But now that I live at the lighthouse for long extended periods of time it has become a different issue. All of sudden I find myself thinking about pizza or big juicy American hamburger with cheese, bacon and all the trimmings. Both of these are not available on Mainland Shetland. I still am amazed there is not a pizza place in Lerwick. The hamburger I can get is usually deep fried in batter. So I turned to the grocery store because in the frozen food compartment they do have pizza and what are called American hamburger patties. They aren't terrible and I do eat them. A real Saturday night treat at the lighthouse is a pizza for dinner while I watch my favourite TV programs. But, a frozen pizza just does not taste like one at a pizza parlour.

When I am in the States where I can have all the pizza and hamburgers I want, what do I yearn for? Seafood and fresh fish are at the top of the list. In the States I find myself thinking about crab claws, lobster, monk tail and fresh cod. Our US home is a farm in the Midwest so there are no crab claws and monk tails. Frozen cod is available at the grocery and it is okay. Lobster is also available but it is expensive and tastes strong in comparison to what I am use to right out of the sea.

So one problem with having homes in two countries and extremely different environment is you dream, long and wish for the food that you couldn't have where you are at that moment. Another even funnier issue shows up when I travel back and forth. I'll bet you can guess. The kind of food I can take with me goes into the suitcase.

The last time I flew from Shetland to the US the x-ray people had great fun with when they saw in my suitcase three bottles of HP brown sauce, four jars of Branston pickle, a big bag of Scottish oats, a variety of herbal teas and a whole bunch of various flavoured crisps. Travelling from the US to Shetland is just as bad. Last time I had many bags of International Gourmet coffee, ground Starbucks coffee, three jars of pickle relish, and bags of Michigan dried cherries. I no longer carry souvenirs I transport food.

I keep thinking that these "food glorious food" problems will lessen but I actually think they are getting worse. The surprising thing is I do not seem to loose any weight from the challenges. Oh, well since I am in the US while I am writing this I am off to make a wonderful juicy American hamburger.

Sincerely,

Sharma

I love to hear from you so contact me by email at sharma@sharmakrauskopf.com

You can find more articles in the archive under Island Miniatures/Lighthouse Letters.

I have three books which are directly related to this column. The Last Lighthouse tells how we bought our lighthouse, A Year in the Lighthouse and in Scottish Lighthouses our lighthouse is featured in the 31 lighthouses presented. You can find out more about these books and other I have written at my official website.