Using up leftovers. And still no words

I had a few odds and ends of foods that weren't being eaten for one reason or another, so needed to get on and use them up, before they went off or we got fed up with them hanging around and were tempted to bin them - something I really don't want to do anymore.

We had most of a large bag of roasted salted peanuts left from Christmas, the reason being they were excessively salty, too salty to eat.  I did try rinsing a few off, but they didn't taste very nice.  Didn't want to throw them out, though, so decided to make a nut roast - husband won't eat it but I love them.  I rinsed all the peanuts then dried them off on kitchen paper.  I didn't follow a recipe, just winged it - chopped up the nuts, some carrots, couple of leeks and 2 thick end slices of homemade wholemeal bread in my processor, then put it all in a bowl.  Mixed in some grated strong Cheddar, mixed herbs, big squidge of tomato puree, couple of beaten eggs and some melted butter.  It filled 2 loaf tins:-

And after cooking:-

I've sliced and frozen most of it, I'm having it for lunches with a blob of mayo and bit of salad.  It's delicious, even husband quite likes it.

There were some mini Cumberland sausages, also left over from Christmas, in the freezer - I'd used half the pack to make sausage rolls and froze the rest.  So for dinner last night I did a traybake of roasted winter veggies - couple of carrots and parsnips from last week that were going wrinkly, a leek, some mushrooms, a small homegrown butternut squash (only a couple left now) and the sausages.  Made a sauce using bacon stock (from the gammon we had at Christmas), bit of milk, a leek and grated Cheddar to serve with it.

The Council assessor finally turned up at mum's yesterday, having failed to appear for the appointment on Wednesday.  The things mum needs most - a downstairs loo and a stair lift - she can't have.....not enough room, problematical installation or siting given as the reasons, although I suspect cost comes into it too, as her local Council are broke.  There could be a solution to the loo problem, which was suggested, but the assessor said no - they have a strict set of guidelines to adhere to and won't consider any other option.  The woman suggested mum stay upstairs for longer periods until she doesn't feel the need to keep going to the loo....really?!  To be honest, she's upstairs most of the time anyway, but they're more or less confining her to her bedroom. They have agreed to supply another zimmer frame, raised toilet seat and a better shower chair.  The woman said it would probably be better if mum moved to a ground floor flat or bungalow - mum won't hear of it though as she wants to stay close to my sister - understandably, as sis is her main carer and there are no suitable properties for mum nearby.

As for the colonoscopy - still no appointment available.  She is on the urgent 2-week waiting list, they just have no appointments!  They said they will ring with an update before the end of the fortnight....to put her on the next rolling 2-week waiting list, presumably.  I know they're extremely busy and lacking in funds/staff etc, and I do think our NHS are wonderful.  But how is mum supposed to be treated if she can't get an appointment for tests to find out what's wrong with her?

It's like we're banging our heads against a brick wall all the time.  The stress, worry and lack of sleep is doing me in, so goodness knows what it's doing to mum.