So now when we get those big white envelopes from our bank, I find myself opening them with morbid curiosity.
The documents inside are supposed to be the final closing paperwork that we're supposed to receive (in a perfect world) seven days prior to closing. We've learned that we're not in the perfect world, so we take each reading with a grain of salt, knowing that more changes are on the way. Each version of the documents is a little more accurate in some line items, and still terribly off in others. (Our home owner's insurance, for instance.) Then there are other line items that have changed both up and down, and I haven't the faintest idea why. This one is the most accurate so far, but still has the wrong loan amount with another passed by closing date that didn't happen as the marker for "Pre-paid Interest", so I think the next one maybe will be the one with all the right numbers. It's hard to guess, but right now I'll take all the fun I can get out of such odd speculation.
The last time I called about the mistakes, mortgage guy said, "That's not the final, so don't worry." So I'm wondering, how do I know which one is the real final? Which one is the right one to call and say, "I hate to point this out, but it's still wrong,"? I guess the one with a closing date that is both in the future, and also possible for spouse's schedule.
The delay in giving us a closing date at this point has cost spouse work. I found myself having to write a note to the person in charge of contacting folks about this or that explaining that although spouse has x days off next week, he's already had other post offices call him asking him to work. So even if they don't know when we're closing, can they at least tell us when we definitely will not close, since they know everyone's schedules better than I? At least that way, he can accept work with peace of mind and stop losing work which is already been dinging his paychecks at a time we can ill afford such. (I didn't use quite those words for the latter bit, but said it in a polite way while emphasizing we are past the point of having the luxury to reserve multiple days off trying to be flexible.)
Yesterday was had quite fair weather, compared to what's been happening in the last week. Only a dusting fell, and a lot of snow did melt, relatively speaking, due to a strong sun most of the day. Temperatures are supposed to climb up to the low forties in the coming days, so perhaps by the time we do close, most of the worst of the icy sidewalks and mounds of snow piled up in front of the bungalow from the plows will be just a memory. The temperature will dip back down as next week progresses, but at least now there's no more forecasting of snow in the next week and change.
We've been debating again our plan of when to move the essentials to be over there or not. I know part of this is we're simply at the point were we just want to be there more than we want to keep sleeping here. It's a definite 180 from our original plans, which was to move all the non essentials over first since we weren't (and still aren't) sure of when we'll be able to get a fridge over there. I've actually started looking at some references I had set aside before about cold storage methods, and trying to use the outdoors temperature in near freezing weather to one's storage needs advantage. I figure if worse comes to worse, the nearest chain grocery store is less than a 15 minute walk each way, so I can always do a daily shopping run if things get so tight the first month that we can't spare the funds for a fridge.
I also found myself last night looking at photos of the kitchen, and trying to figure out what was going to go where in the cabinets. This is something I've never even considered before when we have moved, so I'm not really sure why now it felt necessary. Yes, it could help me unpack faster if I have most of it figured ahead of time, but it still felt funny (and not in a bad way) at the same time.
One thing I've also been thinking about is the broken mirror bits we have that came along with the vanity we bought from his retired co-worker. I may be able to mount one of them in the downstairs bath for the time being where the vanity hole currently sits empty so we at least have a mirror in there for the short term.
Lots of little bits like my kitchen and mirror ponderings have been creeping into the spaces that for a long while have mostly been plagued by worries and doubts. That's not to say that we feel like we're home free, but it made me feel a bit more positive, realizing my brain is remembering how to spend its idle time constructively rather than in "oh noes" mode.
Oh--one thing I forgot to mention. When we did our final walk through (now oh too many days before whenever closing might be to be normal), the seller's realtor did take down the For Sale sign, at least in part. The empty metal frame is frozen into the ground, so it's still sitting there. I was almost tempted to make something to slide in there that says something like:
COMING SOON!
Your NEW neighbors.
We look forward to meeting you.
So we're back to the "all bets are off where Closing might happen for reals" mindset. Oh, speaking of the blood debt, we got a refund check back from the court! The overpaid interest, and it's basically a buck and a half. We laughed a bit too long at that.
What they wanted was a copy of the actual check we sent to the court. I almost chewed out mortgage guy when he said they couldn't find any info on it, when the check was drawn up by their own bank, with funds from spouse's account at same. 
Then buying the fridge will be a breeze.