So explain to me why I hate the Charlie Brown Christmas album so much, but love the debut album by the Vince Guaraldi Trio.

No, I didn’t think you could, either.

It probably has something to do with the destructive over-playing of the same half-dozen Christmas albums every December. I like jazz. I like jazz Christmas songs. And yet, I do not like Vince Guaraldi’s Charlie Brown Christmas album.

Eh. Whatever.

My personal vote for the best Christmas album (meaning something different, with original takes on classics, as well as some rarely-heard seasonal stuff) is, in fact, Holly Cole’s Baby, It’s Cold Outside. I got all excited a day or so ago when I discovered a listing for another Holly Cole Christmas album, a Japanese release entitled Santa Baby: Live in Toronto, but it’s no longer available, and I have all the songs on other albums anyway.

My love for Baby, It’s Cold Outside is sourced not only by Holly’s incredible vocal treatment of the music, but particularly by the stellar recording of the title track, Frank Loesser’s Baby, It’s Cold Outside, performed as a duet with Ed Robertson from The Barenaked Ladies. For those of you who were at the Stuart McLean show last Friday, Lisa Lindo and Chris Whiteley did a decent job of it, although I still prefer Holly’s version. I could leave it on a repeat loop for hours. Not that I have; no, I’d be afraid of over-playing it and desensitizing myself to it! Christmas music rapidly becomes tiresome; I’d rather not have that happen to my favourite Christmas album, thanks.

Actually, there is another album that I love at Christmas, but it vanished from my collection over two years ago (and I hope whoever has it now is enjoying it, muttergrumblegrr). It’s A Waverly Consort Christmas. I finally broke down and special-ordered another copy, since I can’t seem to find it on the racks anywhere (which surprises me not at all, since it isn’t a pop or country singer’s rehash of seasonal chestnuts). It will be four to six weeks before it arrives, naturally. At least I’ll have it for next December.

I think I’ve hit on a pretty decent plan.

I wake up; I get out of bed right away. I wash, make tea, log on my computer, and work for at least two hours, preferably four, before I even think of taking a break.

Yesterday, I wrote a freelance article. Today, I did a slew of research on Montreal publishers and writers, and wrote a slew of requests for review copies for the magazine.

There’s only one thing preventing all this work from being resolved: my work e-mail is giving me grief. I can receive, but I cannot send. Eudora keeps telling me sweetly that it’s connecting, but that the connection times out.

So let me get this straight: this set-up and connection will merrily receive, but it will not deliver outgoing mail. It connects to the same IP number at the other end.

Grr.

In the meantime, I have a pile of letters and requests for review copies and press releases sitting here. I’m so close. Almost there.

I think I need more tea.