Another handful of old mechanical pencils and pens were in the secretary in my bedroom, and most of the pens are trashed. The pencils will probably be donated on my next trip up to the donation fridge.

The distribution process for pickled okra has begun - delivered to neighbors on both sides of me and I'll take some across the street tomorrow. These are the folks I have the most contact with and who live closest to the jungle that is my front yard garden. The recipients were very happy with the pickles.

During the summer I ordered an envelope of environmentally friendly sheets of laundry detergent, and have tested them intermittently while drawing down the bottle of liquid detergent. Now I'm using the sheets most of the time. They are more expensive than the jugs of detergent, but by buying a half-size bulk order it comes out about twice as expensive. It's going to last for a very long time, with just me in the house. One wonders at the exchange - a five-year supply of laundry detergent to save sending five large jugs to the dump.