On the Sofa: House hunting, photos and farms. 

I'm old now, and I couldn't overstate the effect sunshine and nature have on my mind/body/spirit. By having a daily practice of walking, chanting silently or out loud, focusing on all I have to be grateful for has more than a subtle effect on my health. I hope for you too. HAPPY SOLSTICE!

I’m absolutely flabbergasted that people think that they have any right to question your decisions or speed of moving etc… you’re kindness to open your life to us isn’t a invitation to question your choices or push you to do something 😮 thanks for your continued kindness and openness. 😊

Love your discussion of the word "nice"! I'm an American, born of an English mother. I grew up influenced by her, thinking of the word "nice" just as you do... something pleasingly pleasant, a good thing. When I married (an American), he was offended whenever I used the word "nice". To him, "nice" was a word that was used about something boring, or so-so, or even quite bad, but the speaker wanted to avoid hurting the other person's feelings.

It was so nice to hear your news and chat with you Vivi. Take care ❤

Maybe it’s a British thing…being against the word “nice”. I’ve never heard of anyone being against it! I think “nice” is perfectly acceptable!!!

Nice to see you Vivi. My garden lights stopped working and blew the fuse! My son investigated, found a fried slug inside the plug. All working now. You do you, we love you. You are such good company when I'm sat crocheting. Take care lovely 😊🌹

I use nice a lot. It’s a nice word.

Hi Vivi, you are quite right you do need to be sure the flat you move too meets all your needs. Buying and selling property is not cheap and also the stress both physically and mentally is tremendous.I downsized my house a couple of years ago, I did a lot of the procedure my self, I had no spare finance so did all the packing , trips to charity shops, tip etc. unpacking and hanging curtains finding homes for things lifting and carrying boxes. It really took it toll on me it took me 12 months to finally feel I was getting over moving.

You're my were cosy and uplifting part of today. It was very NICE seeing you.

For me being in nature is like experiencing an analogue versus a digital life. Everything slows down and you can hear yourself think. We dont make time for reflection don’t you agree? Also walking outdoors for ten minutes a day can cut the risk of an early death by 15%. Now there’s motivation for you. Thanks for the chat Vivi. 🌟❤️

Yes Vivi I had the same issue with people not liking the word nice. How ridiculous I know. I like the word nice, I think it’s nice and as you say, it’s quietly pleasant xx

Since I am swedish l always felt that when using the word nice I was not able to find the correct word due to my lack of english vocabulary, but I am glad you promote the word - it is nice 😊

The photos of the garden will come in handy when you write Your book!

As an avid animal lover/rescuer, I can't bear watching any TV that involves farms. No matter how nice the people and surroundings are. You know the animals fate is to be slaughtered. I actually don't know how they do it.

That was a really nice video Vivi. I recall being told off in school for using the word. I have used it all my life and it crops up on what’s apps between me and my daughters all the time. What a utterly superb word. 😊 I was being treated to a lunch out by a friend yesterday and a seed saver packer for Real Seeds was sitting on the opposite table. How nice was that.

I agree with you - the word nice has some very valid applications! It's a gentle, unassuming word. And I've also thought, if you say someone is genuinely nice, it's not bland at all, but a real and rare compliment.

Sorry moving is such a long and stressful process in your area. In the US (at least my area) - you sign a buy/sell and have 30 -45 days to get moved out and the new owners to move in. You barely have time to adjust to selling and it's already sold and you've moved.

Have a beautiful week Vivi!

Hey Vivi! So good to see and hear you today! Thanks for sharing love!💕 🙋🏻‍♀️

Good video,I lived on a community farm and milked a cow sitting on a stool and put grease on my hands to pull the teats for milk in a bucket the same with the goats that was in 1983

It's always interesting to me to see what books you are displaying, I normally have one of them at least!! Today is that lovely ( little toller?) edition of the John Seymour 😁

Hiya Vivi, Enjoyed a nice wee visit with you today Thankyou Luv Ontario Canada 🇨🇦🐝

How wonderful to have your files set up . I had mine on a removable hard drive and it is no longer readable i need to take it into the tech people to see if it can be saved, I have tried all the things i know . Its lovely how you feel about trees. We live on the edge of the dry line so we value trees more than many Americans. Just 50 miles west of us the desert starts and you may travel miles without seeing a tree. When my husband and i were very young we by luck and blessings owned 2 acres and all it had on it were a few scrubby mesquite trees. My husband trimmed and cared for those trees like thet were red woods. We got in a financial pickle and had to sell a portion of our land to pay taxes. The person who bought the land cut down those mesquite trees because he didn't like them. My husband was so upset he couldn't believe someone would cut down the only trees they had he is a gruff German guy but i thought he would cry when he saw the land as he called it scalped.

