Conejo Valley Guide Followers Resolve to Pay it Forward and Get Healthy in the New Year

In a random drawing today on the Conejo Valley Guide Facebook page, CVG Facebook fans were asked for a new year's resolution for the fast-approach year 2016.

Tied for first place in the drawing, far ahead of the other responses, was to get healthy and to "pay it forward." 

Giving back, or paying it forward, was a popular choice, with responses like "give back to the community and volunteer," "perform at least one pay it forward moment each month," "look for an opportunity each day to help someone," "put a smile on someone's face every day" and "do more random acts of kindness."  I like that!

After getting healthy/healthier and paying it forward were the following resolutions (in order of number of mentions): Exercise/Play Sports,  Be Happy, Explore New Places, More Family Time, Get Positive, Bet a Better Job and Be a Better Me.

Some other motivational responses:

"Spread the happiness, peace and love this world so dearly needs"

"Be grateful every day for what I have and spend more time with loved ones"

"Smile more and have a more positive attitude"

"Be happy, less stressed and live in the moment"

"Live each day as if it's the last, with much happiness"

"Let the little stuff go and handle the big stuff with grace and deep thought"

"Eat healthier, purge negativity and see the library"

and last but not least, "Stop spending so much time on Facebook."

The Majority of Conejo Valley Guide Facebook Followers Plan to Relax on Black Friday

Happy Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is celebrated on the 4th Thursday of November, but it hasn't always been that way. In December 1941, Congress passed a law signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt to change it to the 4th Thursday; previously it was the last Thursday of the month (signed into law by Abraham Lincoln in 1863). The change was made in part to distance Thanksgiving a bit from Christmas (which hasn't kept Santa from appearing at most local malls well before today).

Moving on to tomorrow, Black Friday...in a drawing and informal survey on the Conejo Valley Guide Facebook page yesterday, the question was asked, "what are your plans for Black Friday?" 

Based on the responses, I might have to sell short consumer retail stocks, as only 13% of the 188 responding to the survey mentioned they plan to shop on Black Friday! (And that includes one response who said he was "Amazoning.")

In fact, 4% of folks responded with "Not Shopping" I suppose to make a point....although that does not really answer the question as to what they DO plan to do.

Overall, 43% of the responses indicated a plan to "hang out" with family and/or just relax, or just SLEEP (9% indicate that) tomorrow. These folks plan to eat leftovers, relax, watch movies at home, play games and basically enjoy a day with family. Not a bad way to enjoy Black Friday.

Nearly 20% of responses indicates plans to go out and about on Black Friday, not necessarily to shop, but to enjoy the outdoors, take a hike, go to the movies, visit an amusement park, watch Santa fly from the sky at Janss Marketplace, watch kids' sports, etc.

Only 7% of responses indicated they plan to work on Black Friday. Yes, some of us still do have to work. And 5% indicated plans to get moving on holiday decorating around the house.

Other responses included "not sure," chores, travel, packing for move, buying a car, job interview, studying, party, get a facial and so on.

Most Popular Thanksgiving Meal Side Dishes From Conejo Valley Guide Facebook Fans

Copyright: 123RF Stock Photo from Mark Stout

In another Conejo Valley Guide Facebook Page drawing today, readers were asked to indicate a favorite Thanksgiving meal side dish. The following is a summary of this informal survey:

Tied for most mentioned side dish...<drum roll>... Sweet Potatoes and Stuffing, each with 19% of total comments.

Tied for third most mentioned side dish: Mashed Potatoes and Green Bean Casserole, each with 11% of comments.

Tied for fifth most mentioned side dish with 6% of total comments each were Yams, Veggies and dishes made with Pumpkin.

Other mentions in the drawing included Potato Casserole, Cranberry Sauce, Broccoli Casserole, a Thanksgiving Jello with Cream/Celery dish, Pecan Pie, Mac & Cheese, Roasted Potatoes, Noodles, Craft Beer (hmm), Sweet Potato Pie, Blair Sausage and Cranberries.

For a compilation of community holiday season events and activities through the end of the year, visit THIS LINK.

Conejo Valley Guide Facebook Followers are Thankful for Many Things

As part of a drawing for tickets to the Reagan Library yesterday, we asked Conejo Valley Guide Facebook page followers to comment on something they are thankful for this holiday season. Over 300 folks commented in the span of eight hours. The word cloud below sums up what this great local crowd is thankful for as we approach Thanksgiving.

Word cloud courtesy of tool at www.jasondavies.com/wordcloud

For a compilation of community holiday season events and activities through the end of the year, visit THIS LINK.

How Long Do We Have Before Halloween Candy Goes Bad?

