Trish > Recent Status Updates

My my ... I love the mystery of what the korrigans want and who the baddie is / what they want.

To be honest, I thought a certain someone would spend more time in The Lost Lands and maybe gather some insider info but no ... better for her, though. *lol*

Oh Isabeau! *sighs*

I understand the temptation of using magic (enchantments) to solve problems, but the problem is always the same: if you're not careful or magic's master, it'll screw you over.

Once again, I LOVE how the author has skilfully woven mythology into real history. I had never heard of the korriganed before (I know them under different names) but find myself reading up on A LOT of Brittany's mythology.

25 years ago today, the world changed forever. Whether you were in America or not, whether you were American or not - the reverberations were felt.

On September 9, 2001, something unprecedented happened when terrorists hijacked planes, flying them into the World Trade Center / the Pentagon, and would have weaponized at least one more, probably flying it into the Capitol.

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I was visiting my parents on their vacation and the camping ground they are staying at has a free library. Quite a big one, too. In it, I found this little gem of the legendary German comedian and cartoonist Loriot.



I grew up with one of his movies and many of his cartoons on TV so I had to read this even though I had already started another book.

Hm ... some aspects of this book remind me of the movie Legend. I wonder where the author is taking this delightful tale now that we no longer only have the difficult power struggles and the question of is-there-or-is-there-not-a-real-unicorn but also a "time traveller", for lack of a better description.

It might only be September 1, but I'm ready to say

A friend & I went on a trip to the Zugspitze with our dogs:


We stayed in a small town called Grainau, then hiked to places like the Windebeutelalm (Windbeutel = pastries, Alm = wanderers' hut; it's famous for enormous ones):


The highlight was going to the Eibsee though:

Really nice start!

I've never seen Cesar Milan's show though I am aware of his program thanks to my sister. My colleague coincidentally gifted me this book when my puppy moved in so here we are.

There are a few concepts where I have to raise my eyebrows, Spock-style, but I'm otherwise relatively fine with his teachings so far.

I know this is basically trash; if it was a b-movie, it would be one of the worse ones; but I also like the body count. MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Knowing the dogs they are talking about in various chapters as examples of the concepts they are explaining in this book is pretty cool. :D

I personally met them all but only had contact with four directly (they own 21, one is a Jack Russel, the others are all GSDs). The one I had most contact with, though, was BA (who is the pack leader so to speak). It helps giving the explanations another dimension.

A wealth of knowledge here from two people who have been living and working with dogs for a long time ... and yet I find myself disagreeing a time or two. Not regarding the basics, but the devil is in the details.

*lol* I just realized this was published in 2018/2019 already! How did I miss it? How I noticed? I checked the pub date because I thought it weird that in a book written / published in 2025 (I assumed), there is a scene where an iPhone had to be put into a plastic bag to protect it from water. More fool me.

I always love the beginning of these when the shit hits the fan and terrible people get their comeuppance.

Definitely a different book from the first. I like that we get the perspective of both authors separately - they think alike and yet have different takes on the single topics.

🇺🇸🥳 HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!! 🇺🇸🥳





Prepare for a photo dump of the best and most impressive installations and performances on this very special birthday. :D

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The heat here has been almost unbearable for the past 2 weeks so there hasn't been a lot of hiking. Today, I tried to escape the heat by going to the largest waterfalls in Germany: the Triberger Wasserfälle. Here are some impressions:





More pictures and videos below.

Lots of stories about previous and current dogs and less about the owner now. I don't mind either way because they are all very interesting. :)

The pictures were really nice, too! Lots of impressions from the long hike they went on, and a few others (like from his dog food business).

Y'all, IT'S HAPPENING! I'm gonna be a dog mom!!! 🥳🥳🥳






Meet Nero. He'll move in on July 11th. I can't wait!

The hike has started now.
Funny, how even a dog trainer like Mario Jessat had to teach his dogs a thing or two before he could actually go on the hike.

He mentions a documentary shot about the hike and the historic significance of his dogs' breed as well as of the route they're taking - I saw that documentary and liked it very much. You can still find it on Youtube too (only in German though).

Interesting how this book is written 100% how imagine Mario Jessat talks. It makes him jump back and forth (past and present) relatively often, connecting annecdotes from different times in his life, but this (amongst other things) gives he whole story a very distinct charm.

I expected something from this title.

So far, it's practically a biography with a heavy dose of self-aggrandizement. Sure, some books from all kinds of genres are mentioned, but only in reference to the author.

No mention on the psychology of storytelling; no mention of differences amongst nations / cultures; no mention of what might be done to facilitate or encourage reading in young and old people.

More bullshit. This time about her dog, a working line US German Shepherd. It's simply not true that they are not recommended for first-time dog owners. Yes, you need to be well prepared and can't not train them but that is true for any dog, even though people don't wanna admit it. The puppy phase she's describing is also standard for most breeds. But this way, it sounds more "badass", I guess. *rolls eyes*

...

So let me get this straight: she walks on trails in bear country with no bear spray but when a kind woman gives her a can (as a gift), she makes a sarcastic remark about it having expired, despite that stuff not REALLY expiring and it being better than nothing. I can't even with this person!

The amount of wrongful statements in this book is staggering!

There are bears and wolves all over Europe, even in the western countries like Italy, Germany etc (the author claimed the Carpathians were the home of the last of these animals in Europe).

Sooo ... at first her family doesn't understand her and it's all a VERY big deal but all of a sudden, without another word on it, she spends the remainder of the pandemic with them like it was a matter of course, instead making ANOTHER big deal of leaving the Catholic Church after never having mentioned religion before?! Oh but it's all so she can tie it back to her former marriage. Riiiight. 🙄

This "woman" ... I swear (literally)!

Now she's trying to make the point that women only shave for men. Honey, I got news for you: some of us do NOT think of men 100% of the time and we just like hygiene. I'm also the one deciding whether I want to brush my hair or not, and I DO like washing, thank you VERY much. That, too, is freedom / emancipation. Maybe she should have tried THAT.

What is getting to ...

If she doesn't stop calling misogynistic places "conservative", I'm gonna scream!

Yes, if you go certain places, you know what you're getting yourself into - especially as a woman traveling solo. The landscapes can still be breathtaking etc, but making excuses while constantly being on a guilt trip for being European is not just ridiculous but misogynistic in and of itself, ironically enough!

And oh, the irony ...

Urgh!

Now white/western guilt. The accusations of a guy the author met were mostly factually incorrect, by the way. Not to mention how the author downplays serious issues in favor of flat platitudes.

I'm THIS close to abandoning the book.

I don't know what annoys me more: the "love" affair or how naive she is - in places like Pakistan at that! And let me tell you: I'm so over her styling herself as this awesome feminist breaking ground for female travelers and whatnot while also making horrible excuses for women-oppressing regimes / cultures!

Hopefully, we'll move away from that corner of the world and soon!