Robert Forto

Michele

Fortos Fort: 3 Years in the Making

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Three years ago today, on a rainy Fourth of July, my daughter and I arrived in Alaska to take a look at a house in the small town of Willow.

I am sure you know the story by now, I have talked about it many times before. Long story short, Nicole was given the choice to move here or to stay in Denver. She texted her mom who was still in Denver while we were up here looking. She said, “Mom, we are moving to Alaska!” Nothing like leaving the biggest purchase in your life in the hands of a 12 year old.

I moved up a couple weeks later and got to work. It was in a sorry state of repair and it would test our construction skills, our financial well being, our family dynamic and even our marriage.

I was here almost a year by myself while the family stayed in Denver for a couple reasons; school for the kids and our dog training business.

My son, Tyler moved up in June 2011 and Michele followed in September, with Nicole around Christmas time.

Over the last three years it truly has been a labor of love and much a labor of necessity. We have fixed, repaired, replaced and remodeled most of what you see in the before and after pictures.

We couldn’t do this with out the help of some great friends–Marvin “Pee Wee” Rankin has not only become a good friend but also his expertise has helped so much in our daily projects to make our house a home here in the Great White North.

While there are still tons to do around our property we are happy to report that a lot of things are checked off the list.

  • a new roof
  • a green house
  • a walk in smoker
  • all new appliances
  • a kennel for 30 dogs
  • lots of paint and carpet
  • tons of trash and debris (literally) removed including a broken down truck and a half of a boat
  • and much, much more…

There are still things on the wish list that we will get to in our short summer months. We are realized that we can tackle two or three major projects a year. Upcoming are:

  • an overhang on the back of the kennel building with a sliding door
  • a deck on the second floor–our answer to a tree house–so we can enjoy the stars and the northern lights
  • a fence around the backyard and the dog yard
  • to level and a drainage system for the dog yard
  • remodel some of the rooms inside–we can do a lot of this in the winter
  • a sauna

Thanks to all of my rabid readers that have been along with me during this journey. Your advice and encouragement has been very helpful. Stay tuned for more to come!

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NaBloPoMo: Are there monsters under your bed?

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I am participating in the NaBloPoMo challenge for May. It should be a fun one. It is titled: Play.

Toady’s topic: Are there monsters under your bed?

That’ s a good question. For the better part of a year I slept on a queen mattress on the floor of my bedroom in Alaska while I was renovating, or shall we say fixing up, the place that I aptly call Forto’s Fort. (Then my wife finally moved up and we had to get a proper bed frame).

So with the mattress firmly in place on the floor, there was absolutely no way that monsters could live under my bed. Dust bunnies the size of Great Danes, yes. Monsters, no.

That doesn’t mean that they don’t lurk in my closet or in the attic. Boy do I have a story to share…

It was shortly after the winter solstice, the shortest days were upon us in Alaska which means it is only daylight for a few hours during the day. The rest of the time we are blessed (or some would say a cursed) with darkness for long periods of time.

Around midnight as Michele and I settled into bed and drifted off to sleep I could hear faint music coming from what sounded like the attic. It sounded like old-timey tunes from the roaring 20s. You know that Big Band stuff?

It kept playing and playing until I got up the nerve to get out of bed and go check it out. I thought maybe I left the TV on or one of the kids had iTunes going or something. Nope not at all.

The music continued to play. It sounded scratchy like it was on an old phonograph or something.

Lying there still as a board we couldn’t help but lay there and listen. You couldn’t quite make out the words but you could definitely hear the music.

At some point we drifted off to sleep.

There are some nights you can still hear the music playing in the attic. Spooky isn’t it?

I guess it doesn’t help that I am a huge horror movie fan and I have read just about every word that Stephen King has ever printed.

Monsters under my bed? Nah. Poltergeists in my attic? Let’s hope not!

______________________

Robert Forto is mushin’ down a dream in the wilds of Alaska. He and is wife are raising two teenagers at Forto’s Fort.

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Enter Sandman: Honky Tonk Tavern

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Last night’s music experience at the Fort was channel 811: Honky Tonk Tavern. It’s hard to believe that both Michele and I actually enjoyed this. It started off with a gospel tune from the great Johnny Cash and ended somewhere with a rocking, twangy tune by Dwight Yoakam.

He was excellent in Slingblade as Dale but did you know that he was also in Terminator 2: Judgement Day and just recently walked off the set of the Lone Ranger, due to a “scheduling conflict”.

I am not s huge Country fan and I have never quite understood what the difference is between Country and Country and Western. Do you know?

But Honk Tonk Tavern is what I guess they would call “old school”. There are a lot of twangy guitars and of course a lot of tunes about your dog, your girlfriend leaving you and being un-employed. Not stereotypical at all.

Maybe tonight we can listen to some honest-to-godness-bang-your-head hard rock. A guy needs a little rockin’ to Dokken before bed.

More to come…

 

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