How We Document the Exchanges

We are documenting the exchanges in a book with diagrams.

This diagram illustrates a complex exchange. Dan was focused on getting seeds to start his own garden. As a neighbor would, he brought in some banana bread with its recipe (the secret ingredient is yogurt to keep it moist), 2 mineola oranges which he discovered to be exceptionally delicious in spite of this autumn's ice storms that ruined crops, a reusable shopping bag, and a promise to share the vegetables he grows from the seeds.

Darlene was visiting from Manhattan. She bought some tomato seeds for her mother in Syracuse. With a little prodding and encouragement, her mother reluctantly plants seeds each year, but really enjoys the tomatoes as they fruit later in the summer. Darlene went to college in Ithaca, New York; she spoke of an alternate economy there based on trade and vouchers.

Thelma now lives in an apartment, but spoke fondly of the big garden she used to have. She got one of the flowering orchid cacti we had, a real beauty.