Carie Juettner

4 Things I’m Thankful For

1. Being Surrounded by Animals

I’ve always loved animals. When I was a kid, I was that weird student who wanted to share with the class (and/or anyone who would listen or was trapped in a car or school bus with me) how many pets I had and what all of their names were. When I played MASH (the fortune-telling game that revealed who you would marry and other important aspects of your future life such as what kind of car you’d drive) I always included a section for pets and listed exactly how many animals I would own, down to every last horse and fish.

Not much has changed. I don’t have any horses or fish, but I still love animals and am grateful that my life includes so many for me to snuggle and visit and observe and help. I have a sweet old dog sleeping behind me right now and a silly young cat currently running from window to window chirping at something outside, probably the two outdoor cats I take care of or one of our many squirrels. My family members have cats and dogs and kittens I get to visit and play with, and our yard is home to opossums and raccoons and rabbits and gray foxes.

Here’s a 5-minute video of some of the critters who visit our property. It includes fox zoomies.

Now that I’ve started volunteering with the North Texas Wildlife Center, I’ve had the privilege of enjoying some up-close encounters with local wildlife, like feeding baby squirrels, bathing baby opossums, and administering medicine to injured armadillos. I’m thankful to be a part of this organization full of hard-working, big-hearted people doing their best to rescue and rehabilitate wounded and orphaned wildlife.

Interacting with animals fuels my soul. I’m so grateful that I have so many fur babies in my life to love.

Visit https://ntxwildlife.org/ to make a donation!

2. Easy Access to Fresh Air

Along with my passion for animals comes a general love of nature. Although I’m not a rock-climber or a hard-core camper, I love going on hikes and taking walks and just being outside looking at the sky or taking a few deep breaths or reading a book. I was well into adulthood before I understood just how important outside time is to my mental health. I need windows, but I also need a quick escape to the other side of the window. I recently stayed in a ninth-floor hotel room, and it bothered me that I couldn’t test the weather without walking down a hall, taking an elevator, and crossing a lobby. Checking the temperature on my phone just isn’t the same thing. I’m grateful to live in a place where I can pop outside any time I want. In fact, I think I’ll do that now…

I’m back inside now, but I need to wrap up this post because that porch swing is calling my name.

3. My Love of Books

This is not the same thing as being thankful for books, although I am. I’m thankful that I love books. Some people love shoes or jewelry or fancy electronics or cars or designer purses. My favorite things to buy are books. I’m glad that when I splurge on something, it’s because I’ve spent $25 on a hardback book. When I give into an impulse buy, I support an author. When I put “just one more” item in my cart, it means I’m bringing more words into my home, to enjoy and appreciate and keep or pass on to someone else when I’m done.

I could have a hobby that’s unhealthy or a collection that drains my bank account or a craving for something I could never afford. I’m thankful that my heart wants to indulge in stories instead.

Time and money well-spent in my opinion.

4. The Wait

I can be a very impatient person, but when it comes to submitting writing for publication, I appreciate the wait. There’s a lot of instant gratification in the world today. 24/7 headlines, same-day delivery, popular word games that take a fraction of the time of doing a crossword. Think of a question, Google the answer. But sometimes that quick gratification isn’t so gratifying. Such fast results leave us with a lot of time on our hands. What do we do with it? Ask more things, look up more answers, flood our brains with more information than we can handle. Humans were meant to wonder. These days our wonder often gets wasted.

Unless you’re a writer.

The publishing world still moves slowly, leaving time—sometimes a lot of it—between the question and the answer. I kind of like it. The wait gives me time to wonder, to imagine getting accepted, to picture winning a prize, to visualize receiving a rejection, or simply to forget about it completely until a surprise response arrives in my inbox. Whether the result is good news or bad, sometimes it’s nice not to know immediately.

I’ve had a bit of both outcomes recently. I submitted a story to a flash fiction contest in July and waited, wondering, until September when I learned it had reached the final round of judging. Then I waited and wondered some more until I found it did not end up placing in the contest. That’s ok. By then, I’d already noticed ways I could make the story better, and it felt nice knowing my words had made it so far.

Also in July, I submitted several poems to the Poetry Society of Texas’s annual contests. That wait was a bit longer, giving me time to speculate about which ones might catch the judge’s eye, time to feel confident, then insecure, then back again. In November, PST awarded me with three first place prizes. My poems “Blues,” “Reading Poetry During a Thunderstorm,” and “Did I Miss Anything?” received cash prizes and will all be published next year. I was thrilled to hear this news, but it was definitely much more rewarding due to the wait.

I vastly prefer reasonable waits to extremely long waits. Waits where you know when the wait will be over are the best waits.

*** * ***

There is so much more I’m thankful for, but these are the ones I want to share today. I wish all my readers a happy, healthy, relaxing week spent surrounded by the people, animals, or things you love. What are four things you’re thankful for this year?

