Frugal Friday

A place to share this week's frugal wins, unexpected blessings from God, ways I've been resourceful or got ahead this week.

I hope you'll share your frugal ways in the comments!

This week's frugal wins, blessings and resourcefulness...

• Packed all of my husband's lunches this week.
• Our neighbor tilled our garden plot for us. Now to get some things planted!
• Made a batch of homemade yogurt in the Instant Pot.
• Stayed in budget when grocery shopping. 
• Mostly stayed home!
• Stopped in  at Goodwill (first time in MONTHS!) and found a few needed items for myself, plus cute shoes to put aside for Ilona to wear in a couple years. 

 I have a weak spot for Mary Jane shoes--so I pick them up for future use as I find them in good second-hand condition. 

• Batch-cooked a bunch of ground beef and bacon to freeze. 
• Froze some extra shredded cheese I had on hand. Also some chicken breasts I found on sale. 
• We walked around the neighborhood and used our recumbent bike for exercise.
• Drank mostly water and ate at home. 
• Used cloth diapers and wipes when we were at home. 
• Hung some laundry up to dry instead of using the dryer. 
• Put several dollars worth of change in our change jars. 
• Attended our electric co-op's annual meeting day--by doing so we will receive a $15 bill credit next month. (It was a rainy day so we opted for the drive-thru option.)

I spruced these rusty pots (not cute rust) up with some spray paint I already had. So cheerful!

How did you save money this week? 

Monday Was A Good Day For Free

Monday was a good day for free things!

A friend offered me some okra from their garden. Of course, I accepted! When we stopped by and picked up the bag of okra, we were surprised to see not just a bunch of okra but also grape tomatoes and zucchini. The extent of my gardening this summer is basil and mint so produce is happily accepted and eaten! Our current favorite way to prepare okra is to roast it with a little olive oil and seasonings--so delicious and easy!

When I got to work, a coworker offered me a dozen of her farm fresh eggs. I give her egg cartons every so often and she brings eggs to work occasionally looking for someone to take them home. I don't turn down fresh eggs. ;-)

Meanwhile, Andy switched one of my prescriptions over to Publix where it would cost me nothing for a month's supply. My prescription yesterday was FREE as well!

I was also offered a bag of potato chips leftover from a party at work but I declined. We are trying to eat well and chips would be too big of a temptation! If it is here, we will eat it. 

We are so grateful for these little blessings! 

The Freezer Challenge: Part One

I've enjoyed following along with The Frugal Girl as she cleans out her freezer and challenges herself to use up a certain amount of things each week. This post is definitely inspired by her!

We have three freezers--two fridge freezers and one large upright freezer. It's nice but sometimes food gets thrown wherever is easiest at the moment and it's hard to know exactly what we have and where it is.

Such is the case with our fridge freezer in our kitchen. I had thrown and piled stuff in there to the point that food would fall out whenever we tried to get anything out.

Last Friday, I planned an easy dinner of bratwurst and roasted okra and zucchini and yellow squash. At the last minute, I remembered a partial bag of hot dog buns in the freezer so pulled those out to eat with the brats (we typically eat them bunless but we had some buns left from having company back in May.) That inspired me to tackle this little freezer compartment the next day!

I pulled everything out after taking before pictures, of course. :-)

Everything was set out on our island and I sorted as to what was deemed "challenge worthy" and what needed to be moved to our big freezer. All the packages of meat went to the big freezer as that's where they belong and I kept the frozen vegetables in the kitchen. Some of the other odds and ends were kept out to use quickly.

Here's what I had to work with:

• Small container cooked spaghetti squash--put right in fridge for side for Monday's dinner.
• Small serving of soup--put in fridge for Monday's lunch.
• Lone popsicle--I ate it right away!
• Partial bag of mini bagels--these were thawed and served with Saturday night's Breakfast for Dinner and finished up for Sunday breakfast. Bonus points for this since I also had an opened package of cream cheese to use!
• Container of cooked turkey--I'll be honest here. I had used some of this previously in a soup and it was still dry and stringy so I threw it out. :-( 
• One hamburger bun. Seriously?!? (Again, left from company!) I thawed it and made it into cheese toast to go with random leftovers on Sunday night. That wasn't hard!
• Gallon bag of chicken bones and vegetable ends and peelings for broth. Immediately poured all this in the crockpot and made crockpot chicken broth overnight. I then used the broth to make a big pot of gravy to use for one meal this week and freeze the rest.

