Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Frustration

Wesley Chapel, Florida

My weather app on my phone says it’s going to get to 75 today and 44 tonight.  Yikes…that’s too cold for Florida.  I can’t believe that’s correct since we’ve been in the upper 50’s all week.  Are we having a cold front I don’t know about ????

We’ve been dealing with issues with Directv for the past 2 weeks.   We have a 10 year old Tivo brand dvr which we love.   It started powering down and resetting several times a day.   Al was not happy when that happened when he was trying to watch the Bucs football game last Sunday.  We initially thought our old Tivo receiver had finally bit the dust.  Then our other Tivo receiver started doing the same thing and it started happening more frequently.

I did a little research and found the problem.  It appears that Directv did some sort of software upgrade which caused the problem.  They were aware of this problem, but evidently didn’t tell their customer service reps,  because when I initially called them, they didn’t know a thing about this issue and the only thing they did was offer us a brand new Tivo HD receiver to RENT for $225 initially,  plus $20 extra per month.  No thanks.

I  found out about the problem on an online forum.   I don’t understand why Directv couldn’t notify their customers.   At first we thought our receiver was going bad, but when the second receiver started doing the same thing, we started to wonder if it was something wrong with the hook-ups on the coach.

Most of the time when the unit reset, it had to be unplugged  several times to get it to lock onto the signal.  One time in the unplugging and plugging back in process, I heard funny noise then smelled smoke.      I think the frequent resets may have caused this, but of course Directv says no one else had this problem.  Since the unit is so old, I didn’t pur

I discovered a company in California that will fix the receiver for $150.  For an additional $29 I can also get a new 120 gig hard drive.     We sent our old receiver to them yesterday.  I found lots of good reviews for this company, so if anyone needs a Tivo repaired, check out Weak Knees.   I think they only work on Tivo brand dvr’s.

Fortunately, we had an old Tivo box that still worked, so we won’t be without our bedroom tv.   I like to watch tv in bed at night, and on Sundays Al watches football so I have to “go to my room.” We have gotten so spoiled since we first got our Tivo’s, and can’t deal with commercials.

 

My next frustration was trying to buy sheets.  Remember back in the day, when you’d go to Penney’s and get their percale sheets and they were great?  They were wrinkle free, nice and smooth and would last forever.  Now, all you can find is “Egyptian Cotton,”   which really means…wrinkles a LOT.   I hate wrinkled sheets but do not intend to iron them.

I learned a good lesson a few years ago when I bought some sheets that turned into a wrinkled mess when I washed them.  Now, I look for ones that state they are  “wrinkle free.”  That doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t wrinkle though, so I also learned to carefully take out one pillow case and wash it.  If it comes out wrinkled, I iron it, put it back in the case and return the sheets.    I bought some 600 thread count sheets at Sam’s Club for $69.99.  They said they were wrinkle free, but guess what?  I did the pillow case test and found otherwise.  It used to be so easy to buy sheets.  Can anybody recommend a good brand of sheets that won’t wrinkle?    I like them smooth and silky feeling.  We have a rv queen mattress but it’s an 11 inch thick Bed in a Box mattress so I don’t use Rv sheets, but just make do with regular queen sheets.  

We’re going to Mom’s house for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.  She’s been feeling pretty well, (knock on wood) and wanted to cook dinner.  Yea!  We finally told her we were going to the Keys.  I had waited because I wanted to see how she was feeling before we committed.    So, the plan is to leave Friday.   I hope the traffic on the interstate won’t be too bad.  It looks like Florida is having a lot cooler winter this year than last, and it’s only been in the upper 70’s in the Keys.   burrrrrr….

Hitch itch has set in……can’t wait to hit the road and see that beautiful water!

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18 comments:

  1. It's been so long ago since I bought sheets I'm not sure what we have. And they do wrinkle some but we just live with it. Let us know if you find some sheets that you like. Sorry your weather has cooled down so much. We're still in the 80's but going to be in the 70's next week. I much prefer the 80's. Have a Happy Thanksgiving and a safe trip to the Keys.

