Claudia Toutain-Dorbec:  

Hello! Update 2015 The business I retired from in 2004 needed me, I purchased it back in the fall of 2013. I was in Cannon Beach running my old business most of 2014, Cannon Beach Hotel Lodgings, a family of four classic inns and a restaurant. For the last year I've been quite busy restoring and repairing the inns and getting the cafe running properly. If you are in Cannon Beach, stop by the Front Desk and see if I am around! I would love to see you. We hope to be in New Mexico this year in the fall. My old adobe home is nestled in beautiful, sunny Northern New Mexico on a small "ranchito". We are in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, off the main road between Santa Fe and Taos. It is green here, which surprises some people. Yes, it is the land of sagebrush and snakes, but we have huge forests nearby. We enjoy our large orchard and gardens, and have plenty of water -- all of that and our two dogs keep us busy. There must be 320 sunny days a year, blue skies are normal, even when it snows. There are many artists in this area, a rich ethnic culture, and overall a very interesting place to live. After 17 years of hard work at my Cannon Beach hotel business I retired, and became a working artist in the Southwest and in France. I'm married to a French photographer/photojournalist and artist. We paint collaboratively and share many artistic activities together. Pierre is a former war correspondent and we both enjoy politics, our collaborative work often includes a political twist. In 2008 I completed a large Southwest botanical project, based on that I was invited to the Monet's gardens (...Expand for more