What went back in the freezer to use later:

• Ice cream--we don't need a plan for this. It doesn't stick around long here.;-)
• Various bread and individual sweet rolls left from the market. (I've been selling my homemade baked goods at a local Farmer's Market this summer and always have a few things left at the end.) Some of the bread will be used for lunches this week and the sweet rolls are pulled out for breakfast occasionally. 
• Package of "Sandwich Skinny's" (left from company)--maybe use these for quick broiled pizzas or tuna melts in the next week or two. 
• Fresh ginger--This stays fresh in the freezer and I peel and grate it as needed. 
• Ice packs--these needed to be in there for easy access and there hasn't been room. 
• A bag of homemade doggy ice cream portions aka Frosty Paws. These are for Willie as an occasional treat so they'll stay in there. 

I didn't tackle the door yet but that is mostly spices and homemade spice blends that get used naturally over time. 

After photo:

It's much easier to get things from the freezer now!

I'll do another update on my freezers in a week or so. 

On This Day After Earth Day

Earth Day was yesterday. I stopped at the local health food store after church for some bulk spices. I took a reusable bag along for extra points on my rewards account.

At checkout, I was offered a free packet of heirloom tomato seeds in honor of Earth Day. Yes, please.

Some folks are big into Earth Day and loving the earth the other 364. Some folks scoff. Some folks like me, are somewhere in the middle.

I compost. I use reusable water bottles instead of buying bottled water. I use cloth napkins and real dinnerware. I cook from scratch, am careful about food waste, line dry some of my laundry, use reusable lunch containers and shop second hand quite often. I'm careful about the use of chemicals in our home.

Part of my cloth napkin stash. These have been going strong for around 3 years now. They're starting to show some wear from repeated washings. I usually get 3-4 years out of a stack of napkins. When they're worn out, I make new ones.

I grew up on the West Coast where things are just different. Overall, people tend to live a little greener. I hate styrofoam.

I also use some paper towels and paper plates some days. I use some ziploc baggies. We buy packaged food sometimes. I shop at Aldi where the produce is highly packaged but the price is right. Sometimes (like most of last year), I'm just too tired to recycle.

In spite of growing up in Oregon, I'm not a tree hugger. But I can't swing so far over to the extreme where I have no interest in caring for the environment.

This is where we live.  The Earth is one of God's gifts to us. As with all of God's gifts, I wish to be a good steward of what He has given.

On this day after Earth Day, can we all agree to be good stewards of our resources?

• To be intentional with our choices?
• To create more than consume?
• To conserve more than we waste? 
• To save more than we spend?
• To think before we act?

 A "green" smoothie.

Maybe you are full out "green". Or maybe you're like me and make small choices each day to minimize waste and maximize health, both for ourselves, our finances and the environment.

I cannot do everything but I sure can do something.

Maybe I can turn the lights off when I leave the room. Turn off the water instead of letting it run.  Save those veggie scraps to make stock. Walk somewhere instead of drive. Hang those clothes up to dry instead of running the dryer. Plant those tomato seeds already. Just this once.

And tomorrow, make some of the same choices again. 

Little choices add up to create a big impact. 

What will you do on this day after Earth Day?

**You may be interested in another Earth Day post I wrote "back in the day": Kermit, It is Easy Being Green.

Food Lion House Brand Promotion

If you have a Food Lion near you, they are having a House Brand promotion that is going on through April 24th.

For every house brand product you buy, you get 25 cents back. You must buy a minimum of 4 products in one trip to get the rewards and a maximum of 40  per trip. The quarter back rewards are printed as a voucher to use towards your next purchase.

Since Food Lion runs this sale twice a year, I like to use it as a time to stock up on low-priced pantry staples such as canned tomato products, canned beans and canned vegetables. Pasta sauce, pasta, rice and low-priced condiments are also good things to buy.

Purchasing products that are naturally inexpensive gives me more bang for my buck! For example, the cans of tomato sauce I purchased today are 29 cents. With 25 cents back, each can is now 4 cents. The tomato paste was sale priced at 28 cents. After the promotion, these are 3 cents each. The diced tomatoes are 54 cents each. Take 25 cents off and each can is now 29 cents. The green beans were 38 cents each and 13 cents after the rewards.

