Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: Maggie Baird became a wealthy woman by being a mistress for a series of rich men. However, after a love affair left her heart broken, she let herself go and now lives in Lochdubh with her cancer-survivor niece Alison Kerr. Determined to regain her former glory, Maggie undergoes a transformation that involves cosmetic surgery and other expensive treatments. She then invites four men from her past in an effort to get one of them to marry her for her money. However, her plan goes awry when she is killed in a car fire. The official investigators believe it was an an unfortunate accident. However, constable Hamish Macbeth believes she was murdered.


Review: My youngest daughter had a dance event all day yesterday and, since there wasn't much else to do while hanging around the hotel, I made sure to have a couple books with me, including this one.

I've been reading Hamish Macbeth mysteries for a short while now and, so far, they have continued to impress me. This one was not…

The Beaver Dam Swan City Ice Skaters will be having their annual Swan Synchro Skate all day Saturday at the Beaver Dam Family Center.


The event will feature 41 teams and more than 500 skaters from around the country and usually has some very entertaining synchronized skating programs.

Admission is $10 for ages 5 and older. Active duty military are free with ID.

Officially, I bought this for my wife to give to me as an early Valentine's Day gift.

I finally pulled the trigger on the purchase because I recently got new health insurance and that insurance has a fitness incentive program that pays me $20 (direct deposited in my checking account) anytime I complete 10,000 or more steps at least 12 times in a month.

I do have an app on my phone that counts my steps too. But, I just don't have my phone on me 24/7 and I know I'm not getting credit for a good chunk of steps I take at home or at the office. Heck, just this morning, I had close to a 1000 steps in just from my normal morning activity of helping get the girls ready for school.

So far, it seems to be working OK. I'm still trying to figure everything out because this pretty much came with no instructions (I'm sure I can find them online, but I just haven't gone through the effort yet). However, it seems to be doing a good job keeping track of my movements and I even…

Synopsis: Still reeling from Jesus' (Tom Payne) death, Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) seek answers from a captured Whisperer (Cassady McClincy). Meanwhile, an escaped Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) discovers life outside Alexandria isn't what he expected.



Here are my thoughts from the episode, which my wife and I finally had a chance to watch yesterday evening:

1. When I was first introduced to the older version of Judith Grimes (Cailey Fleming), I liked her. Now, I'm on the fence about her. OK, to be fair, there are still a lot of things that are likable about her (I especially loved how she chastised Negan for swearing in front of her) but, I think she's being used a bit too much in a cute/comic relief-like role.
On top of it, I'm just not buying her accuracy with Rick Grime's (Andrew Lincoln) gun. She should, at minimum, be on the ground every time she fires that weapon, which is way too powerful for someone her size.
I still think she has so…

They were predicting some nasty weather today so, since I had to swing by the grocery store on my way to the office anyway, I decided to look for something for lunch (to save me the drive home). I wasn't really sure what I was in the mood for. However, I came across this product in the freezer section and decided to give it a try.

To tell you the truth, I wasn't really sure if I wanted to buy this product because I thought the $4 price was a little high considering I could buy a regular ramen cup for about 33 cents. However, I thought the chicken strips looked inviting and decided to give it a chance. After having it for lunch, my opinion was mixed.

As far as convenience goes, I had no complaints. All I had to do was add some water to the bowl and microwave it for 4 minutes, 15 seconds. There weren't a bunch of unnecessary or complicated steps and the ramen noodles did come out fully cooked.

I also thought this had a decent flavor to it. It wasn't too salty (which is …

Synopsis: When Trixie Thomas moves to Lochdubh with her husband intending to open a bed & breakfast, local constable Hamish Macbeth realizes he doesn't like her all that much. And, when she befriends the other village wives and convinces them to make healthier meals, push for a smoking ban and protest a local farmer who wants to knock down an old building that is a home for bats, many of the local husbands (and some wives) join Macbeth in his dislike. When Trixie is found poisoned, Hamish must figure out who disliked her enough to murder her.


Review: After being disappointed by my last Agatha Christie novel, I decided to give M. C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth another try and picked up this fourth novel from our local library. Normally, when I get a book like this, it takes me about a week to get through it (sometimes a little longer depending on how busy my schedule is). So, I was actually kind of surprised when I wound up reading this entire book in the course of an evening.

T…