Sue's purchases and travels

The Christmas card season has passed but I would be remiss if I allowed the holiday to slip away without mentioning our visit to Kalmar and their local museum which features Jenny Nystrom the woman who created Tomtes as we know them today. I knew Jenny had painted wonderful images of children and was familiar with her images of tomtes gliding on pig led sleds, or frolicking on ice. I didn't know about her earlier, classical works (such as the above self portrait) nor that she was the one responsible for Sweden offering post cards that featured her playful characters. Apparently, as I recall from this summers visit, publishers did not think the public would have an interest in these cards but she persevered they proved enormously popular. The above images show why-one can't look at them without smiling nor without remembering the magic of Christmas.