"These days..." [in process]

"These are the days of miracle and wonder...." 

--Paul Simon, "The Boy in the Bubble"

This is a favorite quote of my friend Jill, who's getting married this Saturday (100 cupcakes away...). 
For her wedding card, I'm trying out freehand embroidery riffing on the quote--stitching without a plan, the way I water-colored paisleys.

Here it is, so far. 

I don't love it (yet), and I don't have much time. It's a little too dainty and pretty: I want it to be a lot denser--more tendrils and leaves. 

I am happy, though, that as I stitched, a couple Jillish things appeared:
a green cat-like animal, lower left, and a treble clef, lower right (so I added the bass clef). 
Jill has four cats, and she and her husband-to-be met at a musicians weekend. 

Theirs is a romantic story: 
both nearing sixty, longtime single, both are good friends to lots of people but always longing for a partner.

They've been together about two years. Jill told me she's amazed how wonderful it is to live with someone who cherishes her.

I want that too.
I wouldn't have said that before living with Marz, but now she's moving out, I see how much I've loved living with someone I love, and how the annoyances are worth it.

 Like making art without a plan. 

Oh! I'm supposed to meet with the chief editor in half an hour--must dash! Work---planned work--to be done.