some clarification: launcher is actually looking OK now. The flicker I noticed is while in the notification drop-down, typically after clicking on one of the buttons.
While I'm here, I'm experiencing a strange problem with bluetooth. I had it switched on, but now after switching it off in the notification drop-down I am unable to switch it back on. The button lights up briefly, but that's it. I've also tried enabling it with the slider in Settings, but haven't had any luck there either; I slide it over, but it just slides right back.
I welcome any/all suggestions with that one