Went to see my grandmother

My friend Vanessa (a.k.a. sinknitty, a.k.a. Ophelia Ballycastle) and I are going to knit the Swallowtail Shawl together (search Ravelry for the link. It's very pretty! :) ). I wanted to do it in sock yarn, but the only thing I had enough of that would show the pattern well was Wollmeise. I am by no means a hoarder. By that I mean, I'm more than happy to USE my yarns. However, this is a bright, tomato-ey red, and if I put it that close to my face, I'd look HORRIBLE. So, it's destined for socks. Anyway... I didn't have any laceweight in a sufficient yardage that I thought would look good. So, off to Grandmother's house I went. Here's the thread I decided will become my Swallowtail:I was more than happy to leave with just that, but she started talking about steel crochet hooks (you know, the itty bitty ones? The ones where the higher the number, the smaller the hook? Yeah. Those.), and did I have any? No, I didn't. So she started looking through her things, and this is what she sent me home with. Everything pictured is vintage, some still in original packaging. But one thing in this picture is very dear, and nearly made me cry with pride.This. This right here. This is my Great-Great-Grandmother's bone crochet hook, size D. That makes this hook at LEAST 120 years old. At least. If not much older, because who knows if my Great-Great-Grandmother even got it brand new? I am very touched, and feel very proud to have been given this heirloom. It's kind of hard to put into words, actually. The shaping is gorgeous, and I keep just staring at it, and wondering what kinds of garments it made, and what it went through in it's 120+ years... The stories this hook could tell...