So Saturday evening I was sitting in the living room listening to the wind roar loudly around the house - we were having a chinook for those of you who know what that means - and there was a sudden crash and the cat jumped straight up and fluffed out. I went back to look, thinking a window had blown open. Nope. A window blew OUT. All the way out. Frame and all. And there in the wall of our master bedroom was a blank hole 66" by 88" (yes, we measured) with the wind rushing through and the trees whipping their branches and the cold moon shining in. Very odd feeling.
I carefully approached and looked down and could see the double window frame lying on the ground 10 feet below.
We are very lucky in our friends and neighbors. The magnificent Ted and his son Connor packed up the pickup and came running to the rescue - stopping at Home Depot on the way to buy two big sheets of plywood. Our neighbor Dan was already settled in by then with three ladders, two sawhorses, a drill, a circular saw, and A PLAN!
Kent went outside and was allowed to hold flashlights. I held two lamps out the window from above until there was no more window opening to hold them from. Dan, Ted, and Connor cut up the plywood, climbed the ladders, screwed the boards firmly and exactly onto the outside of the opening, and then taped all the edges with gaffer's tape. Then Ted came in and we put up some insulation and sealed a plastic dropcloth over the inside.
As he walked home with his two story ladder my neighbor Dan said, "Thank you for letting me help!" and as he headed out the front door (to return to trimming his Christmas tree) Ted asked, "Now is there anything else I can do?" I don't need good fences. I've already got good neighbors.