We like to have light classical music in the background while we’re at home. During most of the year, we usually listen to our local classical station, KDFC, or one of SiriusXM‘s classical channels. But once Thanksgiving rolls around, things change. “Holiday” music begins to creep into the playlist, and as the month goes on, it takes up more and more airtime.

But I’ve found an alternative – Venice Classic Radio. Their playlist is blessedly free from “holiday” music for most of the month – they do play the occasional real classical Christmas piece, but it’s a small part of their programming, and they mostly save it until Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I heard Silent Night yesterday and Nutcracker today, both of which were very pleasant indeed; they also played Kol Nidre today, much to my surprise.

Check them out any time you want classical music without interruption (they play a 30-second multi-lingual station ID at the top of the hour, but that’s the only announcement you’ll hear) – and especially during December!

Happy Holidays to all, and to all a good night!

When Jeff was four or five, I thought it would be a nice idea to buy a bottle of Port from his birth year and share it with him on his 21st birthday. I found a bottle of “Late Bottled” Vintage Port at Trader Joe’s (this was before we started going to wineries!) and put it aside.

Jeff’s 21st birthday came – but he was away at college. The bottle sat.

Years passed.

Jeff’s home for the holidays, and I thought New Year’s Eve would be a good time to finally share the Port. I took the bottle out of the closet and tried to open it.

The cork had disintegrated. I managed to get enough of the cork out of the bottle to pour the Port through a strainer and into our glasses – but it was undrinkable.

If only I’d read the back side of the bottle and followed their advice.

Next time for sure!