The saga of our turtle

Baby Tiny

In February 2011 we bought a tiny turtle and called him Tiny. He weighed less than 10g. My blog tells me that he grew quickly. This post I wrote three months later (with cute photo included) and he was three times heavier than when we bought him. This post was written a year later, showing dramatic growth, from small enough to conceal in a 12 year old's palm, to as big as that palm a year later.

Other turtle posts: 

• May 2014 when he moved out for 15 months while we were in Australia.
• June 2016 when we took him by bike to a summer vacation at a friend's house while we went away during the summer for a few weeks.

Other times I've wrote about him on Facebook, not necessarily here. Like his escapes:

Yes, and his tendency this year to bite. I'm the only one who was "got", but it made me quite shy of picking him up.

Then two weeks ago he permanently moved out! We gave him away at Thrift Shop and he's landed in a great situation. On the Monday after he left, I wrote a bit of the backstory, but I've since found out more.

He's gone to a small Christian school. (Yes, we have warned them about the biting and escaping.) 

Last I heard he'd become a school project. The grade Ones were researching how to look after him. Some of the other grades were going to work on building him a better habitat. They are all on a roster to care for him, grade-by-grade. The Grade Ones were excited to be first up.

I'm so happy that he's got a new home where he's obviously being cared for with great enthusiasm and joy. It had gotten to the point in our house where we weren't particularly enjoying him, just keeping him fed and clean. And that was mostly David! I hope that Tiny continues to give many children much joy.

It's a little bit sad that we don't have a pet anymore, though Tiny wasn't an affectionate pet and we don't miss him like you would a dog or a cat. It's sad that our lifestyle means that furry/feathery pet ownership has been unlikely (our landlord won't allow them). 

How can I finish this post without sounding callous to pet owners? I'm happy to see your photos and watch your videos, but in some ways am glad that we don't have that responsibility (or the bills). I'm especially glad that we don't have the angst of handing a beloved pet over every time we have to leave the country for Australia for an extended period, I think that would be very hard.

Today's bits

This was the view from our room last time we
were there.

I'm racing to get lots done before we leave tomorrow morning for our mission's national conference in Hokkaido (big northern island of Japan).  (See here for last time we did this in 2013 at the same hotel.)

Today after church we celebrated Father's Day (it is Father's Day here and in many countries in the world today, unlike Australia) by going out to a cafe for morning tea. It was fun to get the boys to try to remember stories about their dad.

This photo of my family I took on our way from church to the cafe for our
Father's Day celebration. It lacking clarity. I was riding my bike and
just whipped my phone out of my bag in my front basket and
snapped one shot. David just happened to turn around at that moment!
He didn't know what I was doing and I didn't call his name! Amazing.

We stopped at a hardware store on the way home to get a chicken-type wire to make a lid for our turtle who's been trying to escape his enclosure recently.

We rested after lunch, as usual on a Sunday.

What caption would you add? This was how we transported our
turtle to our friends' house. It felt a bit weird but Tiny was fine!

Then three of us took the turtle to his/her turtle-sitters for the next month. They were very, very excited. With five kids in the house I'm not sure Tiny the Turtle is going to get much peace and quiet.

I then had to make 100 biscuits to take to conference. There's one thing about conferences in Japan (or Asia in general, I guess), is that they don't really do "snack time". Hence we've been asked to provide 20 portions of snacks per person attending = 100 for us!

Then it was heating up leftovers for dinner, eating, and reading the final instalment of our family read-aloud book for a while, Drowned Wednesday by Garth Nix. (It's obviously not coming to conference with us). I've since read and sent some important emails and am writing this quick blog post.


Packing has occurred at various times through the day and continues as I write (I'm not quite finished myself...)

It's exciting to be going away (except for getting up at 5am) for the week. The conference has many things we're looking forward to:

• great fellowship,
• fantastic meals (all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast and dinner),
• swimming pools in the basement,
• luxurious onsen in the basement and on the top floor (Japanese public baths),
• networking, and
• more fellowship.

Hopefully we'll get good Bible teaching too. 

It will be nice to doing something different and to not be stuck at my desk and for the boys to be occupied. Oh, and hopefully there will be some nice weather, especially on Wednesday afternoon when we have free time, so that we can enjoy Hokkaido's rural beauty too.

However I am aware that my work doesn't stop just because I've got something like this on. The magazine is hopping on various fronts at present (three magazine at various stages on the go at present) and other matters that will need to be monitored. I'd be horrible at a traveling job: I always find it difficult to keep up with email etc. when I'm away.

