The not really bad news is that there's nothing we can do to expedite the taxes being processed. We at least tried, so we're fine with this.
The good news came in the form of a story from a fellow postal worker. Said postal worker also bought a home in the winter. He had never filed taxes before trying to buy a home. He's younger, and all through college he had been marked as a dependent on his folks'. Later, he just never started filing on his own. When he went to buy his house, the bank made it plain he had to amend the situation. They way they did it, was he only did the most recent year filing, and his mom acted as a guarantor to smooth things over so he didn't have to file for all the years he hadn't to make the bank happy.
Why this matters is he found out that winter is the best time for taxes to get processed quickly. Since the delayed returns are pretty much done, and the next year's tax returns haven't started coming in since most folks don't have their W-2s yet, the IRS folks aren't swamped. We also sent them in well before when Christmas Eve to New Year's Day might have been an issue. Now, we might still be a bit close to when the closing time for extensions ended, but it's definitely not the same as if we were trying to do this in the spring/summer.
I asked spouse if he knew exactly how long it took to process them, and on that he wasn't sure, but he was fairly certain the co-worker did not have to extend his closing date. I asked him to find out for certain tomorrow.
Other related...
As I was looking into Title Insurance today, I was reminded that if we can tie in to our Lender's policy, we'll get both at a reduced price (since we have to pay for the Lender's as part of closing costs). So I have to write to our mortgage guy about that to see if the info is still true. (There was no date on the article.) Fortunately, it's tied to the cost of the home, so it's another reason to be glad about our moving here to a lower cost area.
We're a bit more hopeful today, for certain. I'm still worried we might not make our mortgage commitment date, but if all we heard from his co-worker is true, then we may still be ok for our closing date at least.
Today I've been thinking about window treatments, remembering EQA's post. I've been gathering fabric over the years for curtains, in the hope that some day we'd have our forever home. Now that I've been doing research on bungalows, I know a lot of it is heavier (not velvet heavy, but not linen either) than was typical, so I've got some thinking to do as to if I'll still use it, or instead put those fabrics to other purposes. I need to do a window count, so I can get an idea of how much we might need sooner rather than later. I figure I can always just do a simple drape or drape and pin for the short term since I did forget to measure windows.
So that will be one project I'll need to focus on after we get moved out of here.I have to say, I really miss the second hand shop I haunted in Newton, NJ. Although the one I like in town here has some similarities, for some reason the one in Newton was like a one stop shop for me. I think it's because it had a lot of folks buying there, and the turnover rate was a lot faster because it was a charity run, so the pricing was lower since most things were donations (they did have a small consignment section). Here, the non furniture store stock moves slower, though steady, so there's not much cause for them to keep bringing in a lot of new stock. (The crafting area, though, is a much wider selection.) The local Salvo we have is ok for clothes, but that's really the bulk of what they carry. They only have a very small housewares section, and no space set aside at all for furnishings, knick-knacks or craft bits.
We have been repeating "It will all work out" a lot lately. Time will tell.
What followed was a thankfully brief conversation, as I reminded him I was much more concerned about the R0 value of our attic insulation and the few spots of same in the basement sill cavities than what little leakage we'd prevent with plastic film, given the also likely lack of more than 1/2" board foam I saw near the front door where a tile had broken, meaning that might be all that's insulating the entire exterior. Yep, that plastic film will prevent needing a few more oil deliveries this winter for sure. 
Aaannnndd I just remembered I haven't started calling around for oil prices yet. 
