The Great Trailer Fiasco of 2006

As you may recall from a previous post, Tim's parents are moving to the area and it is causing no end of stress and heartburn for the two of us. Tim is holding up fairly well, having 22 more years of experience with them than I do, yet we're both still amazed at the way they do things. The extended Sleepy family (since I took his name when we married, that would be Tim's side of the house) is an incredibly laid back clan. They epitomize the phrase "go with the flow" and, honestly, if they had to actually plan something in detail - and then keep to that plan to the letter - well, I think they might all die of the stress of it all. The NotSleepy extended family (i.e. my extended family) suffers from the polar opposite of this condition and would, in all likelihood, die from the stress of not having a detailed plan to run things. It's been an interesting thing for Tim and me to develop a life that finds compromise between the two extremes. Most days we're successful. However, in keeping with the laid-back nature of the Sleepy clan, Tim's folks have no real idea about when they're going to arrive, where they're going to live, etc. Couple this with Tim's dad's amazing talent for squeezing pennies until you find it's actually a nickel, and well, you have The Great Trailer Fiasco of 2006. When Tim's folks came back from their overseas assignment, they moved into a suite hotel thinking that it would be a short stay. They had sold their house prior to leaving and all their stuff was in storage. The short stay expanded into a long stay and Tim's dad decided that storage cost too much, so he went off in search of alternatives...and came home with two 20-foot trailers (the type lawn care services pull behind their trucks), into which they moved everything from their storage locker and parked them happily in the hotel parking lot. Now that they have a destination in mind (i.e. this area), the very first thing they did was arrange to have those trailers shipped to us. Keep in mind that they have not been out here on a house hunting trip, let alone have a contract on something. Keep in mind also that our homeowner's association - like many in the area - prohibit parking of trailers and RVs on the street. Can you see where this is going?

Tim took Monday off to deal with the unloading and positioning of said trailers in our driveway. It took all day. He's mighty annoyed by that fact. But it's done. Now we have an arrival date for their descent into our home - and apparently there are no plans for an advance scout to come out and find a home for them first. So, until they show up and then move to their permanent abode, we're stuck looking like the Hillbillies of the neighborhood with trailers in the driveway and cars on the street. And to top it off, Tim's sister has ferrets.

Anyone know if shelties eat ferrets?