BT Calgary Blogs

Gardening expert Kath Smyth was all about ROSES this morning on BT.  Alberta is “wild rose country” but there are plenty of “tamer” versions out there that Kath says we shouldn’t shy away from.

To have success with roses in your garden, Kath says they need to get at least 6 full hours of sunlight, you need to keep them away from the roots of large trees and roof overhangs.

For those of us with limited green space (or none at all) Kath is a big fan of all those miniature roses we’re seeing in stores now. She says they’re great for container gardening and also work well as edging plants.

Meteorologist Andrew Schultz is serving up some great gardening days into the weekend. Can’t wait to get out there and get some dirt under my nails!!

Where's Waldo?

Our Calgary Hitmen are headed to the Memorial Cup in Brandon this weekend.

As is tradition on BT, we kick off each new playoff series with the guys by serving up a “champion’s” breakfast. Meteorologist/Wok Master Andrew Schultz decided to bring out the big guns for this one… his famous (infamous?) BT WOK. 

Wok With Andy?

After some truly inspiring work on the wok… Andrew served up his scrambled egg sandwich. Ian Schultz and Zak Stebner didn’t even hesitate digging into their BT breakfast (hot sauce and all).

The guys are heading out to Brandon later this week. The round-robin style championship series kicks off Saturday when they face the Moncton Wildcats (3 pm eastern).

Lesley Scorgie is a well-known expert in the world of young finance, appearing everywhere from Oprah to MTV. Her latest book is “Rich by Forty: A Young Couples Guide to Building Net Worth.”

Lesley joined us on BT this morning with some advice on communicating with our partners about our money goals and challenges. Her big message was that we’re not talking enough about one of the key issues that breaks up a lot of relationships…  money (or a lack of it).

Lesley Scorgie's new book Rich By 40

I spent the weekend going through Leslie’s book – and it’s jammed full of practical examples of how to manage debt and build wealth. A great motivator. Check her out at http://lesleyscorgie.com

 Also this morning, make-up artist Jane McKay from MAC cosmetics joined us with some great advice for mom’s on the go. Jane showed us a 5 minute face, using no more than 5 products. One of the new products she is loving (and I’m buying) is Fix + by MAC.

MAC's Jane McKay with advice for multi-tasking moms

You spritz it over your make-up to hydrate your skin, and give you a fresh feeling — even after you’ve been up and running for 8 hours. Thanks Jane! (for more info on the products she loves and her make-up philosophy – check  www.maccosmetics.ca)

 

Susanne

It’s not very often that our BT studio is packed full of kids. A special treat for us this morning. SEVEC is a program that gives students the opportunity to visit each other’s schools and communities across the country.

Students from The Calgary Arts Academy and Low Bro Public School (located near Kingston, Ontario) stopped by for a tour of our station.

SEVEC kidsThe SEVEC girlsReady to take over the anchoring duties

Merlin Griffiths is Bombay Sapphire’s Master Mixologist. He joined us on BT Thursday to whip up some summer cocktails (with gin) and show us how you can BBQ (with gin)! The BBQ recipes were developed by Chef Rob Rainford from the show Licence to Grill.

A tough job I have, sampling gin cocktails and delicious food at 8 am. Whew!

MERLIN GRIFFITHS, MASTER MIXOLOGIST

Merlin made us the Sapphire Southside, paired with Grilled Tri Tip Steak from the barbie.
Next up was a delicious Sapphire Sangeree paired with a gin soaked Leg of Lamb.

Merlin lives up to his title as “master mixologist”. Just watching him work his magic behind the bars makes whatever he’s mixing instantly more delectable! Cocktail recipes and BBQ recipes are at his site: www.bombaysapphire.com

Now, all we need is some warmer weather to get out on our patio’s and start enjoying this stuff… Andy???

Jason Blaine and the band stopped by our BT studio this morning with his newest CD – “Sweet Sundown.” ( www.jasonblaine.ca ) A busy guy - he is opening for Brooks and Dunn – who performed last night in Calgary.

