Thanks for the replies. I was hoping there'd be a better way to put that money to work rather than leaving it languish in a savings account- but I'm not surprised to hear that my options are limited.
Sadly, we probably won't be in a position to get the full 20% down payment on our house. I have a pretty good paying job that is generally enjoyable (for a job anyway), but right now I have a clownish 42 mile one-way commute. The wife and I are i agreement that we should live closer to where I work- but housing prices are significantly more expensive there than in the town I'm currently renting in. There, a nice 3 bedroom house could easily cost $180k- meaning I'd need a $36k down payment.. which would probably take about 3 years. Three years of spending the equivalent of an extra working day each week on the road, three years of wasting money on gas, and losing money to rent instead of paying down a mortgage....
I wish I felt like I could take my time on this, but the costs of not moving seem too great.
I DO have a 401k from a previous job with about $60k in it, but I'm not sure of the wisdom(or possibility) of borrowing against that. My current employer provides a state pension, so I haven't done anything with the 401k since leaving the job.