These are definitely great stock up prices for me! No coupons required!

Not pictured is the brown rice, blocks of cheese and french bread that I also purchased. These were all house brands as well and were, in order listed, 57 cents, $1.25 and $1.25 each after rewards.

I bought my max of 40 items on this trip and received a $10.00 voucher to use on my next shopping trip!

If you have a Food Lion nearby, it may be worth your time to check out this sale!

Sunday Afternoon Food Prep

Happy Sunday!

I hope you all have had a relaxing Lord's Day. We were at church this morning then came home to pork loin in the crockpot, coleslaw, rolls and veggies for lunch. After cleaning up lunch, I took my traditional Sunday afternoon nap.

I love to nap on Sunday afternoon, do you?

When I got up from my short nap, I whipped up a pan of homemade brownies for a yummy treat. Then it was time to work on prepping some veggies for the week.

I love having produce all washed and chopped. It makes meal prep so easy! Just grab the prepped veggies and go. We like to eat fresh veggies with our meals. Having them ready means I can grab the container from the fridge and set it right on the table.

Today, I had some carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, radishes, grape tomatoes and bell peppers to use. Most weeks, I'll also prep fruit but the fruits I have on hand right now are bananas and apples and I don't cut those up ahead of time. So just veggies to work with today!

While I worked, Willie found a sunny spot to take a rest. He is pretending to rest but really was in a supervisory role, waiting to scoop up any veggie bits that may drop. He likes most veggies. So healthy. LOL

When cutting the tops off the bell peppers, I discard the stems and set the rest aside. Then I chop the tops up to add to scrambled eggs or on salads. I've seen some people throw them away but I don't. Waste not, want not!

I love using Mason jars as storage containers. The produce stays nice and fresh. And they look pretty all lined up! The jars don't take much space in the fridge either.  Some folks report that it stays fresh really long this way but we usually eat it too fast to find out. Most of this will be gone within 4 days. By then, it will be time to shop for more fresh produce and start the process all over again. ;-) I use plastic Mason jar lids for my jars as you can see in the next picture.

The carrots and zucchini will be cooked as sides for dinners in the next few nights. I may use some of the peppers for fajitas this week since I have all the ingredients for that. The chopped peppers will most likely show up in eggs or on salad. I already have washed lettuce in the fridge.

This afternoon, I also hard-boiled some eggs and made egg salad for lunches. Since I'm working all day tomorrow instead of my usual part-time hours, I went ahead and packed up a lunch for me while I was at it. It's nice to have something ready to just grab really quick!

Prepping fresh produce definitely makes my life easier and helps to start my week off on the right path!

Frugal Friday

In the midst of decidedly not-frugal chemo, doctor appointments, hospital stays and surgery plans, we still try to be good stewards of what God has given us.  Making good decisions with our money and using what we have to its fullest potential saves us money and also prevents waste.

Here are some ways we've saved money and lived frugally here recently:

• Accepted loads of garden produce from neighbors and friends. We've eaten fresh green beans, squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, banana peppers and corn on the cob. I have a crockpot full of green beans cooking for dinner tonight using this recipe.  We were given over a dozen ears of corn so I shared half of it with our neighbor as the two of us couldn't eat it all. 
• Used a store coupon at Petsmart for a FREE small bag of dog food. We also had $5 in rewards to use online so we used it to buy some dog treats and selected to pick up in store instead of paying for shipping. I picked up our online order at the same time I got the dog food. Willie is happy.

• Went on a date to Olive Garden and used a gift card to pay for most of our meal. Also, we had enough leftovers to take home and eat for lunch the next day. 
• Used several coupons when grocery shopping.

• Sam's Club runs specials each month where select items are on special. This month, several items that we buy regularly were on special. So I stocked up even if we didn't need them quite yet--$3 off laundry detergent and $5 off dog food. Both are items that I would be buying next month so I saved $8 by buying them now. I also got $1 off a bag of avocados and $.50 off cheese. 
• Submitted some medical receipts for reimbursement. 
• Hung most of our clothing up to dry instead of using the dryer. Still using the dryer for sheets and towels as I don't yet have an outdoor clothesline. 
• Cut buttons off a couple old sweaters before discarding them. The buttons can be used for other sewing and craft projects. 

