Our friends Mike and Diana winter in Texas. They love it down there. We have gone to visit them the last two winters. We've really enjoyed ourselves when we've been there. We do the usual touristy things (yes, I got my annual pedicure), plus get in a lot of card playing and chit-chatting. Both times, they have said that we need to start looking around for a place down there, so that we can spend our winters in a warmer climate when we retire.

I've got a few problems with that idea:

1. My husband, Donnie, loves to ice fish. He fishes more often in the winter than he does in the summer. He just likes it better. And, I love having a good supply of fish in our freezer. We didn't notice any frozen-over lakes in Texas.

2. I'm not a hot-weather kind of gal. A week of warm weather in the middle of winter is pleasant, but I can't imagine spending the winter months in the southern region of our country. The older I get, the more the hot weather bothers me. Besides, if I look at the sun I burn, so I can't spend much time at a pool or on the beach.

3. That said, I really don't like air conditioning. I'd rather have the windows open and enjoy the fresh air. Here in Minnesota there are only a few weeks each summer when I think air conditioning is necessary; I can handle that.

4. We like it here! Oh sure, this past winter with its endless below-zero days got a bit tedious, but for the most part we enjoy our winters. No snow for Christmas? I can't imagine that. I've always said that there really isn't anywhere else I would like to live, because we enjoy the change of seasons more than they do in other parts of the country.

So, I guess we'll just continue to mooch off friends who go south for the winter. Someday, Mike and Diana might decide to move south permanently, at which time they might want to head "north" for the hot, icky months of Texas summers. When that happens, we'll happily repay their hospitality by inviting them to spend that time at our house.

The way I look at it, it's a win-win situation for all of us.

You can reach Mary Bruemmer at mary.bruemmer@pineriver journal.com