"An uplifting tale of hoisting studs, [this] two-year odyssey of cabin construction weaves carpentry skills, parenting, and love through a weft of humor." -- Dale Mulfinger, author and Cabinologist "Carlsen chronicles the realities and and pitfalls as well as the joys and satisfactions of creating a human-scaled getaway. Complete with ample practical advice, Cabin Lessons is a must-read for anyone "knotty pining" for a place of their own." -- Sarah Stonich, author of Shelter and Vacationland "The story is the perfect blend of inspiration and information. It also offers . the biggest home-building lesson of all: sometimes it's not the end result, but the journey that brings a family closer together." -- Timber Home Living " Cabin Lessons . is part how-to, part memoir and part love story--love of Kat, love of Lake Superior, love of building.
" -- The Minneapolis Star Tribune "If you've ever dreamed of building your own cabin, you should read this book. Cabin Lessons recounts [Spike and Kat's] entertaining and instructive story of building together with plenty of lessons for a would-be cabin or house builder. It's also a meditation by a kind, modest and genuinely funny guy on building a marriage, a blended family and a life. You'll be grinning. Guaranteed" -- The Family Handyman "Spike Carlsen's book . chronicles the family's route from a scenic dream (with a modest budget) to designing and building, to filling the space with family, to a (rejected) blank-check purchase offer from a slickster driving an Italian-made car. And it's all told in the voice of someone you want to see sitting on the other side of the campfire, sharing a blanket with his wife, dispensing charming tales and life lessons in calm, even rolls." -- The Duluth News Tribune "This memoir shines because Spike is a likeable storyteller.
He travels from the purchase of an it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time impossible building site through the construction and occupation of a marvelous modest cabin. He weaves in bits of shore history, philosophical musing and warm family moments that make this a true keeper." -- Lake Superior Magazine "Carlsen's life history makes him qualified to build a cabin and write a book about the painstaking yet joyful experience. As a carpenter and accomplished woodworker, he ran his own construction and remodeling company. As a magazine editor and author, he has written about home remodeling and has four books about wood and woodworking, including the award-winning A Splintered History of Wood: Belt Sander Races, Blind Woodworkers and Baseball Bats ." --Tori McCormick, Outdoor Editor, Minneapolis Star Tribune.