> Are they any
> other freely available bindings that would be worth looking
> into but that
> have escaped my eyes?
  The Introductory version of CLAW is (source code) downloadable from
www.rrsoftware.com for $0.  Last time I checked, it was the largest
"thick" binding to Windows around, and there is also an upgrade path
(the $/=0 version) if you find you need some additional function and
don't have the time to write it yourself.  There's also a GUI Builder,
Intro version for $0, full version from RRSoftware.com  I believe the
Intro versions of both CLAW and the GUI builder are free for
non-commercial use, or for commercial evaluation.
  As one of the developers of CLAW, I think highly of it. ;)