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  2. It sure will be interesting to see what kind of winter Florida has this year! I don't mind the cool temps at all but the WIND...now that's another story! Haven't been able to kayak here in AL because of the wind. Hope you have a great Thanksgiving with your mom....

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  3. What a strange name for a company that repairs Tivos Weak Knees.
    Wishing you a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving.

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  4. We are fussy sheet buyers ever since my step-daughter spoiled us with Charisma sheets from William Sonoma where she used to work. We have found Charisma sheets at Costco that are almost as soft and smooth as the ones from W.S. which were four times the $.

    It does indeed seem like a cooler winter in Florida as yesterday here in the Keys the locals were all bundled up with temps in the 60s. The forecast for the rest of the week is back in the 70s, so it should be lovely for your getaway. Hope to get a chance to meet you while you are here!

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  5. I got some nice sheets at Penney's about a year ago, but can't remember the name of them. :(

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  6. Almost makes you wish for the good old days when you had a black and white TV with a coat hanger for an antenna... ;c)

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  7. I also dislike egyptian percales...I find they are too light and tickle your legs...I do not have a problem with the wrinkles..hummm...I can't tell you the brand...but I stick around the 300 thread count I find they are crisper versus the softness of the egyptian 600 count...I find the higher the thread count the more prone to wrinkles they are...just my opinion..I have some 300 count that are many years old and still in great shape...enjoy dinner with your mom and travel safe...we just had direct installed the other day no problems here thankfully..

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  8. Maybe there is a Tivo virus going around, one of our kids Tivo's did the same thing a few days ago and they had to replace it.

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  9. When we bought this MH in January, we upgraded our TiVo to the HD version. The political ads didn't bother us so much this year since we forward through them anyway. Worth every penny!
    We can relate about the sheets. We're still using 15 year old sheets that are good as new because they don't wrinkle or knot up like Egyptian cotton. They are a 60/40 cotton/polyester blend. I like the pillow case test. :-)
    Syl

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  10. That pillow case test is a good idea! Good luck with the Tivo repair, I can't believe Direct TV didn't send an e-mail to their customers and let them know what was happening. And if it was their software that caused the problem, they should have repaired the DVR themselves - for FREE. Jeez!

    Happy Thanksgiving - it will be nice to be at your Mom's house for the holiday, then hitting the road the next day. You must be really looking forward to both Thursday and Friday. Drive safe! :)

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  11. Enjoy Thanksgiving with your Mom. I'm sure you are anxious to hit the Keys.....have fun.

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  12. We have 2 sets of Micro-Fiber Sheets that we love!! Can't tell you the brand, got them at Marshall's for about $20!! They don't wrinkle and are silky soft:o))

    Happy Thanksgiving and Safe Travels....

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  13. Happy Thanksgiving and I'm glad your Mom is doing so well these days.

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  14. Interesting discussion of sheets. I too hate ironing but love the ironed look. Going to the Keys sounds just wonderful. Hope this cool November is not a portent of the entire winter.

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  15. As recently as May of this year, Bed Bath and Beyond carried two varieties of percales. One was 100% cotton. Reviewers hated its wrinkling. They also had a 60 cotton 40 polyester that I bought. Folks thought they were thin. They aren't what we would remember as percale, but they are smooth, unlike E. cotton. Husband thinks they're noisy, but I haven't found anything else even close. BTW, please warm Florida up; we'll be there Tuesday for the winter (in a MH park).

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  16. Happy Thanksgiving! Glad to hear your Mom is doing well and that you'll be able to get away for a spell!

    We have some percale Better Home and Gardens sheets from Walmart...not that I like to refer peeps to there, but they don't wrinkle I'm here to tell ya! We also like the feel of well worn flannel sheets and have some from L.L. Bean that we love!

    Safe travels!

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  17. Oh the trials and tribulations of wrinkled sheets! Oh my!
    We don't have a dryer, so most everything comes out wrinkled. You get used to it. I've been known to get fed up and iron the odd pillow case, but the sheets are on their own.
    I mostly sleep with my eyes closed (??) so it doesn't seem to bother me.
    Florida cold? Huh? What's with that? Now THAT would get my dander up.
    Wrinkled sheets? Not so much.

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