Love your observations of adverts. M & S clothes on their website have a model who looks so fed up and looks like she got the short straw wearing the outfit. Proper Mardy. Also i used to work in a school as a teaching assistant and you would not believe how much they drummed into children to find a better word than nice. I get it, but sometimes nice will do. x

We here for this❤ Hi Vivi

A lovely chat, Vivi. Just on the house buying topic, in Canada, if an offer has been accepted, and all the terms met, that's a binding contract and the sellers are not able to say, oh we've changed our mind. We're not moving. You're more likely to be out bid in the offer stage.

That was a NICE video. I can remember my school teacher brasers Brown encouraging me to find alternative words to Nice. He was a great teacher though and he came to see my train set Dad and myself built in the loft. He was a Nice teacher! 🙂

Nice to see you, to see you…nice. That will probably only make sense to people in the UK of a certain age. If it was good enough for Bruce Forsyth it should be fine for the rest of us to use. I enjoyed this nice chat so thank you for making my evening nicer than it would have been if you hadn’t posted this nice video. 😁

Vive it's your life your choice your way nobody else's business they don't pay your bills

Hope you find your forever home soon Vivi, although your current home isn’t such a bad place to be. If you ever decide to volunteer you would be smashing going into care homes for a chat and cuppa with the residents. Every video is a lovely friendly catch up. ❤

The farm you are talking about is about 20 mins down the road from me, an absolute life saver during the pandemic as they were mostly open . I seem to remember during the 80's the word Nice was considered banal for some reason 🙄lol, I like it, as you say its 'just nice' You'll move when the times right Vivi and you find the right home for you

There has been talk of purchase contracts where there is a financial penalty for defaulting on an offer to purchase. Too many time wasters and people jumping from offer to offer to get a better sell price, or deciding they don't like the purchaser for some reason and finding an excuse to not sell.

I'm a similar age to you and we were told exactly like you at school to never use the word nice. It's funny because I still don't use it because of that and you're right, it's ridiculous!

You're right, being in nature or grounding doesn't solve our problems, but boy does it make them more bearable. My daughter and I often ground and we feel a different exchange of energy... She feel like the ground is charging her with energy...I feel like all of my pent up energy is being drained into the ground. Either way, we feel much better after grounding and being in nature.

Opinions are like a nose - everybody has one, doesn’t mean they should share it, sorry about all the harassment you’ve gotten about not moving yet Vivi. It will happen in its own time we are a part of nature so we need to do what needs doing and then rest in the cycle of life and a season for everything ❤

Hi dear Vivi! It's been quite busy for me across the pond, so I'm trying to catch up on your videos. First off, I love your outfit!! It looks really beautiful on you. The color combo and the lovely print of seagulls on your scarf wrap. Your chats always keep me grounded because your true emotions really come through. Gosh, people get their undies in a bunch over other people's lives and decisions on RU-vid. I've experienced that as well and even lost subscribers over it. Craziness!! I don't care though because this is my life and I'll go st the pace that I need to go at. Same with you. Your house hunting will resume when you're able to. Honestly, it's taken over a year to get most of my dad's house packed and him finally living with me.. There's been lots of stress and adjustments but we're finally in a better place. We still have packing to do but nothing like before..These things take time but our situation is much different than yours and my parents had a lot of stuff to sort through. You will get to your new home when it's the right time and people just need to chill out. Lol I agree about the advertisements with the models and their angry, sour faces. I think the director must think it's edgy but I don't like it either. I didn't know you liked baby goats. They are quite magnificent. I love baby cows. So adorable! There's a book I read about goats and farmers. It was a pretty good read but I can't remember the title at the moment.. I'll get back to you on that one. I hope you had a lovely Christmas. 🎄⛄

That farm is just up the road from me, it is a lovely place 😊

NICE video 😏😉❤

Good afternoon Vivi. School is out for the Holidays, and I was looking forward to some days of rest, preparing for Christmas, getting the last presents and what not. Woke up today, I have a cold. I suppose I´m not going anywhere today. Freezing, having a fire in the woodburning stove, it is snowing. Perfect day to stay inside! 🌨I was thinking, for my brother and wife, I was planning to get a hamper with food/drink items. Then I thought, I have a lot of the items already, lets put it together; Two handmade candles, rhubarb cider, chocolate truffles, some spices, a hand cream and roasted almonds. I wrapped it all in a big cellophane roasting bag, with a red ribbon, and put it into a hamper I already had. It looks so delicious! (Avoiding the nice word! haha) We, my 2 sons and I are going to my brothers farm for Christmas Eve, I love it there, big old house, 3 reception rooms in a row, the last one is the dining room, white table cloth, candles, a big tree up to the ceiling, with gifts under, a bit fewer these days, when the kids are all grown up. 🎁 Its the traditions I guess, the same china, the same traditional food, and family around the table. 🎄 Thank you for another lovely video Vivi. Love to listen to you. I hope you find the flat you are looking for next year.

