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Idon'tlikesurprises. I'm sure that says some- thing about my propen- sity to be a control freak. I prefer to think it's because I love the anticipa- tion. To me, that's half the fun! But a secret? Oh, yes! I love a good secret. Like this one about how to make authentic whipped cream frost- ing that actually holds up and looks gorgeous for a couple of days. You want to know the se- cret, too, don't you? I didn't pinky promise to not tell, so go right ahead. Read on. SECRET INGREDI- ENT. Using real whip- ping cream to ice a cake can be a hassle when it runs and separates. The way to stop this is to blend 1 teaspoon of dry instant vanilla pud- ding mix per 1 cup of cream before whip- ping, and then whip it to a firm consistency and add sugar to taste. This mixture can be piped or spread on any cake and sets up to last for days in the fridge. My family favorite is to use two round white cake layers. Pipe or spread a ring of cream on the edge of the bottom layer, and then spoon cherry pie filling in the center. The ring of cream helps the filling to stay in the cen- ter of the cake. Top with the second layer. Put a ring of cream rosettes or small spoons of cream closely together around the top edge and use more cherry filling to fill the top center. The sides can be piped or spread with the cream. This can also be made a day ahead and looks just as beauti- ful. — Kerri CREATIVE PAN- CAKES. After decades of flipping pancakes at the stove while my family en- joyed them at the table, I decided to bake them. I pour the batter into a lightly oiled jellyroll pan and bake at 400 F for 20 minutes. I cut them in squares for adults and use animal-shaped cookie cutters for my grand- daughters. Now all of us sit down together to en- joy breakfast. I've been liberated! — Helen SPACE SAVING TRICK. Living in a very small home, we have to take advantage of ev- ery inch of space. When stacking towels for the linen closet, I place the fold one way one time and the opposite way the next. This allows more towels to be stacked in a smaller space. Unless you're a fanatic about all the folds facing the same way, this really works! (Actually works with any items that are folded.) — Adrian CHEAP DYE. White isn't a good color on me, so whenever I find a deal on a white blouse or T- shirt, I dye it. One day, I discovered I was out of packaged dye, so I de- cided to get creative. I looked through my Kool- Aid and took out the red flavors. I put the Kool- Aid and two shirts in my washer in hot water. Now I have two new pale pink shirts that only cost less than a buck to dye. — Hilda EXTRA SPINS. A clothes dryer uses a lot of electricity, so before I take my clothes out of the washer, I spin them an extra two to three times. I'm amazed at how much more water comes out of the clothes. The clothes dry faster, and I save money. — Ted Wouldyouliketosend a tip to Mary? You can email her at mary@eve- rydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheap- skate, P.O. Box 2099, Cy- press, CA 90630. EVERYDAYCHEAPSKATE Thesecretis in the frosting The Sacramento River Discovery Center will start the Thursday evening pro- gram series with a presen- tation by Brin Greer of the Resource Conservation Dis- trict of Tehama County, for- merly the Tehama County Resource Conservation Dis- trict. Greer is excited to share projects the district and partner residents have done and ongoing efforts to man- age, conserve and improve the natural resources of Te- hama County. Greer will highlight op- portunities for Tehama County residents to partic- ipate in natural resource conservation at the local level and introduce a citi- zen monitoring program for rain called the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. A limited supply of rain gauges will be provided to volunteers to monitor and record rainfall. The program will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8 at the Farm Bureau Building, 275 Sale Lane. There will be a question and answer period after the presentation and re- freshments will be avail- able. The center is within the Mendocino National For- est's Red Bluff Recreation Area at 1000 Sale Lane. The center is open 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. or by appointment, Tuesday through Saturday. It is a provider of native drought-tolerant and deer resistant plants and wild- flower seeds. Membership in the or- ganization is encouraged and applications are avail- able at the center or on- line. You can contact the center at 527-1196, email bhughe1@tehamaed.org or visit www.srdc.tehama. k12.ca.us. THURSDAY EVENING PROGRAM ResourceConservationDistricttopicoftalk The Tehama County Cat- tlemen and CattleWomen will host their 63rd annual Winter Dinner and Schol- arship Auction at 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10 at the Te- hama District Fairground in Red Bluff. Dozens of auction items have been donated by area business, including a dinner for two on the Napa Valley Wine Train and a stay at the River IN Terrace to 50 tons of aggregate. Presale tick- ets are $25 and include a Vic Woolery prime rib din- ner, coffee by The Human Bean and guest auctioneer is Justin Niesen of Shasta Livestock Auction Yard and Western Video Market. Burnsini Vineyards and Cline Cellars will be avail- able for wine tasting. There will be olive oil sampling by Lucero and Corning Olive Oil Company while the si- lent and live auction items are on display. Tickets are available at The Loft, Hawes Ranch & Farm Supply, Animal Health International, Red Bluff Bull and Geld- ing Sale, Crossroads Feed, Farm Credit and Rabobank in Red Bluff, Shasta Farm & Equipment in Cottonwood and Rabobank in Corning. Cattlemen, CattleWomen to host Winter Dinner Mary Hunt PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. Thankyou! FUNDRAISER DAILYNEWSPHOTOBYCHIPTHOMPSON The Tehama County Cattlemen and CattleWomen will host their Winter Dinner and Scholarship Auction Jan. 10at the Tehama District Fairground. Pictured, from le , are Jeanne Smith, Charlene Priest event Chairwoman Cathy Tobin, Cattlemen President Steve McCarthy and Josh Davy. The Associated Press DALLAS The stop-motion animators behind films that include "Coraline" and "The Boxtrolls" will be auction- ing puppets, models, props and sets from its archives for the first time. Dallas-based Heritage Auctions will offer the items from Laika Studios on Feb. 12 in Beverly Hills. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to The Art of Elysium, a nonprofit arts organization. Items going up for auc- tion include a 12-inch-tall puppet of Coraline wear- ing her star sweater from the 2009 film and the 11-inch-tall puppet of Eggs, the main character from "The Boxtrolls," released last year. Travis Knight, pres- ident and chief exec- utive of Oregon-based Laika, says the compa- ny's pleased to open the vaults for fans. He says, "These are beau- tiful, unique and hand- crafted works of art of the highest order." FILM Puppets from 'Coraline,' 'The Boxtrolls' offered at auction StromerRealty 590 Antelope Blvd RedBluff (530) 527-3100 Specializingin Residential to Ranches LOVING CARE Explorenewpossibilitiesfor Mom or Dad at a 6-bed Residential Care for the Elderly ALOHAHOUSE/OHANA RESIDENTIAL CARE, INC. Lic. #525001919 13765 Lisa Way, Red Bluff 530-521-4394 Call for a tour and interview "Its more like a real home" LIFESTYLES » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, January 7, 2015 MORE ATFACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A5