Volume XIX, Issue 6, August, 2010

HERB GUILD THYMES The Charlotte Herb Guild Newsletter Next Meeting: August 10, 2010 7:15PM Program, Working Meeting:                                                  Preparing for the Farmers Market Garden Council House 1820 East Seventh Street Charlotte, NC 28204 Hostesses: Madge Eggena and Dixie Kelly Visitors: $5.00 __________________________________ What you need to do/bring/prepare for the August Meeting: Bring a note with your name and the names of the herbs you'll be bringing to the Farmers Market for the tussie-mussie table. We will present instructions on how to prepare your herbs at the August meeting. Bring sliver-plated utensils (knives, forks and spoons) that Jane will stamp and we will sell as plant markers. Utensils can be found at second hand stores, garage sales, flea markets, etc. Bring these to the August meeting. Clean and polish them, if needed. A micro fiber cloth works well as does toothpaste. Think about what you would like to bring to sell at the market, keeping in mind that we are simplifying our offerings this year. We will offer what has sold best in the past and what we think will sell in this economy. Give your ideas to Lynn Lytle at the meeting so that she can plan for space and placement of items at the Market. Volunteer to make food items from the Cookbook to give away as samples. These samples help sell the Cookbooks! We need a variety of sweet and savory items in the "finger food" size. This year, we are looking for items that will last the day without refrigeration and those that will not attract yellowjackets.  Netta will be signing up volunteers at the August meeting. Volunteer to work with Dana at a TBA work date to stamp tiles for sale at the Market. She has some tiles from last year that need re-stamping as well as new tiles ready to be stamped. Bring your camera loaded with your herb photos from the Hezekiah Alexander home site meeting in July. We will print them and use them to make herbal note cards. ________________________________________ Minutes from the July meeting held at the Charlotte Museum of History and the Hezekiah Alexander Home Site President Dana Debellis called the meeting to order with thanks to the hostesses for a beautiful and tasty assortment of sweet and savory foods. Kudos to Karen Sullivan, Dixie Spivey and Gina Simmons. Look for the recipes on this blog posting. Dana reminded us of the upcoming Farmers Market in September. We will be preparing herbal items at the August meeting to sell at the Market. Patti Harlan introduced photographer, Tom Adams, to the group. Tom had already been working informally with members in the Museum Herb Garden before the meeting was called to order. In this more formal setting, Tom gave the following tips for taking photos of herbs: Keep the sun shining on the back of your neck, not on your face when you are ready to shoot Pay attention to the light and use it to your best advantage Try to take photos before 10:00am and after 4:00pm Look for interesting textures and shadows Get up close, bend your knees Make a tripod with your body to reduce jitters Use the ball of your index finger to squeeze the shutter Members printed photos and made note cards from a lovely selection of notepaper. Contact information for Tom Adams can be found in the "herbal links" section of this blog. Examples of photographs of herbs in the Museum Herb Garden, courtesy of Mary Beth Collins. More photos can be viewed on the right side of this blog posting. The meeting adjourned at 9:00pm. _____________________________________ Recipes from the delicious food enjoyed at the July meeting can be found by clicking on the Recipes tab at the top of this blog posting.