Gnomes exist

Ok the results' out - the tally of men on my page came up to 40; the mean age 50 including a most bizzare Australian whose message was "hi, I'm a 4ft 5 gnome with some facial warts, a limp - well one leg actually - 3 fingers missing, no teeth and a two-inch... do you think we could go out sometime?" My reply to him was "I'm surprised gnomes still exist. Do you have a 2-inch nose? I can see it growing... what's the question again?" I really didn't see his point (pun intended) - do you?

My latest entry was a 45 year-old divorced farmer from UK who said IN CAPS: "IM LOOKING FOR A VERY GOOD LOOKING, SLIM LOVING, SEXY AND LOVELY HAIR, LOOKS AFTER HERSELF, ALLWAYS LOOKS GOOD. SHE MUST BE UNDERSTANDING BUT MOST OF ALL VERY CAREING. I HOPE THIS IS NOT TO MUCH TO ASK FROM YOU." Err dude if you find her, let me know. Or get a reality check - it's easier.

Today I got fantastico news from Elena in Milano; she has given birth to Paolo and sent me a gorgeous picture of them. Lui e' bellissimo e non vedo l'ora di vedergli. Sono la sua zia asiana. Hehe. It's amazing how life has turned out within the last year for us. I'm glad that we are still in touch - from a chance encounter in Sicilia - and our friendship has grown from the weekly emails we sent each other. She was probably my best link to Italia... grazie Elena, congratulazioni di nuovo!

I also got an letter from Katie last month and she has made a lovely card with the picture I took of her sleeping blissful in the hammock as the golden sunrays shone down on us and glittered across the autum-brown yard at Barbialla Nuova in Toscana. She looked like an angel in heaven, eyes closed and face smiling. If I held my breath, I could almost smell the crisp air and hear the leaves rustling in the breeze. Autumn has arrived and the weather should be changing soon. Ah, the joys of seasons.

Lorenzo also replied to say he'd be moving to Roma to work and pursue his studies along with Ciro, the sweetest German shepherd I've ever met. When I was working on the farm, it'd follow me everywhere and keep me company, staring at me pensively and reading my thoughts sympathetically. Lori said my Italian has improved vastly (grazie!) and he was sure we'd be speaking in perfetto italiano next year while Ciro barked in Roman dialect.

Martine from Quebec also surprised me with an email updating on her many travel adventures. I was pretty sure one day she'd come knocking on my door and we could go galivanting again like we did at the Eolian isles. Hmm... Merda. My backside is aching again and I could feel the wanderlust nibbling at me. Help!