But while I continue to sit here and write this, I'm not getting anything else done. So, farewell for now! 

Today's pet shock

Today's shock is that our turtle is moving out this afternoon! We knew he was moving out sometime, we organised for some friends to take him for the year, but we didn't know when they were going to pick him up. 

Tiny the Turtle, foiled a couple of weeks ago in an escape.
He's called Tiny because he was, when we got him
3 ½ yrs ago!

Life in Tokyo can be different because of the transport issue. Not many people drive to CAJ often, most travel to and from the school by train or bike or on foot. So in this case our turtle's new
family realised at lunch time that they would have their car at the school this afternoon, which is just down the road from our house, so it was a convenient time to pick up the turtle. 

Tiny's abode. The modified lid is a new addition after the
aforementioned escape bid.

He lives in a large plastic drawer that is too awkward to carry by train or bike. This is a common problem we work with as we move around this big metropolis. The other day I took some pavlova to my language exchange meeting. We meet at a Mos Burger fast food restaurant and I get there on the train (only two stops), so I needed to figure out how to transport it in a safe fashion. It was a fun challenge. I had to include plates and serving implements. I took the cream and chopped up fruit separately and assembled it at the table.

Bring and share events can have a slightly different hue because of how we get to them.

But back to today's shock. I hope the boys will be okay with this sudden change. I haven't had a chance to tell them, obviously. I don't think they're too attached to the turtle, he's not like a dog or cat that you cuddle. But still, it will be a blank spot just outside their bedrooms and a physical reminder that life is about to hold some even larger changes and challenges.

Some interesting photos

I collected the following photos over the holidays. Thought you might be interested.

I found this novelty iPhone case. Really,
can you imagine actually using this?
It is about three times the size of an iPhone.

Can you buy cans this size in Australia? You can here. That OJ is 1L, for comparison.

You've got to love the creative English spelling Japanese people get up to,
but here we have some creative capitalisation. This was in a train station.

Found this on the side of an apartment building in a nearby
suburb. Japanese name their apartment complexes. I can't imagine
how a missionary living there could give out their address!

Inner Bottom? Really?

I really don't understand the numbering system on the roads here.
I mean really, which road do you want, 299 or 299?

Our turtle trying to escape after his active time with friends
while we were in Hokkaido.

Tiny Turtle, not so tiny any more a year later

Last February in my eldest son's hand.

This February, they've both grown, but Tiny has grown faster.

Yesterday was Tiny our turtle's adoption birthday. He's been with us a year. Check out my posts from last year: here and here. And this one, an update from May, three months after we bought him. 


We haven't weighed him recently, but he weighed only 10g when we bought him. He hasn't actually grown much in the last three or four months because of the cold. He hardly moves around at all and hasn't eaten at all. Not quite hibernation, but certainly a slowing down of metabolism. This is the turtle who was begging for food in the warmer months!


Turtles aren't really a huge amount of fun for playing with, but we do appreciate him having him (or her, we're not sure, but female pronouns aren't big around here) in our house. Of course he's more interesting when he's moving around and eating, but as the weather warms he'll be more lively and interesting to watch.

Update on our pet turtle

Do you remember we have a pet - a turtle? Read about when we got him here. Tiny, as he's come to be known is not remaining tiny for long. He was about 10g when we bought him just over two months ago. Now he is 25g and you can see he is bigger (though maybe not in the photo?).

The whinging for a pet has ceased, despite the fact that the boys don't "play" with Tiny much. He is a silent presence that they appreciate, I think. 

Tiny "sunbaking" in his typical superman pose. So bold - he didn't dive into the water when I approached with the camera like he used to.

Tiny, not long after we bought him, hiding under the "rock" that he's sunbathing on above.

He's a hungry little guy, hence his huge gain in weight (think about it, nearly tripling in weight in two months). And he's escaped once, from the plastic ice-cream container where we feed him. So we're keeping a closer eye on him these days. I'm not sure how much longer we'll be able to keep him in this small aquarium. He's already finding it a little difficult to manoeuvre (now that is a weirdly spelt word!) around in there.

We took the plunge

Meet our little turtle. The boys have been hovering around his aquarium ever since we brought Tiny Toucan (Tiny or TT for short) home yesterday afternoon. This morning he (or she - don't know sex yet) even was bold enough to stare out at me as I photographed him.