• Repotted some tiny basil plant "babies" that were in my big planter of basil. I plan to share these extra plants with friends. Also made pesto from some of the basil. 
• Eaten a lot of odds and ends from the freezer. I noticed we had quite a bit of food in there that should be used. I've been planning my menus from the freezer and pantry then only buying what we still need from the store. I plan to clean out and defrost the freezer in August so eating down the freezer is a good idea! Some of the items are only a serving or two but I group a few things together and no one goes hungry!
• Painted our hallway. I have had the paint and primer for a while and have not had time to get to this project.(I got the supplies right before Andy's diagnosis.) I had the week of July 4th off from work so made time to work on it then. The walls are paneling so this took a little more time and effort  than just slapping a coat of paint up. But the final result is very much worth it! Why is this frugal? Well, I didn't hire someone to do the painting for me. Plus, painting is much less costly than ripping out paneling and putting in drywall! (Although that is in the "someday" plans.)
• Requested a book through our library's inter-library loan program. Within a few days, I received notification that the book was ready to pick up. I combined stops while running errands and ran into the library while driving close by there anyways. My library has started something new and now includes on your receipt how much you saved by using the library that day. I saved $24.99 by using the library over buying the book at list price. 

How have you lived frugally this week? Please share with all of us in the comments!

Frugal Five

Some frugal stuff happening around here lately....

1. I saw a bunch of Mason jars in the glass receptacle where we take our trash. I asked the attendants if I could take some. He said, "Yes!" So I took what fit in my bag--14 jars in all. Perfectly good condition and will be used here! I didn't think we were typically allowed to take out of the containers but it doesn't hurt to ask!

2. Mended some clothing and home items.

3. Accepted some wonderful home items from family members who are down-sizing. Items included a beautiful Oriental-style rug and an old dresser.

Rock approves of the new rug!

4. Used the library inter-loan system to request and borrow books I wanted to read. Also, I'm re-reading some books already on my bookshelf.

5. We've been eating at home a lot which is nothing new but continues to be a HUGE money-saver. We utilize leftovers for lunches so very little is wasted.

July Pantry Challenge

As I mentioned last week, one of the ways we're saving money right now is by doing a Pantry Challenge this month.

We don't really have any rules for our pantry challenge except to spend as little as possible! We're utilizing the contents of our freezers(one upright and two refrigerator freezers) and pantry shelves and coming up with as many meals as possible.

So far, I've cooked a turkey, baked bread, made several bean dishes, cooked some split chicken breast bones(with lots of meat still on them) and made broth, soup and some diced chicken, made pancakes and corn muffins. Plus much more!

Our freezers aren't that well stocked right now since I've been cleaning them out and using up random items for the past several months. But there are still many good things to eat in there!

This week's supper menu looks like this:
1. Tomato soup, cheese melts, leftover coleslaw
2. Salmon patties, green beans, bread
3. Pork chops, broccoli, rice
4. Barbecue turkey sandwiches, applesauce, celery sticks
5. Black bean and rice dish
6. Turkey and gravy, rice, peas
7. "Eggroll in a bowl" with chicken instead of beef, rice

Not fancy,  but we will still get plenty to eat!

Breakfasts will be pancakes, pumpkin and zucchini bread I found in the back of the freezer, toast, eggs, etc.

Lunches will be leftovers, canned soup, split pea soup from freezer, peanut butter sandwiches, popcorn, canned fruit, etc.

My total spent so far for grocery/household items this month is $28.15. I'm planning an Aldi trip later today so will probably double that amount.

What are you eating this week? 

*Food pictures from the last couple of months. From top to bottom, ham and broccoli frittata, pumpkin bread and some goodies from the Farmer's Market!

Frugal Stuff

How about some frugal things we've been doing lately to save money?

We're saving for our adoption and paying for some repairs that popped up this summer so we're in super frugal mode around here!

1. I'm doing a pantry challenge in July seeing how many meals I can make without going to the store. We should be able to eat well for a couple of weeks.

2. Instead of buying a baby gift for a recent baby shower, I made one with scraps I had on hand. I made a set of 3 burp cloths using this tutorial then made a matching tag blanket. I forgot to take a picture of the burp cloths--they turned out really cute. I used the pink minky for one side of each burpcloth (had just enough with a few scraps left!) then used the green and pink cotton prints for the other side. I paired the pink gingham and strawberry print together since neither one was enough as they were. Frugal or not, I really prefer making my gifts to buying them--very enjoyable!

