rye French toast

I made French toast with seeded rye bread, as predicted. Conclusion: it works, but anything in the white bread direction -- white sandwich bread, challah, baguette -- works better, at least for my tastes. Nonetheless, I was also thinking that maybe I should have gotten the whole wheat challah when the store was out of the regular kind.

The seeds weren't the problem. Also, this was Pepperidge Farm rye from the supermarket, not the good crusty Jewish rye bread that cattitude and I both we grew up.

snowstorm

After considerable effort, I have the recycling out for collection (one day late because of the snow).

I should have moved the bins forward last night, but misread the town's request to keep the bins clear of sidewalks and street until the snow stopped. I am not even trying to put the regular trash there for pickup Recycling was priority because trash collection is weekly and recycling is fortnightly, and they will take more regular trash than fits in the bin. And I am in dry clothes again, completely different from what I was wearing half an hour ago, even to the eyeglasses.

I needed the fresh dry clothes because, in the course of dragging the recycling bin around, I fell backwards into a snowbank. This is the second time I've fallen backwards while trying to get around with lots of snow on the ground in the Boston area, and both seem to have done no harm other than the cold.

And because it's 2020, I was out there shoveling while wearing a mask. (cattitude, the woman upstairs, and I each did some of the shoveling.)

Signal boost: CARES Act and Charitable Donations [United States]

Signal-boosting something siderea posted:

Oh, hey, I didn't know this. My alma mater just notified me in a solicitation for donations:

Keep in mind that the CARES Act of 2020 allows all taxpayers to take a deduction of up to $300.00, in addition to their standard deduction, for donations they make to qualified 501(c)(3) non-profits during 2020.

Confirmed with the IRS here:

Special $300 tax deduction helps most people give to charity this year – even if they don’t itemize

IR-2020-264, November 25, 2020

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today reminded taxpayers of a special new provision that will allow more people to easily deduct up to $300 in donations to qualifying charities this year.

Following special tax law changes made earlier this year, cash donations of up to $300 made before December 31, 2020, are now deductible when people file their taxes in 2021.

"Our nation's charities are struggling to help those suffering from COVID-19, and many deserving organizations can use all the help they can get," said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. "The IRS reminds people there's a new provision that allows for up to $300 in cash donations to qualifying organizations to be deducted from income. We encourage people to explore this option to help deserving tax-exempt organizations – and the people and causes they serve."

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, enacted last spring, includes several temporary tax changes helping charities, including the special $300 deduction designed especially for people who choose to take the standard deduction, rather than itemizing their deductions. [...]

Tags:

taxes, us