Jason Blaine on BT

Jason talked about his home in Nashville and the tragedy that’s unfolding there with flooding. Thankfully, Jason’s house is on “high” ground – but he mentioned his neighbors aren’t as lucky — and have since moved into his basement. The Grand ‘Ole Oprey is flooded as well. Jason’s wife flew in from Nashville for his show in Calgary last night — from a flood – to a winter/spring storm. How’s that for nasty timing?

Thanks Jason – and good luck on the road.

Susanne

This morning on BT – we got to meet the guys from The Spades. James McKenty (vox/guitar), Tommy Street (drums/vox),  and Josh aka Doozer Robichaud (bass/vox).

The Spades

These guys are produced by The Tragically Hip’s, Gord Sinclairand have shared the stage with some of Canada’s best, including The Hip, Blue Rodeo, Matthew Good and Sam Roberts. They have a cool sound and are really nice guys. Go check them out live at the Palomino tonight. Their new CD is Subatomic. (www.thespades.ca)

Also – for the shoppers out there, Olsen Europe has a new fashion line out called “Double Happiness”. They’ve partnered with Plan Canada to help out a group of women of Sadna women in India.

SABRINA MASUD WITH OLSEN EUROPE

The women are given jobs embroidering and working with the textiles for the line. They are taught new skills, get to earn a steady income and improve their quality of life while working from home and caring for their children and families. The mere act of opening a bank account, providing for themselves and managing their own money is an enormous step towards empowering their lives.  Great project, beautiful fashions. Check them out! (www.olseneurope.com)

Susanne

Friday is bike to work day… and we’re celebrating by giving away a bike a day on BT.  This morning Janice won the “Giant Simple Single Cruiser” from Ridley Cycle. I got to take it for a test ride…

Bike from Ridley Cycle

Wide handlebars, comfy seat and very light… nice ride!!

Tomorrow – we’re giving away, The ASAMA Folding Bike from Power in Motion. Studio director Glenn will be spending the afternoon today trying to figure out how to un-fold the nifty new ride.

Susanne

Billed as a Fabulous Friday… it lived up to the hype.

First off – thanks to everyone who braved the chilly Calgary morning for our iPad giveaway. We asked people to come to the station between 7 – 8 to qualify to win. A couple hundred showed up … and what a great crowd…

Kevin Knough & I with our iPad crowd

Andrew thanking the weather gods for the sun...

Congrats to our winner Myra (and her daughter) and thanks again for joining us everyone! (more pics on Mike Yawney’s blog)

Also this morning, we promised a “rap-off” between comedian Tom Green and our very own Andrew Schultz  – aka Vanilla Thunder. First off, Tom was great – very funny. He’s doing a world comedy tour right now (at the Laugh Shop Friday and Saturday). Tom talked about getting his big break on Canadian television and his latest project “Tom Green’s House Tonight.” Then, we got down to the business of rapping…. the following picture pretty much sums it up…

The Tom Green/Vanilla Thunder rap battle

We also got a sneak peak at Body Worlds and the Brain. It premiere’s tonight at The Telus World of Science. Dr. Angelina Whalley, the creative and conceptual designer of the exhibit brought in 2 human brains (one from a “healthy” donor, the other from an Alzheimer’s patient). The difference was astounding.

Alzheimer brain vs normal brain

It was a profound experience, knowing those were the brains of 2 human beings who had lived their lives and now their “donations” were serving to educate people. Critics/skeptics of this exhibit should go and see it.

Whew – what a Friday. Have a great weekend everyone, we’ll do it again next week.

Susanne

Big day tomorrow on BT…

Comedian Tom Green is going back to his roots with his first world stand-up comedy tour. He’s appearing at the Laugh Shop this weekend… but he’ll be on BT first. (7:05 is his segment). Andy is thinking he might challenge him to a rap-off. Hold on tight for this one.

Also tomorrow — we’re giving away an Apple iPAD.  These beauties aren’t even available in Canada yet and our Gadget Guy Mike Yawney got his hands on one early for us to give away. For contest details – check out “Contests” on our BT website: breakfasttelevision.ca

We’re asking folks to show up at Citytv between 7-8 am with their list of the Apple apps we’ve been featuring all week. Depending on the weather — it could be a great crowd. We’ve put in a formal request with Meteorologist Andrew Schultz for a nicer morning. (no snow more snow storms please)

See you Friday!

Susanne