Mimi

Finally – with Spring approaching, in between long stretches of rainy, stormy weather – an outdoor photo session with my cat Mimi. She comes from the royal family of Steiff, Germany. Time to introduce her to you. Meine Steiff Katze Mimi, an utterly curious creature, is my age. We know each other for 70 years, and are a good match. All along discussing important things like goodness, art, tears, justice, trees and meadows, transformation, and most of all beauty. She likes it here in America, it’s her home together with me for the past 42 years. She enjoys living on the hill for the past 33 years, in the cottage with view, sheltered by the big Live Oaks in Karinaland.

Under the Hellebore flowers

Green eyes – like my Papa’s – with a slight glimmer of ancient sadness

 

She does have a mischievous streak, and her favorite is working on miracles every day. And of course, it is a miracle that she is with me. My Mama and Papa do not even have money for food when I am born at the end of 1953. But somehow, they get this Steiff cat for me, the only companion I have till I am 3 or 4 years old. (At that point my brother is coming back into my life from East Germany, and my sister is born in Regensburg, where my father finally gets a job as engineer.)  At eleven months old I start meandering away from my parents’ tiny electro repair shop, all by myself down Kaulbachstrasse in Schwabing, München, several blocks…. An elderly man keeps bringing me back, saying to Mama: “Your daughter is walking too much at this young age, she will get O-Beine, be bow legged!” Which I am, but not too bad anymore after decades of T’ai Chi.  Aahh, the freedom we kids had in the old days… wandering out into the world alone… exploring….

See the famous button in the ear?

Steiff creations are famous worldwide. Mimi insists that Steiff animals are beings: “You people just don’t know about it. Too bad for you!”  She is incredibly limber in body and mind, and will not agree to any baths. But to my surprise, she asks me to fix her chin, and when that little tuck with some soft glue works out very well, she begs me to also repair her ears. Not an expert, I am reluctant, if I get it wrong, she might look disfigured. But finally, I do a little stitching on her ears. It comes out fantastic – invisible. Mimi is ecstatic, ready to work on a slew of little and big miracles for me. In the last few years, she has been losing her whiskers, and will readily remind me of the thinning of my hair when I dare to tease her.

 

Anybody as lucky to have companionship from such a prominent lineage?

 

Often, I also call her Muschi, she is ok with that: “Your mama used to call you that, Karinski.”  (Karinski is her nickname for me.) Being curious by nature, Mimi is interested in just about everything and everyone, all visitors, neighbors, the gophers, owls, squirrels, hawks, Live Oaks and Cork Oak, apple and plum trees. The loss of Mama Oak hit her hard. Years ago, she used to fly on a magic carpet with her friend the Elephant (Fanti) to Persia. The two have been holding parties in the garden and house whenever I am travelling; now they are more mellow. Mimi thinks that humans as a whole are not very evolved; sadly enough. They don’t notice important things, she adds, they don’t pay attention. This she also discusses a lot with Fanti who – she keeps repeating – is very studied and intelligent like Bob (my late husband who gifted me Fanti, the Elephant, as a perfect headrest). “There are of course many good beings, and many more miracles possible in this world. And we are just swimming among them.”  Mimi watches out for my well-being, better than any therapist. She chides, consoles, reminds, praises and encourages me, and continuously works on endless miracles in my life. I am so lucky and grateful. What would I do without Mimi? Often, she voices outrageous things, making me laugh a lot.

“Our Button in Ear stands for something very special: for craftsmanship, creativity and unmistakable design and the history of each and every product. Forever since 1880.”

 

https://corporate.steiff.com/en/