Wanted: Difficult piece of land : if you can't find a perfect piece of land, buy an imperfect piece and make it perfect -- Designing small : you can't buy happiness by the square foot -- The rules : when you build, build with hands, head, and heart -- Paperwork and earthworks : Mensh tracht, Gott lacht (man plans, God laughs) -- A solid foundation : when you dig a hole, be smarter than the shovel -- Kat : wife, lifesaver, carpenter : when you marry, you marry the whole person, not just the parts above the waterline; you get both the silk sails and the barnacles -- The bones of the cabin : destiny can throw down a pretty sparse trail of popcorn for you to follow -- The drive : if all the difficulties were known at the outset of a long journey, most of us would never start out at all -- Buying cabin parts : keep an open mind -- you never know what might crawl in -- Skin of the cabin and mid-life blahs : beauty is only plywood deep -- A Superior lake (some Superior towns) : when you get caught with your pants down, run like hell -- Wood, wire, pipe, and drywall : the quandary with life is you're halfway through before you realize it's a do-it-yourself project -- Family matters : life is a fluid, not a solid. it changes; be ready for it -- Finishing touches : when it's 90 percent finished, it's finished -- Troubles in paradise : mistakes are the dues you pay for living a full life -- Settling in, grooving out : there's more to life than increasing its speed -- Afterword.