Unwanted Icons

I have no idea what I did but I have a folder on my desktop whose contents now appear to the left of the folder in a kind of veil all the way down the left side of the monitor. My icons that were on the far left are now to the right of those veiled folders located in the folder. I don't know how else to explain it. I absolutely hate Vista. I have never wasted so much time in my life. I see nothing better about it then XP but I spend hours trying find out what I've done without intention. I wish I could have gotten XP and foregone all the silly bells and whistles without paying an additional cost.