Steven Helmer Publications

It was kind of muggy out today and the mosquitoes were flying around in massive numbers. But, I did survive my walk and didn't even shorten it. There, surprisingly, weren't too many critters out today (maybe when it cools down a bit tomorrow). However, I did still manage to get these photos:

My wife and I didn't have solid dinner plans last night so, as is usually the case when that happens, I wound up stopping at the grocery store on my way home and picking up a couple frozen pizzas for dinner. Since my daughters just like cheese pizza, I wound up getting them a cheap brand. But, I was in the mood to try something a little different so, after some consideration, I purchased the Pep's Drafthaus Prohibition Special for my wife and I. At $8.99, this pizza was more expensive than I would normally prefer to spend on a frozen pizza and, because of that, I did have some second thoughts about my purchase. However, cooking this pizza on our pizza oven last night and giving it a try, I do have to say I was very impressed with it. One of the reasons I took a chance on this brand when I saw it in the freezer was it looked like it had quite a few toppings on it. This included a lot of cheese, sausage, mushrooms, pepperoni, peppers and onions. Since lack of topping...

Assuming reports of Andrew Lincoln's exit from The Walking Dead are true, the series, which will be entering its 9th season, will need to find a replacement for long-time survivor leader Rick Grimes. With Lauren Cohan's (Maggie) future on the series also in flux, the obvious choice for new lead actor would seem to be Norman Reedus (Daryl). But, while Reedus, who has been with the series from the start, has obviously paid his dues, I'm not sure he would be the best choice. Sure, Daryl is a fan favorite and there is part of me that would be interested in seeing how the group's lone wolf handles a position of responsibility. But, I also think the show would be considerably better if AMC offered the lead to Jeffrey Dean Morgan and center the show around the villainous Negan instead. I have a few reasons for wanting to see this: 1. Negan is just more charismatic . It's not that I don't like Daryl Dixon. It's just I always looked at him as being ...

Yes, it's just a a certificate from her dance school (which was awarded last night at her dance team banquet). But, I do take a lot of pride in this one. My daughters aren't well behaved 100 percent of the time (what kid is?). However, one thing they do understand is dance/ice skating is a privilege and those activities cost their mother and I a pretty penny. So, when they participate, they make sure to give their full attention because they know we are paying for it. Certificates like this one and the award her older sister won earlier this month just show they are doing that.

I had to run to the store Sunday afternoon and, while there, picked up something for dinner. I couldn't make up my mind about what I wanted, however, so I wound up buying a couple different options, including the Gourmet Dining Chicken Alfredo frozen skillet dinner. I ultimately ended up making this product, which I purchased for $5.35, yesterday evening. We had had a barbecue earlier in the day and my wife and I were starting to get a bit hungry so I figured it would be an easy light dinner. After having it, my opinion of it was a bit mixed. As far as taste goes, I didn't have any real complaints. It was a decent-enough dinner given the price. And, it proved to be more filling than I was expecting it to be, though we didn't have any leftovers and I doubt it would have been enough if the kids had eaten it with us. I had two major issues with this product. The first is I wasn't overly impressed by the multiple steps. I had to start the chicken cooking separately...

It's pretty hot and humid out right now but I still managed to get my full walk in today (making sure to hydrate before and after). Surprisingly, I really didn't see as much as I thought I would. I figured birds, rabbits, etc. would be scarce because of the heat. But, I thought I would see a lot more turtles and snakes than I did (just one snake and one really small turtle). Despite that, I did manage to get a few photos today:

I'm not 100 percent sure what this was. I just saw it moving around in a hollowed-out log and managed to get a very dark photo of its nose and eye before it ducked back in.

Synopsis : Ivory hunter Allan Quatermain is hired to track down the missing brother of a British aristocrat who set off in search of diamond mines owned by the biblical King Solomon and was never seen again. Review : I watched the 1950 movie based off of this book some time ago. But, while I remember liking the film, I couldn't remember much about the overall plot. So, when I finally had a chance to read the book over the past couple of weeks, I did so without knowing what to expect. At first, I wasn't really sure I would like this book. This is because it took a little while to get started and, for a while, I thought the story was going to be about Quatermain and his group hunting elephants until they stumbled upon the diamond mines. But, as the book progressed, it did manage to get much more interesting, with the hunter and his companions facing death by thirst in a desert, death by starvation on a mountain and, ultimately, death by spear when they come across an a...

I'm sure there are chores I should be doing today, but I just have no energy and I think it's from the weather. I'm a Wisconsinite. I can handle the cold. This hot, humid stuff, however, takes its toll and, considering we had the furnace on just a week ago, I haven't even bothered with the air conditioner yet. I'm just glad I decided to mow on Friday. That took a lot out of me as it was. This weather would have killed me.