On Halloween day, my youngest son asked me what he should do with his old Halloween candy. I said, what do you mean? You haven't gone trick-or-treating yet. He tells me he still has candy left over from last year in his closet.

After my initial surprise, I told him to show me the candy. He opened the closet door and pulled out last year's Halloween trick-or-treat bag, which was full of individual plastic sandwich bags full of Snickers, Twix, Butterfingers, M&Ms, Whoppers and so on.

I have to admit, my initial inclination was to consume them (no, I didn't), then I had a passing thought to re-give them out to trick-or-treaters (of course I would not do that).

My son told me we should throw them away because they were old. But I hate throwing stuff away that's still good, so I decided to keep the candy and take a closer look at their "best before" dates.

So what exactly is a "best before" date? There is no mention of it on the Snickers or Mars websites, but the Hershey website indicates this is the last date a product can be expected to be at its "peak freshness." Hershey goes on to indicate that most candy products maintain their best flavor for up to 12 months after they are made and that there may be flavor loss or texture changes past the "best before" date.

But there is no mention of "thou shall not eat candy past the best before date." So it begged the question, are these dates required by law?

The USDA confirms that "Best if Used By (or Before)" dates are not required by federal law (with the exception of infant formula) and indeed relate to best flavor or quality, not safety. So...yes, it's generally OK to eat candy (and other foods), past that date.

My son, who is not a Snickers fan, thankfully (for me, indeed a Snickers fan) scored a full sized Snickers bar last Halloween as well as this Halloween. I devoured last year's Snickers bar, with a "best before" date of May 2015, a full 5 months after said date. It was not bad. Not quite as good as this year's Snickers bar, but quite edible. 

Full size Snickers bars received by son this Halloween and last halloween display "Best Before" Dates

He also gave me numerous Snickers "fun size" bars from last year's Halloween stash. These ones for some reason have no dates on them. The quality was slightly lower. I might not eat them now, but perhaps would save them as a pick-me-up in the event of a zombie apocalypse.

On to Nestle Crunch bars. According to nestlecrunch.com, the recommended shelf life of a Nestle Crunch 1.55 oz bar is 15 months. I see no such date on the mini size bars.

The Reese's Peanut Butter Cup made by Hershey does show a date, though given their popularity in this household is usually a moot point as they are usually consumed within hours, if not minutes.

According to StillTasty.com "Your Ultimate Shelf Life Guide," you can generally keep chocolate covered candy bars in the pantry, refrigerator or freezer for 10 to 12 months. And the site reiterates that such storage times are for best quality only - in most cases, it will still be safe to consume your candy if it has been stored properly.

On that note, I better run off and eat a salad or something to counteract all the candy I just ate.

Boney Mountain Ridge Fifty Years Ago and Today as Seen From Newbury Park

Walt Dibblee began providing high quality photography for Ventura County in 1949 when he opened his commercial studio in Ventura. As Ventura County grew, the demand for aerial photography expanded. Walt bought a plane, learned to fly and for the next three decades photographed the cities of Ventura County from above.

His son Steve continues the tradition today with over 30 years of professional experience. Steve has shared some of Walt's work from the mid 1950s to the late 1960s at VenturaViews.com.

West Hills Hunt Club on the way to Sycamore Canyon in Newbury Park in 1955 (Photo Credit: Steve Diblee, VenturaViews.com)

Steve has provided this amazing shot members of the West Hills Hunt Club nearly 60 years ago, headed in the direction of Sycamore Canyon/Rancho Sierra Vista, with Boney Mountain in the background. The shot was taken from somewhere in the vicinity of Highway 101 at Wendy Drive, looking south.

And here is a more recent photo of Boney, without horses, in more recent times, taken from "Rabbit Hill" in Newbury Park. I guess it pretty much looks the same, eh?

The Historic Crowley House is Home to Conejo Valley Neighborhood for Learning

Ventura County Historical Landmark No. 109 is the Crowley House, located at 2522 Pleasant Way, Thousand Oaks. This five bedroom house was built in 1910 for newlyweds Frank and Mae Casey Crowley on the Newbury Ranch. The Crowley house was nicknamed "Mother of Thousand Oaks" as in the 1920s it was converted into a real estate office for the first Conejo Valley housing development.

Subsequently the house became a convalescent home and later was the home of Louis and Kathleen Goebel of Jungleland fame. It is now owned by the Conejo Recreation and Park District and is used by Conejo Valley Neighborhood for Learning to promote school readiness and services for children 0-5 years.  Crowley House is used for pre-natal classes, early parenting groups and serves as CVNfL's administrative office. Learn more about CVNfL at www.conejovalleynfl.org or by calling (805) 496-9035.