Around the middle of May - I had experienced a major computer meltdown.

My PC based system went into a catastrophic meltdown and I couldn’t even access my back up files. For a few weeks I had tried to recover. My computer went in for service - Hard drives wiped and XP reinstalled - however my back up disks could still not be accessed. A nightmare.

With the help of a couple of very close friends that design MAC based systems for companies and came to my rescue, we began the process of not only recovering information but also building a new system. Through their efforts the decision was made to move to MAC, thereby avoiding the further nightmare of VISTA and the loss of my peripherals. The switch from PC to MAC began. They took it as a personal challenge and wanted to build a state of the art system for me.

I turned over all of my equipment to them. They had spent many hours working in the wee hours of the night rescuing information off of damaged hard drives we were finally able to recover all of my information and files. They both are talented indeed and have worked with many companies in the recovery of information from computer disks damaged by everything from worm attacks to fire.

I was not sure what it was that they were building for me and when I would inquire they would only say that they were building something unique.

I had lost access to everything and quite frankly getting my system back up and running took precedent over the management of the site.

When the day came of being presented with the new system I was in shock.

For you computer aficionados — here is information about my new system:

I am running a dual MacPro system. There are two MacPro towers running in tandem sharing their resources and computing power. Each MacPro running 2 3GHz Quad-Cores providing a total of 16 cores of processing power. Each MacPro Tower runs with 32 GB of Ram for a grand total of 64 GB of Ram. Talk about fast -everything is instantaneous.

Both MacPro Towers have a 500 GB Disc in their first bays. In the remaining three internal bays on each machine each bay is fitted with 1TB providing a total of 6 TB internally. Externally an additional 4TB provide for back-up as well as additional space with an additional TB for the portable drive.

He configured the system for access via my MacPro laptop from anywhere - through remote desktop I can access any file on my system securely from anywhere in the world.

In front of me sets a configuration of three HD monitors. The center monitor is a 30″ with two 23″ monitors on either side providing for a total over 63″ of horizontal view.

Of software - for video editing - so that I can ge back to creating how-to videos - Final Cut Studio and many of the add-ons have been employed.

None of this would have been possible without the tremendous help and extreme generosity of a couple of good friends.

With all of that repaired I can now resume with updating the site and finally respond to the numerous requests and emails. My apologies for the delay.

There is a lot to update on the site — so look updates and article to commence shortly.

I want to thank everybody for their many emails of support during the recovery and rebuild.

In many previous posts I discuss the use of boric acid during the process of replacing chinking, repairing logs and have identified several other uses where boric acid should be used as well as methods of application.

Boric acid works as a wood preservative — it kills mold, mildew as well insects and is very useful to have around any home - not just log homes.

I have received numerous emails and questions as to where to find boric acid. In fact more than one reader has emailed saying that they found boric acid at a local pharmacy which was both very small amounts and at an astronomical cost.

Boric acid is not very expensive and a little goes a long way.

I have placed in the side bar a link to the best source for boric acid they carry boric acid (PeneTreat) in the perfect sized quantities for most applications at a very attractive price.

Over a period of time I will be sharing my sources for materials as I have chosen them very carefully. I do not take such relationships lightly. Service and quality are chief concerns. I could easily load up on links to various suppliers of materials yet I refuse to do so. Links to such are chosen very carefully and only after extensive conversations.

Please follow the above link and should you wish to call them, ask for Mike Carey. He is a wealth of information. Tell him that Bearfort Lodge says hello.

Now that the weather has warmed up work has resumed on the remodeling of the small bath and shower installation.

The two stick frame walls have been insulated and covered in a plastic vapor barrier. The log wall shown here in the first photo has not seen the light of day for probably 50 years or more and needed a serious cleaning. The tops of the logs were covered with a thick black soot from years of coal and wood burning heat.

Using my home recipe for cleaning logs I have gently washed down the logs with a soft bristle brush. This process will brighten the wood slightly. However once clean I will re-stain and seal the logs at a later stage of the construction.

read more about cleaning the logs

It is important in any home to be able to create a special place for when you want solitude.

Sometimes you just need a place to kick back and read in a place where you can get away from it all.

Here it is all about simplicity. A comfortable wingback chair, a comfortable throw in warm sunlight offers a soothing and peaceful retreat.

For years it had sat in boxes and crates in the recesses of a storage area in the barn back in Illinois. As a kid I remember many times having to move it here or there with instructions to keep the boxes together when ever that part of the barn was ‘reorganized’.

Each box had a few pieces of this and that and a drawer front or two. Here and there a stile was mixed in with a piece of molding or a shelf. Larger pieces had been neatly stacked atop or along side the boxes in no particular order. Some boxes held doors, handles and hinges and a small drawer or two and always provided perfect shelter for spiders and mice among the captured debris.

The cabinet itself had been reduced to a stack of slats and boards tucked away in the corner loosely tied together with baling twine.

Read more about the kitchen hutch

The shower attached to the small bathroom, as discussed in the previous installment, has been removed and the space opened up to its original 6 by 6 space.

The narrow door as seen in this photo is only 19 inches wide and leads to the bathroom. The walls have been stripped of the cheesy press-board paneling.

This room originally served as a bathroom for the tavern and is situated in a corner of the veranda game room. As layers of paneling were stripped away one could see on the floor where the toilet and sink once set. The ceiling of the small room has been removed to expose the game room ceiling which slopes from 12 foot down to 10 foot.

Read more about the bathroom remodeling

I needed a pot rack here at the lodge. I couldn’t have one hanging overhead with cathedral ceilings in the kitchen and even if I could I didn’t want to interrupt the space.

I use my copper pots and pans. What is the point of having them if you don’t use them?

I have seen iron pot racks, wood pot racks, stainless steel pot racks and an assortment of others but I didn’t care for the designs nor the cost. I wanted a simple pot rack that I could mount on the sidewall. The pot rack needed to be simple, about 5 to 6 feet long and tight to the wall.

Read more about making a copper pot rack

I have not been a big fan of track lighting but it does have its place and time. In an effort to provide more light in the kitchen here at the lodge, the previous owners had installed track lights on the log trusses overhead. As if Ethel Merman stepped in to sing Ave Maria the two were not a good mix.

The white plastic tracks and large white canister lights screamed out in their stark contrast to everything and immediately drew your attention upwards, not to the cathedral ceilings but to the lights and tracks themselves. It was one of the first thing noticed in the kitchen.

read more about camouflaging track lights

Your front door says a great deal about you, your home and provides the perfect canvas on which to welcome your guests.

Whatever door color or style you choose pay just as much attention to the door knocker that you mount. Visiting a specialty hardware store one can find an assortment of door knockers from vintage to highly polished brass or chrome. Dragonflies, flowers, each a sculpture, each an expression.

This cast bronze trout door knocker was a gift from my family - I’m an avid angler. There is nothing quite like catching the rise or casting the riffles of the Esopus River. I use my grandfather’s cane fly rod and tie my own flies. The knocker seemed more than appropriate for the lodge.

Let your front door express your passions and take great care as to the door knocker that you mount.

Mark just sent me an email asking about chinking, insulation, boric acid and preservatives for a log barn project he is working on.

Mark writes:

i have an old log open barn the logs are from 1-5 inches apart it is 18 by 20 by 10 feet high i would like your chinking recipe and your insulation idea and the purpose of using boric acid also what is a good sealer to use on the chink and logs to seal it after you are done

Hello Mark and thanks for the question!

I’m going to stick my neck out and assume that the logs on the barn are hand hewn. With that in mind you may want to check out the section on Hand Hewn Chinking for starters.

More chinking info for Mark