About

Mattie’s Pillow is a virtual retreat for writers, artists, dancers, horse lovers, gardeners, and those on the path to individuation.  

When I was in my twenties, I had a dream of a farm with red outbuildings trimmed in white–the classic picture-book farm.  I saw myself as an older woman who had chosen to live on her own terms: driving horses rather than a car, gardening, writing, cooking for others, and converting barn space into artists’ and writers’ studios.  In this dream, I was surrounded by like-minded people, younger artists, and my extended family.

montana_05_bg_0624062Life happened.  Now, I am that woman I dreamed of–at least in part.  I teach writing/composition at a university, have raised and launched a ballet-dancer son, and co-own two acres with horse corral in interior Alaska.  I write poetry and short stories, I garden, I am re-learning horsemanship and dressage, I dance, I cook.  A few summers ago, I began dreaming again of a place where I could bring all these things together into one integrated life project. 

At the time, my son, Ira, was dancing with a small modern dance company at Jacob’s Pillow in upstate New (Photo courtesy PDPhoto.org)  York.  As I thought about what I wanted to do and what to call it, I was inspired by Jacob’s Pillow–an old farm property dedicated to the art of dance-and decided that my imagined retreat would be Mattie’s Pillow, after my mare, Mattie, whose face at 15 below zero, heads this blog.

me-and-mattie

After scanning real estate want ads, I have decided to start this project as a virtual farm, kind of a family farm of ideas and inspirations,  including links and musings on the different elements of the dream–and rto others that seem supportive of the dream.

My hope, at first, is to begin to refine and clarify the dream and, once I figure out how this blogging thing works, to invite others to participate in it.   One hope I have for this blog is to connect those with similar interests and to encourage synchronous connections between things I think are linked because I’m interested in them, but others may not automatically think are linked.

If you have found Mattie’s Pillow, I hope that it will provide fertile ground for the growth of your dreams–artistic, horsey, gardening, or just, well, dreamy.  Leave a message to let me know you’ve found this blog.

11 Responses to “About”

  1. Julie Rafferty Says:
    February 28, 2009 at 5:08 pm

    Hi Cindy,
    I love your blog! I, too, recently joined Facebook but after 2 weeks of obsessive behavior, the thrill is gone. One night when we first signed up (Robert did as well) the kids rolled their eyes as the two of us IMed back and forth, he in the family room and I in the living room. Too lazy to get up and speak face to face! But I agree, this technology is truly a gift of sharing. It’s all about using it wisely, like so much else in life. Thanks for your musings.

  2. mattiespillow Says:
    February 28, 2009 at 6:37 pm

    Thanks, Julie. I’m trying to connect disparate things that seem connected to me–the arts, horses, writing, gardening (more on that in season) and things of the healthy psyche. Comments help me know if I’m on the right track.

  3. ninaamir Says:
    March 18, 2009 at 3:41 am

    I love this…I, too, am a writer with a dancing son who enjoys gardening and used to ride until about three years ago. I miss my time with the horses…I want to live in your virtual world. I want to come teach writing with you…have my son dance at Jacob’s Pillow with your son…ride horse with you in Alaska…and be friends. I feel we have so much in common.

  4. Timothy Murphrey Says:
    April 25, 2009 at 11:50 pm

    Ahhh… this IS nice. As long as you have room for a testosterone dripping knuckle-dragger biker poet, I’ll hang out here! All my horses are iron, though they are not all American.

  5. Cindy Adams Says:
    December 10, 2009 at 4:37 pm

    I too love gardening (can my pepper plant really over winter in the house?), horses, writing and I will add to that list “baseball.”

    This is a great idea Cindy. Wonderful place to visit on the web. And thanks for linking to John’s website!

  6. enlightenedhorsemanship Says:
    December 31, 2009 at 7:30 pm

    Count me in! And all you folks above sound wonderfu! I can’t wait to get to know you all.

  7. mattiespillow Says:
    December 31, 2009 at 9:49 pm

    Thanks! I’ve been checking your blog, too, and am fascinated by your linking of horsemanship, zen, massage, etc. Good to finally communicate with you!

  8. ybonesy Says:
    February 28, 2010 at 2:12 pm

    Hi there. Great to know about you, and thanks for linking to our blog. Looking forward to getting to know you and following your story.

  9. David Bowen Says:
    May 21, 2010 at 5:56 am

    Hi Cindy,
    I found Nattie’s something, thanks to my wife. I’ll be back after fetching my glasses…I’ll see if I can’t locate some memory to bring with me.
    David

  10. Susan Sommer Says:
    April 30, 2011 at 4:38 pm

    Hi Cindy,
    My friend Sarah just told me about your blog. I look forward to exploring it!

    Susan (Eagle River)

  11. mattiespillow Says:
    April 30, 2011 at 8:34 pm

    Hi, Susan–

    I’m glad you found this blog. Sarah told me about you. If you have a blog or website, let me know and I’ll add you to my links.

    –Cindy

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