Growing Faces: A Creepy Autumn Poem

Ever since I was a kid, one my favorite Halloween decorations at my parents’ house has also been one of the most simple. Every year, my mom hangs “the witch’s laundry” on their clothesline. Black dresses and old Halloween costumes and a witch hat or two dangle there, cute and funny in the daytime and a little creepy at night when the wind makes a sleeve reach for you out of the darkness or your flashlight catches a shadowy shape just so. Cute and creepy– my favorite combination.

Now that we live right behind my parents, I treat their backyard as mine again, wandering through it at all hours, and I’ve been enjoying seeing the witch’s laundry swaying in the October breeze. One day recently, I got an idea and posed for a photo at the clothesline.

The picture reminded me of a line from a poem I wrote a few years ago. It was published in the 2019-2020 edition of Best Austin Poetry after winning the “Unexpected Award” in their annual contests that year. I wrote “Growing Faces” after seeing a face in a tree trunk, then imagining other objects acquiring human (or not-so-human) characteristics. I had fun creating the wordplay in this poem and hope you enjoy the imagery it conjures.

Growing Faces

The tree outside my window is growing faces.
The creek behind my fence is growing limbs.
The wind inside my chimney is growing voices.
The fog across the lake is growing skin.

The laundry on my clothesline is growing legs.
The chimes in my garden are growing lungs.
The cobwebs in my corners are growing eggs.
The loose boards on my staircase are growing tongues.

The street outside my house is growing shoulders.
The lids on my secrets are growing styes.
The cave beneath my land is growing molars.
The darkness beyond my lamp is growing eyes.

The cracks along my sidewalk are growing fingers.
The holes in my back porch are growing nails.
The inkblots on my paper are growing stingers.
The stories in my head are growing tails.

Enjoy the rest of October and have a
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

What Was That Noise?… Fill-in-the-Blank Story Reveal & Book Giveaway Winners!

Thank you to everyone who participated in my October story activity and book giveaway! You’ve waited long enough, so let’s get to the good stuff.

I received 32 entries for my fill-in-the-blank story activity and laughed so hard reading the various tales they created. I narrowed the entries down to 14 finalists and sent those anonymously to my guest judges… my niece and nephew! Austin and Caitlin, both recent graduates of Texas Tech University, are qualified judges of spooky, silly stories due to their excellent senses of humor and the fact that they grew up in our crazy Halloween-loving family and spent their childhood being scared by the annual haunted trail through my parents’ backyard. A big thanks for the time they took to select the story winners.

Interesting note: Austin and Caitlin did not judge together. I sent the finalists to them separately, and they both chose the SAME FOUR ENTRIES, so these were obviously the best. Without further ado, I give you the four most entertaining versions of…

What Was That Noise?

“What Was That Noise?” by Logan L.

It’s after midnight, and you’re alone in your SPOOKY, BLACK house. At least, you think you are. You’ve just finished eating a bowl of TURKEY and are brushing your SKULL when you hear an ORANGE noise from the living room. Tiptoeing CREEPILY down the hallway, you whisper, “I hope it’s not a PUMPKIN PATCH .” Suddenly, something lands in front of you with a loud MWUHHAHAHAHA. You SQUISH backwards in fright, then relax as you realize it’s only a GRIM REAPER. But where did it come from? Slowly, you round the corner of the living room. In the darkness, two GREEN glowing eyes appear. All the hairs on your SPINE stand up as the eyes RUN closer and closer. Then, they pounce! “HOLY JESUS!” you scream as something WHITE and GREY collides with you. That’s when you realize, it’s only CLYDE , your pet GIRAFFE . You lift them up, laughing at how much FEAR you felt before. But that’s only because you don’t know what CLYDE was really staring at. Their eyes grow large as over your shoulder they see the DARK BLUE AND GREEN monster with 9767.1 heads RUNNING up behind you with BLOOD dripping from all of its fangs.

“What Was That Noise?” by Abigail H.

It’s after midnight, and you’re alone in your HAIRY, SLIMY house. At least, you think you are. You’ve just finished eating a bowl of TIRAMISU and are brushing your HIPS when you hear a BUMPY noise from the living room. Tiptoeing QUICKLY down the hallway, you whisper, “I hope it’s not a HIPPOPOTAMUS.” Suddenly, something lands in front of you with a loud CRUNCHING. You DOUBLE PIKE backwards in fright, then relax as you realize it’s only a PUMPKIN. But where did it come from? Slowly, you round the corner of the living room. In the darkness, two OLIVE GREEN glowing eyes appear. All the hairs on your THUMB stand up as the eyes SKIPPING closer and closer. Then, they pounce! “OMG !” you scream as something FLUFFY and STINKY collides with you. That’s when you realize, it’s only LAYLA , your pet PLATYPUS . You lift them up, laughing at how much GUILT you felt before. But that’s only because you don’t know what LAYLA was really staring at. Their eyes grow large as over your shoulder they see the MAGENTA, SHINY monster with 65,910 heads FROLICKING up behind you with PINK LEMONADE dripping from all of its fangs.

