I don’t know about you, but I feel that every other person in my office is sick with the cold or flu. I try to duck for cover and wash my hands obsessively but I fear that the germs are lurking behind the bookshelves waiting to pounce on me at any moment. Luckily, I’ve got the new Essential Oils Deck to help me through and hopefully ward off the cold & flu nasties.

I’m going to head out to my local health food store and pick up a few essential oils to whip up this immunity booster – it’s going to be fun mixing them together and my feet could use a little extra moisture this time of year.

Immune Support Foot Rub
Makes 1 ounce (30ml)

7 to 8 drops geranium
15 drops Atlas cedar
22 to 25 drops hyssop decumbens
1 tablespoon (30ml) sesame oil

Apply to your feet in the morning after a shower.

The author of this deck, Hope Gillerman, has graciously provided us with some of her gorgeous oils to give away to one lucky winner. Tell us your cold & flu remedy and one lucky winner will receive the Tension Remedy and Jaw Clenching Remedy from H. Gillerman Organics! Winner will be picked on October 14th.

Good luck!

Nancy Deane
Senior Marketing Manager

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How can I begin to describe the Glamourpuss book release party? It was a pfft-pfft-fete, a kitty cat soiree, a feline feastival… a giant Hair Ball!

The Kitty Wigs Hair Ball took place last Saturday evening, September 26th, at Shampoo Salon in Fort Worth, Texas. If you’re not familiar, Fort Worth is almost an hour from Dallas, but there were loads of people from both cities who started streaming in the door right at 7:00.

There were three “Meow Mix girls”, who served candy, sweets, and sparklers from old-timey cigarette trays; there was Mr. Kitty Wig, an enthusiastic guy dressed in a furry cat mascot suit with wig on top, who directed folks to the dance floor; and loads of incredible detailed decorations and cat portraits everywhere you looked. Plus loads of cat-themed chow and refreshments, including a drink made just for the occasion, Catatonic Punch!

Everyone put so much work into it; the night was a huge success and an unbelievable amount of fun. There was a little gift shop inside which sold the books, silkscreen posters, and of course Kitty Wigs. The big news is that we brought 150 books just in case, and we sold them ALL! Jill and I were planted at the signing table for three solid hours with an enthusiastic and patient line of Glamourpuss fans waiting to have their books signed. It was surreal!

Local photographer Milton Adams set up a photo booth and tirelessly snapped great photos all night long. I made special ribbons for the moms and dads of all the cats who were in the book, since they’re a very essential part of our success!

Today’s the official release date, and this week has brought a lot more craziness our way including a story by the local NBC affiliate which just went national (don’t miss Jill in action–she’s hilarious!). Last night, the Kitty Wigs App launched in the iTunes store. Soon, a fantastic promo video by our great videographer and friend whom we call Video Joe will be added to the Chronicle site. Keep an eye on KittyWigs.com for the latest news!

Thanks to Chronicle for producing such a gorgeous and glamorous book that’s the toast of the town!

Julie Jackson

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Recently, editor Ursula Cary and myself headed down to Palo Alto to the Summer National Senior Games to attend an event hosted by Rick Rickman, author of The Wonder Years. Rick’s talk was incredibly inspiring and we had the luxury of meeting two of the athletes profiled in the book, Dr. Granville Coggs and Margaret Hinton.

Dr. Goggs just celebrated his 84th birthday and has been running since 1994. He attributes his success to the Dr. Granville Cogg’s Longevity Plan (which he also wears printed on his t-shirt):

– Select long-lived parents
– Engage in aerobic activity
– Eat a healthy, high-fiber, low-calorie, low-fat diet
– Take vitamin and mineral supplements
– Don’t smoke, do drugs, or abuse alcohol
– Be married. (he’s been with wife, Maud, for sixty-two years)
– Have a sense of humor
– Get enough sleep
– Wear seat belts and shoulder straps

Margaret lives in Baytown, Texas and has competed numerous times in the national games. She was extremely friendly and happy to be a part of the games. When Rick first met Margaret in 1993, she told him, “I can tell that some of these people are here to socialize. That’s okay, but I’ve come here to take home the gold.”

Here is a little video that Ursula took while we were there which includes the winners of the 100 meter dash, one of whom was 92 years old! Check it out:

Learn more about the National Senior Games Association.

Nancy Deane
Senior Marketing Manager

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Every photographer always talks about doing a book. We all have this romantic notion that a book could be our defining body of work or perhaps our ticket to fame. For me, getting a book published has turned out to be something else entirely: sheer joy.

The Wonder Years, a project that has been my delight and obsession for the past twenty years, has finally come to life this summer.

The book is a collection of portraits and stories about extraordinary senior adventurers and amateur athletes I’ve met in my travels. The Wonder Years celebrates ordinary people from all sorts of backgrounds who have learned how to live life to the fullest each and every day. Some find their challenges in the gym or on the track. Others swim, vault, lift weights or even rope cattle. All of them show us that aging isn’t something to fear – it’s a chance to reinvent yourself as many times as you dare.

I’ve learned so much working on this book – including how to surf. Six years ago, Doug Craig, one of Southern California’s legendary senior surfers, refused to let me take his picture until I could stand up on a board in the water. So I bought a surfboard and hit the beach. I’m still surfing, thanks to Doug. Three mornings a week, I head to my favorite beach, San Onofre, where I surf with the remarkable Eve Fletcher, who is 82 and has been surfing “Sano” for more than fifty years. Eve is one of the athletes profiled in The Wonder Years.

On Aug. 1, I’ll be coming to the Bay Area for the National Senior Games, the largest sporting event in the world for men and women over fifty. More than 10,000 elite senior athletes will be converging on Stanford University as the Senior Games arrive on the West Coast for the first time. This will be my ninth time photographing the Games, which are always a blast.

The competition keeps getting more intense at these senior Olympics. Raising the bar ever higher is what keeps the athletes going and constantly growing, breaking barriers, setting records, exceeding expectations – and showing the rest of us the way.

If you’re in the Bay Area August 1-15, I hope you’ll stop by Stanford and check out the Senior Games, where competitors will be battling for medals in eighteen sports You won’t be disappointed.

About Rick Rickman
Rick Rickman is a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer who lives in Southern California. Keep up with the latest news and events for The Wonder Years on Twitter.

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Last week I accompanied our Destination Weddings author Alison Hotchkiss, to the set of View From the Bay, a great local show here on ABC. Alison was on to talk about throwing fun summer parties on a budget and set up tables for a Mexican Fiesta and Lobster Bake. Check out the adorable settings below, and note the lovely signage made by Chronicle authors Hello Lucky! Alison also included our Tequila book in the set-up!

Some behind-the-scenes shots.

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