I've been treating myself on Saturday morning to a soft boiled egg. You may wonder why that is special, but I buy these jumbo brown eggs at Adams that are delicious and a soft boiled egg is the best thing in the world. You prick the large end of the egg with a needle, place in boiling water, and boil for five minutes gently. Some say four minutes, but with the jumbo you need to do five. Then crack the top, open and expose the yolk and dip in.

I use a safety pin to make the hole. I usually have one pinned to my underside of my shirt, a habit I got into years ago. My mother always had a safety pin on her clothes so somehow I figured it was good luck. Bucky used the pin to remind herself which breast she had used to nurse the last time. Bucky had four kids in six years, Bob, then the twins, then Diane. With the twins I guess she didn't need the safety pin.

I wondered about safety pins. I don't think they are used much anymore. Timmy gets them at races because they come with the number to be pinned on his chest. When my kids were little we had great big safety pins for their diapers - they even came topped in pink or blue plastic, boy or girl. It used to be terrible when a pin wouldn't hit the diaper and get the baby.

I wondered why they were called safety pins and the internet explaned that the patent went to William Hunt in 1849. The clasp and spring action were designed to keep the fingers safe, and that's how it got its name - safety pin. During the punk rock period it became popular to use safety pins as fashion. I can remember Jer having big pins holding his torn pant legs together. Pins were used as earrings - ouch - or in other pierced places. The recent fashion shows reveal a return of the safety pin...calling it "recession friendly" ..pins decorate vests and are used as collars on shirts and suits.

Anyway, back to the soft boiled egg. This was a popular dish served by my parents to the little kids, we called it "eggie pop". A soft boiled egg was taken out of the shell, placed in a bowl with small cut up pieces of white bread, so that the bread soaked up the yolk. The kids loved it and it was a healthy and filling breakfast, lunch or supper. Take my advice and try it.