H is for Hammer

In February, I got a chance to be in a booth at Stitches West. 

I shared a booth with Skeindalous and Dizzy Blonde Studios.  It was long days and great fun.  I sold enough to cover my costs and make a small profit. 

It was good to see California again!  I forget how beautiful it is there.  I still would never move back (couldn't afford CA even if I wanted to move back!), but it is always fun to visit!

Upon landing in LAX, I went to baggage to get my bag.  My bag was jammed to the gills with my Stitch Savers

Yarn I had dyed...

And bags I have sewn...

I sold some of the yarn (so hard to compete with the beauty that is Skeindalous and Dizzy!!), half the bags, and quite a lot of the Stitch Savers.  (When I get a chance to take much better pics, I'll put the stuff in my Etsy store!  If you want any of it, email me!)

ANYWAY,
As I was saying, my suitcase was stuffed with all of that, plus a few clothes.  I was waiting at the baggage carousel, when I heard an oddly familiar voice.  I thought to myself, "No.  Can't be."  I look to my right and see a guy reaching for his bag.  I thought, "Is it?"  And then he stood up...  all 6' 5" of him.

Armie Hammer.  What?!

He was a few feet away from me.  He took the bags to his wife who had their dog, then he went to a different carousel.

It may seem strange that I recognized his voice first, but I had recently watched Mirror Mirror and found it so charming that I had the boys watch it with me a few days later.

I walked over to him, and the whole time I was thinking, "Ask about his name, ask about his name, ask about his name..."  When I got to him, I asked, "Are you Armie Hammer?" 

He nodded and smiled self-deprecatingly and all thought flew out of my head and I fangirl geeked out. 

Completely.

ME:  I just LOVE you!
HIM: (graciously not backing away slowly from the crazy person) Thank you, that's very kind.

I put my hand out and he held his hands up, explaining he was quite ill and didn't want to get me sick.  (He was carrying a wadded tissue and looked a bit rheumy.)

I babbled for a bit about how I "really enjoyed the work" that he's done so far. 
Then he said, "Where are you flying from?"

I was taken aback that he wanted to know about me (being a nobody and all), but then realized he was being polite and kind, so I said, "Um... [dammit!  He's so pretty.  Where AM I from again??] "Denver.  I grew up in California."
HIM:  Are you visiting family?
ME:  No, I'm here for a knitting convention.
HIM:  (still not backing away, not even batting an eye)  Wow!
ME:  I'm sorry, you probably have a life you'd like to get back to.  Great dog, by the way!
HIM:  Thanks!  Would you like to take a picture?
ME:  (looking rather forlornly at the enormous suitcase where my camera was floating around in amidst the debris) My camera's buried in there somewhere and I have a dumb phone.  May I have an autograph?
HIM:  Absolutely!

I went to shake his hand again, but he reminded me he was sick.  (I felt like an idiot!)  Then we parted ways, he to his wife who was sitting with her back to us the whole time, attending to their dog (an Airedale?), oblivious to the fact that her husband has been accosted.  Although maybe she knew and was just so used to it?

I should have scanned the autograph so I could post it here, but it's floating around in my closet somewhere.  He even wrote something really nice on it, not just his signature.  I'll just give you another pic of him instead....

Since I'd forgotten to ask about his name, I googled it later.  He IS a direct heir to the Arm & Hammer Baking Soda family and it is a family name.

In the weird-connection-with-my-mom category:

When the kids were out to see my mom over the summer (she bought the plane tickets for them to be with her and her husband in CA for two weeks), she asked if she could take them to see the new Lone Ranger movie.  (She asked because I specifically asked her not to show them the Harry Potter movies as we were reading the books together and, you know... no spoilers!)  I said, of course! 

I told her about meeting the star of the movie and she told me this tale:

When she was about six years old, her family (parents, sister, and she) went to L.A. for a vacation.  She and her mom were off on their own for some reason and happened in to this little diner on Hollywood Boulevard.  My mom immediately spotted him!  She was a HUGE fan of the Lone Ranger television show and the man who played Tonto was sitting in the diner having a bowl of soup!

She ran over to meet him before Grandma could stop her.  She remembers him being very kind and gracious about it all.

So funny!  She met Tonto and I met the Lone Ranger! hah!

Here's one more for good measure...

He's so damn beautiful, Ruth!