You know there’s been too much snow when…

You have to pick up your knees to your chin to get over the snow bank.

You can’t see your car in your driveway.

The school calls to tell you tomorrow will not be a snow day.

Your kid’s snow fort is bigger than your house.

It would take a metal detector to find your lawn furniture.

You have to leave out of your chimney to go to work.

You can’t see your neighbors anymore because the drifts are so high.

We had a great time in the office finishing this sentence and I bet you can come up with more good ones.

This winter we have had snow on the ground that was up to our hips. The drifts on the roof were up to 5 feet deep.

It made me wonder: How much snow is too much for a roof to handle?

I wish there were a simple answer, but none exists. You can look for signs of an overloaded roof, though. If after a heavy snow you go into the attic and see that the rafters are severely bent by the weight of the snow above or if you hear cracking and popping, that’s reason to be concerned.

If you don’t have easy access to your attic, another bad sign: The house’s frame has moved enough to jam shut a door at the front or the back of the house. Unless the roof structure is damaged or decayed, most residential roofs regardless of the location of the house should be able to support 20 pounds per square foot of snow before they become stressed.

You can remove drifts using a roof rake with an extension pole, or hire a pro for the job. Fortunately, the vast majority of roofs don’t cave in, even when the weight of the snow on them exceeds what they’re designed to carry.

If you are 60 or older, our chore program does snow removal and will also help get the snow off your roof. For more information call Brent Johnson at 507-434-2188.

Don’t forget our coffee shop where every day you can have homemade soup for $1 and a sandwich for 50 cents. Tuesday we will be having goulash in the coffee shop starting at 11:30 a.m. for $2.

Upcoming events

Monday: Blood pressure checks, 9 a.m.; Naps, 9:30 a.m.; Cards (Pinochle, Duplicate Bridge), 12:30 p.m.; Exercise with Evie, 1 p.m.; Facebook lessons, 6 p.m.; movie, 6 p.m.

Tuesday: Silver Sneakers 8:30 a.m.; Exercise with Evie, 9 a.m.; Hormel Breakfast, 9 a.m.; Goulash 11:30 a.m.; cards (Pinochle, Duplicate Bridge, 500), 12:30 p.m.;

Glasses adjustment, 2 p.m.; Zumba Gold, 4 p.m.; Silver Sneakers, 4:30 p.m.;

Boot Camp, 5:10 p.m.; Zumba/Zumba Toning, 6:10 p.m.; Yoga, 7:20 p.m.

Wednesday: Wood Carvers 8:30 a.m.; Tai Chi, 9:30 a.m.; Ron’s Massage, 10:30 a.m.; cards (Pinochle, Cribbage), 12:30 p.m.; Stitching Bees, 1 p.m.; open chess, 1 p.m.

Thursday: Silver Sneakers, 8:30 a.m.; Exercise with Evie, 9 a.m.; cards (Pinochle, Duplicate Bridge), 12:30 p.m.; open chess, 1 p.m.; Hearing aid checks, 3:15 p.m.; Zumba Gold, 4 p.m.; Silver Sneakers, 4:30 p.m.; Boot Camp, 5:10 p.m.; Zumba/Zumba Toning, 6:10 p.m.; Yoga, 7:20 p.m.

Friday: Cards (Pinochle, Duplicate Bridge, 500), 12:30 p.m.; ping-pong, 3 p.m.

Weekly Card Results

Monday Bridge

NO RESULTS

Tuesday Duplicate Bridge

Feb. 18, 5.5 tables

1st Larry Crowe, 1st Dick Hansen; 2nd Ray Schmidt,

2nd Gail Schmidt; 3rd Russ Vaale, 3rd Mabel Vaale, 3rd Dave Solomonson, 3rd Dr Gene Muchow; 5th Marge Blaser, 5th Joyce Crowe; 6th Judy Bungum, 6th Betty Jorgenson

Tuesday “500”

Feb. 25, three tables playing

1st Beulah Luthe, 2nd Eloise Williamette, 3rd Jerry Downing

Pinochle

Hilton Henschen

Friday Bridge

Feb. 28, three tables

1st John Karnes, 2nd Jaynard Johnson, 3rd Arnie Lang, 4th Lois Johnson, 5th Carolyne Higgins

Wednesday Cribbage

Feb. 19, two tables

1st Mabel Vaale, 2nd Loretta Nelson, 3rd Bernice Scholer

Friday “500”

Feb. 28, three tables

1st Dennis Bray, 2nd Eddie Hall, 3rd Gene Rauen, 4th Wilbur Mittag