We've found out all sorts of things already. Like, to own a turtle in Queensland, you need to apply for a licence - which costs around $65 for 5 years. It is also illegal to own a turtle under 4 inches in the US. Ours is only 1-2 inches! So we are doing something right now is illegal in both the US and Australia. What fun :-)

For those of you interested in the name Joyful Honda, follow the links here and here. "Honda" is a relatively common name in Japan and it so happens that that is the name of the founder of the business.

I was pondering the name and why it sounds so strange. I think part of the reason is that in English-speaking countries companies don't use adjectives in their names. "Joyful" just sounds strange as a company name, let alone a Home Centre, DIY-type place.

Regardless of all that, it is a successful, large business. 14 centres of this dimension makes for a big organisation.

They have, not only a large pet-shop, but a large art-craft-hobby store. My husband found some very useful bits for the robotics competition that he has some of his students entering.

I can tell we'll be visiting Joyful Honda again. It isn't too far away - only 20km, but that took us about an hour to drive. But that is another post - the speed of driving in this large Metropolis.

To turtle or not to turtle?

If you were reading this blog last year, you'll know that we had pets during our year in Australia. Our hermit crabs were cute and fun, but we had to leave them behind when we moved back to Japan.

We've been back here for nearly nine months now - hard to believe! But we haven't filled that small hole left by our three little hermies, though the boys bring it up every now and then. 

We have determined that the landlord doesn't want fur or feathers in our house, so once again we're looking for unusual pets. Then we had to search for a pet shop. They aren't all that common. And one that sells unusual pets is even more rare. However a friend has told us of one that could take us an hour or so to get to. It is in a largish shopping centre called "Joyful Honda". Strange name

So, seeing as we have a free day today we're going to go and check it out. We had thought that a little turtle might be manageable, but we'll see. As we've been unable to do any market research, we're not sure of the expenses.

Regardless, the boys have had an amusing time suggesting names for a turtle. We've had Tony, Toucan, Jo, Yertle and a few others I cannot remember. But when I suggested "Gertrude" they all looked at me with scorn.

So, watch this space to see what we come up with. And what he or she ends up being called!

Hermit crab update

Our little hermit crabitat was just fine, especially for ultimate portability. In it Jaz, Jessica and Spikey have already travelled to Toowoomba, Springsure and the Sunshine Coast, in their short lives, with no problem at all. However, when I spied the unused aquarium at my parents (left over from a short-lived fish experiment as a child), I decided to snaffle it for the remainder of our home assignment. Mum and Dad were all too pleased to hand it over and we've had fun decorating it and watching them explore their much expanded home. Here is what their home looks like now: We were tickled to find them all climbing on the pine cones the other night. We'd read they like to climb, but their previous accommodation didn't allow us much room to provide 'climbing frames'. Does anyone have unusual pet stories to share with us?

Hermit crabs still live

Just to let you know, the hermit crabs still live! This is Jessica, formerly known as Sarah, however "Jessica" seems to have stuck. The intense interest in them has died down, but they are still valued members of the household. They are particularly entertaining when they fight over a spot (usually a corner) in the crabitat or over some food. Their favourite foods seem to be apple and cornflakes.

Pets for show-and-tell, vacuuming and writing

Yes, the hermies, as they've lovingly become known as in our house - easier than Jessica, Jaz and Spikey, made it to show and tell today. They seem to be fine, though possibly a little tired. Once they were settled and enjoying great fame at PrePrep (like kindergarten), I finished off an article I wrote called "Loving missionaries with your questions". It is based on a lot of what I've said on this blog over the last couple of months. Thanks for your comments, some of which I used. I've sent it off to be published in our small denominational magazine. I'm thinking of doing some rewriting and submitting it some other places too. While I was doing final editing, David rode off and posted his last assignment for the year. Yay! So, just to celebrate, we did some much needed cleaning. Such fun :) Actually it is far more fun when done in community (now you know my personality). I did a "corners and all" vacuum that took hours and David cleaned the toilets and washed a floor rug. Heaps more that could be done, but I've run out of housekeeping enthusiasm for today. It is far more fun writing stuff. Cleaning is a very satisfying task, but it has to be one of world's most easily undone. At least my 7 y.o. came in and noticed, "Why is the house all clean?" he asked! Now you know what my house usually looks like too.