Front of tag blanket.

Reverse side of tag blanket.

3. I cooked a turkey I had in the freezer. This turkey was bought during Thanksgiving sales at 59 cents a pound. I bought two turkeys last year and this was my last one. It's been hot so I was able to cook it in my large crockpot rather than heat up the kitchen by turning on the oven. I made a big batch of gravy to freeze with the stock from cooking the turkey then made some more broth with the skins and carcass. I got at least 12 cups meat off the turkey too. The turkey was around 13 pounds. We'll get quite a few meals from one bird!

4. The library has become my free bookstore. I've been requesting the books needed as part of our adoption training. There is only one item on the list that isn't available through the library! These are the two books I'm reading right now.

5. I had some onions that were starting to go bad. I cut the mushy spots off then sliced the onions and filled the dehydrator with them. A day later, I had my own dried minced onions.

6. Andy won a giveaway at Sport Clips back in March during March Madness. Whoever submitted the bracket with the most wins would get free haircuts for a year. Well, his bracket wasn't that good but he was the only one to enter at our location so he received the prize! So, he has been getting free haircuts! He does leave a tip each time.

7. I made some cute pillows for our front porch chairs using what I had on hand. Since these are out in the weather, I used old pillow forms as well so it doesn't matter if they get nasty after a while. I love red, white and blue for summer!

8. And just for fun--free entertainment at the dog's expense. I never fail to enjoy wrapping Rock up in a towel when drying his feet and body off after being outside. Always amuses me! Here he is thinking, "Seriously, what is she going to make me do next?!?"

 What fun, free and frugal things have you been doing lately?

Use What You Have Zipper Pouches

I had this rather large piece of vintage-y quilted fabric in my stash. It came in a bargain bag of scraps from a yard sale a few years ago. 

Anyways, I've been trying to make use of what I have instead of buying more. Partly to save money but mostly because it means less to move around when my sewing room becomes a nursery. 

This fabric was already sewn into something and taken apart so this is not it's first party. Ha! It's a little worn in spots but perfect for these zipper pouches. 

I often need some pouches for storing items when traveling. I made one large enough to carry my hair straightener and then the second one ended up a little smaller because of the size of the fabric. 

I had some red gingham ruffle in my scrap bucket pile. I think it was given to me in a box of fabric?? 

Anyways, I liked it with the sweet strawberry fabric so I sewed some ruffles on the pouches. 

Even the zippers were repurposed from some old lingerie bags!!! 

So yay for a quick evening project that cost nothing to make but is cute and super useful! 

 I still have some small pieces of this fabric left--will have to see what I can make with them!

Frugal Five

Remember when I did regular Frugal Five posts?

Well, I've still been frugal but just not posting about it. I'd like for that to change!

I enjoy reading about how other homemakers are practicing frugality and resourcefully stretching their dollars. Those posts are always inspiring and encouraging to me--that is how I hope these Frugal Five posts come across to you as well.

In my last post, I told how my husband and I are embarking on the journey of domestic adoption. (Thank you for all your well wishes and prayers! We appreciate each one!) Adoption is quite expensive so we are all about saving as much as we can right now! Every penny saved goes to our adoption fund.

Some recent ways we have saved money:

1. Our medical coverage doesn't cover prescriptions. I have a prescription that cost $75 per 30 day supply at CVS and that was for the generic brand. (My doctor gave me samples of another that would've been $200 per month so I considered this the better option!) However, $75!!! Ouch! I decided to check at Sam's Club that is right by our house. They offer the very same item for $11.87. I was shocked! I was expecting maybe a $20 savings. So obviously, we are getting prescriptions filled at Sam's now. I have another prescription that I only use as needed so one box lasts about 6 months. This one was only around $17 so not too expensive but Sam's offers it for $4. So we are saving a lot of money right there!
2. We don't eat out often but we've been using coupons when we do. 2 meals for the price of one?Yes, please!
3. Speaking of eating out, I've been buying the $5.99 fresh pizzas from Aldi to have on hand when I know we will have a super busy day and it would be tempting to go to a restaurant. These freeze really nice and are very good.
4. Made beef broth using some bones I had in the freezer. 
5. Rock got out of the fenced backyard twice last week. One time he showed up in the driveway on the other side of the gate and waited to be let back in. LOL We finally discovered a hole in the fence by the woods. We "rednecked" it back together by attaching a random piece of fencing that was left here by the previous owner. He won't be getting out through that hole anytime soon!