I had the same experience with the word nice, every time I go to use it there is a little voice saying find a better word. I've often wondered why the vendetta towards such an innocent little word 😂. Also heard the word mardy as a child. I grew up in the Midlands. Wishing you all the very best for 2024.

You need not explain or have anyone validate your life ! You must look after what is best for YOU! It’s your life and comfort , Vivi . Comfort means a place that is safe and warm and in a place where getting out and about is easy for YOU! Easier said. Finding your new ‘forever’ home takes time and much much thought and you are you are doing just that . Love “ the basket of chat” ! ❤xxMarilyn

Merry Christmas vive❤❤

Hello! I am aspiring to have a nice 2024! Nice is a great word. Much rather hear it than a lot of the words that are said nowadays. Moving is hard however you slice it. I follow another Londoner waiting to hear on a house or she is homeless. In America it is a fairly easy process providing you can afford it. My issue is that I don't know where I want my forever home to be!! Sara in Virginia 😊

An acquaintance of mine saw a converted barn here in Cornwall with a couple of acres of land/gardens. He sold his place,the other place was empty. He put in an offer which was accepted and it was still 6 or 7 months before he could move in! Extremely stressful Vivi.x

Always be cautious when moving. Ensure the property is property checked over and never compromise because then you could be stuck with it forever and that one small compromise could end up becoming a big regret. The property will find you. What's meant to be, is meant to be, and at least for now you are safe and cosy. You're not under any terrible pressure to move because you're going to be thrown out or your flat has major issues. Patience is always rewarded in my experience.

It is a long process moving and difficult without a car to view😢. Aylesbury in Bucks cheap for you and 50 minutes on train to London. The villages are v sweet

Nice ☺

👍👍👍Vivi i do know nothing about the word nice it is 55 years ago that i learned a little english at school

Nice...I remember we were also reprimanded at school for exactly the same reasons. R

We visited that farm last year and had a lovely day there. Would highly recommend a visit if in the area.

A friend of ours had their house sale fall through 5 times, it was very lucky that they were buying from a landlord who rented them their new home until it all went through and was very patient, that’s rarely the case.

Oh Vivi, I agree with the piece about adverts, also why do we need perfume adverts where you can see the model's tonsils ! I was also told off for using the word nice by a lovely Filipino lady when describing the interior of a country house that had just been completed, and is something that I remember every time I am about to use the word. Take care Xx

33:15 Oooh... You should show us a picture 😍

“Nice” bashing in your youth led, may I say, to a very nice vocabulary now! Nice was probably being overused generally by the young like “like” and “love” is now and grated on your elders’ ears. I’m prompted now to take a beach walk this weekend while everyone else is rallying around the tree. Good reminder of the comforting power of nature.❤and Merry Christmas 🎄

💖💖💖

You will move when you are supposed to ❤

I agree nice is just nice, but I share your early experiences with it.

Same with the word nice. I was told nice was a word used to describe food 😂😂

I think it must have been drummed into teachers of that generation that the word nice should be banned as I had just the same experience as you with it. If you ever dared to write ‘nice’ in a piece of writing at school it would be scrawled through with red pen and you would be marked down for it! At my stage of life now, nice is about as good as things get - it means something was a treat, something that is enjoyable, warm, hygge if you like. Much love for your interesting, relaxing, charming, warming videos, you make my life nicer when it can be a bit bleak 😊xx

My teachers in Primary School early 70’s didn’t like us using the word nice either. One had a poster with the word nice circled in the middle and all the alternative words you could use written around it! They also had issues with the word got… which was fair enough. And being proper mardy is clearly not nice 🤣

I would have loved it if you would have showed the picture of you feeding the little kids!

My family did spend time discussing what other words would be more interesting than using nice all the time.

I'm with you on the "look" you are describing. Across the pond, it's called a "resting b(word) face". Sorry. It's really annoying to me. I would probably have been slapped out of it by a parent or relative growing up. There are some really different things the youngsters do these dsys. Glad I'm older and from an old school. Love your chats.

Me too! Nice was not acceptable.

