More of my beautiful roses, wish I had a better camera:

During the summer we eat solely out of the garden as much as possible, and when it is hot I try not to turn on the stove at all. Last night I made a wonderful summer salad. It was gone before I remembered to take a picture!

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tomato, chopped
1 cup fresh spinach, torn into pieces
1/2 cup alfalfa, kale, radish, broccoli sprouts (blend or any one or combination)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup fresh curly parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 T lime juice
1 T olive oil
1 T water
1 t fresh garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

We ate it with Food That Tastes Good sesame chips, hummus, and plain Chobani yogurt. Yum!

This letter was in Dear Annie today:

I hope you will print my pet peeve so retailers will take notice. No matter where I shop, no one knows how to properly give change. If I pay $20 for a $15.95 purchase, the change is handed to me in a pile of coins, bills and a receipt. I have to fumble to count it.

I cashiered many years ago. I would give the customer the nickel, saying, "And five cents makes 16," and then count out the remaining four dollars, saying, "Seventeen, 18, 19, 20." Most cashiers today can't add or subtract without the register to do the thinking for them.

[deleted some stuff]

And last but not least, why is the receipt so long? Imagine how much paper could be saved if they skipped the surveys and advertising.

I absolutely agree with the letter writer. The over-reliance on technology for simple math has erased the ability to make change, estimate, and do calculations in the head. (I didn't agree so much with the deleted portion, which had to do with the greetings and thank yous offered by clerks. I don't mind someone saying "have a good one." Better than sullen silence.) And I too think the coupons etc. on the receipt are a waste.

This reminded me, over the weekend I was in Hannaford quite late one night. There were two teenage boys behind me, with a milk and a brown paper bag. I didn't have an overflowing cart, but I did have quite a few items. The packer said, "I can take you over here," to the boys, but they didn't make any effort to follow him to the next check-out line. It was taking a bit of time to take care of my order, and their two items kept getting mixed in with mine and had to be moved back several times. So eventually I said to them, "he said he would take you at the next line." They ignored me.

After we were done, Bob and I speculated that they were shoplifting something in the paper bag. He thought maybe the cashier at my register was in on it and they didn't want to risk the other line. I thought maybe it was drugs of some kind, don't kids snort some OTC things? Perhaps it was something expensive like batteries or condoms. Or maybe it was just a candy bar or extra donut. Still, they were so transparent.

Added: This TU note isn't true: "Within each category, blogs are sorted by latest posts. Blogs that have posted within the last 36 hours display a thumbnail image."