Double-piking backwards is a great move. Simone Biles could definitely escape a monster.

“What Was That Noise?” by Pat Kinder

It’s after midnight, and you’re alone in your EERIE, MISSHAPEN house. At least, you think you are. You’ve just finished eating a bowl of CHILI CHEESE DOGS and are brushing your LEFT NOSTRIL when you hear a REPULSIVE noise from the living room. Tiptoeing CLUMSILY down the hallway, you whisper, “I hope it’s not a CHANDELIER.” Suddenly, something lands in front of you with a loud THUNDEROUS BOOM. You SKITTER backwards in fright, then relax as you realize it’s only a WITCH’S CAULDRON. But where did it come from? Slowly, you round the corner of the living room. In the darkness, two SMOKE GREY glowing eyes appear. All the hairs on your TONGUE stand up as the eyes BOUND closer and closer. Then, they pounce! “GHASTLY GOBLIN EYES!” you scream as something SHIMMERING and BONE-CHILLING collides with you. That’s when you realize, it’s only STONEY, your pet ANTEATER. You lift them up, laughing at how much FEAR you felt before. But that’s only because you don’t know what STONEY was really staring at. Their eyes grow large as over your shoulder they see the ENORMOUS, EXHAUSTED monster with SEVEN heads HYPERVENTILATING up behind you with VINEGAR dripping from all of its fangs.

Ok, full disclosure? Pat Kinder is the guest judges’ father. But they read the contest entries anonymously, so there were no shenanigans at play. This is Pat last Halloween.

“What Was That Noise?” by Annie Neugebauer

It’s after midnight, and you’re alone in your SPRITELY, STINKY house. At least, you think you are. You’ve just finished eating a bowl of CANDY CORN and are brushing your SKULL when you hear a FUNKY noise from the living room. Tiptoeing SWIFTLY down the hallway, you whisper, “I hope it’s not a PUMPKIN.” Suddenly, something lands in front of you with a loud SNORT . You FLY backwards in fright, then relax as you realize it’s only a BOOGER. But where did it come from? Slowly, you round the corner of the living room. In the darkness, two ORANGE glowing eyes appear. All the hairs on your NOSE stand up as the eyes SQUEEZE closer and closer. Then, they pounce! “YIKES !” you scream as something SNARKY and MACABRE collides with you. That’s when you realize, it’s only ELIZABETH SPRIGSLY , your pet PENGUIN . You lift them up, laughing at how much ANGER you felt before. But that’s only because you don’t know what ELIZABETH SPRIGSLY was really staring at. Their eyes grow large as over your shoulder they see the HAUGHTY, GOOEY monster with NINE heads SPURTING up behind you with SUNNY DELIGHT dripping from all of its fangs.

Annie Neugebauer is an award-winning horror author, so it’s no wonder her story was chosen! Check out her website to read some of her truly terrifying tales. BEWARE: Annie mostly writes for adult audiences.

Awesome job, Logan, Abigail, Pat and Annie! Those were some creative word lists. I can’t stop laughing at the idea of the hair on your tongue standing up (ew) and the fact that in Annie’s story, the sound was a “snort” and the object turned out to be a booger. LOL! If your story didn’t make the cut, don’t worry. You can read your version of “What Was That Noise?” by filling in your words to the blanks below.

“What Was That Noise?” — A Fill-in-the-Blanks Story

It’s after midnight, and you’re alone in your 1. ________, 2. ________ house. At least, you think you are. You’ve just finished eating a bowl of 3. ________ and are brushing your 4. ________ when you hear a 5. ________ noise from the living room. Tiptoeing 6. ________ down the hallway, you whisper, “I hope it’s not a 7. ________.” Suddenly, something lands in front of you with a loud 8. ________. You 9. ________ backwards in fright, then relax as you realize it’s only a/an 10. ________. But where did it come from? Slowly, you round the corner of the living room. In the darkness, two 11. ________ glowing eyes appear. All the hairs on your 12. ________ stand up as the eyes 13. ________ closer and closer. Then, they pounce! “14. ________!” you scream as something 15. ________ and 16. ________ collides with you. That’s when you realize, it’s only 17. ________, your pet 18. ________. You lift them up, laughing at how much 19. ________ you felt before. But that’s only because you don’t know what 20. ________ was really staring at. Their eyes grow large as over your shoulder they see the 21. ________, 22. ________ monster with 23. ________ heads 24. ________ up behind you with 25. ________ dripping from all of its fangs.

Spooky America Book Giveaway

And now… (drum roll)… for the winners of the book giveaway!

I wanted Indigo to help me choose the lucky recipients. This is how that turned out…

In the end, I had to get Uno to help instead…

Congratulations to Emerson Z and Evelyn W! You’re winners! You both get to choose a signed Spooky America book. I’ll be contacting you today to find out which title you want and where to send it.

Thanks again for helping make my favorite month even more fun. Enjoy your last week before Halloween, and remember to be careful when investigating those strange noises. You never know when it might be a grim reaper or a booger.