Sarah, Jaz and Spikey

It's more than 24 hrs since we became proud owners of three hermit crabs. They've been named Sarah, Jaz and Spikey. (Sarah and Jaz pictured - though they're very difficult to get a good shot of). Spikey is our 4 y.o.'s. He helped us chose them while his brothers were at school! Much pride! Nearly got himself run over as he left the pet shop and carried them ever so carefully across the carpark, heedless to the traffic he was holding up. Spikey's shell is, well, spiky. We're unsure if that name will hold when Spikey decides to change shells. Jaz (correctly spelled his proud 10 y.o.owner tells me) managed to change shells this afternoon without anyone noticing - quite a feat when we were all home and the novelty of 'hermit crab watching' hasn't yet worn off. Sarah's name was a surprise. Her 7 y.o. owner has a reputation for being pretty anti-girl, maybe that is changing. Of course we cannot tell the sex of the crabs, but for now Sarah is a girl. Her name hasn't changed in 27 hours, despite our fears. She is a challenge to integrate into our household, though. Up till now Mummy is the only one for whom female pronouns were required. She, her and hers should be getting a work-out now, but just sometimes the male pronouns slip in. We watched with amusement when Jaz and Spikey fought over a desirable pozzy in their new home. For several minutes they continuously flipped the other out of the cosy corner. At first Spikey's owner was upset, but soon he realised that no one was getting hurt, they were just playing. Eventually Spikey won anyway and Jaz sulked away to another spot to rest. We've been to three different Pet Shops in two days now, in order to get all the right bits. Certainly a diversion for our household. And I'm still feeling like a new mum, worried that we're going to kill them off in the first week. I'm also wondering how long the "I'll get them some new water." spirit will prevail? We're supposed to bath them in salt water once a week and probably clean their flooring once a month. We'll see how good we are at hermitat housekeeping.

Preparing for pets

After my last post on pets many gave me helpful advice. Balancing them all up, we've decided to buy three hermit crabs (one for each boy). Yesterday I went and bought them a home, shell grit for a floor covering and a water container. I was particularly pleased that I found them a portable home. It even has handles, so when we're away we can take them with us. The boys were suitably excited. They jostled over who was going to set up the home (with interior decorating, as you can see). They discussed what they could call them and my discerning 10 y.o. wondered why they needed a roof. Told that the crabs can climb, he pondered how. Our 7 y.o. is a little obsessed with names at present. It's been a recent revelation to him - the amazing variation of western names. In the last few weeks he's made a rather long list in a sketch book and is proceeding to name and rename stuffed toys, brothers, himself, toy cars and now, presumably, his pet hermit crab. We're fearing for his poor crab, that it will have itself an identity crisis. Not only will its name change regularly, but probably its sex too. All up, I'm glad that I didn't buy the crabs yesterday. They might have been unwittingly murdered in the frenzied excitment. Tomorrow our 4 y.o. will help me buy them after our dental check-up (which happens to be near the pet store).

Pets and mission

Have you thought about how missionary kids often cannot have pets? I do know several missionaries who do have pets, so perhaps I'll just talk about us. We haven't any pets. The main reason is the bi-country life we lead. Having a pet like a dog would make shifting countries more complicated. Probably a lot of grief too. I can't imagine how long we'd have to leave a dog or cat in quarantine if we were to own one and bring it on home assignment with us. Or even more difficulty, leaving a beloved pet for a year just sounds like too much heartache for us. It is difficult enough to leave a place you are established in and say goodbye to friends, let alone pets. My husband often says - "If only we could find a pet which had a 3-4 year life span..." Additionally our mission generally has its missionaries in rented accommodation, and rented accommodation (at least in Japan and Australia) is more difficult to find when you have a pet. If you're thinking about dogs, I think having a dog in Tokyo is pretty cruel to both owner and pet. No backyards so taking dog for a daily or twice daily walk is necessary, but it rains a third of the days in a year. Is freezing cold for several months and steaming hot a couple more. It all adds up to many days that I wouldn't be keen to do the daily exercise thing, though many do. Now what brings this on is that our boys are asking for a pet. Our house has a No Pet rule in the lease. We figure we could probably buy a couple of fish and not violate the rule. But the more I look into fish, the less easy-care and cheap they sound. It is not as if you can buy a fish bowl and plonk a couple of goldfish into it! Thought briefly about a worm farm...but we'll be away for several weeks in the summer and they'd probably all die in the Brisbane heat. Reptiles...salmonella is a risk. Anyone got some advice for us? What can we do? Maybe a pet rock?