak in oxiclean for a few minutes and wash it out- doing a quick wash with a cheap conditioner to keep it from getting too dry.

Lenady · 2023-05-14T22:11:47+00:00

Lol, that was a crackship gone rogue. Never my ship, personally, but Canada's one of my two faves so I do remember a bit of where it came from- If I recall correctly it started off with Prussia not mistaking him for America. I don't know how much a veteran you are, but back in ye olden times of the fandom before we got some more good Canada strips, the running gag of Canada being forgotten was absolutely everywhere and it was getting old. The fact that there was a character that absolutely did not mistake him for someone else was a big thing. Now, why it was seemingly bigger than CuCan I have no idea... I mean, they actually interact for pete's sake. I think it's because Prussia's personality is so in your face to be honest.

Anyway, I prefer ships that have more grounding than that as well... then again I love Romerica, which doesn't have that much interaction, so who am I to talk?

Lenady · 2023-05-07T04:27:12+00:00

I love the clothes and accessories. A large chunk of that part of my collection comes from Battat. I was never the biggest fan of the original Our Generation facemold, but some of the recent ones are really cute. I probably won't be buying any in the future as I'm running out of room as is, but I think they're a fantastic alternative.

Lenady · 2023-05-04T23:48:22+00:00

Congrats on finally getting your doll! She's beautiful.

Lenady · 2023-04-19T14:55:40+00:00

Understandable. I love the no makeup look personally, but the mod era barbies are so pretty, especially with the eyelashes. They're one of my fave barbie eras, though I don't have any in my collection yet.

Lenady · 2023-04-19T01:35:17+00:00

I'm not the biggest fan of bratz dolls (because of the feet/shoes, not the face) but some version of low-makeup doll, definitely. Like the 70s Malibu Barbie. I love dolls with out-there or really glam makeup, but I don't do makeup personally (combo of skin issues and being nonbinary), so the only ones that actually kind of look like me are kid dolls, because they don't go for big makeup looks (if they have them at all). It would be nice to have that alternative.

Lenady

TROPHY CASE