How are you saving money and practicing frugality in your home?

 

"Use What You Have" Spring Wreath

I've been wanting to make a wreath for our kitchen door. Something springy!

We had a yard sale last weekend and a couple straw wreaths were left. (They were donated by a friend.) So instead of donating them at the end of the sale, I decided to make some simple wreaths for our home. 

This one is my first attempt and I like it. It's different and used up some fabric from my scrap basket. 

My plan was to make a wreath with strips of fabric like this one. Then I saw these leftover yellow ruffles. They used to be on some giant square pillow shams that I thrifted and cut up for another project. I saved the ruffles because I love the color and print and well, I can't bear to throw something away that could be used for something else! 

That something else turned out to be this wreath. 

I gathered my supplies-- straw wreath, pile of ruffle pieces and a short piece of white ruffle left from a vintage pillowcase. I used some small pins and also some thumbtacks for securing everything. 

1. Iron all fabric pieces. 

2. Start wrapping the ruffle pieces on the wreath, using pin or tack to secure ends. 

3. Continue wrapping, taking care to overlap pieces slightly to cover raw edges of ruffle.

4. Wrap until wreath is covered. You can see I ran out of ruffles and there is a bare spot. No worries-- I have a plan for that!

5. That little extra piece of ruffle comes in handy here. I scrunched it up to look like a flower then pinned it to the wreath.

6. Next, I glued a few buttons on

to finish off the center of the flower. 

7. Last I added an aqua ribbon hanger. The ribbon coordinates with a light blue/aqua in the center of the flowers.

8. Done!

This was super easy-- took longer to post about the wreath than to actually make it. ;-)

I have this hanging in a sunny location outside so, yes, it will fade with time. The great thing is that by removing the pins, it'll be super simple to update with something else. 

Happy Spring! 

How Many Pennies?

So... in case you were wondering how many pennies were in our penny jar...

The answer is $30.82!

Both guesses were close. Wendi guessed $30.50 which was scary close! Good job to both of my guessers!

We are big fans of saving change. We always have a jar going. Now that this jar has been filled and emptied into savings account, we'll simply start filling it with pennies again!

Thrifty Goodness

Do you like seeing pictures of thrifty treasures?

I do, so I thought I'd share today's finds with you! 

I had a number of errands to run today but we left the house a little earlier so we could hit two thrift stores instead of one. 

Nothing earth-shattering was found today but I did score some useful things on my list. 

Store #1:

4 quart jars for 25 cents each.

2 sheets: $3.50 for the king size was a bit steep, I thought, but it is much less than buying the same amount of fabric at the fabric store and I actually needed a sheet for sewing projects. The twin sheet was $1.

This particular store is very inconsistent in pricing...You just never know!

Store #2: 

2 summer tops: about $5 for both.

4 pint jars: 25 cents each.

Thomas Kinkade note cards: 95 cents.

Dallas Holm CD: $1. 

Pile of greeting cards: 50 cents each. (This particular store has a nice card display; most are 50 cents each. I pay the same for cards at Dollar Tree. But purchasing cards at the thrift store means supporting a thriving local ministry. I needed some cards anyways so a win-win!)

Have you done any thrifting lately?

The Penny Jar

 2012

Several years ago, I mentioned our penny jar in this post.

We started it back in 2007 and it finally was full! After numerous shakings to be sure there really was no more room left. ;-)

 2015

We started out counting and rolling the pennies ourselves, using up all the penny rolls we had. We are weird and actually enjoy counting our money. LOL

We now know that our bank has a coin machine and will count them for free, as long as coins are sorted. So we took the jar with the remaining contents to the bank and let the machine do the work!

We put the money in our bank account designated for a special savings fund.

And now the question is, "How much money was in the jar?"  And just how many pennies does a half gallon jug hold?

I could tell you...

But I think it'd be fun to have you guess!

And then I'll tell you tomorrow! (Or after at least a few guesses, depending which comes first.)