Synopsis: Struggling with life after college, the Bellas decide to join a USO tour in Europe. In addition to providing entertainment for military troops, the tour is also a competition and the winner will work for  DJ Khaled. However, their competition is able to use musical instruments. Meanwhile, Fat Amy is reunited with her estranged father, a criminal who may have an ulterior motive for tracking her down. Who's in it? The movie stars Anna Kendrick , Rebel Wilson , Brittany Snow , Anna Camp and John Lithgow. Review: When we got this film through Netflix over our three-day weekend, I wasn't really sure what to expect from it. I didn't hate the first sequel , but I also thought the original film was significantly better. As a result, I had some serious doubts about the third installment of this movie series. My wife and I watched it last night, however, and it turned out to be much better than I was expecting. I had two major complaints about this movie. The ...

Just a photo of a robin perched outside my front window this morning.

Mouse is usually our good cat but, last night he (along with his brother, Echo ) was being kind of a pest. And, this morning, he decided he wanted to be up on the counter, something he normally never does. I think it might be because our daughter, Summer, spent the night at a friend's house last night. He seems to have some separation issues when she's not around.

Synopsis: A cargo plane carrying coffee beans from South America crashes in a small, drought-stricken California town. In addition to its cargo and crew, the plane carries a swarm of deadly spiders that quickly escape and begin biting local residents. To make matters worse, the spiders move into a warehouse containing the town's newly-picked orange crop and residents must find a way to kill the arachnids without ruining the oranges and sending the town into financial ruin. Who's in it? The movie stars Claude Akins , Deborah Winters , Pat Hingle , Howard Hesseman and Charles Frank . Review: My youngest daughter was invited to a birthday party/sleepover at her friend's house last night and my wife was invited to join the other moms for a while as well. So, since it was just my oldest daughter and me, we ended up watching this movie. This was the first time I had heard of this film and I wasn't really sure what to expect from it. But, since movies involving ...

I was starting to doze off in the recliner so I decided to go outside in an attempt to pull some more weeds from the garden. But, it's pretty darn hot outside right now and, since I'm still a little sore from mowing in the heat yesterday, I decided to take it easy and grabbed my camera instead. Here are some of the photos from my back yard.

My wife had to do some shopping yesterday afternoon and, while at Wal-mart with the kids, decided to pick up something for dinner. She came across this item and picked it up with the intention of adding some vegetables and making stir fry. She did just that last night and I was very impressed with this meat. This is primarily because I enjoyed how it was seasoned. It had just enough to give it some flavor without the meat being too spicy or peppery. It complemented the vegetables well as a result. I also liked the fact the meat wasn't too tough. This has been the case with similar products we've purchased in the past and is a big reason why I usually don't buy products like this. But, in this case, the meat was just the way it should have been. As a result of all of this, I do think this is a product I would purchase again, either to make beef steak sandwiches or something else, like the stir fry we had last night. If you come across this while shopping, I would re...

It's pretty warm out there right now and I plan on mowing later so, in addition to making sure I'm hydrating, I decided to keep my walk a little shorter than normal. I did, however, manage to get a few photos while I was out, including what I'm showing below.

I braved the mosquitoes this morning and went in search of the deer I saw yesterday morning . I didn't find it. But, I did manage to get a video of this carp (at least I think it is a carp) splashing around in one of the ponds.

Where is my ship? I keep watching the horizon for it, but it's just not there. So I stand here waiting Even though I think I have more than earned my fare. Image courtesy of Pixabay Other people have had their ships arrive And are sailing to some sort of exotic resort. Yet, here I still stand watching for it On the same old broken-down port. I'm not asking for it to be a giant yacht. Just about any ship would do. Heck, at this point, I'd probably settle for a canoe. Image courtesy of Pixabay Where is my ship? Was it hijacked by pirates? Was the captain drunk? Because, at this point, I'm starting to wonder if my ship has sunk.

Beautiful day out today, with temperatures reaching the 80s. I went out at lunch as a result of this, mostly so I could look for the deer I saw this morning . Predictably, it wasn't anywhere to be found and I opted not to try to find the fawn since I didn't want to disturb it. I did, however, manage to get a few other photos while I was out:

I'm not sure what startled our cat, Echo , last night. All I know is, I had just sat down on the couch and he came flying through the room, leaped onto the arm rest and, while he was doing that, landed back-claws-first into my arm. It took a while to stop the bleeding last night.

Ironically, I was just telling someone yesterday I surprisingly never see any deer in the park because, in addition to being in the country, it is a big marsh. Well, this morning, I heard some branches breaking in a grove of trees and saw two white tails running away from me. I then decided to circle around to see if I could re-locate the deer and apparently walked past this one without seeing it because it came running up from behind me. Fortunately, the deer paused for a moment (I was standing still so it couldn't tell what I was at first) and I was able to get some photos. If you look closely at the last picture, you'll see a second set of ears. I'm pretty sure that's a fawn.

It was kind of humid out and I had to contend with a ton of mosquitoes. But, I wanted to take advantage of having the sun out for the first time in days and went for a walk anyway. I didn't see a ton while I was out, mostly because I was watching my step (I didn't want to lose a shoe in the mud) and partly because there was someone training a hunting dog and using fire crackers to get it used to loud noises. But, I did manage the few photos shown below:

It's still kind of wet out but I decided to squeeze in a walk before going to the office this morning. Because of the humidity, I had to contend with my camera lens fogging up. But, I did manage to get some photos of the numerous spider webs around the park.