No Blood to Spare

Yesterday, like a good blond, I showed up for work two minutes late. While chatting with a few coworkers on my way in, one said, "Wait, why are you here?" Turns out I had switched shifts with the girl downstairs and wasn't supposed to be working that day. So instead I volunteered to go get a goodbye card for my friend who's just quit the store, and while shopping, I remembered that Canadian Blood Services has an office in the Manulife centre, so I dropped by to see if they'd take some of my precious life serum.

Now, I have tried to give blood twice before. Once, I didn't have enough iron because I was a teenage girl and that's what we don't have, and the second time I had a cold. Turns out you can't donate if your blood is sick. Who knew? This time, I was prepared. I have been taking iron supplements on an off since my anemic diagnoses at age 16, just so that I would be able to give blood. And so that I wouldn't sleep in so much. You'd think I'd have clued in since I showed up two minutes late for work because I had slept in that I was going to have the iron problem again, but I figured it was worth a shot. I was of course, rejected. My blood didn't sink down in the little vial of blue liquid, and so they put me in a room with this lady who told me that although I had enough iron for my own self, I didn't have any to spare for anyone else. Then she to eat red meat, liver, spinach, and raisins, and to help myself anyway to the complimentary Starbucks treats around the corner.

Problem is, I like raisins. But that's it. I was vegetarian for four years, and it seems my tastes kind of held on afterward, and I haven't liked red meat since. Except for salami and bacon. But they're not really red meat, they're little bites of heaven. And spinach is simply for fools. And who in their right mind would eat LIVER? It's the body's filter!!!!

However, I was not to be defeated. I went straight to my local No Frills, bought a giant bag of salad spinach, and headed for the meat section. Turns out, I have no idea how to purchase red meat. I left the store with a package of almost-expired hamburger, and a bottle of Diana Sauce, teriyaki flavour. So I ask those of you with more experience: what do I do?

Until I figure it out, I will continue to eat spinach salad, and lots of raisins with my granola, and I will continue to knit on this puppy:

This pattern is Cheesylove from knitty.com, with a few major changes. I've removed all the fussy ruffles from the waist and sleeves, and will be shortening the sleeves to about a 3/4 length. The yarn is a great scratchy upcycle from an old-man sweater I got for about $9 at Value Village. I have yet to decide what colour my hearts will be, but today I'm leaning toward a nice heathery grey. I'm a bit concerned that the heart section will be a bit stretched across the...bust area, but Ravelry (see linKs) shows a few well-endowed ladies whose hearts look just fine. Speaking of busts, I'm also entertaining the idea of cutting the neck of the sweater a bit lower. We'll see...

Thanks for reading!