I looked frantically as I didn't want to call EunuKen and say, "I screwed up."
Finally, in desperation I went to the dock of items just above my desktop, to one called "Go". In it were several items like Applications, Network, and Desktop. Every missing item from my desktop was there which assured me it was a copy of my desktop.
It assured me also that 'maybe' my desktop items were just invisible for some odd reason. I went to each blank spot on the desktop with my cursor and clicked. As if by magic, each icon reappeared.
I'm happy again now