🧡🧡🧡

I was always told NICE was a lazy word. Who knows how it got that reputation. 🤷‍♀ I looked up its origin and that's even more perplexing... "Five hundred years ago, when nice was first used in English, it meant "foolish or stupid." This is not as surprising as it may seem, since it came through early French from the Latin nescius, meaning "ignorant." By the 16th century, the sense of being "very particular" or "finicky" had developed. In the 19th century, nice came to mean "pleasant or agreeable" and then "respectable," a sense quite unlike its original meaning."🤷‍♀💜Have a NICE Christmas Vivi. 🎄

love you and your videos ❤ do you know what happened to Coffee with Kate? Merry Christmas sending love a good vibes your way🥰

Moving in the UK is very difficult. I sold a year ago and am living in a hotel. A few properties fell through - the survey revealed something etc, so it has cost me some money. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for 2024. Selling and buying at the same time, as Vivi said, is so tricky. Yes, my teachers didn't like the word 'nice' either. It must have been a thing. If I was told the same now I'd argue that 'nice' is a perfectly acceptable word. If anyone ever says to me they don't like a word, or you can't use a word like that, I say languages evolve and if they didn't we'd all be speaking as though we were in Shakespeare's time. Had to laugh at "grumpy farts" :). I replayed it to make sure I didn't mishear, haha.

this is on Apple+ in the US, hoping the url can be opened for confirmation :) (wouldn't allow me to reply to my own message)

I remember being at uni and having to write an essay without using however …

West Norwood is reasonable for London

I remember my English teacher telling my class not to use the word "nice", and thinking at the time that I agreed it shouldn't be over-used, but otherwise it's a perfectly good word. I'm the same age as you, so maybe it is generational. As for house-moving, it must be a nightmare (it certainly was when I last moved house, almost 25 years ago!) I sometimes do a spot of "property porn" where I look at what's available according to a wish list I give myself. Today I gave myself an imaginary budget of £1.5m within my current area. There were some very nice places indeed, but if I really did have that budget I wouldn't have chosen any of them. There was something wrong with every one - a bad surrounding area, too much work needed etc etc. So doing it for real (with a real budget) must be highly frustrating.

And yes mardy is a definitely a northern word.

You have a good eye. Do you draw or paint?

A friend of mine has just bought a flat, it took 5 months before she got the keys, so much paperwork and certification to be provided now, its a nightmare. Moving is so stressful.

My daughter climbed a tree in Williamson park in Lancaster when she was about 5 years old - and then shouted ‘cos she was stuck near the top - my blood ran cold because there was no way I could get to her, the tree was massive and the branches were miles too thin for me to thread through. I saw that she had climbed higher and shouted up to her “I thought you were stuck” and she said yeah, ‘cos it was too thin and wobbling too much to climb. Anyway, panic over I told her to get down sharpish. A few days later I was in the park and couldn’t find the tree to show my friend so asked the passing park warden - I’m looking for that really tall tree with the really thin branches close together that was around here somewhere… They said, oh the redwood - it’s really sad ‘cos it was our tallest tree in the park, but we had to fell it because it was completely rotten and it could have come down at any moment. I can’t believe that that child is still alive, she had so many near misses, but she is and she was 27 a week and half ago!

You use your common sense and physical needs to direct your house hunting. I do so hope that in the end their will be garden space close by.

Is there a legal advice centre near you that could help chase up your lease

What is the issue with staying where you are, Vivi?

No one criticized us here (US) for using the word 'nice', that seems weird. Unless it was used ironically, or sarcastically like people say 'whatever' when they disagree with you, but they don't have a good reply. Maybe those models are not happy to be in a supermarket ad? Why not write a letter to the company saying you were about to buy a fall wardrobe you saw in their advert but didn't because the models were obviously so unhappy wearing it, lol. I mean really what do you expect from models/agencies that popularized ' heroin chic '. edit: oh ha ha I forgot why I started to comment, MERRY CHRISTMAS VIVI! Hope you find that perfect place in the NEW YEAR.

I don't remember being told not to use the word nice by adults from a vocab perspective but for some reason if you ever said a meal someone cooked for you was nice or you had a nice time on a date, it was assumed you were being derogatory. Personally I agree with you: nice is nice!

There are two words if said by me would get me a good cuffing. The words "she" and "nice".

In the USA, the phrase "That's nice." is the punch line for a joke. So is it possible that's what all the adults in your life were thinking? So yes, I avoid using that phrase because I don't want anyone to think I'm telling them off.

It’s an “I can’t be bothered” or “What are YOU looking at” pouty, p.o.’d face. The camera represents US interrupting/invading their private gloriousness. Very contrived.🤨 Don’t look at me, look at me.👀