Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: Chicago private detectives Abe Allard and CS Duffy are given the opportunity to pad their pocketbook when the wealthy Geo McMahon hires them to find a piece of art stolen from his private collection. The theft seems odd from the beginning, a sketch from a relatively unknown artist that wasn't anywhere near as valuable as the other pieces in the collection. The case becomes even stranger when similar pieces are also stolen and Abe's daughter, Matilda, comes across a message board suggesting the stolen artwork contains clues to a hidden treasure. Review: I am going to be honest and say I had some doubts about Where Art Thou when I got it through my library last week. While I did enjoy the previous two Abe & Duff books, I've always been a bigger fan of murder mysteries and the thought of them investigating a basic art theft sounded a bit dull. However, after reading it, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. There were a few things I really found I liked ab...

Synopsis: Hardened criminal Johnny Cabot is recruited by bank robber Fred Dorella for his latest heist. Cabot's job is to hold Nancy Wilson hostage in her home while Dorella demands $70,000 from her husband, Ken, the bank's vice president and to kill Nancy if he doesn't receive a phone call confirming the bank robbery's success. As the minutes wind down, Borella discovers an unexpected complication - Ken has been having an affair, plans on leaving his wife and Nancy's death would make it easier for him to marry his mistress. The movie also has the alternative title Door-to-Door Maniac . Who's in it? The movie stars Johnny Cash , Donald Woods , Cay Forester , Vic Tayback , Pamela Mason and Ron Howard . Review: While I do consider myself a Johnny Cash fan, I had completely forgotten the legendary country singer also had an acting career until I came across Five Minutes to Live on one of my movie channels. I was intrigued enough to watch it this morning and wa...

I wasn't sure if it would be worth the time putting one of my trail cameras out last night because I knew we were supposed to get a heavy rain. However, I had to take something out to the garbage bin yesterday evening and since I was already outside, figured I'd at least put one by the house. As expected, there wasn't a ton of activity because of the weather and the rain tripped the camera quite a bit more often than critters did but I did still wind up with a few photos:

My zucchini is well past the starter plant stage, but this Wisconsin weather just isn't going to work for me to put it outdoors, at least not as long as the temps are dropping to the thirties at night. So, I brought some planters and a bag of dirt to the office with me this morning and guess I'll just grow it indoors for a while. Perhaps by the end of the week I can finally take them outside, especially since I may need to do the same with my tomatoes soon.

  I spotted Lucia's Morning Melts Breakfast Pizzas a few weeks ago but decided not to get them because I thought they were a bit too expensive. However, I saw they were on sale yesterday and picked up a couple to give them a try, including the Americano Breakfast Pizza I made this morning. Unfortunately, even on sale for $4.99 each, I don't think they were worth the money. One thing I did like about this product was the ability to make it in the microwave rather than needing to dig out my pizza oven or preheat my kitchen oven. And, unlike some other microwaveable pizzas, this one did come out of the microwave with a crunchy crust. The biggest complaint I had (and my wife shared this) was all I could taste was the crust. The toppings were a bit lacking, and I didn't think it had a whole lot of flavor.  At best, even at my most generous, I couldn't say this was any better than any other frozen breakfast pizza I've purchased. In fact, there were two brands in the same ...

The weather cooperated last night, though it was cold once again, so I put out one of the trail cameras behind the house to see what critters came to visit. It was a fairly busy night, with plenty of variety, including one of the occasional visits we get from the neighborhood raccoons. Here is a selection: